As you may have noticed from previous posts about my must-have travel products, I’ve been slowly transitioning my personal product lineup to low- or non-toxic options. When I find a product that really works hard for me over a long period of time (like my fave clean makeup brand), I share it with y’all.
So today I’m going to talk a bit about my new go-to non-toxic sunscreen for any type of travel!
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I actually didn’t grow up in a huge sunscreen household. We lived on a farm and were outside all the time, but rarely wore sunscreen and even more rarely ever got a sunburn. Thankfully my skin tans quickly and doesn’t burn easily, but my mom is super pale and tended to rely more on long sleeves and hats vs. sunscreen. So I wasn’t brainwashed into the “wear SPF every second of every day” cult like a lot of people were.
Because here’s the thing—the sun isn’t inherently bad. Like, we shouldn’t be scared of sun (I heard someone talk about their “sun-xiety” and it made me sad). I feel like I need to give the sun a little love since these days it gets torn down constantly.
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In fact, some sun exposure is really healthy, increasing serotonin, helping regulate our sleep cycles, and giving our bodies the ability to manufacture vitamin D, which is CRITICAL to our health.
So the sun has many benefits, but also some risks. Spending too much time in it, particularly at peak times, can result in painful sunburns, skin damage, accelerated aging, and skin cancers. I don’t wear sunscreen every day (though my favorite clean foundation has a natural 25-ish SPF), but if I’m going to be spending a lot of time in the sun—like on a beach trip—I definitely want to protect myself.
FYI, this post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission from any qualifying purchases through clicks on these links (which I greatly appreciate, and at no extra cost to you). ALL opinions are, as always, completely my own.
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What’s wrong with most sunscreens?
But BOY is there a lot of garbage out there! Just like with so many of our other beauty products, cleaning products, kitchen tools, and more, most sunscreens you find in the store are full of toxic ingredients (this EWG article gives a good overview).
Our skin is the largest organ in the body, and it absorbs SO much of what we put on it (the stat I saw was like 60-70%). So what kinds of ingredients are we talking? For starters, most widely-used sunscreens include things like oxybenzone and octinoxate—suspected hormone-disrupting chemicals (and possible cancer-causing) that are readily absorbed into the body. They also often include seed oils parabens, fragrances, and so much more.
There are a host of bad ingredients which build up in the blood over time, AND even the ones that work well in blocking “the sun” are only blocking UVB rays but are letting deeper-penetrating UVA rays (which cause skin cancer) through. So I had been on a mission to find better options.
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Why I think this is one of the best non-toxic sunscreens out there
After trying some different options, I’ve now been using Sky & Sol’s tallow-based sunscreen (this link will give a 10% discount) for over a year now. It’s formulated without toxic UV filters, seed oils, parabens, fragrances, silicones, and other harmful ingredients.
So what IS it made of? They have high standards for sourcing and a simple ingredient list, including tallow, non-nano zinc oxide, jojoba oil, beeswax, and vitamin E.
- The formula is skin biocompatible and non-comedogenic, meaning no greasiness or breakouts
- It provides strong UV protection but without the gross white residue that other mineral sunscreens often give
- It’s *actually* reef-safe (many sunscreens that say they are, aren’t) and ecofriendly, and doesn’t make your eyes water since it doesn’t include chemical UV filters like oxybenzone
- There are no fragrances, preservatives, parabens, gluten, or any other chemicals harmful to your skin
And most importantly it WORKS. For instance, I used it as my primary sunscreen (with a few old Korean faves as supplemental) on my recent relaxation trip to one of my favorite resorts, LeBlanc Cancun.
I literally sat at the pool from 8:00am to 4:00pm, and I definitely didn’t reapply as often as I should have (though did a few times through the day, and more on my face). I didn’t get burnt at all…I had a couple warm spots where I forgot to reapply, like the tops of my knees) but otherwise I was totally fine.
(One side note, a lot of my photos in this post are with the older bottle style since that’s what I most recently took on vacation, but they have recently updated their packaging—below shows the new tan bottle.)
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Sky & Sol has both SPF 30 and SPF 50 options, depending on your needs. They also have a new face-specific SPF 50 that I look forward to trying out (this one is both face and body, and has not caused my super sensitive face skin any issues at all). Not sun-related, but I’ve also fallen in love with their Everything Cream as well, and use it almost every day. You can get 10% off your order if you decide you want to try it out and use this link.
I will also note that Stone & Spear is the other brand that I love for clean body lotion (I’m obsessed with their tallow body butter!!), deodorant, and lip balm, and they have a sunscreen as well. It’s more of a solid that you scoop out and rub on.
I have purchased it but haven’t had a chance to try it out yet, so will keep you posted. If you decide to try it (or any of their products), that link automatically gives 10% off but you can get 20% with code ONEGIRL.
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I’m so happy to have finally found a non-toxic sunscreen that I feel really good about using health-wise, but also provides really strong, reliable protection for my skin while traveling. I’ll share any other clean sunscreen brands and products I find to work within this post if and when that happens!
Other products that travel everywhere with me:
- My All-Time Favorite Bras For Travel
- 20+ Tips To Survive And Thrive On A Long Flight (Including What’s in My Carry-On)
- The Best All-Purpose Carry-On Suitcase
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