OPT FOR (NON-NANO) ZINC OXIDE / TITANIUM OXIDE AS YOUR ONLY ACTIVE INGREDIENTS IN SUNSCREEN!
Sunscreen and many outdoorsy personal care items contain Petrochemical-Derived Additives. Not JUST there, they’re everywhere! In everyday items like shampoo, sunscreen, lotion, candles, bug sprays, and even outdoor gear.
They **don’t just affect humans**—wildlife is also impacted, disrupting entire ecosystems. At the end of the day, that convenient sunscreen in your backpack is a mix of petroleum-based chemicals that can harm your health and the environment. When you swim, sweat, or shower after applying sunscreen, these petrochemical ingredients wash or wear off and make their way into our waterways (yes all water is recycled and ends up in our environment) contributing to coral bleaching, harming marine life, and disrupting ecosystems. Many of these chemicals are **persistent pollutants**, meaning they don’t break down easily in the environment.
HOW THESE TOXIC CHEMICALS HARM YOUR BIOLOGY
🔬 **1. Hormone Disruption** Many petrochemicals act as **endocrine disruptors**, meaning they can mimic or block hormones like estrogen, testosterone, and thyroid hormones. 👉 **Example**: **Phthalates** (often in synthetic fragrances and plastics) can mess with reproductive hormones, leading to fertility issues, earlier puberty, or altered sexual development. 👉 **Example**: **Parabens** (often in cosmetics and lotions) can mimic estrogen, contributing to breast cancer risk or other hormone-related health problems.
🧠 **2. Neurotoxicity & Carcinogenicity (Cancer Risk)** Some of these petrochemicals are **neurotoxic**, especially solvents like **toluene** and **benzene** (carcinogen =known cause of leukemia.) 👉 Effects can range from headaches and dizziness to long-term impacts on memory, learning, and even mood.
🌿 3**. Skin and Respiratory Irritation** Many of these chemicals can cause **dermatitis (skin irritation)** or **asthma-like symptoms** through inhalation or skin contact. 👉 **Example**: Synthetic fragrances, especially those containing phthalates, can trigger asthma or allergies. 👉 **Example**: Certain synthetic UV filters in sunscreens can irritate skin and even cause photosensitivity.
🫀 4**. Bioaccumulation** Some petrochemicals **build up in fatty tissues**, slowly accumulating in your body over time. 👉 This means even small exposures can add up and cause worsening symptoms over time.
⚡ **How Does This Happen?** 1️⃣ **Absorption through skin** (lotions, sunscreens, shampoos) 2️⃣ **Inhalation** (burning candles, sprays, tiki torches) 4️⃣**Persistence**—these chemicals often stick around, not easily broken down or flushed out by the body. --
If you want a **cleaner, more eco-friendly alternative**, look for: ✅Choose mineral-based, fragrance-free, paraben-free alternatives. **Mineral sunscreens** (non-nano zinc oxide or titanium dioxide)
AVOID THESE SPECIFIC ACTIVE INGREDIENTS / UV FILTERS IN SUNSCREEN: the following contribute to coral bleaching, hormone disruption, can bioaccumulate in humans and environments, and can easily break down into carcinogens. **Oxybenzone - Widely documented hormone disruptor, linked to coral bleaching** **Octinoxate, - UV filter that disrupts hormones and damages coral** **Avobenzone** **Homosalate** **Octocrylene** Before you head out on your next backpacking, camping, fishing, hiking, kayaking, biking, paragliding, etc trip please arm yourself with this knowledge... Sunscreens — even ones that seem “safe” — are often built on a foundation of petroleum-derived chemicals. They can notoriously include synthetic fragrances, synthetic UV blockers, stabilizers and preservatives. Not only do these ingredients affect your health by acting as endocrine disruptors, but they also damage ecosystems, especially in waterways.
Let’s investigate what petrochemicals are hidden in our sunscreens and personal products. Where the chemicals go when we consume these products, how they effect us and the environment, and what we can do to lesson the abuse.You should be deeply concerned about the petrochemical overreach into our bodies and ecosystems. Petroleum has infiltrated into our personal care products; sunscreen, shampoo, bug spray — even though alternatives exist!
