How Reef Friendly is your Sunscreen?

People always tell you "don't forget to put on sunscreen!". Sunscreen is something us humans should be putting on whenever we are going to get sun exposure, especially when you're at the beach in the Virgin Islands. Here's the thing though, have you ever thought about what it might be doing to our coral reef? Recent studies have shown that sunscreens may be hurting, even killing our ocean's vast reef ecosystem.

But before you go ahead and start tossing all of your sunscreen to save the reef, hear us out. First check your label for the active ingredients.

Natural ingredients such as:

Titanium Oxide or Zinc Oxide are far less harmful to corals. 

But ingredients like:

Oxybenzone (benzophenone-3) 

Butylparaben

Octinoxate (ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate)

4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4mbc) 

are all found more dangerous.

Chances are, your sunscreen will have at least one of these "dangerous" ingredients. Nearly all sunscreens do; even sunscreens that are deemed "reef safe". Additionally, in large quantities, sunscreen isn't even that great for your own skin because of the wide variety of chemicals they contain.

What do I mean when I say dangerous? What the main concern is "coral bleaching". This is the process in which coral's algae (zooxanthellae) will expel, hurting or killing the coral, and leaving it white; thus "coral bleaching". Sunscreen isn't the only factor that can bring on this unfortunate event, but we can only hope that by changing the way we lather up before swimming and snorkeling can make a difference.

Read More About Coral Bleaching

After doing my own independent research (surfing the web and consulting with a co-worker at Tree Limin' Extreme who has a degree in marine biology) I came to the conclusion that all sunscreens are somewhat dangerous to the coral reef, but some are better than others. Here is a list of a few that have the reef's safety in mind:

Badger Balm

Tropical Seas
Coral Safe Sunscreen

Now this is only a very short list of sunscreens that are claimed to be reef safe. On St. Thomas, many dive shops, gift shops, or other convenient stores will sell sunscreens that are reef safe. With the list of the ingredients above and your best judgement, you can pick out something that will be better for the environment than some of the other leading sunscreen brands. 

Some additional advice for those of you who love swimming and snorkeling and who take their skin health seriously: Cover up. There are hats, rash guards, and other water proof clothing that can cover you up while you're in and around the water. Personally, if I know I'll be out on the beach all day, covering up is my best bet to keep me and the coral safe. 

Short Sleeves or Long Sleeves, any bit will do!

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