How to Spot Reef Safe Sunscreen to Protect Your Health and the Future of Coral Reefs
Calling all beach babes, ocean lovers, scuba divers, bodyboarders, surfers, water enthusiasts, coastal residents, anyone who enjoys natural bodies of water, or wears sunscreen…
Even if you’re not ANY of those…
LISTEN UP.
The talk around climate, weather changes, and the fate of our planet may sound exhausting…
But you know what is more exhausting?
Ignoring a problem that is in plain sight.
Nothing grinds my gears more than people *avoiding* problems.
Yes, there is a bit of “doom and gloom” when it comes to our changing climate.
I’m inviting you to see this “gloom” as an opportunity.
Nothing in life changes without a catalyst.
The way humans are wired, our biggest catalyst for change is a negative stimulus.
We crave the transformation, but we dread the work it takes to get there.
However, choosing sunscreen should not be a transformative venture - but it will be for our environment.
What if a small, positive choice you made could bring a ripple effect for future generations?
What if something you choose to buy (or not buy) could impact your great-grandchildren (or that of your loved ones?)
What if the actions of one person really do matter?
Because they do.
Every choice and purchase you make creates a ripple effect.
Marketing is not well-regulated - companies can put greenwashing terms like “reef safe” and “reef friendly” on their products even if they really aren’t.
Unfortunately and fortunately, it’s up to us to be conscious consumers and think before we buy.
There is only one way to know if your sunscreen is reef safe: check the ingredients.
Turn over your sunscreen right now and if you see the following ingredients, your sunscreen is NOT reef safe, meaning it damages corals:
Oxybenzone
Octinoxate
Octocrylene
Avobenzone
Homosalate
4-methylbenzylidene camphor
PABA
Parabens
Triclosan
Any nanoparticles or “nano-sized” zinc or titanium
The ingredients listed above constitute a chemical sunscreen.
Even if you wait 15 minutes for the sunscreen to absorb into your skin, the chemicals leach off of your body into the water, exposing the corals to these toxins.
Now imagine 8 billion people using these chemical sunscreens and entering oceans around the world…
So yes, the actions of one person do matter.
It’s all compounding.
The only reef safe sunscreen is a physical sunscreen, using a mineral: non-nano zinc oxide or non-nano titanium dioxide.
Again, to know what you’re using, check the ingredients!
Yes, it can be harder to rub in - at least you know you’re being protected from UV rays and not harming the coral reefs.
It’s what I use exclusively in my daily moisturizer with spf, anytime I head to the beach, and especially with my very Irish-skinned partner, who goes through tubs of the stuff 😂
The brands I use the most are ThinkSport and Do Good - I buy both on Thrive Market (use the link for 40% off your first order after you purchase an annual membership for $59.95)
However, there are many other brands, but my recommendations are:
Raw Elements (no plastic used!)
Stream2Sea (made in central Florida!)
Tropic Sport
Bare Republic
It’s really that simple, yet that complicated as well.
Look, don’t beat yourself up for not knowing this information sooner, I wasn’t fully aware myself and I’m a coral reef advocate!
Simply start pausing before you buy to consider the ramifications of plastic, of harmful ingredients, and what you’re voting for when you make a purchase.
Corals are delicate animals (yes, they’re animals not plants or rock) chemicals affect them…
But don’t you wonder what those harmful chemicals are doing to your human body?
Being absorbed by the largest organ you have?
Just some food for thought.
If we all consider our choices now, future generations will be able to experience and enjoy coral reefs as nature intended.
Let me know if this is new information for you or if you’ve heard this before!
Thanks for reading and considering the future of coral reefs!
