Check a bottleReef Label

Look up a bottle

Is this sunscreen reef-safe where you are going?

The word on the front of the bottle does not decide it. The ingredient list and the island do. The bans exist because some of those ingredients damage coral. See which ones.

Drug Facts

Search a brand we already checked, or type the ingredients from the back of the tube

Start with a name we already checked:

What PASS and FAIL mean

Each mark is one place. A bottle can be legal on Oahu and illegal on Maui. We read the Drug Facts. We have not worn these in the water. Read the method.

  • PASSFine for that place, on the ingredients we saw. The next island can still fail it.
  • FAILDoes not clear that place. Usually a listed filter or preservative.
  • MIXEDThe brand name is not enough. One bottle in the line, or one place, disagrees.

What each place requires

Full rules

Every bottle is marked against these six. They do not agree, which is why one tube can pass on Oahu and fail on Maui.

  • HI Act 104

    No oxybenzone, no octinoxate. Every other chemical filter is still legal.

  • Maui

    Mineral only. Zinc oxide or titanium dioxide has to be the UV filter.

  • Big Island

    Mineral only, the same bar as Maui. Oahu is not this strict.

  • USVI

    No oxybenzone, octinoxate, or octocrylene.

  • Palau

    Ten banned ingredients. A zinc lotion can still fail on phenoxyethanol.

  • HEL

    Not a law. The lab list most people mean when they say reef-safe.

Brands we have checked

All brands

MIXED usually means the mineral bottle is fine and the chemical one is not. Open the brand before you buy.

If you are packing for a trip

Start with the place. Every bottle we check is already scored against Palau and the US Virgin Islands.