Laura McKenna’s pick for the best sunscreen

This is a great example of “Do as I say, not as I do.”

Yesterday, I planted my garden and I didn’t use any sunscreen. Today, I’ve turned into a juicy red tomato. Ugh! And I know better!

May 27th is National Sunscreen Day for a reason. While I do love soaking up sunshine’s Vitamin D, a little goes a long way and a sunburn is counterproductive to healthy skin. I know all this and yet yesterday, I let my skin get blasted.

I also recently read a study that said that most sunscreen kinda sucks. The 2025 Annual Guide to Sunscreens was released by the Environmental Working Group.  The group looked at more than 22-hundred products and found less than 500 did a good job. 
Why are they so bad? The report indicated deceptive marketing practices, outdated formulas and potentially harmful ingredients that could pose health risks.  It also warned about the inhalation dangers associated with sunscreen sprays.

So not only does most of the junk not work to block the sun, it might lead to other non-sun related health issues. Well, that’s just great!

I struggled with this sunscreen dilemma when my now husband and I were packing up our suitcases to head to Jamaica two years ago for our destination wedding. I wanted a superb sun-blocking sunscreen that wouldn’t ruin the ocean, wouldn’t be full of unnecessary chemicals to give us cancer, and also stayed on through snorkeling and sweating.

That’s a tall order despite there being literally hundreds and thousands of options out there from creams to sprays. Just for fun, walk into the sunscreen aisle at your favorite store. There are sooooo many!

I didn’t want any with benzene or benzone. I didn’t want one with a ton of hard to distinguish ingredients. I wanted something natural. Reef safety was as important to me as sunblocking capacity. And I wanted it to work.

This is what we bought (after extensive searching and comparing) and I swear by it. Mineral-based, reef safe Zinc. Yup, that same stuff thick pasty white goop that lifeguards would smear on their noses. They did that because it works!

Badger brand Active Mineral Sunscreen Cream. It’s active ingredient is Zinc Oxide and inactive ingredients are just four (and they are normal things found in nature): Sunflower oil, Beeswax, Vitamin E, and a fruit extract.

I was out in the blasting hot Jamaica sun for 7 days from morning till dinnertime. I applied it once each morning and never again all day. And I never burned. Not even slightly.

So why didn’t I use my trusty zinc sunscreen yesterday in my garden? Because I’m a dummy. Do as I say, not as I do for healthy, happy skin this summer.

Want to chat with Laura McKenna about sunscreen? Email anytime, she’d love to hear from you: [email protected]
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