Sunscreens Safe For Coral Reefs:
- Alba Botanical
- All Good SPF 30 Sport Sunscreen Lotion
- Art of Sport Skin Armor Sunscreen Lotion, Waterproof, SPF 50
- Aveeno Positively Mineral Sensitive Skin Daily Sunscreen Lotion with SPF 50
- Babo Botanicals
- Badger Unscented Active Sunscreen SPF 30
- Banana Boat Simply Protect SPF 50+ Sunscreen (spray, not lotion)
- Bare Republic
- Blue Lizard Sensitive and Baby
- California Kids Supersensitive Broad Spectrum Tinted Sunscreen SPF 30
- Hawaiian Tropic Island Sport Sunscreen Spray SPF 30
- Kokua Sun Care Hawaiian SPF 50 Natural Zinc Sunscreen
- La Roche-Posay Anthelios line
- Loving Naturals Clear Body SPF 30+ All-natural Sunscreen
- Mama Kuleana Reef Safe Sunscreen SPF 30
- Manda
- MDSolarSciences Mineral Tinted Crème Broad Spectrum SPF 30
- Neutrogena Sheer Zinc Dry Touch
- Raw Elements
- Reef Safe – Biodegradable Waterproof Sunscreen Lotion- SPF 30
- Stream2Sea
- Sun Bum Mineral products
- Suntegrity Natural Mineral Sunscreen
- SPF Rx: #1 Best SPF 50 Sunscreen With Zinc Oxide & Titanium Dioxide
- Suntegrity Natural Mineral Sunscreen
- The Honest Company SPF 30 Sunscreen Spray
- Thinksport
- Tropical Sands
- Tropic Sport
- Two Peas
We’re not sure if you have heard, but several tourist destinations have banned sunscreens they have deemed unsafe for coral reefs.
Does that mean you cannot take banned sunscreens there? Not yet. For now what it means is that retailers cannot sell sunscreens with certain listed chemicals that are thought to be destructive to coral reefs.
The purpose of this blog post is to give you as much information as possible so you can make the most informed decision when it comes to protecting your skin and the environment.
One thing is sure, the amount of coral reefs are in decline around the world is growing. Scientists are struggling to find out why. The devil du jour is sunscreen. I didn’t really know anything about sunscreen, but I have spent a lot of time diving coral reefs so I started to dig into the available information.
What are scientists saying?
Well, basically they are saying two chemicals – oxybenzone and octinoxate are harmful to coral reefs. And as many as another nine chemicals that could be harmful to coral reefs. Full list below. Basicallly sunscreens operate in two different ways. They are either chemical based or mineral based. So either the chemicals are absorbing the suns rays, or the minerals are doing it.
I have used both ove the years without knowing what I was using, but for the most part I would say I’ve been using chemical sunscreens. That is what most of the major sunscreen manufacturers have been using for years.
PPM
Currents
Water Volume
How is the testing conducted
Most of the scientific research I have seen does not appear to be peer reviewed, nor does it address areas of the world where there are no humans. Plenty of places on this planet that have massive reef complexes have no human beings around for hundreds or even thousands of miles. To date I have seen no research that addresses these areas.
Now don’t take me for someone who doesn’t care about the health of coral reefs, I have made my living on the ocean in the past as a SCUBA Instructor, I still love diving on coral reefs. I fully admit, reefs are in danger, I have seen dead and dying reefs with my own eyes.
I have seen firsthand the destruction overfishing, land erosion and physical destruction can have on coral reefs. These are much easier to determine than something like a chemical in sunscreen or supposed global warming.
I am also skeptical of scientists trying to solicit grants from politicians who are trying to get reelected. Talk about a conflict of interests. Call me cynical if you will, history is littered with bad science and overzealous politicians. I look at everything with a jaundiced eye, you should too.
Some people, let’s call them sunscreen zealots, are pushing for the federal government to more heavily regulate sunscreens. One thing is certain, government regulation rarely if ever solves any problems, the other certainty is that government regulation always drives up prices. This is a perfect case of something the government needs to stay away from.
As a matter of fact, sunscreens used in Europe use entirely different chemicals. But those sunscreens are not available for sale in the US because the FDA has spent years not approving them. I’m pretty sure the FDA is the slowest federal agency in existence. It’a a big part of the reason prescription prices are so high, but I digress.
I spend a lot of time in the tropics where there are coral reefs. The sun there is brutal. I have fair skin. If I don’t use sunscreen I wouldn’t be able to dive, surf, sail and all of the other things I love to do. The first thing I pack when planning a trip to the tropics is sunscreen.
When I worked as a SCUBA Instructor I saw many people have their entire vacations ruined because of one day in the sun without sun protection. The sun in the tropics is no joke, going without sunscreen is not an option no matter what your complexion is.
Make up your own mind.
Currently as far as I can tell, there is no consensus on any of these scientific studies. So, what should you do?
