FDA Facts About Chemical and Organic Products

At Greenerways Organic, we are constantly researching and reading the most up to date news reports in order to inform our formulation and customers. Because of that, we have included information and articles below that can help enlighten modern day consumers to facts about chemical and organic products.

DID YOU KNOW!?

• The FDA has publicly detailed the risks of using combination Chemical Sunscreens / Synthetic Repellents (DEET).
• DEET is a known strong solvent and is absorbed into the blood.
• DEET increases skin permeability and absorption of both DEET and Chemical Sunscreens into the blood (up to 6X).
• The FDA and JAMA Publication confirms that Chemical Sunscreens are absorbed into the blood at concentrations far exceeding FDA maximums.
• The FDA is proposing to eliminate 2in1 Repellent Sunscreens citing potential risks of Oxybenzone - DEET combination products as they are absorbed into the blood.
• The public is at risk as there is easy retail access to both Chemical Sunscreens and Synthetic Repellents (DEET).
• The public can purchase and apply unregulated combinations of both products in quantities and concentrations that pose health risks.
• There should be warning labels on both products - not to use the other in combination

Our 2-in-1 SPF 30 Sunscreen & Bug Repellent uses Zinc Oxide and Essential Oils which are safe, effective, and addresses all of the FDA concerns.

Excerpt from FDA new Rule proposal: "There have been some studies assessing the penetration of DEET and the effects of DEET combined with sunscreen (particularly the active ingredient oxybenzone) on dermal penetration. Ross et al. tested for synergistic effects between DEET and oxybenzone using an in vitro mouse skin diffusion model and showed substantial penetration of a 20 percent DEET standard in ethanol, while penetration of sunscreen active ingredients was not found (Ref. 205). Despite a lower DEET content (10 percent), a commercially marketed sunscreen formulation had a 6-fold more rapid detection and a 3- to 4-fold greater penetration of DEET than the 20 percent standard. Other diffusion tests using pigskin or artificial membranes and various combinations of DEET and oxybenzone in different media suggested an enhancing effect on dermal penetration of both DEET and oxybenzone (Refs. 206 and 207). The same investigators obtained similar results in a later in vitro study using human skin (Ref. 207). Kasichayanula et al. assessed the dermal absorption of DEET and oxybenzone using an in vivo piglet model, in which samples were collected from plasma, urine, and under the skin."

Their results indicated that the enhanced dermal penetration evidenced in the in vitro studies translated to increased systemic exposure to both oxybenzone and DEET (Refs. 208 and 209).

Finally, a study by Yiin et al. suggests that enhanced systemic absorption would also occur in humans (Ref. 210). Yiin et al. used human urinary metabolites of DEET and oxybenzone to evaluate the mutual enhancing effect on absorption of these ingredients and concluded that their findings confirm that concurrent use of DEET-containing insect repellent and oxybenzone containing sunscreen results in the enhancement of dermal absorption of DEET when insect repellent (DEET) was applied first and then covered by sunscreen (Ref. 210). The study authors suggested that placing repellent spray on top of sunscreen lotion with no mixing seems to be the best approach to diminish DEET penetration through the skin. 

Although insect repellents and sunscreens are designed to exert their protective effects on the surface of the skin, the studies described above suggest that combining a sunscreen and insect repellent in a single product may result in unintended systemic exposure to the sunscreen ingredient oxybenzone and the insect repellent ingredient DEET.”