A reef-safe sunscreen is a sunscreen free of chemical ingredients and small particles known to damage and potentially kill coral reefs in the oceans. Those ingredients are, to date, oxybenzone, octinoxate and octocrylene.
There's more to consider than just the ingredients in your sunscreen, though, which is where things get a bit sticky: To be truly reef-safe, the particles in sunscreen must be "non-nano." If the particle size is below 100 nanometers, coral reefs can absorb the particles from sunscreen regardless of the ingredients.
In fact, the primary reason mineral sunscreens are more eco-friendly is due to them being non-nanotized, says Casper Ohm, a marine biologist senior research writer at Water Pollution. This means that reef-safe sunscreens "are made with bigger 'natural-sized' particles that are healthier for marine life and the local ecosystem,"
To recap, here's what makes a truly reef-safe sunscreen:
- No oxybenzone, octinoxate or octocrylene
- Particle size above 100 nanometers
Look for a "reef-safe" label when shopping, but double check the ingredients list. The phrases "reef-safe" or "reef-friendly" are not regulated by the FDA, so the simplest way to choose a non-nanotized sunscreen is to use a mineral-based cream or lotion instead of a mist or spray. Aerosolized sunscreen is almost guaranteed to contain particles smaller than 100 nanometers in size that can be ingested by coral reefs.
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