If you remember nothing else about sunscreen, remember that "Zinc" & "Titanium Dioxide" are the only Active ingredients that you should use, because they stay on top of your skin and do not end up in your bloodstream or harm the environment like chemical sunscreens do.
Zinc & Titanium Dioxide are referred to as 'mineral sunscreens' because they are natural occurring minerals and they are the only 2 mineral sunscreens that there are.
Anything else used in sunscreen is known as a chemical sunscreen, but some companies use the term 'organic sunscreen' to describe chemical sunscreens to mislead consumers into thinking they are getting something healthy.
The main difference between mineral & chemical sunscreens is that mineral sunscreens: stay on top of the skin & reflect UV rays and blue light. Chemical sunscreens: absorb into the lower levels of your skin and bloodstream, absorb UV rays, turn them into heat, and have no effect on blue light. If chemical sunscreens just absorbed the UV rays and then washed off of the body, they would not necessarily be unhealthy to humans, chemical sunscreen ingredients stay in blood samples weeks after application. This indicates that the human body has difficulty removing these chemicals. What's worse is that these chemicals are proven endocrine system disruptors, which means they interfere with your bodies hormones that affect all functions including mood, metabolism, and reproduction. Some of the chemical ingredients in sunscreen are also proven to damage corral reefs.
Beware of sunscreens that say 'mineral based' as often times they will use Zinc & Titanium Dioxide, but then also include chemical sunscreens, that end up in your bloodstream.
Also beware of companies that spell Zinc as Zink, as this is a marketing trick designed to make you think you're getting Zinc but actually sometimes they contain little or No Zinc at all.
The ingredients label is the best place to look to know what you're putting on your largest organ, your skin.
At the top of the ingredients label it will say what ingredients are Active, and again, this should only say Zinc or Zinc & Titanium Dioxide. Any other ingredients are known as 'chemical sunscreens' and these end up in your bloodstream, cause hormone disruption, reproductive harm, endocrine system disruption, harm the corral reefs, and are bad news. Why risk your health for cheap, chemical ingredients that end up in your bloodstream and cause health issues for you and the planet?
Companies that use chemical sunscreens are banking on you not knowing what they are and what they do to your health and planet. Steer clear of any active ingredients in your sunscreen that are not named Zinc and Titanium Dioxide. You and your planet don't need anything else.
