Is sun cream vegan?
The short answer to this question is no however with a little research and knowing what to look for you can easily find some vegan sunscreens which incorporate being cruelty free, natural and ones that are also eco friendly. Some of the sun creams that I have researched are not totally reef friendly so it depends on what you want the sunscreen for.
In this article you will find out which of your favourite sunscreens or sun creams are not just vegan friendly but cruelty free and environmentally friendly too.
Top tip is to do your research and look for the vegan, cruelty free, natural and reef friendly symbols to know how you are supporting your vegan lifestyle.
With summer quickly approaching I’ve been looking into what could be the best vegan sunscreen to wear to ensure that I am buying something affordable, smells nice, but is also cruelty free, non toxic to the environment and has natural ingredients that keep my skin safe from the sun’s rays. A lot of things to consider.
These days products are bombarded with all different types of labels, so it can be confusing to find 100% vegan friendly products. For example they could say natural organic or paraben free, this may mean it still could have an animal product or have been tested on animals. So you need to look for the vegan symbol, or the cruelty free symbol and then look at the ingredients list to be totally sure you are buying a vegan sunscreen.
Keys things to consider, when looking for your cruelty free sunscreen:
- Are the products advertising that they are vegan and or cruelty free.
- Do they state that they source organic or natural ingredients in their product.
- That there is no palm oil
- That the ingredients that they have sourced are ethical
- What is the packaging like? Can it be recycled? Is it combustible or can it be reused?
My top recommended vegan sunscreen:
Best all round Vegan/cruelty free Sunscreen: Kiss my face sunblock SPF 30
Best Cruelty Free Sunscreen for swimming: Green people SPF 15 Sunscreen
Best Vegan moisturizer with SPF: Avalon organics vegan moisturiser SPF 10
Best Cruelty Free Sunscreen for Kids: Natures gate vegan sunscreen SPF 50
Best Cruelty Free Sunscreen Spray: Alba Sunscreen Spray
Best Cruelty Free Sun Screen for the Beach: Sun Bum Original
Best Cruelty Free Sunscreen for allergies: Australian Gold Sunscreen
Best Cruelty Free Sunscreen for everyday: Drunk Elephant Umbra
01– Kiss My Face Sunblock
Kiss My Face Face Factor Natural Sunscreen SPF 30 Sunblock for Face and Neck, 2 Ounce
This formula offers broad spectrum protection and is rich in antioxidant Green Tea and Licorice extracts. Hyaluronic acid, Hydresia olesomes, and Aloe and Cucumber extracts hydrate and soothe for beautiful skin every day. Hydresia is nature’s moisturizer nurtured from safflower seeds. Hydresia olesomes are little “capsules” of oil that collapse at varying rates on your skin, providing controlled release of ultra-moisturizing properties
This product by Kiss my face is a moisturizing sunscreen with an SPF of 30 it’s non greasy and very light weight. It’s ideal for on the go as it absorbs quickly into the skin. It is water resistant for up to forty minutes and is reasonably priced.
02 – Green people sunscreen
Green People Organic Sun Lotion SPF30 Scent Free 200ml
SPF30 natural sun lotion suitable for all skin types. Ideal for ultra sensitive skin and suitable for people prone to eczema and prickly heat. water resistant,with high UV protection. Moisturising to minimise peeling.
This company has a huge range of sun cream products to choose from. They even have starter packs available at a reasonable price. All of their sun care products are 100% vegan they are not tested on animals and have no animal derived products. They use a unique blend of green tea, rosemary edelweiss extracts and non toxic UV filters
03 – Avalon Organics Moisturizer
Avalon Organics Intense Defense Sheer Moisture SPF 10 Moisturizer, 1.7 oz.
Avalon Organics Intense Defense Sheer Moisture SPF 10 Moisturizer nourishes skin while protecting it against incidental daily UV exposure, leaving it feeling soft, smooth and protected. Made with a blend of organic botanicals and essential oils, our plant-based lotion is infused with vitamin C, white tea and lemon bioflavonoids to defend skin from environmental stressors such as UV rays and pollution while preventing premature signs of aging.
This product is a moisturizer however it’s too good not to mention here, as it will protect your skin a little from the sun’s rays. You need to look at the intense defence cream with an SPF of 10 it defends the skin from UV rays and pollution. The antioxidants in this cream help to prevent signs of ageing and they neutralize these affects.
04 – Alba Sunscreen Spray
Alba Botanica Hawaiian Sunscreen Clear Spray, SPF 50, Coconut, 6 Oz
Protect your skin from harmful UVA and UVB rays with Alba Botanica Coconut Oil Hawaiian Clear Spray SPF 50 Sunscreen. This lightweight sunscreen is made with a silky oil blend that absorbs quickly for a smooth finish without a heavy or greasy feeling. Botanical emollients such as coconut extract, shea butter and avocado oil nourish and moisturize your skin.
This is an amazing smelling sunscreen made with all natural ingredients, easy to apply on your own and for kids to use independently. It is water resistant for up to 80 minutes. It is made from coconut extract, shea butter and avocado oil, which sounds good enough to eat.
05 – Sun Bum Original
Sun Bum Original SPF 50 Sunscreen Lotion | Vegan and Reef Friendly (Octinoxate & Oxybenzone Free) Broad Spectrum Moisturizing UVA/UVB Sunscreen with Vitamin E | 8 oz
This moisturizing sunscreen formula will protect your skin from harmful UVA/UVB rays while enriching your skin with Vitamin E, an antioxidant that helps to neutralize free radicals, which are the main cause of premature skin aging.
