Safe Sunscreens

Updated August 23, 2022

First I want to make sure that you know how important it is to get Vitamin D from the sun, and this post in no way is encouraging you to not do so. From most of my research we could use about 30 mins in sun exposure from 10am to 3pm to get the needed daily Vitamin D from the sun. If you intend to stay out longer, I recommend using a safe, physical sunscreen to keep from burning, along with other safe sun protection measure of hats, clothing and shade. Also, as we age, getting Vitamin D from the sun becomes less effective. Talk to your Dr about your Vitamin D levels and their suggestions. This post is devoted to information on safe sunscreens, so let’s take a look!

The question I get the most from clients and friends is about what to use for sunscreen in the clean beauty world. Frankly, up until this year I have struggled to find any safe sunscreen that performs like I’ve been used too, but now more than ever with new research on the toxic load of the chemical sunscreens, we need to be ditching them and choosing safer options. And I am VERY happy to say a lot of green beauty companies have been figuring out how to make safe sunscreen more user friendly and smell 1,000,000X better than the chemical ones do too! First let’s check out the problems with the chemical laden sunscreens and how they could be contributing to cancer more than the sun does.

CHEMICAL SUNSCREEN INGREDIENTS ABSORBED BY THE BODY

First of all, to clarify, there are two different types of sunscreen: physical sunscreen, like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide which lay on top of the skin and reflect the sun’s rays away; and chemical sunscreen, such as oxybenzone, octinoxate, and avobenzone which absorb into the skin, then absorb the suns rays, converting them into heat and releasing from the body. There was a recent article at CNN about how the FDA was shocked at the results of findings that show the specific chemicals in sunscreens are absorbed into the body within one minute. Significant amounts of the chemicals were discovered in urine samples of people who had applied the chemical sunscreens, more than the FDA recommend as a safe, recommended daily intake of these chemicals. Once upon a time these chemicals were used for vacations only, but with the recommendation that we wear them every day, more and more of these chemicals are entering our bodies, as was discovered from this study, and are remaining in our bodies for at least twenty-four hours. Studies have shown there is a strong connection with oxybenzone to lower testosterone in adolescent boys, hormone changes in men, disrupted birth rates and shorter pregnancies, plus it has been known to be a common cause of contact allergies. The FDA is asking for more testing to be done for safety regulations, but sadly the article is STILL recommending that people keep using them. UGH! Zinc Oxide is a great alternative because it has been proven to protect from UVB, UVA, and UVC rays.

CARCINOGENIC BENZENE FOUND IN SUNSCREENS

Another concern with the chemical benzene in sunscreens and aftersun care products has recently been reported by a company called Valisure. They tested a number of sunscreens on the market for their levels of benzene, a chemical known to be carcinogenic and other potentially serious health issues. They found 78 sunscreen and after-sun care products contained benzene, and they are now calling the FDA to recall these products. Here is what they said from their website:

“Valisure LLC has tested and detected high levels of benzene, a known human carcinogen, in several brands and batches of sunscreen, which are considered drug products by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as in after-sun care products, which are generally regulated by FDA as cosmetics. Benzene is known to cause cancer in humans according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the World Health Organization, and other regulatory agencies. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) defines benzene as a carcinogen and lists “inhalation, skin absorption, ingestion, skin and/or eye contact” as exposure routes. 27% of samples tested by Valisure contained detectable benzene and some batches contained up to three times the conditionally restricted FDA concentration limit of 2 parts per million (ppm).”

https://www.valisure.com/blog/valisure-news/valisure-detects-benzene-in-sunscreen/

You can learn more here, plus they have links to the actual products tested and their results in this site.

Thankfully none of the sunscreens or after sun care products I recommend in my Master List of Safe Swaps had any detectible levels of benzene. (Make sure you are subscribed to my blog to receive FREE access to my Master List.) There are better options out there so I’m here to share my findings of fantastic safe alternatives!

Le Prunier Plumscreen

First up I have to mention my favorite facial sunscreen, Le Prunier’s Plumscreen SPF 31. I absolutely love this product, it is keeping me from being burned, and I am finding my foundation is applying better with it on and all my makeup just looks better! Plus a little goes a long way for me and I’m using less of the Daylight and no primer simply because I have this added skin nourishment on my face too and it all balances out perfectly! Plumscreen is a physical sunscreen the active ingredient is zinc oxide and is SPF 31. The zinc is non-nano and is also formulated for non-whitening, a big issue in the past with physical sunscreens. It is designed for your face and neck area, and formulated for all skin types and ages!

