9 Reasons Why You Should Switch To A Reef-Safe Sunsceen

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Your SPF might be hurting marine life and the coral reefs.

Putting on sunscreen is the second easiest way to protect your skin from sun damage. (Staying out of the sun is the first, but you have to life your life!) But 2013 and 2016 studies concluded that while SPF safeguards humans from cancer, it’s also deadly for marine life and coral reefs.

Many of the common ingredients found in chemical sunscreens (aka ones that protect skin by transforming the sun’s rays into heat through a chemical reaction) are linked to bleaching and killing coral, infertility in fish, and have even found in the tissues of dolphins. These sunscreens, and their ingredients, are getting into the waterways when they are washed down the drain or you swim in a lake or ocean.

New York City-based Joshua Zeichner, MD has noticed his patients have become interest in reef-safe sun protection.

“Consumers in general are much more knowledgeable now than they were several years ago,” the Director of Cosmetic and Clinical Research at Mount Sinai Hospital says. “Awareness of both environmental and personal well-being is likely what is driving this shift in consumer preferences for sunscreen.”

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