When the surf is up, your sunscreen needs to be ready to perform. Are you wondering what the best sunscreen for surfing is? Scroll on to find out.
Best Zinc surfing sunscreen for face and body
When the swell is strong and you’re riding the waves, you need sun protection that keeps your skin safe without harming the sea.
Zinc sunscreens have been the surfers’ sun cream choice for years, as they reflect away UV rays and are not linked with coral bleaching.
Our favourite Zinc sunscreen for surfers is the non-nano, certified organic 100% Mineral Sports+ Sun Cream SPF30.
Mineral Sports+ SPF30 Sun Cream 50ml
Reflect and protect during sport with this 100% mineral SPF30 sun cream
€33,95
The perfect size sunscreen for your beach bag, this water-repellent, high-factor SPF can be used on the face and body and contains non-nano Zinc Oxide sun filters which reflect and protect, shielding your skin from 97% of burning UVB rays while you’re out on the water.
Dermatologically tested and free from drying ethyl alcohol, it's a great sunscreen for surfers with sensitive skin. And it's not just skin-kind; it's sea-kind too. That is because this marine-friendly surfer sunscreen is both Oxybenzone-free and Octinoxate-free.
We’ve also got a version for men, which is part of our natural grooming range, Green People for Men:
Green People for Men No.4 Sports+ SPF30 Sun Cream 50ml
Enjoy outdoor sports with this 100% mineral SPF30 facial sun cream
€33,95
Best SPF for surfing holidays
Are you planning a surfer's holiday in Portugal, Australia or Cape Verde? The combination of windy shores and guaranteed sunshine might create excellent conditions for swell, but they’re also perfect weather conditions for sunburn, a known cause of skin cancer.
For those times when you aren’t on your surfboard, make sure you have our best-selling, high-factor SPF30 sunscreen. Applying it correctly and reapplying regularly will protect your skin from 97% burning UVB, but remember, no surfer sunscreen is entirely water resistant. To maintain protection, you’ll need to reapply as soon as you get out of the water.
Scent Free Sun Cream SPF30 200ml
Protect sensitive skin naturally with our best-selling SPF30 sun cream
€34,95
If you're surfing in a protected area, you should also be aware that some sunscreen ingredients may be banned as part of the fight to protect seas and marine life—more about that in the next section.
Protect our seas: choose marine-friendly sunscreen
Campaign groups like Surfers Against Sewage have played a pivotal role in helping to clean up our seas, but did you know that the ocean is also facing a challenge from sun cream ingredients? Thousands of tons of SPF slip off our skin and into the sea every year, and some sun care brands continue to use harmful ingredients for coral.
Oxybenzone and Octinoxate are two such ingredients and are thought to be so dangerous to coral populations, which are already threatened by rising sea levels, that they are banned in several reef areas, including Hawaii, the surfer's paradise.
So, how can surfers stay sun safe without compromising sea health? The answer is choosing a reef-safe surfer’s sun cream that contains no Oxybenzone or Octinoxate.
At Green People, we are proudly reef safe. We refuse to use Oxybenzone or Octinoxate in any of our products and are a proud Marine Conservation Society charity partner.
We also donate 20p to the MCS whenever you purchase a bottle of our best-selling Scent Free Sun Cream SPF30. To date, we have raised over £130,000, which the charity uses to support its beach cleaning initiatives.
Wetsuits and SPF
Have you ever tried getting into a wetsuit with sun-burnt skin? Ouch! Despite the known risks of sunburn and skin cancer, some surfers skip their SPF because they worry that chemicals in sunscreen can transfer to their suits, deteriorating the neoprene.
We understand that when you've splashed out on a new wet suit, you don’t want to risk damaging it, but the reality is that your wetsuit won’t cover all of you. You’ll also more than likely be out on the water for a while, meaning you’re at risk of sunburn, even on a cloudy day.
To avoid surfers' sunburn, you should apply sunscreen liberally and regularly, especially to exposed areas of your skin, including your legs, calves, face, neck, feet and arms.
This is where a Zinc sunscreen for surfers pays dividends. Unlike chemical sunscreens (which can take up to 30 minutes to work), mineral SPF works almost instantly.
That means that instead of applying your sun cream and getting into your wet suit while it absorbs (risking any excess sunscreen transferring onto the neoprene), you can zip up your suit, slap on the sunscreen onto any areas of exposed skin, and get straight out into the surf. Win, win!
3 tips for staying sun safe while you surf
Hayden works in our marketing team and is a keen surfer. Here are his top tips for staying sun safe in the surf.
- Always apply a high-factor sunscreen and seek shade as soon as you come out of the water.
- Surfers have a tendency to only put a strip of Zinc sun cream below their eyes. For top-to-toe protection apply to the whole of your face, as well as your neck, feet, ankles, hands and wrists - anywhere your wet suit doesn’t cover!
- Leaving your sun cream out on the sand risks depleting it protective properties. To keep it cool while you surf, pack it in the middle of your bag, and ideally, in the shade.
We hope that you have found our guide to surfers’ sunscreen helpful. To find the best sun cream for your next surf trip, whether in the UK or abroad, take a look at our sports sunscreens or check out our SPF finder quiz.
This blog post has been reviewed by Charlotte Vøhtz, founder of Green People, who has 25+ years of experience in the natural and organic beauty industry. A recognised leader in the field of organic beauty, Charlotte helped inform the UK's first organic beauty standards and was voted the People’s Choice in the 2023 and 2024 list of Who’s Who in Natural Beauty. A published author, she wrote the organic beauty bible ‘Naturally Gorgeous’. Previously, she qualified as a nurse and spent over 10 years working in pharmaceuticals
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