Thankfully, Sunbum don’t use PABA in their formulas because it can also be harmful to humans. ![]() The Haereticus lab includes PABA on its list of substances that the lab believes are harmful to Coral reefs. However, it is important to remember that when this chemical is washed off of our skin, it ends up in the ocean where it can harm marine life. Octinoxate is commonly used in sunscreen because it absorbs UV light. It is also believed to contribute to the bleaching of coral reefs. Octinoxate has been shown to cause reproductive problems in fish and other marine life. This means that it can interfere with the hormones of marine life, including coral reefs. ![]() Octinoxate is dangerous for coral reefs because it is an endocrine disruptor. These are 2 ingredients that are recognised most widely as not being reef safe. Octinoxate and Oxybenzone were both banned in Hawaii in 2018. Oxybenzone can also cause DNA damage in corals, which can lead to them not being able to reproduce. It can cause coral bleaching, which is when coral loses its color and starts to die. Oxybenzone is one of the worst ingredients for coral reefs so make sure to avoid it if you want to be sure your sun screen is reef friendly. Exactly what affect it has on them isn’t clear yet but it seems like it’s better to avoid this ingredient if you want to be completely reef safe. This chemical doesn’t break down easily and traces of this chemical have been found on sea life and corals. When this chemical gets into the water, it can cause coral bleaching and harm fish and other marine life. It’s commonly used in sunscreen, but it can also be found in some insect repellents and lotions. 4-methylbenzylidene camphor isn’t reef safe because it’s toxic to marine life. It may also have a bleaching effect on corals.Ĥ-methylbenzylidene camphor is a synthetic compound used as an oil-soluble sunscreen agent and UV absorber. The center for biological diversity wrote about how this ingredient can cause brain deformities in fish lava and cause reproductive toxicity. To give you the best possible information we researched a number of different sources, with often conflicting ideas about which ingredients are reef safe and used our judgement to work out whether the ingredients really are harmful to the reef. Here is a list of ingredients that are seen in one way or another as being unsafe for coral reefs. Sunscreens that contain any of the following ingredients are not reef safe. A lot of sunscreen brands, including Sunbum, also use Avobenzone, Homosalate and Octocrylene which are seen as being harmful to coral reefs. Oxybenzone and Octinoxate are 2 ingredients often used in Sunscreens that are known to be damaging to the reef but there are a number of other ingredients you should avoid, which we will list below. ![]() If you really want to know whether you can apply a sunscreen on your skin and safely swim in a reef without risking damaging the reef, you need to look a little closer at the ingredients list. There is no regulation for a product to be classed as reef safe so brands that claim to be reef safe may still contain ingredients that are damaging to a reef. However, there are a number of other ingredients that can be harmful to coral reefs that are also often used in skincare and sunscreen products.Ĭlick image above to view sunbum’s most reef safe product on Amazonīefore we take a look at which sun bum products we think are most likely to be reef friendly or reef safe, let’s have a look at what kind of sunscreen ingredients we should and shouldn’t use in our sunscreen when swimming or bathing near a coral reef. They begin by introducing us to the Hawaii state legislature which bans the use of Oxybenzone and Octinoxate and how they are proud to comply with this.Ĭurrently these are the only 2 ingredients that, in Hawaii are banned for use in the ocean in an attempt to protect the coral reefs. Sun bum have published a whole page on their website, talking about reef safe products. Sun bum have a lot to say about reef friendly products.
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