Healthy Glow: The Best Reef-Safe Sunscreens

The sun’s rays can be both beneficial and harmful to our bodies. Moderate exposure to sunlight provides essential vitamin D, which boosts both physical and mental health. Sun-bathing has also helped prevent rickets symptoms and treat wounds. Nevertheless, have you ever wondered about reasons for uneven skin tone, pigmentation, freckles, or ageing dark spots? Well excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays can lead to deterioration of skin health, with risks of causing skin cancer.

On one hand, every human being wishes to have beautiful, flawless skin on a daily basis. To maintain skin health and to have a flawless skin complexion, sunscreen is one of the most crucial daily skincare routines. Bearing in mind that it only takes 30 seconds to gently massage a sunscreen emulsion or lotion on our precious body epidermis. At any time you wake up in the morning feeling tired of a skincare routine, rethink how a good practice of quality sunscreen can bring so many benefits to your health.

In our previous blog article about common houselhold items, we discussed the potential negative effects of store-bought sunscreen on both human health and water biodiversity. Indeed, many sunscreens are harmful to us and our surroundings. Thus, urging you to consider more carefully how these skincare products are made and to make the best sustainable choices based on research.

If you are looking for quick skincare protection, how can you choose the right sunscreen?

Certified Sunscreen Products

There are normally two types of sunscreens, which you can choose based on your skin type and activities. For instance, zinc oxide or titanium dioxide are common ingredients for mineral sunscreens. Also known as physical sunscreen, this type of sunscreen deflects UVA and UVB radiation with broad-spectrum protection to prevent sunburn or skin damage. It is gentle on the skin, which makes it ideal for sensitive and acne-prone skin. Physical sunscreens, which are certified to be fragrance-free, hypoallergenic, and dermatologist, are non-comedogenic to the skin pores.

Study the Ingredients

The potential effects of chemical compounds included in cheap sunscreens are detrimental in the long run. For instance, avoid chemical compounds such as oxybenzone, avobenzone, homosalate, octinoxate, octocrylene, and octisalate. These chemical compounds are not only harmful to human skin. When the layer of sunscreen disintegrates when it comes into contact with water, a chemical-based fluid is released into the environment. This normally occurs when we use sunscreen excessively at the beach or ocean. Thus, the external environment is also affected by an invisible action when sunscreen is used in the natural environment.

Choose the Right SPF Level

Next, when purchasing sunscreen, always ensure the SPF level is at a minimum of SPF30. If you are planning to get a sun tan and be exposed to the outdoors for a long period of time, a higher SPF50 is desirable. Lastly, all sunscreens should be reapplied, usually every 90 minutes, especially after sweating or going in water. Therefore, purchase a bottle of sunscreen which is easy to carry around but also contains enough volume for reapplication.

Can You Make Natural Sunscreen at Home?

If you prefer simple, naturally derived ingredients, you may have wondered whether it is possible to make your own sunscreen at home.

You will find plenty of DIY sunscreen recipes online using ingredients such as coconut oil, shea butter, aloe vera and zinc oxide. They can certainly look appealing: simple ingredients, no complicated ingredient list and the possibility of making the product yourself.

But there is an important catch.

Homemade sunscreen isn’t the same as tested sunscreen

Sunscreen isn’t simply a collection of ingredients that individually have some UV-protective properties. The finished product needs to form an even, reliable layer on the skin, and its protection needs to be tested.

For a commercial sunscreen, testing can establish its SPF, broad-spectrum UVA protection, water resistance and stability. A homemade mixture doesn’t have that same validation, and the protection can vary considerably from one batch to another. The American Academy of Dermatology therefore advises against relying on homemade sunscreen for sun protection.

This is particularly important when you’re going to be spending a long time in strong sunlight, swimming, hiking or travelling somewhere with intense UV exposure.

So while DIY skincare can be fun, we don’t recommend treating a homemade sunscreen as a replacement for a tested sunscreen.

So what about zinc oxide?

Zinc oxide is one of the best-known mineral sunscreen ingredients. Unlike oils such as coconut oil, which may show some UV absorption in laboratory testing, zinc oxide is an established sunscreen active ingredient used in mineral sunscreen formulations.

The important word here is formulation.

Simply adding a spoonful of zinc oxide to a homemade cream doesn’t tell you what SPF the finished product provides. The concentration, particle size, dispersion and the way the final product sits on the skin all matter.

That’s why you shouldn’t assume that adding more zinc oxide automatically means more protection.

If you’re buying a mineral sunscreen, look for a product that has been tested and labelled with its SPF and broad-spectrum protection.

What about coconut oil and shea butter?

Both coconut oil and shea butter are lovely ingredients for skincare, particularly when you want a richer moisturising product.

You may also see claims online that coconut oil has an SPF of around 7 or that shea butter offers some natural UV protection.

But this is where it is easy to confuse an ingredient’s laboratory properties with the protection provided by a finished sunscreen.

An oil with some UV-absorbing properties is not automatically a sunscreen. An SPF value cannot simply be added together from the individual ingredients in a recipe.

So use coconut oil and shea butter because you like what they do for your skin, not because you expect them to replace sunscreen.

Your best natural sun-protection strategy

If you’re trying to make your summer routine a little more natural, remember that sunscreen is only one part of sun protection.

Seek shade when the sun is strongest, wear lightweight clothing that covers your skin, use a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, and use a tested broad-spectrum sunscreen on exposed skin when appropriate. The FDA and dermatology organisations recommend combining sunscreen with these other protective measures.

And perhaps the most sustainable approach is not to think of sun protection as an all-or-nothing choice.

You can make your own nourishing body care, choose mineral sunscreen if that suits you, wear protective clothing and simply spend less time in direct midday sun.

Don’t forget that also in winter our skin needs protection. Sometimes we can get sunburnt easier because with the cold we don’t feel the heat so strongly but the sun rays are still coming through.

A safer DIY alternative: a nourishing after-sun body butter

If you enjoy making your own skincare, there is a much better place for these beautiful ingredients: after-sun care.

This simple body butter won’t protect your skin from UV radiation, but it can make a lovely moisturising product to use after a day outdoors.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (100 gr) shea butter
• 2 tablespoons (30 gr) coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon (15 gr) jojoba oil
• 1 teaspoon aloe vera powder – optional
• 5–10 drops of a skin-friendly essential oil – optional

Method:

1. Place the shea butter and coconut oil in a heat-safe bowl over a pan of gently simmering water.
2. Warm slowly until melted, then remove from the heat.
3. Stir in the jojoba oil.
4. Allow the mixture to cool until it begins to thicken but is still soft.
5. If using aloe vera powder, add it according to the manufacturer’s instructions and mix thoroughly.
6. Add your optional essential oil.
7. Whip the mixture until light and creamy.
8. Transfer to a clean, dry jar and store away from direct heat and sunlight.

Apply a small amount to clean skin after showering or bathing.

Important: this is an after-sun moisturiser, not a sunscreen. It does not provide a tested SPF and should never be used as a substitute for sun protection.

(Note: You can find the ingredients in pharmacies, bio/organic shops or online.)

“Natural living doesn’t have to mean doing everything yourself. Sometimes the better choice is knowing where DIY ends and tested protection begins.“

For more summer fun, check out our Top 10 Sustainability Tips for Summer.

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