Protecting your skin from the sun’s radiation is vital if you want to enjoy the sun safely. But if you also want to protect our planet, you need to know what to look for when switching to eco-friendly sun protection.
Since I discovered that most sun creams, lotions and sprays you can buy in the UK are bad for our environment, I’m on the lookout for eco-friendly sunscreens.
Having considered the option of stopping to use sun lotions all together, I quickly learned that it isn’t an option, given the importance of sunscreen for our health. Instead, I did a lot of research to figure out what to look for when choosing a sustainable option.
After all, you want to make sure that whichever eco-friendly sunscreen you choose, it’s the right one for you and the planet. So in this article I will share what I have learned.
1. Choose An Eco-Friendly Sunscreen
First of all, you have to make sure that the sun protection you choose is in fact eco-friendly. For this you have to know what makes a sun cream or lotion bad for the environment. And the answer to this is that it’s mostly the ingredients, especially the UV filters.
The vast majority of sunscreens in the UK contain chemical UV filters. And it’s those that have the biggest impact on our environment, as several studies have shown. (Thorel et al., 2020, Bordalo et al., 2022, Li et al., 2024, Park et al., 2016)
And while no sunscreen is 100% safe for our environment, scientists agree that mineral sunscreens are the best alternative to chemical sunscreens for our planet. (Caloni et al., 2021)
There are quite a few chemical or inorganic UV filters that are used in the UK, including: Benzophenones, Avovenzone, Methylene Bis-Benzotriazolyl Tetramethylbutylphenol, Homosalate, Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate, Octocrylene and many more.
In contrast, only two mineral or inorganic UV filters are approved to be used: Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide. This should make things easy, but it doesn’t.
That’s because some sunscreens use a combination of chemical and mineral UV filters, so it’s important to scrutinise the ingredient list very carefully.
We have discussed the ingredients in sunscreens to avoid in another article. This will tell you exactly what to look out for to find sun protection that has the least impact on our environment and includes inactive as well as active ingredients.
Nano Particles Make A Difference
OK, so we have established that pure mineral sunscreens, those that only use inorganic UV filters, are the best option for our environment. However, there is one more thing to pay attention to, the size of the ultraviolet filter particles.
One reason chemical sunscreens are so popular is that organic UV filters get absorbed by the skin, whereas mineral ones don’t. That’s one of the differences between chemical and mineral sunscreens.
Inorganic UV filters form a protective layer on your skin which will reflect visible light. As a result, mineral sunscreens can appear to leave a whitish film on your skin, which many people don’t like.
To counteract this, manufacturers have started to use Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide in nano form. This means they reduced the size of the UV filter particles, so that they can get absorbed by the skin and prevent the skin appearing white. (Smijs et al., 2011)
The problem is that nano particles can cause harm to our environment because of their size. (Wong et al., 2020) So to ensure that the sunscreen you choose is the best you can get for the environment, look for one that only uses mineral UV filters in non-nano form.
Reef-Safe Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Safe For The Environment
Some sun creams and lotions that contain chemical ultraviolet filters will claim that they are reef-safe. That’s because they don’t contain certain organic filters, which research has shown to contribute to coral bleaching.
A study has shown that Oxybenzone, Octinoxate, Octocrylene and Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane contributed to coral bleaching in lab experiments. (Danovaro et al., 2008)
This and similar studies have prompted some authorities to ban the use of sunscreens containing these reef-harming UV filters. Hawaii for example has banned sun protection products containing Oxybenzone and Octinoxate. (Levine, 2020)
As a result, many sunscreen manufacturers now use the label “reef-safe” or “ocean friendly” for their products, because they don’t contain Oxybenzone or Octinoxate. If you saw any of these labels on a sun cream, you’d probably think that it’s eco-friendly, right?
I would. But the problem is that first, it’s not just these two UV filters that can cause coral bleaching, as the above-mentioned study by Danovaro and his colleagues from 2008 has shown. And second, just because an ingredient doesn’t cause coral bleaching, doesn’t mean it won’t harm any aquatic life.
Many of the commonly used chemical ultraviolet filters have been studied and have proven to be harmful to our environment. (Chatzigianni et al., 2022)
So remember, just because a sunscreen claims to be “ocean friendly” or “coral-safe” doesn’t mean they are safe for the environment. Check the ingredients list and make sure the only UV filters used are Zinc Oxide and/or Titanium Dioxide in non-nano form.
