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Which sunscreen will you be using in Hawaii?

Two chemicals are at the root of the Hawaiian state legislators ginning up a bill to ban certain sunscreen for sale and use in the waters of Hawaii. These chemicals are oxybenzone and octinoxate and they are believed to contribute to the destruction of the state’s coral reefs, stunt or deform the growth of sea life, including fish, and causes neurological damage to fish.

The bill, SB2571 - was introduced by Senator Michael Gabbard, who, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser,” said “So, Hawaii is definitely on the cutting edge by banning these dangerous chemicals in sunscreens.” Governor David Ige is expected to sign the bill, which will take affect as law on 01 January 2019.

Specifically the bill bans the sale of any SPF sunscreen which contains oxybenzone or octinoxate or both, without a medically-licensed prescription.

Securely Travel - Hawaii Sunscreen — Coppertone product with oxybenzone

Interestingly, when one conducts a search on either of the chemicals the results reveal a plethora of articles urging customers and sun-worshipers not to use these products, and just as many suggesting that any risk is way over blown. With the passage of this bill, a number of brands will have to retool their ingredients or lose the Hawaiian market.

No doubt travelers will be asking, what is the safe and legal sunscreen?

Dangerous Sunscreen

A few products which, according to their “labels” will be affected include a number of Coppertone and a number of beauty products. We list a few for your edification.

And an example of a beauty product line which uses Octinozate

Girogio Armani Beauty Maestro Fusion Octinoxate SPF 15

Safe Sunscreen

Products which appear to not contain the prohibited chemicals include, a few Coppertone and a number of “natural” ingredient entities, many of them located in Hawaii. All of these producers indicate they make a sunscreen without oxybenzone and octinoxate. These sunscreen products are also safe for reefs.

To check to see if your favorite sunscreen product will be ok for use in Hawaii, you can use the National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine - Daily Med lookup tool. This tool will provide you with the most current version of the label for most (not all) such products.

For those interested in finding products which will pass muster with respect to the presence of oxybenzone or octinoxate, I commend your attention to the Safe Sunscreen Council, a coalition of companies working to raise public awareness about the impact of sunscreen ingredients may have on people and the planet. The members sell products which are safe.

We have provided links to some of these products.

(Note: If you purchase via one of the below links, we may receive a small commission from the sellers as disclosed in our privacy statement and affiliate disclosure)