The Truth About Sunscreen For the reef

Posted by LauraDerb on December 29th, 2020

It has become a common sight to see children splashing in the pool with reef friendly sunscreen. Everyone wants to keep their children safe from the harmful rays of the sun. But do you worry about what's in the sunscreen you use? Are you using the right kind of sunscreen? What can be done to keep your kids healthy? These are important questions for parents to answer.

A Reef Friendly Sunscreen - What's good for your reefs is also good for you. Many of today's sunscreen products contain dangerous chemicals that are meant to protect us from the sun's harmful UV rays. But, many of these same chemicals are also dangerous to marine life. Reef scientists have found that many of today's sunscreen products contain a variety of toxic chemicals, which are suspected of leading to the death of coral reefs. So, it's smart to make your sunscreen natural and effective.

Natural Cosmetics For Healthy Kids - Today's children have very different dietary and environmental requirements than their parents did. Because of this, it is imperative to make sure that any cosmetic products they use are safe for them. The EPA has even stated that some of the most popular sunscreen products on the market have proven harmful to both marine life and humans. Now, there is some good news. You can find an eco-conscious alternative to conventional reef friendly sunscreen.

An Environmentally Safe Cosmetics For Healthy Kids - When it comes to deciding which type of skin cream to buy, whether for kids or for yourself, look for an effective sunscreen with a broad spectrum of protective ingredients. There are two types of sunscreen that have been proven effective at controlling harmful UV rays. One is called UVA-type and the other is called UVA/UVB. Both differ from the greenhouse gases that are responsible for ozone layer depletion, but both are equally important to keep your kids looking good.

Environmentally Friendly Cosmetics For Healthy Children - The sun emits high levels of UVA and UVB rays. While only a small portion of these rays reach the earth's surface, they cause huge damage to our ecosystem, especially to young coral reefs, through bleaching, killing of fish, and changing the colour of the water. In fact, global warming may be tied to the rapid increase in the destruction of coral reefs. Fortunately, there is an eco-friendly sunscreen available that contains only natural minerals such as titanium dioxide. Studies show that it does not contribute to global warming and it is the best sunscreen for coral reefs.

Environmentally Friendly Cosmetics For Healthy Kids - Although many of the preservatives and antibacterial chemicals commonly found in commercial sunscreen products are linked to organ toxicity, there is another substance that is actually related to organ toxicity and that is the petroleum-based chemical sunscreen agents. Those can be very harsh on young skin and have been linked to increased risk of acne and eczema. Researchers have found that even short-term exposure to those chemicals causes premature aging of the skin. An environmentally friendly sunscreen with natural ingredients such as zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, or macadamia nut oil will not cause those types of problems. In fact, it has been shown to help reduce the appearance of blemishes and dry skin.

Natural Ingredients Can Be Better Reef Friendly - There are certain plant oils that are particularly effective at blocking UVB rays and at absorbing damaging UVB rays and filtering them out. For that reason, there are now several plant oils that have been added to the mix of active ingredients in sunscreens. For example, Avocado Oil, which is high in sterling and low in inflammatory chemicals. Jojoba Oil is another popular ingredient in water resistant sunscreen because it has a natural wax base that keeps the ingredients from coming off during the shower or swimming pool.

Sunscreens do have benefits - They do provide some protection from harmful UVB rays and many have some level of sun protection, although the amount of protection offered may be minimal. But, there is a good chance that the amount of protection provided would be more than enough if the ingredient list for your cosmetics product only contained harmful chemical sunscreen agents and nothing else. And, there is a good chance that any chemical sunscreen could be harmful and/or dangerous to marine corals if it is ingested by reef corals. If you choose an organic sunscreen, you won't have to worry about that. You also won't have to worry about exposing your children to harmful chemical UVB rays either.