BADGER

Another great option for a safe sunscreen is the brand Badger and their newly formulated ‘clear zinc’ is especially awesome! Badger has been around for quite a while and has some of the safest products on the market. The challenge, as I mentioned before, with physical sunscreens, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, was that they were very whitening and didn’t look so great on the skin. I also found many brands, including Badger’s other formula that isn’t clear, to be so thick and almost dry that it was hard to rub into mine and my kids’ skin. But they have found a way to make the zinc clear and still keep to the stringent regulations of not only the EU but also Australia which seems to have even more strict requirements for ingredient safety. You can learn more about it here: https://www.badgerbalm.com/s-33-zinc-oxide-nanoparticles-clear-zinc-sunscreens.aspx I was so excited to try this new clear zinc so I ordered their Clear Zinc Kid’s Sport Sunscreen SPF 40, and Clear Zinc Sunscreen Lotion SPF 30. The Kid’s Sport version has the scent of citrus from the tangerine and orange peel essential oils, and it is water and sweat resistant. We used this sunscreen while on vacation in FL at Disney water parks and did not burn. But please make sure to follow the instructions on the container and re-apply every 80 mins to ensure you do not burn, like you would any sunscreen. Now the Clear Zinc Suncreen Lotion SPF 30 is not water resistant but recommended for daily wear for face and body where you won’t be heavily sweating or swimming. This one is unscented too. There is also an adult version of the Kid’s Sport called Clear Zinc Oxide Sport Sunscreen SPF 35 and it is water resistant and unscented. They also have a clear zinc lip balm too which is great for keeping your lips from being burned too! Check them all out on their website: https://www.badgerbalm.com/c-108-clear-zinc-sunscreens.aspx

THINKSPORT *Top Pick!

This brand was recommended to me by a dear friend who had been using it on her kids and loved it! UPDATE: We have been using this for over a year, now and absolutely love it! It is my top pick so far with sunscreens. There is no smell, and it is not as greasy as the Badger ones were. It is a bit lighter in texture, and very easy to apply. It is clear zinc, though there is a slight whiteness at first, but seems to diminish. We love it! The neat thing about the Thinksport brand sunscreens is they add the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database rating for each ingredient! I love the transparency of this company, they are so proud of their hard work. The Thinksport Kids Safe Sunscreen SPF 50+ is the one we use for the kids for swimming or for beach trips. My husband and I use the adult version, Thinksport Sunscreen SPF 50+, I cannot see a huge difference in the ingredients so you could probably go either way. It is water resistant for 80 mins. They also offer a baby version and a tinted face one. Check them out here: https://gothinksport.com/collections/sunscreen-lotion

Another brand I have used in the past for an all over base in the summer is Juice Beauty’s Stem Cellular CC Cream with SPF 30. It’s a nice all-in-one product that gives a light foundation coverage plus sun protection and moisture, and comes in five colors. Since using Crunchi I really haven’t bought it again as I prefer a little more coverage, but it’s nice for a non-makeup day.

I have also used Babo Botanicals Sheer Zinc Continuous Spray SPF 30, but it has not performed very well for me. My husband and I both burned at the water parks and switched to Badger and were fine after that. They do have some good reviews, and we were probably not using a high enough SPF for that environment. Let me know if you have used this and how it worked for you!

UPDATE: Babo Botanicals now has a spray that is SPF50, and it is working much better. Key with sprays is to make sure you are using enough product to be guaranteed the SPF coverage. In most of the studies with SPF tests, the subjects testing generally use a LOT more of the product than the average person applies to their body. PLEASE make sure you are using a good amount and complete coverage to stay safe. PLUS use other sun protection measure like hats, longer clothing and shade to help reduce excessive sun exposure!

There are many other safe brands, but I have not tried them and cannot speak to their effectiveness or to their whitening factor. But the EWG (Environmental Working Group) has a safe sunscreen guide up on their site that can give you some more options with their ratings. https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/ You need to know that their product lists in the sunscreen guide are in alphabetical order, not order of safety, just FYI. Just click on the specific product and it will give you the rating. All my recommendations mentioned above score a 1 or 2 on the EWG, which is awesome news! PLUS all of these brands mentioned are Reef Friendly/Safe, so you can also use them in Reef Safe only ocean locations. One warning is to be careful of any ‘greenwashing’ with sunscreen by making sure the other ingredients, not just the active ingredients, in the sunscreen are also safe. And check out the list on Valisure website above for those with benzene. You CAN use sunscreen to protect from cancer from too much sun, and be safe from toxins in the chemical sunscreens by switching to some of these safe options!

If you have used a safer sunscreen I would LOVE to hear about it and any recommendations you have. Please post them below in the comments so we can all benefit! Your comments help us all and increase visibility to my blog too. If you have a question or would like more information on a product, let me know that too. My hope is to gain a community of like-minded folks who will join me in being a help to each other on this journey!

Blessings,