Imagine this:

You're on day one of your beach trip and you cannot wait to feel the fine white sand in between your toes and the salty water in your hair. As you're setting up your beach sitting area, you reach for your sunscreen...did you pack your biodegradable sunscreen? If you didn't, you could be unintentionally harming our precious marine life!

There are so many different types of sunscreens and they are all targeted towards different people and their activities. You have your day to day sunscreen that is in your everyday makeup, tanning oil for that royal Hawaii tan, and even your 100 SPF sunscreen for those who do not wish to burn.

However, there is not enough attention being brought to the importance of wearing sunscreen that is also safe not only for you but for marine life in our oceans. The truth of the matter is that if you are planning on getting inside any body of water you should consider buying biodegradable sunscreen to avoid harming marine life, from coral reefs to massive manatees. On your excursion, if you are planning on snorkeling, surfing, paddleboarding, scuba diving, or just floating in the water, you risk the sunscreen coming off of your body and contaminating the water, even if it is a waterproof brand.

Now, if you find this of importance to you and marine life (which you should), you might be asking,

"Ok, so what sunscreens can I wear to help protect marine life?"

Look no further, these are some phrases you should be looking for when you purchase your new sunscreen:

Non-nano Zinc Oxide

Oxybenzone Free

Non-Oxybenzone

Paraben-Free

Reef Safe/ Reef Friendly

Coral Safe/ Coral Friendly

Don't use sunscreen that contains octinoxate, oxybenzone, 4-methyl benzylidene, PABA, butylparaben, or camphor.

While it may seem like it will be a daunting task to find some reef-friendly sunscreens, don't panic! There are an array of different sunscreens to choose from. You could do a quick online search or visit your local health food specialty store. A small step is still a step in the right direction to save our precious marine life.

Now, grab that sunscreen, and don't forget to reapply!