toxic sunscreens

Ever since I was a child my mom made sure I put sunscreen on and it has become a habit for me to apply it a few minutes before surfing. But, it wasn’t until I took Environmental Science in school that I learned that many of the ingredients in the popular sunscreens are damaging to the environment - especially the ocean. Chemicals like oxybenzone, octinoxate, and a few others are bad for beach and marine wildlife and devastating for coral reefs. Since sunscreens eventually wash off, they easily circulate in the water meaning the dangerous chemicals can spread for miles.

There is no doubt that protecting our skin from the sun’s harmful rays is extremely important to surfers since the sun we face is magnified by the mirror effect of the ocean water. The best protection is coverage from wetsuits and rash guards, but in Southern California we want to enjoy the summer days and surfing in just a swimsuit is a welcome reprieve from those winter days. The good news is that there are many sunscreens that do not include harmful chemicals, yet are still very effective. They tend to have mineral-based ingredients like zinc oxide and titanium oxide.