Let’s Talk Sunscreen (Ugh, Do We Have To?)
Let’s get one thing straight from the start: We hate sunscreen. We hate the way it feels, smells, smears, and somehow always ends up in our eyeballs no matter how careful we think we are being. If we can avoid it, we do. But sometimes—like when we spend all day marinating in the crystal-clear waters of Honduras—sunscreen becomes a necessary evil. And when we say all day, we mean all day. We're talking sunrise to sunset: in the water, on the water, near the water, contemplating life by the water. Basically, we're honorary sea creatures.
So picture it—Belize, 2019. we thought we were being conscientious choosing Sun Bum over Coppertone and felt eco-aware. Until we hop on a boat to swim with stingrays and nurse sharks (casual), and the captain spots our bottle and hits us with a horrified, “No, please—not that stuff. It's poison to our waters.” Cue the shame spiral. We’re like, great, we are trying to avoid serious sunburn and now we are personally responsible for killing Nemo.
Thankfully, our captain had a local, reef-safe alternative on board. Unvetted. Unfamiliar. Un-reviewed. I, being the mom I am, was nervous—it hadn't gone through my usual sleuthing ritual. But we were also already in the middle of the ocean with zero options, so… screw it. Let’s save the reef and hope we don’t end up looking like overcooked lobster. Spoiler alert: we survived. Unfried. Mostly glowing (in a good way).
Fast-Forward: Smarter Sunscreen Choices
Next ocean adventure, we were determined to come prepared with products that didn’t make Mother Nature cry—or give us an existential crisis. So we did what any responsible sun-worshippers would do: fell down a rabbit hole of ingredient labels, Amazon reviews, and “Top 10 Reef-Safe Sunscreens” lists. We landed on All Good. And honestly? It was pretty solid. Reef-safe, non-toxic, didn’t smell like fake coconut nightmares. The only downside? It took some serious elbow grease to rub in those white streaks. I mean, we worked for that coverage.
Then—ugh—an ad popped up. You know those “miracle” products that haunt you on social media until you cave? Yeah, one of those. But something about this one spoke to me. Maybe it was the words “beef tallow” and “sunscreen” in the same sentence (we had already made the switch to beef tallow soap and beef tallow moisturizer so, why not?). We ordered a single tube of Sol and Sky Beef Tallow Sunscreen for our next trip.
OMG.
No burning eyes. No ghostly white residue. No sticky sand-magnet feeling. Just rich, nourishing moisture and zero sunburns. Our whole crew was obsessed. This is it. This is our holy grail. Our ride-or-die. Our “fine, we’ll wear sunscreen if we have to” solution.
But Let’s Get Real for a Minute
Have you actually looked at what’s in mainstream sunscreens? It’s basically a periodic table of problems:
Oxybenzone
Octinoxate
Homosalate
Octocrylene
Avobenzone
…and the list goes on like a dermatological horror story.
These little chemical gremlins have been linked to coral reef bleaching, hormone disruption, skin irritation, and even free radical damage—which is ironic, considering you’re wearing them to protect your skin.
Oh, and fun fact: Skin cancer rates have actually increased since sunscreen became a daily staple. Let that marinate. Sunscreen was introduced somewhere around the 1930s–1940s, when skin cancer was relatively rare. Now in 2025, we’re told the sun is the enemy, and that we should lather ourselves in lab goo every single day—indoors, outdoors, maybe even in our sleep? Seriously?
The Sun Isn’t the Villain Here
Our bodies are literally designed to work with the sun. Hello, Vitamin D—remember her? She’s kind of a big deal for immunity, mood, hormones, bones, and a million other functions. But if we’re constantly blocking the sun’s rays with hats, long sleeves, and SPF 10,000, we’re starving ourselves of one of the most natural nutrients we can get.
Are we saying the sun is totally harmless? No. We are not out here recommending you roast yourself at high noon like a Thanksgiving turkey. But we are saying the benefits of mindful sun exposure far outweigh the fear-based narrative we've been fed.
Now Here’s Where It Gets a Little Weird (and I Love It)
There’s this theory floating around—maybe you’ve heard it—that exposing your eyes to sunlight (read: ditch the sunglasses) can help regulate your circadian rhythm, improve your mood, and reset your sleep cycles. Supposedly, letting that morning light hit your eyeballs triggers natural hormone production: cortisol for energy, melatonin for sleep. Some folks even claim it reduces sun sensitivity overall, making you less likely to burn. Now, we haven’t gone full sun-worshipper with our eyeballs, but we have started skipping the sunglasses unless we’re at the beach or legit squinting.
Used to be, none of us could walk outside without our shades—instant eye pain, waterworks, the whole drama. But now? We barely notice. And weirdly enough, we kind of like the light. Go figure.
TL;DR:
Sunscreen isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
The sun isn’t the villain—we just need to respect it.
There are non-toxic, reef-safe options that work (hi, Sol and Sky).
And yes, your eyeballs might benefit from catching a few rays too.
So next time you pack for the beach, maybe skip the chemical cocktail in a bottle. Your skin, your sleep, your mood—and maybe even a few stingrays—will thank you.
