Is your Sunscreen killing the Environment?

Is your Sunscreen killing the Environment?

Picture this, a typical day at the beach. You find the perfect spot, set up your chairs and towels, and finally put your sunscreen on so you can take a swim… What happens once you’re in the water? It’s no secret that your sunscreen washes off in the water, that’s why you’re advised to reapply it. But is your sunscreen killing the environment?

An estimated 14,000 tons of sunscreen gets washed into oceans every year.

As a result of all this sunscreen going into the oceans, we’re seeing more and more coral reef viral bleaching. Though climate change is a bigger contributor to coral reef bleaching, our sunscreen choices are a simple change we can make to stop contributing to the epidemic and help preserve our environment.

What’s in your sunscreen?

The Haereticus Environmental Lab published the “HEL List”, a list of chemicals to avoid because of their harmful impact on the environment…not to mention the human skin that absorbs it in the first place. The list includes Oxybenzone, Octinoxate, Octocrylene, and Parabens… all of which were found on the ingredient labels of the sunscreens in my home.

The next time you go to lather up, check out the ingredient list on the back label. This is what I’ve found on the different bottles in my cabinet.

All of the chemicals I listed above can be absorbed by wildlife and coral reefs in the same way it’s absorbed by humans. Some of the effects they can have include, hormone blocks and disruption, production of oxygen radicals which can damage and cause cell mutations, and even developmental and reproductive toxicity.

Yeah, that’s what we are putting on our bodies and into the environment… Doesn’t exactly make you feel warm and fuzzy, does it?

Hawaii has already taken the appropriate steps to ban harmful sunscreens like the ones I have in my cabinets and the rest of the world will be wise to follow their lead. They say knowledge is power and now that I’m all the wiser, I’ve made some changes. How can you help, you ask?

Make better choices!

I’m now taking the steps to living a better, nontoxic life. As a Young Living Wholesale Member, I get plenty of their Mineral Sunscreen for my family’s adventures.

Young Living’s Mineral Sunscreen is an all natural, non-nano, mineral sunscreen that is completely reef safe and safe for you!

Just check out these ingredients! No Octocrylene, Oxybenzone, or suspected cancer causing Parabens here!!

Grab yourself some HERE!

And don’t forget to check out the ingredient labels on all of your skincare products. Find any toxic ingredients? Young Living has a much healthier option available!

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