How to Choose Non-Toxic Sunscreen & the Best Brands

Why wear sunscreen:

Wearing sunscreen is important if you are going to be spending time outdoors. We know that too much sun exposure can lead to early aging of the skin, sunburns, and contribute to skin cancer, so it is important to keep yourself and your family protected by wearing sunscreen or protective clothing.

However there is a lot of confusion out there when it comes to sunscreens. Between SPF numbers, active ingredients, and mineral sunscreens vs chemical sunscreens, it can be very hard to know which sunscreen is best.  Unfortunately, sunscreens can be made with ingredients that can have risks to human health, so I decided it was time to put together a guide to help you choose a non-toxic sunscreen that is not only safe, but also works well!

1. Higher SPF isn't always better

This is a confusing one for many people as most people have no idea what SPF actually means. SPF stands for sun protection factor. SPF refers to a sunscreen's ability to prevent UVB from damaging the skin or causing a sunburn (it doesn't indicate the product's ability to block UVA rays however).

This is how it works: if it takes 20 minutes for your unprotected skin to start turning red, using an SPF 15 sunscreen means that it will take 15 times longer for your skin to turn red (about five hours). So an SPF of 30 means it takes 30 times longer to start turning red, etc.

Most people also don't know what the differences are between the different SPF values and their ability to block the suns rays. Many people assume that choosing an SPF 100 means they would get double the protection compared to an SPF 50. Unfortunately this isn't correct.

The differences in protection between SPF 25, 30, 50 and 100 are extremely small. An SPF of 25 blocks 96% of the UVB rays, an SPF 30 blocks 97%, SPF 50 98%, and SPF 100 99%. No sunscreen can block 100% of the suns rays.

So by choosing an SPF 100 over an SPF of 30, you really aren't getting that much in addition protection from the sun (only 2%). People often get a false sense of security by choosing very high SPF sunscreens, but what you are often getting by choosing SPF values higher than 30 is exposure to more potentially harmful ingredients (keep reading for details on these ingredients).

Higher SPF products require higher concentrations of sun-filtering chemicals than lower SPF sunscreens. Unfortunately, many of these sun-filtering chemicals are not good for our health, being known to cause tissue damage and hormone disruption. They can also cause allergic skin reactions.

There is also no evidence that SPF's above 60 are any better at reducing skin damage and skin cancer risk compared to SPF values of 60 or lower. That is why the FDA has proposed that moving forward higher SPF sunscreens simply be labelled as SPF 60+.

2. Use mineral sunscreens, not chemical sunscreens

The active ingredients (the ones that protect you from burning) in sunscreens come in two forms: mineral and chemical filters. Most of the more common sunscreens on the market (think brands like Coppertone, Neutrogena, Banana Boat etc) are made with chemical filters.

The individual chemical sunscreen filters actually don't work that well when it comes to protecting skin from the sun. Because of this, they are often combined to help increase their effectiveness, so many of these sunscreens contain a combination of two to six of these chemical filters which come in the form of oxybenzone, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate and octinoxate.

Mineral sunscreens on the other hand use zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide and offer much better protection from the sun offering better UVA and UVB protection when compared to the chemical filters. Mineral sunscreens work by sitting on top of the surface of the skin, acting as a physical barrier to protect your skin from the sun's uv radiation. For this reason they are often referred to as physical sunscreens. 

Besides offering inferior protection from the sun, another problem with the chemical filters is that some of them can be bad for our health. Some of the chemical filters can act as hormone disruptors, and they can also cause allergic reactions. 

Of the chemical filters, oxybenzone is likely the most dangerous. It can act like an estrogen in the body and has anti-androgenic effects, as well as potentially causing allergic skin reactions. It's also been linked to birth defects and other pregnancy related problems.

And for breast feeding women, oxybenzone and other chemical filters can end up in your breast milk. And besides the health related concerns, oxybenzone is also bad for the environment and is destroying the coral reefs.

In contrast, mineral sunscreen ingredients don't penetrate the skin like chemical sunscreen ingredients do, so they can't impact your internal organs or hormones like chemical barriers can, and are therefore are a healthier and safer option.

Because of the concerns related to chemical sunscreen ingredients, the most recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommendations are that only zinc oxide and titanium dioxide can be recommended as generally safe and effective (GRASE) when it comes to sunscreens and that chemical sunscreen ingredients cannot be recommended as safe and effective.

When it comes to mineral sunscreen filters I suggest using zinc oxide based sunscreens if possible as it is known that zinc oxide is more effective than titanium dioxide. You also want to be sure to choose brands that are using non-nano zinc oxide. Nano particles can be harmful to our health and are easily inhaled so you want to avoid them.

3. Avoid fragrances

Fragrances are considered to be trade secrets which means that companies don't have to tell you what ingredients they are using to make their fragrances.

