The Cleaner Alternative: Mineral vs Chemical Sunscreen
With warmer weather around the corner (hopefully) it is a great time to start thinking about sunscreen options for summer. I will say I am inherently not someone who believes that the sun is bad for you as the vitamin D and other benefits are extremely helpful! I think we should all aim to get outside daily and absorb sunlight to boost our mood, immune system, and vitamin levels. However, I do come from a long history of skin cancer and as such I try to be careful about protecting my skin from some of the harmful impacts of the sun. For years, I would coat myself in Coppertone or Banana Boat ( I can still smell these right now just by thinking about them) by the pool. It never occurred to me to look at the ingredients within sunscreen or that all sunscreen might not be created equally. The first time I remember questioning this was when Weston and I went to the Florida Keys and were researching whether we needed specific types of sunscreen while we were on vacation there. In February 2019, Key West, Florida banned the sale of sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate as it was killing and damaging coral reefs and they cited it as a public health concern. How could it be that something I routinely used to ‘protect myself’ could also be the culprit of killing or damaging an ecosystem? If it could do this to a coral reef what were these ingredients doing to my body and my health?
Then we started digging deeper….there are two classifications of sunscreen one being a chemical sunscreen and one is mineral sunscreen. Let me go ahead and say you will ONLY find mineral sunscreen in my summer bag at this point. I now understand why our parents and grandparents used straight zinc oxide while at the beach!
Mineral Sunscreen according to Cleveland Clinic: Also known as organic or physical sunscreen, mineral sunscreen is known for having a heavier, thicker texture than chemical sunscreens. “Mineral sunscreens are composed of minerals and protect the skin by reflecting ultraviolet light from the sun,” explains Dr. Bullock.
On the back of a mineral sunscreen bottle, you’ll find active ingredients like:
Zinc oxide.
Titanium dioxide.
Mineral sunscreen ingredients work as a shield against the sun’s rays. This is because the sunscreen actually sits on your skin's surface, reflecting and scattering the UV rays away from your skin. Mineral sunscreens are usually opaque (not see-through) when applied and start working immediately upon application. This means that the goal of a mineral sunscreen is to create a barrier between the sun and your skin to reflect and not to absorb. I personally opt for sunscreens that are zinc oxide only based but that is a personal preference. Some things to warn you about if you decide to make this switch are that it takes a while to rub in, it is incredibly difficult to find in a spray (fine with me I try to avoid aerosol and butane products), and it can leave a white cast. This is even true if you use makeup or skincare products that contain sunscreen, personally this is why I use Ilia foundation as it has a mineral based sunscreen but no white cast for me.
Chemical Sunscreen according to Cleveland Clinic: Chemical sunscreen contains (you guessed it) chemical ingredients. But what does that actually mean? “Chemical sunscreens provide sun protection by absorbing the sun’s rays and preventing them from reaching the skin,” Dr. Bullock explains.
Chemical sunscreen contains chemical compounds like:
Avobenzone.
Oxybenzone.
Octinoxate.
The chemical compounds in chemical sunscreen work as a sort of sponge to absorb the UV rays and then convert them into heat, which is released from your skin. This type of sunscreen is typically transparent (see-through) when applied and needs some time to be absorbed into your skin before becoming effective. As we have talked before what we absorb through our skin goes DIRECTLY to our bloodstream. One unique factor about chemical sunscreen ingredients is that these build up in plasma concentration levels according to the NIH. Therefore, if you are on vacation and applying chemical sunscreen daily you are increasing the chemical load of your bloodstream each day as well. The NIH reports that it can take up to 21 days to remove these chemicals from the plasma of the blood. I am not sure about you, but I do not need exposure to any additional chemicals. It is also important to me when thinking about children’s sunscreen usage to understand how these chemical levels impact them.
It is important to note that in 2021 the FDA ONLY proposed to recognize titanium dioxide and zinc oxide as GRASE (generally recognized as safe and effective) classified. The ingredients in chemical sunscreens are allowed by the FDA but were not recommended for these GRASE classifications. In addition, the allowable amount deemed safe for these chemical active ingredients is a one time usage limit. This means that by day 4 of repeated use your concentration in the bloodstream could be 10-14 times higher than the allowable amount. I highly encourage you to read this article by the Environmental Working Group if you have a chance.
For me the risk of excess chemical exposure is not worth the extra 60 seconds it takes me to rub in my sunscreen and I have been able to find daily face makeup, skincare, and sunscreen products that I really love! I am going to share what we have used and really enjoy each summer down below to give you an idea of places you can start. It is also important to remember if you do use sunscreen that it expires after 1 year so you should be repurchasing sunscreen at the beginning of each summer to make sure you have optimal stability of ingredients.
Sunscreen Recommendations
Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint Foundation
Thinksport Clear Zinc Sunscreen (almost no white cast)
Kora Organics Sunscreen Serum (wonderful skincare that has sunscreen in it and is lightweight)
Research Links