Protect Your Skin, Save the Planet

First some bad news. Coral reefs are in a grave position, disappearing fast around the world—according to the Coral Reef Alliance, as much as one-third of all reef-building corals are at risk of extinction. Now the better news: If you care about marine life, or the humans that rely on it, there’s a pretty easy way you can do your own small part to reduce the deterioration of these important natural ecosystems: If you’re still using chemical sunscreen, switch over to a mineral sunscreen, aka physical sunscreen. These “reef-safe” or “reef-friendly” products don’t hurt sea creatures and are just as effective at protecting your skin from the sun as the chemical kind. And you won’t risk sensitizing your skin, either.

At Drunk Elephant, we do love the earth and want to protect it, but we also have other reasons for choosing mineral sunscreens. In fact, chemical sunscreens are on our verboten list—the Suspicious 6. These are the six ingredients (also including essential oils, drying alcohols, silicones, fragrances/dyes, and SLS) that we will never add to our products because we’ve found they are at the root of most skin problems you may encounter. If you remove these ingredients from your routine, your skin can reset to its healthiest, happiest state.