
Avoid sunscreen altogether instead wear Sun Protection Apparel such as long sleeve shirts and hats.Īs with sun protective apparel for hiking in Hawaii, a UPF of 30 to 49 offers very good protection, while UPF 50+ rates as excellent. Remember: Oxybenzone, octinoxate, avobenzone and octocrylene are dangerous bastards!Ģ. Check out my approved sunscreen list below, then check the ingredient labels! (I told you its easy) Amazon -for instance- shows ingredients in its product listings. When shopping online, you can read ingredients better. Read the ingredient labels and shop online. Read The Truth about Reef-Safe Sunscreen Tips for Buying Real Reef-Safe Sunscreenġ. Hawaiian Tropic Antioxidant+ Sunscreen lotion ( not reef-safe- contains avobenzone and octocrylene).Alba Botanica Hawaiian Sunscreen SPF 50 ( Sold in stores and Costco, but not pono Hawaii! Contains avobenzone, octocrylene, homosalate).Sun Bum Reef Safe SPF 50 Vegan Sunscreen ( Do not trust the bum! Contains avobenzone and octocrylene ).Here are lying examples creeping the shelves: I made this mistake when I bought a Hawaiian Tropic Antioxidant+ Sunscreen lotion because the Reef Safe sticker was in big bold color below it. Some advertise vegan, organic, natural or “ oxybenzone /octinate free” yet still contain harmful Hawaii banned ingredients. Sunscreen manufacturers aren’t required to test whether their product will actually harm coral reefs. These are 100% marketing ploys to get you to buy them. These days, there are many “Reef Safe Sunscreen” labels on the store shelves. You cannot trust “Reef Safe” or “Reef Friendly” sunscreen labels! The Sad Truth about “Reef-Safe” Sunscreen These are Infographic: How SUNSCREEN CHEMICALS endangers MARINE LIFE
#Hawaiian tropic reef safe skin
They still damage and cause toxic stress to coral and increases the risks of skin cancer and premature aging. Oxybenzone and octinoxate cause coral bleaching, which can stress, damage and ultimately kill coral.Īvobenzone and octocrylene are the chemicals you may still see in sunscreens and often are together.

Oxybenzone, octinoxate, avobenzone and octocrylene are on the banned list of sunscreen ingredients in Hawaii. Coral Reef Photo Credit: Francesco Ungaro What sunscreen ingredients should you avoid? By helping do your part, it reduces the overall damage to the ecosystem. This does not prevent tourists from packing harmful sunscreens of their own, but if you knew your sunscreen endangered coral and marine life, would you want to use it?īy buying and using reef safe sunscreen you will not contribute to the damage of coral reefs, which are home and feeding grounds to marine life and Hawaii’s endangered species. Any sunscreen with harmful ingredients will be banned from sales in the Hawaiian islands. This bill follows a 2 018 law banning oxybenzone and octinoxate sunscreens.” – Is Reef Safe sunscreen required in Hawaii? “ Sunscreens containing two harmful petrochemicals, avobenzone and octocrylene, would be banned from sale in Hawai’i under a bill passed today by the Hawai’i Senate. To protect the coral reef (and its algae and marine life inhabitants), Hawaii enacted a Hawaii Sunscreen Ban in January 2021 stating: Aside from the global coral bleaching that hit the Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, in 2017, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa had its worst documentation of global coral bleaching and heat stress. It is estimated that a daily average of 412 pounds of sunscreen (aka 50 gallons) is deposited into Hanauma Bay.

Reports found that Hanauma Bay got an average of 2,600 daily visitors. Careful before you slather that sunscreen on… Did you know there are types of sunscreen which are banned in Hawaii? I’m sharing the 1 0 best sunscreen for Hawaii in this reef safe sunscreen Hawaii guide.
