Sunscreen. You know you need to use it. Not only does it keep you safe from cancer-causing UV rays, they also offer some of the best anti-aging protection on the market—but with all that lifelong usage, it’s really important to know that the active chemicals aren’t harming you nor the environment.
Clean sunscreen; reef-safe; cruelty free. These terms aren’t just lip service, they actually mean something. Usually, as long as your sunscreen is mineral-based, using ingredients like oxide and titanium dioxide, it’s going to be reef-safe. Armed with that knowledge, you can make smart choices and find your favorite brand.
See also: Venus Williams Perfects SPF Beauty, Talks Entrepreneurship and EleVen
To help, we’ve gathered a few of our favorites. From specialty items to drugstore favorites, here are six clean, reef-safe sunscreens to enjoy all summer long and longer.
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Tricia Trimble is a certified esthetician, and she founded Suntegrity in honor of her own mother and all those who have lost their lives to skin cancer. Its line of face creams, body lotions and serums is a true labor of love, passion and importance that provide multi-tasking powers of beauty and performance. Each product is made with SPF 30 across the board with antioxidants and non-nano zinc oxide to offer full coverage without harming your body nor the environment. Try the popular natural mineral body sunscreen, the face sunscreen and primer, and the 5-in-1 tinted sunscreen moisturizer.
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Venus Williams certainly knows what it takes to create a safe sunscreen that can take a beating. Her company EleVen just debuted a water and sweat resistant body lotion that boasts SPF 50 protection for 80 minutes, and it’s made with hydration in mind. There's no white cast, and it formulated with non-nano zinc oxide, so it's reef safe, too.
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Not only are the contents of Salt and Stone products safe for the environment, this line of sunscreens, deodorants, creams and more are made with renewable solar and hydroelectric energy. The packaging, too, is recyclable and made from ocean plastic and post consumer recycled materials. The sunscreens come in a wide variety of forms, from tinted sunscreen sticks with SPF 50 to natural mineral lotion in SPF 30 and 50, plus a lightweight sheer daily sunscreen at SPF 40, an SPF 30 lip balm and more.
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Badger has been making organic, reef-safe and environmentally-conscious body care products since 1995. The family-owned and operated company makes all kind of goods from bug and outdoor essentials to hair and grooming needs, aromatherapy items and more. For sunscreens, Badger brings a host of useful products, including sport, kid-friendly and baby-friendly mineral sunscreens, lip balms, after sun balms and aloe vera gel.
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Yes, that funky monkey you see in most convenience stores is actually reef safe and has been since it was founded in 2010. Sulfate free, paraben free and cruelty free, the vegan line of sun, hair, skin and lip care products are scented with coconut and banana for a distinctively-luxurious feel at a drugstore price point. The original sunscreen comes in SPF 50, but you can also shop a wide variety of lotions, tanning oils, sprays, sticks and more.
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Developed by an ocean lifeguard, Raw Elements helps lead the industry in clean practices, proudly announcing itself as Non-GMO project Approved, Leaping Bunny Certified, EWG No. 1 Rated, Natural Products Association Certified and more. Non-nano zinc oxide is the only active ingredient in these face and body sunscreens, SPF moisturizers and face sticks, and they're so water and sweat resistant, Raw Elements claims its products can be applied under water.
Photography by: Courtesy of EleVen
