Hey guys, so I’m looking for a good and reasonably-priced sunscreen that doesn’t leave a white cast. What are some sunscreens that fit this criteria AND don’t include any ingredients (that I’ve heard are harmful/cancer-causing)? I want to avoid these unhealthy ingredients: oxybenzone, avobenzone, homosalate, octinoxate, etc. I’ve heard they damage coral reefs but also can be carcinogenic or hormone/endocrine disruptors. The ingredients I listed along with some others are cautioned about by the EWG (Environmental Working Group) and are said to be above the FDA safety threshold.
I’m aware that many chemical sunscreens include these ingredients, and that physical sunscreens are usually the way to go if you want to avoid these risks, but I find that a lot of physical sunscreens leave a pretty visible white cast. But if you have any sunscreen recommendations, whether physical or chemical, that doesn’t have a white cast, and you want to avoid those ingredients I listed before, PLEASE let me know! I want to protect my skin from the sun but it seems impossible to find a sunscreen that fits my specific criteria.
All of the safety data you have stated is complete misinformation. None of those are carcinogenic, there is no proof of endocrine disruption in real-world use, none of those are proven in any way to affect reefs (it’s a meeting bullshit), and EWG is NOT a reputable source of information. They are a malicious misinformation group now.
I don’t understand the downvote brigade. Y’all DO realize even the FDA gets things wrong all the time, and it’s pretty reasonable to want to follow updating guidelines, right?
Also if you plan on traveling to AUS, mineral sunscreens are the only allowed sunblocks if you’re going out to any reefs. Sorry if you think avo and oxybenzone are the best, but many countries are phasing them out due to the fact they even CAN disrupt hormones and they bleach our coral reefs. You can’t even buy them. It’s already done.
New research shows that BENZOPHENONES ARE NOT SAFE. PERIOD.
To be a devil’s advocate, I agree it’s better than nothing at all. So I’d still wear an avo/oxybenzone sunscreen then none at all cause that’s even HIGHER risk. But you can just as easily get a tub of zinc oxide for like 4 dollars, so I’m even having a hard time defending THAT.
Hell, even the FDA finally agrees with that statement! Benzophenones and about 6 other related SPF blockers were taken off the GRASE list in 2021 and are banned products in many countries and even domestic states like Hawaii.
The only sunscreens left in the GRASE category by the FDA are zinc and titanium oxide. If you don’t like that then y’all have to take it up with the same government branch you got your info and make the laws over the Sunblocks in the first place.
The reason we live in a civilized society is that people have thought about these things before us. We have boards that do the research and approve the use of ingredients in percentages that are safe. You do not have to do your research. Exactly how you buy things from the supermarket without doing your lab analysis for inclusion of harmful chemicals, exactly how you buy medicine without doing your assessment of efficacy, exactly how you would go the to hospital without first checking the CVs of the personnel, exactly how go to the restaurant without first inspecting the food preparation chain.
Rest assured that you will be fine and if you are being paranoidly suspicious, I don’t see why the EWG is above any smidge of suspicion.
The FDA doesn’t care about the safety of chemicals. The FDA cares about who gives them more money so I would be very careful with putting chemicals on your skin or in your body because God only knows if the research saying it’s good or bad is correct.