The problem with this is that fragrances can be made with many different ingredients, including chemicals known to cause endocrine disruption (including phthalates and parabens). Because of this I recommend avoiding any sunscreens with the words "fragrance", "perfume" or "parfum" in the ingredient list.

4. Avoid phthalates

Phthalates are a group of chemicals that allow fragrances to stick to your skin and last longer. Phthalates are found in most items that contain fragrance and can also be a part of the company’s “secret formulas” so that they don't have to be disclosed on the label. 

Studies show that DEP, DnBP and DiBP have estrogen-like properties and anti-androgenic properties. In other words, they disrupt your hormones and can cause hormone imbalances. They have also been linked to birth defects and infertility.

5. Avoid parabens

Parabens are used as preservatives, anti-bacterial agents and stabilizers in many skin care and cosmetic products. The parabens used most often in personal care products are methyl, ethyl, butyl and propyl paraben. Parabens have weak estrogenic and anti-androgenic activity and can be hormone disruptors or endocrine disruptors. Parabens have been linked to breast cancer, skin cancer, decreased sperm counts and infertility.

When you are reading labels, look for ingredients ending in "aben" as this will indicate a paraben.

6. Avoid benzene

Thousands of sunscreens have been recalled over the last few years due to their contamination with benzene. These include both chemical and mineral sunscreens, and many from popular brands including but not limited to Neutrogena, Sun Bum, Raw Elements, Banana Boat, EltaMD, Babyganics, Coppertone, Walgreens, Ethical Zinc, Max Block, La Roche Posay, Aveeno and more.

Benzene is a known carcinogen and can also cause other health issues such as aplastic anemia, so it really should not be in our sunscreen (or any other products for that matter). Be sure to keep an eye on the FDA and Health Canada recall lists to keep up-to-date on the latest sunscreen recalls related to benzene.

Note that because benzene is a contaminant it won't be listed on labels so it is very difficult to know if there is benzene in your sunscreen. Your best bet is to stick with brands that test their products for contaminants to ensure that harmful ingredients like benzene don't end up in them by mistake.

The 3 best non-toxic sunscreens:

There are many safer sunscreens on the market these days, and I have tried many of them. Sadly, I found that many of them don't work very well, or they are so thick and pasty that using them was very unpleasant. As such I have narrowed it down to my top 3 non-toxic sunscreens to save you the hassle that I went through.

ATTITUDE Sunscreen

ATTITUDE is a well known safe skincare brand that is readily available in many grocery stores, drug stores, and online, and their sunscreens are some of my favourites. 

The ATTITUDE sunscreen is vegan and cruelty free and they have recently changed their packaging to be plastic free so it's better for the environment. It's also reef safe and EWG Verified.

Things I like about this sunscreen:

• They offer both sunscreen lotions and sunscreen sticks. 
• I really like the plastic-free packaging as it's a more sustainable and environmentally friendly option. 
• They offer tinted sunscreen options which is great if you have darker skin.
• I find their sunscreen to be very hydrating and it rubs in easily.
• There is no white cast.

Cons:

• The brand doesn't do contaminant testing.

Get 10% off ATTITUDE products with this link: Shop for ATTITUDE sunscreen

Shop for ATTITUDE sunscreen on Amazon

All Good Sunscreen

All Good makes a variety of mineral sunscreens including sunscreen lotions and sticks. Their sunscreens are made with natural ingredients and are safe for babies 6 months and older. Their sunscreen is also biodegradable, Leaping Bunny Certified, hypoallergenic and gluten-free.

Pros:

• Is reef friendly and water resistant up to 80 minutes. 
• I also really like their lip SPF.
• The sunscreen is light weight and rubs in easily. It does not leave a white cast. 
• They make a tinted formula for darker skin tones. 

Cons:

• The company doesn't do contaminant testing. 
• The bottle is quite small so it doesn't last very long.

Shop for All Good sunscreen on Amazon

Shop for All Good sunscreen at Target

Beautycounter sunscreen

The Beautycounter sunscreen is my absolute favourite! It ranks really well on the Environmental Working Group (EWG) database, works really well, is broad-spectrum, is water resistant, and unlike other zinc oxide based sunscreens, it goes on nice and clear with no white cast. It's also a great option for children.

This mineral sunscreen is also great for sensitive skin and blocks blue light which most other brands do not. I use the Countersun Mineral Lotion for my body and the Sheer Defense Face Sunscreen for my face.

Note that Beautycounter is currently in transition and you can't currently purchase products from them, but their sunscreen should be available again in 2025 and I will update this post with active links when that happens.

Our expertise:

Dr. Erin Carter, MD, FRCPC, is a physician with board certifications in internal medicine and rheumatology. She is passionate about nutrition, environmental health and low toxicity living and has been doing research and publishing information in this area for years.