Reef Safe Sunscreen

[Kit Jackson]

I know this has been discussed before, but I am aware that products can change over time so I wanted to have more recent opinions. Which reef safe sunscreens do you recommend? I was looking at Blue Lizard or ThinkSport. Are they both good? Is one better than other? Is there another brand I should be looking at instead?

Thanks to anyone who can help.

 

[dcassetta]

Have used Badger for years. We actually use the baby formula for everyone as it seems to rub in better and has limited ingredients. Smells nice and is non-nano zinc oxide.

 

[elvispursley]

I live in Hawaii and can only purchase “reef-safe” sunscreen. We love blue lizard! Even though it’s a mineral + zinc sunscreen, it doesn’t leave a white cast like some other sunscreens do.

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

Blue Lizard is great, I love the little travel size sticks for day trips and for carry on only trips. Neutrogena also makes a zinc sunscreen that I believe is reef safe. I've used it as well and liked it.

 

[soniam]

I like ThinkSport. We used to use Badger, but it was hard to get. I have found that ThinkSport rubs in better.

 

[AquaDame]

Blue Lizard was ok but supergoop (their mineral one; they have lots that are not reef safe too) rubbed in better so that gets my vote. Both did their job; we burn easily but made it home unscathed despite daily snorkeling in the Galapagos.

 

[Kwami]

I've tried ThinkSport (ThinkBaby), Blue Lizard, and Badger. They all work great at protecting my skin, but they're all a huge pain to apply and they all leave white stuff everywhere.

I miss old style sunscreen.

 

[unrequited23]

Pipette is the best I have ever tried. Non-nano zinc, no white cast (we are pale, so YMMV), feels more like a moisturizer than a sunscreen due to the squalane. I love it so much I have it on auto ship from the company.

 

[PrettyPrincessJen]

I love the brand Little Hands Hawaii. They have sunblock, a face stick, and an aftersun product. They are all solids and packaged in a tin so it is easy to fly with.

 

[unrequited23]

They are all solids and packaged in a tin so it is easy to fly with.

This is exciting...the amount of sunscreen we have to travel with makes checking a bag a forgone conclusion.

 

[PrettyPrincessJen]

This is exciting...the amount of sunscreen we have to travel with makes checking a bag a forgone conclusion.

YES!! We got it in Hawaii and had no problems with it in our carry-on.

 

[starvenger]

We tried Kinesys clear zinc for our last cruise. It's not bad, and is more a thick cream than a liquid. But I think I like ThinkSport better for this. Kinesys is great for standard use though

 

[lilmc]

Thanks for this thread! We leave in a few weeks for Hawaii and I don’t have enough and need to stock back up. We are typically a Thinkbaby/sport family, but as I was looking just now, it seems they have a new “clear” line that gets excellent ratings on Environmental Working Group. Does anyone have experience with these new versions?

 

[PrettyPrincessJen]

Thanks for this thread! We leave in a few weeks for Hawaii and I don’t have enough and need to stock back up. We are typically a Thinkbaby/sport family, but as I was looking just now, it seems they have a new “clear” line that gets excellent ratings on Environmental Working Group. Does anyone have experience with these new versions?

I don't have experience with these lines; however, if you don't want to worry about ordering before your trip, sunscreen (they only sell reef-safe) is very easy to come by with a lot of selection at any ABC store.

 

[soniam]

We tried Kinesys clear zinc for our last cruise. It's not bad, and is more a thick cream than a liquid. But I think I like ThinkSport better for this. Kinesys is great for standard use though

Thanks for this thread! We leave in a few weeks for Hawaii and I don’t have enough and need to stock back up. We are typically a Thinkbaby/sport family, but as I was looking just now, it seems they have a new “clear” line that gets excellent ratings on Environmental Working Group. Does anyone have experience with these new versions?

I would check that the “clear” ones are really reef safe. Most clear mineral sunscreens use nano or micronized minerals, which can clog the coral. Plus, they are not really sure how safe it is for humans, since it’s more easily absorbed into the screen, as opposed to being more of a barrier.

 

[auntlynne]

I have both Australian Gold and Blue Lizard. They keep me from burning. I also cover a lot of skin with a rash guard and 50 SPF shorts at the knee.

My large, ugly, scar from skin cancer is not attractive.

 

[starvenger]

I would check that the “clear” ones are really reef safe. Most clear mineral sunscreens use nano or micronized minerals, which can clog the coral. Plus, they are not really sure how safe it is for humans, since it’s more easily absorbed into the screen, as opposed to being more of a barrier.

Reading through some more literature I see that there really isn't a true "reef safe" sunscreen, and companies are going to be switching their wording to say that they are compliant with the Hawaii bylaw.

With that said, Kinesys (and Bu) have been pretty good at making their products safe for humans, so I am cautiously optimistic that their zinc product is fine for people.

 

[WinterSolider]

The vast majority of major manufacturers in the United States have modified their formulas so that they don't include oxybenzone or octinoxate even in their normal products. Even something as ubiquitous as Neutrogena Beach Defense no longer includes those ingredients. "Reef safe" is a marketing myth.

Also, the Hawaii law doesn't dictate what you're allowed to USE, it only dictates what can be SOLD in Hawaii. Do with that information what you will.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We did a land vacation to Belize and did tons of research on reef safe sunscreen. We're big fans of Sun Bum

https://www.sunbum.com/collections/hawaii-act-104-reef-compliant-sun-care

 

[soniam]

Reading through some more literature I see that there really isn't a true "reef safe" sunscreen, and companies are going to be switching their wording to say that they are compliant with the Hawaii bylaw.

With that said, Kinesys (and Bu) have been pretty good at making their products safe for humans, so I am cautiously optimistic that their zinc product is fine for people.

That’s true. Nothing, including us humans, are safe for the reefs. For a while, they had 2 designations: Reef Safe and Reef Friendly. Reef Friendly was allowed to have the nano minerals, but it doesn’t meet Hawaii’s current standards. Typically, Reef Safe is the same, but they are both misnomers.