The Environmental Working Group's 2015 List of the Best Sunscreens of 2015 has been released!

This year, more than 1,700 U.S. sun protection products were analyzed to highlight the best and worst in the 2015 Guide to Sunscreens. What's really scary is 80 percent of products EWG reviewed contained harmful ingredients, or offer inadequate protection against dangerous ultraviolet radiation.

When it comes to protecting our Little's delicate skin, providing the safest "broad spectrum" sunscreen is essential. What you may not know, most of the safest sunscreen are inexpensive, you just have to know what you are looking for!

Why yes, that is Ollie and Professor "The Bloody Cat" playing at the beach!

The first thing that stood out to me in the EWG's 2015 Sunscreen Report was a finding on one of my most trusted brands, Nuetrogena:

"Neutrogena’s advertising hype is further from reality than any other major brand we studied. It claims to be the “#1 dermatologist recommended suncare brand.” Yet all four products highlighted on Neutrogena’s suncare web page rate 7, in the red – worst – zone in our database. Neutrogena’s “Pure & Free Baby” sunscreen claims “special protection from the sun and irritating chemicals” and “hypoallergenic,” but it contains a preservative called methylisothiazolinone, or MI, that some researchers call a potent allergen and that is deemed unsafe in Europe.

Neutrogena boasts shamelessly sky-high SPF values. A dozen or so are labeled SPF 70; two claim SPF 100+ and one, SPF 110. The federal Food and Drug Administration says that SPF benefits max out at 50+ and wants to bar higher numbers, as the European Commission, Japan and Australia have done, but its proposed regulation, under fire from sunscreen manufacturers, has been stuck in bureaucratic limbo since 2007."

SCARY!

What's worse, the EWG's Hall of Shame findings are shocking. For starters, a few facts everyone should know:

Spray sunscreens can be inhaled, and they don’t cover skin completely.
SPF values above 50+ try to trick you into believing they’ll prevent sun damage. Don’t trust them. SPF protection tops out at 30 to 50.
Oxybenzone can disrupt the hormone system.
Retinyl palmitate may trigger damage, possibly cancer.

The Hall of shame outlines the absolute worst sunscreens you can use in 2015. There is even a list for kids products:

11 Worst Sunscreens for Kids

These terrible kid and baby sunscreens have at least three strikes against them: 1) oxybenzone, 2) retinyl palmitate and 3) SPFs above 50+. Two have a fourth strike: they’re aerosol sprays that can harm sensitive young lungs. Convenient? Yes. Good for kids? Absolutely not.

Banana Boat Clear UltraMist Kids Max Protect & Play Continuous Spray Sunscreen, SPF 110
Coppertone Kids Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 70
Coppertone Kids Sunscreen Stick, SPF 55
Coppertone Kids Wacky Foam Foaming Lotion Sunscreen, SPF 70+
Coppertone Water Babies Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 70+
Coppertone Water Babies Sunscreen Stick, SPF 55
Equate Kids Sunscreen Stick, SPF 55
Kroger Baby Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 70
Kroger Kids Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 70
Neutrogena Wet Skin Kids Beach & Pool Sunblock Spray, SPF 70+
Up & Up Kid’s Sunscreen Stick, SPF 55

Now, for the Best...