This brand has a range of different SPF sun creams as well as ones for face and body. This product was designed especially for people who spend all day on the beach in and out of the water. They recommend applying before sun exposure and to reapply every 2 hours.
06 – Australian Gold Sunscreen
Australian Gold Botanical Spf 50 and Tinted Face Twin Pack, 8 Ounce
Two great items, The Australian Gold botanical SPF 50 tinted face mineral lotion and the Australian Gold botanical SPF 50 mineral lotion are bundled to offer a special value.
This is a great sunscreen for those of you who are hypoallergenic and are wanting a product that is great for sensitive skin but also has no fragrance. This products gives you everything you need to ensure you stay safe in the sun but also you are protecting the environment and the animals. 100% Cruelty Free
07 – Drunk Elephant Umbra
Drunk Elephant Umbra Sheer Daily Defense – Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen with Marula Oil. (3 Ounce)
With a mission to deliver clinically-effective, clean skincare products formulated with both cutting-edge synthetic and natural ingredients, Drunk Elephant knows that every ingredient should directly benefit the health of your skin or the safety of the formulation.
Drunk Elephant are our go to skincare range at the moment, they pride themselves on using all natural ingredients, making them all 100% Vegan and 100% Cruelty Free. This is an excellent everyday sunscreen during the sunnier months for keeping your skin young and youthful.
Eco- friendly and Cruelty Free Sun cream.
Eco friendly sun cream is something else vegans may need to consider as most of us normally buy our sunscreen for our holidays where we are going to be in and out of the sea or ocean, so we also want to consider the impact of the sunscreen we are wearing when a little of it washes off of us into the water.
Here you need to look for sunscreen that is biodegradable so that it’ll break down quicker in the water, also if your sunscreen is water resistant then it is unlikely to seep into the water when you are wearing it.
At the moment trying to cover all bases so that the sunscreen is right for you, that it’s vegan and is ok for the environment is actually quite hard, especially keeping it within cost.
Hopefully with the growing demand for more vegan products this will only encourage more companies to adapt and think about growing and incorporating these aspects into their products.
Unfortunately many of the big brand sun creams are not 100% vegan which does make finding them on the high street that little bit harder.
Is malibu sun cream vegan?
Malibu sun cream tends to have beeswax in some of their products, and they test their products on human volunteers. So it may have the cruelty free symbol however most of their products are not 100% vegan.
Best vegan sunscreen in Superdrug
Superdrug is acutely aware of the demand for vegan products and as a high street store I find it to be very accommodating with its variety of vegan products it offers. There most affordable and vegan friendly sunscreen is Solait.
Is Solait vegan?
Solait sun cream is vegan and cruelty free, it has a huge range of SPF and is affordable and can be found on the high street. A great all rounder for the quickly approaching summer.
What Sunscreen is cruelty free?
Our top vegan and cruelty free sunscreens:
- KORRES
- Bondi Sands
- Mimitika
- JASON
- The Ordinary
- Green People
- PIXI Sun Mist.
- Natures Gate
- Kiss my Face
- Alba
- Australian Gold
- Ocean Potion
- Pacifica
- Paula’s Choice
- Kate Sommerville
- Drunk Elephant
Finding zero waste/Eco friendly and Vegan sunscreen.
I have recently been becoming more aware of the zero waste schemes that are becoming more and more predominant. Finding products that try and meet all of these criteria can be increasingly difficult.
So I think that you need to way up what is right for you, and if we all try and think about one or 2 of these things and our impact on the environment then little by little we will be doing what is right for us and the planet.
Zero waste sunscreens that aren’t vegan.
With zero waste products you need to look at the packaging and try and buy non plastic based packaging. Some also then look at the carbon based footprint. I would suggest if this is something that is important to you that buy products that are zero waste that are produced locally to wear you live.
Products that you can buy in tins or cardboard packaging are the ones that I have found that are the most environmentally friendly and they are made with natural products like Shea butter or coconut oil for example. The only problem is that most of the sunscreens I have found contain beeswax which is a non negotiable for most vegans as it is a product derived from animals.
If you are a vegan who does not mind buying products that are produced by bees then the sunscreen made from All good could be something that you consider as it is a zero waste product and only has 6 ingredients.
They are all natural ingredients so if you’re looking for that balance than there are a lot of plus points and the beeswax that is in it is organic.
Another product that I would recommend but again has beeswax in it is Avasol, it comes in a handy stick and this company are all about supplying natural sunscreen for surfers.
So if you are someone who enjoys the outdoors and specifically being in the water then this could be the product for you. Dirty Hippy is another company with fantastic zero waste products but one of the ingredients is organic beeswax.
Vegan, cruelty free and zero waste sunscreen
This zero waste company has a few different products in their sun care range, their products come in glass jars, they have not been tested in laboratories and therefore they have no guarantee on the SPF. Just continue to use responsibly and using your common sense.
Here is a list of the products they sell:
- Life Guard Sunscreen with Red Raspberry (suggests and SPF of 25 – 50)
- Sun Shade Natural UV Inhibitor ( a moisturizer with sun protection)
- Red Raspberry oil
This sunscreen prides itself on being a family friendly sunscreen with an SPF of 40, its natural and organic with no harmful toxins. It nourishes the skin whilst also protecting you from the sun’s rays.
Ingredients: Sweet Almond Oil, Almond Milk, Shea Butter, Fair Trade Coconut Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil and Essential Oil, Zinc Oxide non nano, Red Raspberry Oil, Pomegranate Seed Oil, Lavender Essential Oil, Optiphen Plus Preservative.
