Our family uses A LOT of sunscreen. While I have read that most people buy just one package of sunscreen per summer, our family, a ragtag conglomeration of swedish, irish, english, spanish and dutch decent, has paler than pale skin. When I was a child I experienced burns, blisters, and peeling but new sunscreens are miraculous. As long as we slather on these miracle potions at regular intervals we can spend a day outside without frying ourselves.
We have used all forms of sunscreen–lotions, spays, and sticks. And we have used a lot of it. So we have used tubes and bottles of lotion, cans of spray and tubes of stick sunscreen. All of these packages of been made of, or included, plastic. At the same time, certain chemical ingredients in sunscreen, such as oxybenzone, have come under fire, and propellants in aerosol cans of sunscreen have been called out for global warming impact.
So, I have been on the lookout for a mineral based sunscreen, without propellants, in a plastic-free package. Sounds like a unicorn, right?
The Sunscreen Unicorn?
But then I found Badger sunscreen in a metal tin. Using nano particle zinc as the active ingredient, rather than reef-damaging chemicals, this sunscreen met all of my requirements.
I did notice that the tin was a little small, but I thought maybe a little would go a long way. But what I actually found was that you can only use small amounts of this product at a time. The balm is very firm and, even on a hot summer day, it does not get softer. It is nearly impossible to get much of this on your hand to spread on your skin. As I mentioned before, my family needs to really slather on the sunscreen, and this product makes that really difficult.
Perfect for Your Face
What I did find, is that I could get enough of this product out of the package to cover my face. I like the balm texture for my face because it is easy to spread it where I want, and control it so it doesn’t get where I don’t want it (my eyes). This is also a little greasy, but I liked the moisturizing feeling on my face.
So, while this doesn’t completely solve my sunscreen search, I did find a great sunscreen for my face.
Keep Searching
Since summer is upon us, I will continue my search for a plastic-free sunscreen. In the meantime, I am using sunscreen in aluminum cans. Yes, the nozzle and the cap are plastic. But these are made with much less plastic than tubes or bottles, and the aluminum can is recyclable when completely empty.
Leave a comment below if you are able to find a plastic-free sunscreen. My whole pale family will thank you for it!
Things I Love:
- Plastic-free!
- Mineral sunscreen instead of chemical sunscreen–active ingredient is zinc oxide
- Reef-safe
- Perfect for my face, and won’t leak in my purse
Things I Don’t Love:
- Product is a balm which is hard to get out of the package and spread on your skin
- A little greasy
Product Info:
- I bought this at Whole Foods, but I have also seen it available at Walgreens and REI. Also available online.
- SPF 40 or SPF 50
- https://www.badgerbalm.com/collections/mineral-sunscreen
Badger Mineral Sunscreen Rating
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