After some great discussions on Instagram about my own past hormone issues and learning more about how what’s in our products can impact our thyroid and adrenals, I got 15 direct messages within an hour asking about my favorite all natural sunscreen.
That’s usually a sign to me that a full on blog post is needed because I can provide more information and do some extra digging to learn more myself! There are products I’m already using, but I know that one size does not fit all, so first let’s talk about WHY this came up and then the best all natural sunscreens for different uses.
Why do we care about all natural sunscreen?
I covered a lot of this in my post on hormone disruptors, but a quick recap! Many of the common ingredients, which we absorb through our skin have some serious potential side effects.
Oxybenzone: known to disrupt normal hormone cycles
Retinyl palmitate: found to accelerate the rate of certain skin cancers
I mean ya gotta be kidding me…we’re using it to prevent skin cancer! And that’s not just marketing hype.
A new FDA study found that ingredients can enter the bloodstream within one day at levels that far exceed its recommended threshold without a government safety inspection. They also said they have a lot more testing to do to be fair! 
What is safe sunscreen?
I think the FDA conclusion that we could see chemicals seeping into our skin makes if fairly clear that we want to look for ingredients which aren’t harmful to our health as noted in hormone disruptors.
But, the term has also been used to refer to reef safe sunscreens, one’s that won’t damage the ocean. Many of the ingredients we want to eliminate for our own health will also be helping the Earth! For example, Oxybenzone and octinoxate are two ingredients believed to contribute to coral bleaching which essentially kills it and thus kills off a major food source.
Why runners need to pay more attention to whats in our sunscreen Click To TweetBest All Natural Sunscreens
As usual there are products for all different uses, so I’ll break it down by category to give you options for your perusal. And quickly, if you’re going to make a sunscreen at home, is coconut oil a good sunscreen? I mean it works for about 8,000 other things according to the Internet, but NO do not rely on it for sunscreen.
Daily Use
This Dew Skin Tinted moisturizer is super light with an SPF 20 means you’re getting it all in one product so you don’t have to remember anything extra later. Even in the winter we need SPF, so it’s a great year round option.
One and done!
Travel Friendly
One of the worst things about flying is all the stuff that you can’t bring without buying additional travel size options. And because I HATE the feeling of sunscreen on my hands, I’m a big, huge, happy fan of this Counternatural Mineral stick sunscreen.
Powder Mineral Sunscreen
Many of you (like me) have a moisturizer that you already love, which makes this option another easy one to add to your existing routine. I have tried a few different versions, but in all honesty I don’t wear foundation or powder unless it’s a big video shoot day.
I thought that Sweat Cosmetics powder was a good option. Started by a group of professional women soccer players, they know what’s up with our skin needs! And of course this is another travel friendly option.
Face Running Sunscreen
As many times as I was told to apply this, I found myself not because I would sweat.
It would run. I could taste it. And I gagged.
Luckily for you, I kept on testing things throughout my years living in Florida and right now I’m a big fan of Coola Sport Face. I’ve been using it for the last few summers and I’m very happy indeed.
Spray Sunscreen
As noted previously, not a fan on sunscreen on my hands so I do use the spray 90% of the time.
Counternatural Mineral Spray is reef-safe sunscreen relies on non-nano zinc to offer water-resistant UVA and UVB coverage. It’s a great must have for everyone in the family!! Grab it the face SPF and stick at the same time to save money.
But if you happen to LOVE a good scent, our Ragnar team went bananas over the Guava Mango Coola Spray because it makes you feel like you’re at the beach! The lightweight formula goes on evenly and offers broad spectrum coverage while buriti oil, meadowfoam oil, raspberry seed oil, and prickly pear extract strengthen the skin barrier and fight free radicals.
Baby Approved Natural Sunscreens
I’m not a mom, so I went out and did some research to see what the environmental testing group approves for the littlest member of your family!
Badger – Baby Sunscreen Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Protection, Chamomile and Calendula Formula has just six simple ingredients and is water resistant for 40 minutes. A great reminder we have to keep reapplying our sunscreens.
Coola Baby Mineral sunscreen also made the top 10 list again and was joined by Aveeno Baby Continuous protection.
Fabulous All Natural Sunscreen Lotions
If you don’t have the weird thing I do about lotions, then they are one of the best options because you can really ensure full coverage. I have been known to miss a spot with the spray…though I can also largely get my own back with the spray!
Finish off your whole sun collection from Countersun with this Mineral Sunscreen that won’t leave a chalky residue. This non-nano zinc and California Poppy, this physical SPF 30 formulation provides an effective shield from UVA and UVB. Or I’ve heard good things about Blue Lizard as well.
Lip Balms with SPF
Since many of you like me swear you can’t live without a chapstick or lip balm of some sort, a great reminder that your lips absolutely need the SPF love too!!
eos Active Lip Balm has SPF 15 and will carry you through up to an 80 minute sweat session, they also have a higher level SPF 30 but I don’t trust that I won’t be tasting it on the run.
Burt’s Bees all weather natural lip balm is also SPF 15 and feels more like a standard chapstick to me, so that is something I can put in my hydration pack to carry with me.
What about Vitamin D?
Since I tend to run low on Vitamin D and we know the sun is a great source, I thought maybe I should just skip the sunscreen? But that’s not exactly right!
- 15 minutes of exposure without sunscreen is great for Vitamin D levels
- Specifically you want to get the sun on your chest and face (why I read a book outside for a few minutes!)
- Also, few of us are using enough and consistent sunscreen application to truly block all the UV rays and thus Vitamin D
Sunscreen for Runners
Get the most out of your sunscreen with a couple very easy tips:
- Find face lotion with SPF in it so you don’t have to remember
- Don’t forget your ears and gents some of you need to slather up that noggin
- Put on sunscreen 30 minutes before heading outside to give it time to absorb
- Remember you can get a ton of sun even on cloudy days
- Hats are a great tool, but don’t actually mean we can get away without sunscreen
- Sun reflects more off sand, snow and water, so definitely lather up those days!
Ok I hope this answered your safe sunscreen questions!! Have questions on other clean products, let me know!
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