Well that’s a really good question and one that is tough to answer.
This is what we do.
-Wear a rashguard and hat whenever we are in the water and it is feasible. The less sunscreen you have to apply the better, not only for your body, but also for the environment. If I go diving or surfing it is pointless to put on sunscreen all over my body when I know it will be gone in an hour or so. So I just don a rash guard.
-Wear a long sleeve technical shirt that keeps you cool once you have had enough sun for the day. When I am on vacation in the tropics I get to a point, usually around 3 or 4pm, when I’ve just had enough sun. This is the time to deploy a sun shirt that is made from technical fabric to keep the sun off and keep me cool.
-Try to choose a supposed reef safe sunscreen. The reason I say it this way is we could find out in a year or two everything we thought was reef safe really isn’t. Or, the chemicals were actually ok in the first place. Science has a funny way of coming full circle.
-Check back here. I am monitoring the situation closely and as more information is released in the months and years to come I will update this blog post.
Most studies show these two chemicals to be toxic to reefs:
- oxybenzone
- octinoxate
Might be toxic to reefs:
- octocrylene
- 4-methyl-benzylidene camphor
- Triclosan
- methyl paraben
- ethyl paraben
- butyl paraben
- benzyl paraben
- phenoxyethanol
- homosalate
- octisalate
Who Has Banned Sunscreen?
- Bonaire
- Hawaii – 2021
- Key West – 2021
- U.S. Virgin Islands – January 1 2020
- Palau
You can be sure, no matter what scientific evidence is published, there are sure to be more bans on sunscreen chemicals from more U.S. states and other countries that have a heavy financial incentive to keep their coral reefs healthy and safe.
Reef Safe Sunscreens
Here I am linking to reef safe sunscreens on Amazon, in most cases, not all sunscreens from each manufacturer are reef safe. We have done our best to list reef safe sunscreens here and non reef safe products in the list further below. We have also done a lot of homework and testing and listed our favorites at the bottom of the page.
You will notice when you are shopping around these sunscreens are more expensive than conventional sunscreens. Most of these are small companies and just don’t have the economies of scale the large manufacturers have at this point.
- Alba Botanical
- All Good SPF 30 Sport Sunscreen Lotion
- Art of Sport Skin Armor Sunscreen Lotion, Waterproof, SPF 50
- Aveeno Positively Mineral Sensitive Skin Daily Sunscreen Lotion with SPF 50
- Babo Botanicals
- Badger Unscented Active Sunscreen SPF 30
- Banana Boat Simply Protect SPF 50+ Sunscreen (spray, not lotion)
- Bare Republic
- Blue Lizard Sensitive and Baby
- California Kids Supersensitive Broad Spectrum Tinted Sunscreen SPF 30
- Hawaiian Tropic Island Sport Sunscreen Spray SPF 30
- Kokua Sun Care Hawaiian SPF 50 Natural Zinc Sunscreen
- La Roche-Posay Anthelios line
- Loving Naturals Clear Body SPF 30+ All-natural Sunscreen
- Mama Kuleana Reef Safe Sunscreen SPF 30
- Manda
- MDSolarSciences Mineral Tinted Crème Broad Spectrum SPF 30
- Neutrogena Sheer Zinc Dry Touch
- Raw Elements
- Reef Safe – Biodegradable Waterproof Sunscreen Lotion- SPF 30
- Stream2Sea
- Sun Bum Mineral products
- Suntegrity Natural Mineral Sunscreen
- SPF Rx: #1 Best SPF 50 Sunscreen With Zinc Oxide & Titanium Dioxide
- Suntegrity Natural Mineral Sunscreen
- The Honest Company SPF 30 Sunscreen Spray
- Thinksport
- Tropical Sands
- Tropic Sport
- Two Peas
If you are like me, when I go to the tropics I rarely check a bag. Airlines lose luggage at the most inopportune times. I don’t want to be trying to board a sailboat with no luggage and the boat is not going to be near land for a while. I have seen this happen to fellow boatmates. I always carry my luggage on the plane if possible.
To pack sunscreen in your carry on it needs to be 3.4 ounces or less. The following reef safe sunscreens come in packable sizes.
- Raw Elements
- Thinksport
- Babo Botanicals
- Sun Bum Mineral Sunscreen
- Badger
- TropicSport
- Not Safe
- Most Sun Bum sunscreens
- Most Neutrogena sunscreens
- Most Hawaiian Tropic sunscreens
- Blue Lizard Original Formula
- Most Banana Boat sunscreens
- Most Coola sunscreens
- Most Coppertone sunscreens
- Most Australian Gold Sunscreens
- All Supergoop sunscreens
If you notice something that is inaccurate in this post please do not hesitate to contact me. I am posting this as a resource to tell the real story in regards to coral reefs and how they are affected by sunscreen as well as reef safe sunscreens. I will update it as more research becomes available.