Thanks for your post, Lee.
Very important.
The halogens save $$ (over a longer period and depending on local hydro rates).
In terms of environmental they're also better but obviously not for those with
Lupus
J

Lee,
Sounds like you know about sun sensitivity. I would just like to point out
that we should not believe everything we read. We should just do some common
sense tests to find out if a product is actually working. For me and
probably you, a product that actually works can mean a world of difference
in our lives. For me, it is the difference between staying home and wearing
a mask or going out and living a normal life. Cotz was not protecting me,
and every time I left the house I would suffer for it.

I am very sensitive to light. I too have replaced all of the flourescents
with incandascent light bulbs. Drapes shut, lights off, and I mostly wear a
cloth mask most of the time even indoors. In the few minutes that I put my
makeup on, I can watch my face turn red in reaction to the incandscent light
in the bathroom.

I am mad that I have wasted months on the Cotz product thinking it was
protecting me when in fact it was not protecting me. I wore Cotz to the
makeup store, driving 1/2 hour under an overcast sky. At the store, I wiped
off the Cotz, and my face was beet red underneath. The Cotz just was not
protecting me. I am not really all that keen on the Dermablend, but
Dermablend has significantly reduced the burning sensation I get from too
much light. Dermablend allows me to go to the store without feeling as bad.
If I can find a better product than Dermablend, I will use it. Also
according to FDA guidelines, the highest SPF companies are supposed to claim
is SPF 30, so we really don't know if the Dermablend is better or worse than
the Cotz. That is why I came up with my black stripe test. If the product
covers the black stripe; odds are is that it will protect me. Just try the
black stripe test and you will see what I mean about the Cotz lack of
protection. Also under SPF testing, they use like a teaspoon or something
like that. I have tried globbing a teaspoon of Cotz on my face - which does
not work at all under real world conditions. As for UVA, UVB, I don't know
what part of the light spectrum bothers me, so I just want to block out
everything.

I also bought some of the light tan Solumbra sunblock material. I just held
the tan Solumbra material up to the light and I can see the light plainly
through it which means it is not protecting me much at all. My blue denim
shirt under the light test shows a vague image of the light and therefore
protects me much better. The point being that the expensive Solumbra tan
material might beat out normal tan material, but fails miserably against a
normal blue denim material.

For others suffering this affliction, here is a tip for making a cloth mask.
I use dark colored T-shirt material for the mask. Now on my second year of
extreme sun allergy, I have refined my mask - modeling it after surgeons
type mask which hooks over the ears. Take a piece of cloth and pull it snug
over face. Mark and cut holes for ears so that the material will be snug on
face. Now put cloth back on face using ear holes. Pin/mark the cloth to
follow the contour of nose and chin. Sew/cut countoured mask. Put  back on
face and mark  eye outline  and hole for mouse/nose, then cut cloth. Finally
trim bottom and sides of mask for desired sun protection. The mask is ugly,
but comfortable and protects. Very easy to unhook from the ear and remove.

Dandelion
PS I am still trying to figure out what is wrong with me. The allergist just
finished his tests and told me to come back in April.  My face is still
swollen and continues reacting with no real hope in sight. Sigh!

I have used Cotz since it first came out. I had done a lot of research on
different sunblocks, and Cotz was the best non-chemical sun block I could
find (according to advertising and SPF rating). Chemical sunblocks bother
me. Cotz is a physical sunblock and is supposed to protect for the entire
light spectrum. I don't know what spectrum of light that bothers me, so I
just want to protect against all of them. But Cotz, SPF 58, does not work
for me and failed miserably when I tried to cover a black stripe with a
coating of Cotz. The objective of the black stripe test is  that if the
product covers the black stripe, it will protect me from the sun.  What I
need is a sunblock or makeup that provides equivalent protection of a cloth
mask.Cotz has an SPF rating of 58 which means that I should be able to
withstand 58 times as much exposure to the sun than without wearing Cotz.
Maybe in lab testing, Cotz has an SPF rating of 58, but in real life, Cotz
just doesn't  provide that kind of protection. Dermablend with only an SPF
rating of 30 protects me much better and completely covers the black stripe.
But even Dermablend does not provide the same protection as wearing a mask.

Also in lab testing for SPF rating they use a much large quantity than it is
physically possible to put on one's face. I have tried globbing a teaspoon
of Cotz on my face, but the coating can only get so thick before it drips or
wipes off.  I have also tried putting Dermablend on really thick, but a
thick coating melts through the setting powder and eventually gets sticky.
Also the thicker the coating the more it accentuates my already accentuated
wrinkles from my daily facial swelling. I have tried double coats of
Dermablend creme/powder, and that looks really bad - cakey and cracked. :-)
But when the only alternative is wearing a mask, I can live with the cakey
and cracked.

All I want is a hypoallergenic non-chemical sunblock that provides 100%
protection from the sun.  I have confirmed nickel, citrus and fragrance
allergies. Products claiming to be hypoallergenic or dermatoligist tested
have stuff like grapefruit oil and other citrus ingredients or fragrances.
Dandelion