Sunscreen guides
Plain-language explainers for every filter we offer. What each one means, why it matters, and which products pass.
For Sensitive Skin
Filters for reactive, dry, or condition-prone skin.
Fungal Acne Safe Sunscreens
Sunscreens screened for Malassezia triggers — the fatty acids, esters, and oils that feed the yeast behind fungal acne. Every ingredient checked, not just the actives.
Read guideFragrance-Free Sunscreens
Genuinely fragrance-free sunscreens. We screen for parfum and fragrance, plus the individual fragrance allergens the EU requires by name — including the ones hiding in essential oils.
Read guideAlcohol-Free Sunscreens
Sunscreens without drying alcohols like ethanol, alcohol denat, and isopropyl alcohol — and why the fatty alcohols on the same label are not the problem.
Read guideDye-Free Sunscreens
Sunscreens with no synthetic azo or coal-tar dyes. Why these colorants are purely cosmetic, and why mineral iron-oxide tints are a different thing entirely.
Read guideFormaldehyde-Free Sunscreens
Sunscreens free of formaldehyde-releasing preservatives — DMDM hydantoin, quaternium-15, diazolidinyl urea — and the gentler preservative systems that replace them.
Read guideFormulation & Body Safety
UV filter type and what gets absorbed into the body.
Mineral Sunscreens (Physical Sunscreens)
Mineral (physical) sunscreens that use only zinc oxide and titanium dioxide — no chemical UV filters. How they differ from chemical sunscreens and how to dodge white cast.
Read guideWater-Resistant Sunscreens
Water-resistant sunscreens tested to hold their SPF for 40 or 80 minutes in water. What the ratings mean, when to reapply, and why no sunscreen is waterproof.
Read guideHormone Safe Sunscreens
Sunscreens free of the chemical UV filters with confirmed endocrine-disruptor evidence — oxybenzone and octinoxate — and why skin absorption is the heart of the issue.
Read guideEnvironmental Impact
Filters for protecting reefs and waterways.
Microplastic-Free Sunscreens
Sunscreens free of solid synthetic polymers — polyethylene, nylon-12, acrylate copolymers — flagged against the Beat the Microbead RED list and EU restrictions.
Read guideReef-Safe Sunscreens
Sunscreens free of oxybenzone and octinoxate — the two UV filters with the strongest evidence of coral harm and the broadest bans, from Hawaii to Palau.
Read guideEthics & Sourcing
Cruelty-free, vegan, and brand ownership filters.
Cruelty-Free Sunscreens
Sunscreens from brands that don't test on animals. How cruelty-free certification works, why China sales complicate it, and how it differs from vegan.
Read guideVegan Sunscreens
Sunscreens with no animal-derived ingredients. The non-vegan ingredients that hide in sunscreen — beeswax, carmine, lanolin — and how vegan differs from cruelty-free.
Read guideFounder-Owned Sunscreen Brands
Sunscreens from founder-owned, independent brands rather than private-equity-held ones — and what tends to change to a formula after an acquisition.
Read guide