Is SUN BUM reef safe sunscreen?! Is mineral the ONE to trust? 🐠 beach travel packing list

Hi there!

So you’re packing for Hawaii, for a Caribbean cruise, for the Maldives, or for another beach destination that involves snorkeling, scuba diving, or surfing.

Well, there might be a good reason for you to look for reef-safe sunscreen for your sun protection as you’re thinking about what to wear snorkeling.

And if you just love using Sun Bum as your go-to sunscreen…

Because why wouldn’t you want to use a sunscreen that has Vitamin E and antioxidants to improve your skin?!

Can you use Sun Bum if you want to be environmentally friendly when you’re snorkeling?!

After all, there are Sun Bum products that are approved by a Hawaiian lifeguard association.

So that means that you can use any Sun Bum sunscreen and not worry about harming the environment… right?!

Well actually…

Not necessarily!

Just like other popular sunscreen brands like Neutrogena, if wearing a sunscreen that is reef-safe is at the top of your priority list, you’ll want to make sure you do your own checking of the Sun Bum ingredients!

There ARE some Sun Bum reef-safe sunscreen products. It’s just not all of them.

Not yet anyway. Apparently they are working on it though.

This means that there is a Sun Bum product that stands out to be considered the best reef-safe sunscreen for snorkeling or scuba diving when looking at this brand alone.

There are affiliate links below. You should totally check out the reviews.

So it’s good news that some of their products ARE reef safe.

Because how can you NOT want to use Sun Bum sunscreen to protect your skin from those harmful UV rays when you see the ape?!

And again, how can you not want a sunscreen that has minerals to help improve your skin?!

Now…

First, swimwear that will allow you to wear less sunscreen.

Then, WHY you should even care about using reef-safe sunscreen.

And then, which of the Sun Bum sunscreens might be best for you.

So…

How can you make it so that you can wear LESS sunscreen?!

Wear swim clothes!

Wearing more clothes will mean that you have to lather on less sunscreen, and that means that you can be less concerned about re-applying Sun Bum every so often too.

You can find short sleeve and long sleeve tops that are made of material that protect against the sun’s UV rays.

Tops with UV protection —

• women: short sleeve UPF shirt
• women: long sleeve UPF shirt
• men: short sleeve UPF shirt
• men: long sleeve UPF shirt 

Bottoms —

• women: short boardshorts
• women: longer boardshorts
• men: boardshorts

Also if you’re going to a rocky beach, have a look at water shoes for women and for men. 

Now…

Why wear Sun Bum reef-safe sunscreen at all?!

What’s the big deal about whether or not it’s reef-safe?

There might be 2 main reasons to use Sun Bum reef-safe sunscreen instead of the kind that’s not reef-friendly.

One reason will be if you care about the environment.

The other reason will be for those who are indifferent to going out of your way to be environmentally-friendly.

1. You want to save marine life in the ocean

There’s a thing that’s become known as “coral bleaching.”

The National Park Service notes that one of the main reasons for this is due to certain chemicals.

These chemicals are found in the popular sunscreen brands and are not considered to be biodegradable sunscreen. (And these chemicals can be found in some Sun Bum sunscreens too.)

The popular belief now is that when the coral reef continue to be exposed to the harmful chemicals, it’s harmful to the reef, and eventually it causes them to die.

2. You want to be able to snorkel with colorful tropical fish

If it’s not enough for you to protect the environment, then do it do save the beach vacations of future snorkelers and scuba divers!

If you’re headed to a top snorkeling destination like Hawaii, the Caribbean, the Maldives, or tropical Japan, then basically the coral reef is the whole reason it’s a top snorkeling destination with lots of marine life and turtles to be seen.

The reef is their food, and that’s what attracts them to the top snorkeling spots in the world.

So if the amount of reef (food) available gets less and less, then those colorful tropical fish that makes snorkeling so amazing won’t be there anymore.

For that reason, you can say it can be important for all beach vacationers to work together so everyone can continue to have a memorable tropical vacation!

So with that in mind…

What’s the best Sun Bum sunscreen to buy when you want to protect the ocean environment?!

And you might also check out some popular Sun Bum products like the flavored lip balm and leave-in conditioner spray.

So…

How to know if Sun Bum sunscreen is reef-safe?!

There are basically 2 main chemicals that are often cited as most definitely NOT being reef-safe.

The ingredients you want to avoid in Sun Bum products are:

• Oxybenzone
• Octinoxate

And how do you know that these are the worst offenders when it comes to the health of coral reef?!

