Yonder Zinc Sun Protection

Across the globe surfers use zinc as a barrier to the sun; the sun’s harmful rays reflect off the surface of the water meaning that the sun can be more intense for surfers. Surfers are three times more likely than non-surfers to get melanoma, the most serious strand of skin cancer.

At Yonder we wanted to create a zinc product that was made in the UK for UK surfers and UK temperatures. A lot of the products we tested in the research phase of development were from Indonesia or Australia - the ambient temperature is a lot higher on average and therefore the products feel a bit firmer here than they were designed to feel for use where they were designed. We also loved the fact that we could work with the talented Sally-Ann at Goodness Gracious Green to develop the product. We tested lots of existing products and then went through the process of testing and gathering feedback on the various recipes. We could ensure that the product was natural, moisturising and worked exactly how we like it.

 
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Why use Zinc?

Zinc is a popular product amongst surfers for many reasons -

  • It is a physical barrier to the sun

  • Zinc doesn’t run, therefore it doesn’t get in your eyes when surfing

  • It is a natural product which can be produced without chemicals

  • Zinc isn’t harmful to our oceans

“There are only two physical sunscreen ingredients approved by the FDA: zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. It’s been thought that physical sunscreens create a protective barrier on the surface of your skin that reflects and scatters UV rays away from your body. However, recent research suggests that physical sunscreens actually protect skin by absorbing up to 95 percent of the rays.”

Some top tips from Save The Reef when choosing a surf sun screen are as follows -

Check the label! Make sure your sunscreen does not contain the following harmful substances-

  • Oxybenzone

  • Octinoxate

  • Octocrylene

  • Homosalate

  • 4-methylbenzylidene camphor

  • PABA

  • Parabens

  • Triclosan

  • Any nanoparticles or “nano-sized” zinc or titanium (if it doesn’t explicitly say “micro-sized” or “non-nano” and it can rub in, it’s probably nano-sized)

  • Any form of microplastic, such as “exfoliating beads”

Of course, our sunscreen doesn’t contain any of these!

It is available in 60ml tins which will last you a good few surf sessions (we estimate between 60 sessions).

 
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