We tried it: Switching to mineral & zinc oxide sunscreens.

Back in the good ol’ ‘70s and ‘80s, when child restraints in cars were optional, my sister and I spent a lot of time “laying out.” We’d break out the polka-dot quilt, turn up the boom box, and positively slather our bodies from head to toe with Johnson’s Baby Oil, because back then, literally baking petrochemicals into your skin was deemed perfectly safe.

Well. Time, she do fly, and with her, our blissful, willful ignorance. Is there a single soul out there who doesn’t know that the sun’s powerful cosmic space rays do catastrophic damage to human DNA?

We all know the importance of sun protection, and it’s also pretty well known that chemical sunscreens have less-than-desirable ingredients. So I decided to give natural mineral sunscreen with zinc oxide a try to see how it works.

If you have a choice, mineral sunscreen is your best bet for the safest possible skin protection. Mineral sunscreen is non-toxic, non-irritating, hypoallergenic, and naturally water-resistant. Plus, mineral sunscreens are best for children under 2 and anyone with allergies to chemical sunscreens.

You can’t say that about any other FDA-approved sunscreen ingredient — at least, not since 2019, when the FDA raised alarms about some of the most commonly used chemicals in conventional sunscreens, which were found to penetrate the skin and enter the bloodstream.

These dubious suspects have ingredients lists that include avobenzone, oxybenzone, octocrylene, and ecamsule. Some chemical sunscreen ingredients are also devastating to coral reefs.

But, if you’re in a bind, any type of sunscreen on the market is better for your skin — and your health— than radioactive starlight (i.e., the sun rays that include UVA and UVB).

Many folks under-apply mineral sunscreens, because of the white hue it leaves on the skin. Here are some tips to apply zinc oxide sunscreen correctly:

• Apply it about 15 minutes before you get out in the sun.
• Apply it generously, like you’re lathering on soothing lotion on dry skin.
• Stanford EDU recommends 2 - 3 tbsps for the body and a teaspoon for the face.
• Reapply your sunscreen at least every two hours or after swimming or profusely sweating.

From your face: Use an oil-based cleanser to remove mineral sunscreen from your face, or massage a little coconut oil, olive oil, or any facial oil all over your visage.

Let it soak in for a couple of minutes, then hold a warm, wet washcloth over your face for about 10 seconds. The sunscreen should wipe away easily.

From your body: Take a warm shower, and lather up with a natural soap — Dr. Bronner’s works great! — and gently scrub away the mineral sunscreen with a body glove or loofah.

The sun doesn’t treat my neighbor Amanda’s skin with kindness. When I get over exposed to the Big Star, it’s a slow, deep burn, like a hot stone massage. Her bright pink burns sting like hell and blister and peel. So I thought I’d see if she wanted to willfully burn for the sake of fair and balanced news. She’s a trooper, so of course she agreed.

We generously coated her right shoulder with Bare Republic and the left with her go-to conventional SPF 30. The unprotected control is the back of her neck. See? A real trooper!

She power washed the deck, hauled some weeds and brush, and after an hour reported that both shoulders felt fine. A half-hour later, she took that back and called it a day. After a shower, she reported back for photos.

Are chemical sunscreens bad for reefs?

Certain kinds of sunscreen react with the rays of the sun when they come into contact with water to create hydrogen peroxide, which is toxic to aquatic plants, like phytoplankton and coral reefs, that provide essential nutrition to marine animals like small fish, dolphins, and whales.

Oxybenzone is one of the 10 sunscreen chemical ingredients responsible for damaging the DNA of corals, bleaching corals, and disrupting coral reproduction.

Are nanoparticles safe in sunscreen?

According to the Environmental Working Group, mineral sunscreens containing zinc oxide and titanium dioxide provide strong sun protection since they don’t readily break down in the sun, and they’re associated with very few health concerns.

But nano-sized versions of these minerals is a different story. While studies show no evidence that nanoparticles cross the skin in large amounts, inhaling or ingesting them can cause lung and gastrointestinal damage.

And nanotechnology in sunscreen isn’t good for coral reefs, either. Nanotechnology involves breaking down and manipulating the particles in these minerals at a molecular and atomic level. While nanoparticles absorb into the skin without leaving white residue behind — which is why consumers like nano mineral sunscreens — they accumulate in coral reef ecosystems and cause damage just like their chemical counterparts.

Does mineral sunscreen expire?

The FDA requires that all sunscreens remain fully effective for three years. Mineral sunscreens are more stable than chemical sunscreens and usually have a longer shelf life. If you store it in a cool, dark place it will last as long as possible.