Raw Elements Face and Body Natural Sunscreen, $17.49, available at Amazon
Chemical-based sunscreen is really noxious stuff, and as someone who spends a lot of time outdoors, the last thing I want to do is poison the very reefs which both dazzle and feed me. Oxybenzone, one of the primary ingredients in chemical-based sunscreens, is a chemical that we know almost nothing about, other than it kills corals.
The other side of the coin is that natural, mineral-based sunscreens are predominantly made with thick, gloppy zinc that leaves us looking like The Friendly Ghost. Raw Elements’ Face and Body is among the best solutions I’ve tried, and if you make sure to apply it well ahead of your day outside, it will soak in very well, and stay there better than most chemical-based alternatives. Their plastic-free tins are also a nice touch, and I reuse them for just about anything and everything. — Owen Burke