2. Buy From The Right Company
This is something I believe in very strongly. If you want to live a more sustainable life and reduce the impact you have on our environment, you have to buy products from companies that have the same aim.
This means businesses that only make/sell eco-friendly products and who have an ethos that puts sustainability at the top of the agenda. Stay away from large firms that have an eco-range or sell eco-friendly mineral sunscreens at the same time as chemical ones.
What they do is basically greenwashing. They want to cash in on conscious consumers like you and me by offering us a sunscreen that is better for the environment. At the same time, they continue to sell ones that contain harmful chemicals.
Here at EcoHomeLife we scrutinise every company we consider trying. And these are the criteria they have to meet:
- They only make eco-friendly products, not just an eco-range
- They produce their products in the UK or as close as possible, i.e. Europe
- They only use ingredients that won’t harm the environment, such as plant-based, biodegradable, etc.
- They use plastic-free packaging
- Their story, values, ethos and mission is heavily focused on sustainability and eco-friendliness
Using these will guide you to companies, often small, family-run businesses, that will help you to live a more sustainable life.
3. Broad Spectrum Protection For Your Health
Meeting the criteria we have mentioned so far is important to ensure that whatever sunscreen you use, it will have a smaller impact on our environment.
But any eco-friendly sun protection you choose also needs to be fit for purpose, which means it has to protect your skin from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation. And one thing that’s important here is broad spectrum.
There are two types of UV radiation that manage to get through our atmosphere and reach the surface of the earth: UVA and UVB rays. UVB rays have a short wavelength (290 – 350nm) whereas UVA rays have a longer wavelength (315 – 400nm).
UVB radiation only penetrates the epidermis, which is the outer layer of your skin, where it causes burning and tanning. However, it also interacts directly with your DNA and other compounds, which can lead to mutations that can cause skin cancer.
UVA rays reach deeper into our skin and cause tissue damage in the dermis, which is the skin layer under the epidermis. (Bajgar et al., 2021) This causes the skin to age quicker.
Scientists believe that UVA radiation is classed as a class I carcinogen, which means it causes cancer in humans. It’s believed that it’s responsible for causing melanoma, a serious and potentially deadly skin cancer. (Cadet et Douki, 2015)
So it’s important that any sunscreen you use protects you from both UVA and UVB radiation, which means you need a broad spectrum sun cream or lotion.
The good news is that mineral sunscreens, Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide, are classed as broad spectrum, as they protect your skin from both types of radiation. (Serpone et al., 2005)
However, to achieve the highest level of protection, a combination of these two mineral UV filters offers the best protection. That’s because Titanium Dioxide is better at absorbing short UVB rays and Zinc Oxide does better with long UVA radiation. (Smijs et al., 2011)
So to ensure that any eco-friendly sunscreen you choose gives you the highest possible protection, look for both UV filters to be included in the ingredient list. And of course, as we have said before, you want them in non-nano form.
4. SPF Is Important
Just as important as broad spectrum protection is the right sun protection factor (SPF). This measures the time it will take for the sun’s radiation to burn your skin using the sunscreen as per instructions compared to not using any sun protection at all.
For example, I have quite fair skin and burn very quickly if I don’t use any sun cream, probably in 5 to 10 minutes. If I use a sunscreen with SPF 30, I can stay in the sun 150 to 300 (5×30/10×30) minutes without getting burned.
Generally, the darker your skin, the longer it will take to burn due to the level of pigmentation. However, it’s difficult to know how quickly your skin will get red if you don’t wear sunscreen.
So the official advice is to use at least SPF 30 or, if you have very fair skin, SPF 50 or higher. For children, SPF 50 or higher is recommended.
Using the right SPF for you is vital if you want to protect your skin from the sun’s harmful radiation. And any eco-friendly sunscreen you use should have the SPF you need.
The Right Eco-Friendly Sun Protection Can Protect You And The Environment
Sunscreen should be a vital part of any sun care routine, as it can protect your skin from the damaging effects of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. Unfortunately, conventional sunscreens available in the UK contain mostly chemical UV filters, which can cause harm to marine life.
While there is no sunscreen that is 100% safe for our environment, there are eco-friendly alternatives to chemical sunscreens: mineral sunscreens. They have a smaller impact on our environment while working just as well as their chemical counterparts.
To strike the right balance and get a sunscreen that protects you appropriately from the sun but also protects aquatic life might seem difficult. However, if you follow our 4 steps, you will be able to find the right sun protection for you and our planet.