Because the state of Hawaii is soon going to make it ILLEGAL to sell sunscreen that contains these 2 ingredients. (That happened in 2021.)

These aren’t the only ingredients that have been deemed as not reef-safe.

But it’s safe to say that these are likely the worst offenders based on the Hawaii sunscreen ban as the chosen ingredients to focus on.

Read more on the official word about why the Hawaii sunscreen ban exists.

And now, as of early 2019, it looks as though Key West is going to take similar steps to ban the sale of sunscreen with these chemicals too, saying they are looking to protect the coral reef in the Florida Keys.

And even if other snorkeling destinations haven’t banned the sales of any types of sunscreen, it’s still a good idea to wear sunscreen that’s friendly to coral reef! 

So what are the alternative ingredients that are more reef-friendly?

As per the National Park Service, these are 2 ingredients that haven’t been found to be harmful to coral reef:

• Zinc oxide
• Titanium oxide

And you’ll find some Sun Bum sunscreen that’s made with one of these ingredients as an alternative to oxybenzone, too.

So this leads you to one category of Sun Bum sunscreen.

Is all Sun Bum mineral sunscreen reef-safe?

“Mineral” means reef-safe, right?

Again, not necessarily!

Be sure to check the ingredients list.

There IS some “mineral sunscreen” that does NOT contain either oxybenzone or octinoxate, like this mineral sunscreen lotion and this spray. (So that’s good!)

Baby Bum mineral sunscreen is also in this series and also doesn’t contain either of these ingredients.

Ingredients for Mineral SPF 50 Sunscreen Lotion – WITHOUT oxybenzone, WITHOUT octinoxate

aka BUY THIS for the best reef-safe Sun Bum sunscreen

See the ingredients list straight from Sun Bum.

Mineral sunscreen with NOT reef-friendly ingredient

But there are other Sun Bum mineral sunscreen products, like this popular mineral sunscreen, that does NOT contain oxybenzone (good), but DOES contain octinoxate (not good).

Don’t think that just because you see “mineral” on sunscreen labels that it must be reef-safe.

In the case of Sun Bum’s signature mineral sunscreen, while it is oxybenzone-free (which could be considered the worst chemical for coral reef), it still contains octinoxate.

And as you now know from Hawaii‘s sunscreen ban (and the Key West sunscreen ban too), octinoxate is one ingredient that you want to avoid if you are trying to be reef-friendly.

Ingredients for Signature SPF 50 Sunscreen Lotion – WITHOUT oxybenzone, WITH octinoxate

aka NOT reef-safe sunscreen

See the ingredients list straight from Sun Bum.

What about Sun Bum zinc oxide sunscreen?!

You could say that the zinc oxide sunscreen is also a mineral sunscreen, but these are kind of another separate series or category based on their main ingredients.

Similar to the “mineral sunscreen,” don’t think that just because you see that it’s “zinc oxide sunscreen” that it’s automatically reef-safe.

Once again, this clear zinc oxide sunscreen doesn’t contain oxybenzone, but it does contain octinoxate.

Ingredients for Original SPF 50 Clear Zinc Oxide sunscreen with aloe and Vitamin E – WITHOUT oxybenzone, WITH octinoxate

aka NOT reef-safe sunscreen

See the ingredients list straight from Sun Bum.

Also to note…

Sun Bum DOES care about the environment

It’s really only relatively recently that it’s come out that oxybenzone is bad for coral reef, marine life, and the environment.

That’s why you’ll now find more and more popular sunscreen brands come out with sunscreen that doesn’t include oxybenzone.

This includes brands like Neutrogena with their sheer zinc sunscreen and Banana Boat with their simply protect sunscreen and sunscreen for kids too.

Similarly, Sun Bum does say that they are moving away from making sunscreen that contains any oxybenzone.

And final note…

Check the sunscreen ingredients!

Whether you go for Sun Bum or not, be sure to check the ingredients to confirm.

EVEN if it says it’s reef-safe.

EVEN if it’s a mineral sunscreen.

EVEN if it says it’s oxybenzone-free. (Check for octinoxate too.)

Some sunscreen brands may deem the sunscreen to be reef-safe as long as it doesn’t contain oxybenzone.

HAPPY SUN BUMMING WITH REEF-SAFE SUNSCREEN!

More things to pack for your beach vacation

• What to wear snorkeling
• What to pack for Hawaii
• What to pack for a Caribbean cruise
• What to wear on a cruise