To stay healthy, it is important to keep the body’s organs in good shape. The heart, lungs, kidneys, and skin need to be given a regular diet of healthy foods and exercise to protect them from damage. You can also protect your skin by wearing sunscreen when you’re going to be outside. Coola Sunscreen has a great line of products that’s definitely worth looking into.
How does Sunscreen Protect Skin?
Exposure to the sun can damage skin and cause skin cancer. To prevent skin cancer, which is also known as melanoma, dermatologists recommend that people use a broad spectrum sunscreen, that can resist water and is at least SPF 30.
What does Board Spectrum Mean?
A broad- or full-spectrum sunscreen, like Coola sunscreen, protects the skin from both forms of ultraviolet light, UVA, and UVB. This is important because the sun emits UV light and it damages skin.
UVA, or Long range ultraviolet light A, can penetrate the thickest layer of skin, which is known as the dermis. It causes premature aging of the skin, including wrinkling. Since it penetrates deep into the skin, it can destroy collagen and deprive skin of its elasticity.
Short wave ultraviolet light B, UVB, burns the outside layers of skin and causes the development of skin cancer. However, by using a board-spectrum sun lotion or spray, you can prevent sunburns and wrinkling caused by both forms of UV light.
Molecules Protecting Skin
To block UV rays from the sun, sunscreens contain molecules that specifically block the activity that can cause damage. The Food and Drug Administration in the United States regulates these protective lotions and sprays like a drug and allows 14 molecules to protect against UVB light but only two for UVA light.
The two molecules which prevent the most sun damage is avobenzone, which is a chemical filter, and zinc oxide, that physically blocks UVA light. Chemical filters are absorbed into the skin to protect it, and blockers reflect UV rays.
What is SPF?
The sun protection factor, or SPF, is also important when it comes to protecting skin. The SPF of a sun spray or lotion tells you how well it can protect skin. The higher the number, the better it protects against UVB rays.
SPF is a measurement of how long you can stay outside without burning. For instance, if you start getting a sunburn after 10 minutes without protection, applying a lotion with the SPF factor of 15 allows you to stay outside for 150 minutes, or 15 times longer.
A lotion with the SPF of 30 blocks 97% of UVB rays and allows you to spend 300 minutes longer outside if correctly applied. Otherwise, its protection significantly drops. To correctly apply sunscreen, use about an ounce to fully cover your body and reapply it after two hours.
Allow for Vitamin D Absorption
While dermatologists recommend that people always wear sunscreen, it can block your body’s ability to absorb Vitamin D from the sun. Vitamin D helps the body better absorb calcium, it boosts the skin’s immune system, and it helps develop skin cells and repair them.
Being outside for 20 to 40 minutes allows up to 10,000 IU of Vitamin D, but you don’t need that much every day. The daily recommended dosage is 1,000 to 4,000 IUs. So, 10 minutes of sun exposure should be enough to absorb Vitamin D from the sun.
How does Coola Sunscreen Protect Skin?
Instead of relying on chemicals to protect skin from sun rays, some sunscreen makers use organic ingredients to provide protection. Most organic lotions or sprays use chemical filters to prevent damage from the sun.
Coola uses carbon-based chemical filters, which means they are organic, to provide protection. These ingredients include avobenzone, oxtinoxate, and octisalate in small percentages. Octocrylene is also used to help moisturize skin while in the sun.
The ingredients in Coola products depends on what type of product it is and whether it is a spray, stick or lotion. Besides the chemical filters, some of the products use zinc oxide to block or reflect the sun, so it doesn’t touch your skin.
What Makes Coola Sunscreen Unique?
Coola makes sun protection for various parts of the body. They have lotions, sprays, and sticks specifically for the:
- Face
- Body
- Lips
They also make sunscreens specifically for babies and those engaging in sports activities, like water sports or running, to prevent the protection from being washed off due to water or sweat.
Face Sunscreen
Although you can use the same sunscreen for your face that you use on your body, face sunscreens are made to be easily absorbed by the skin and not clog pores.
The company offers three products to protect facial skin: a moisturizer, a spray sunscreen, and a sports sunscreen.
The moisturizer is SPF 30 and is recommended for use every day by dermatologists to protect your skin as the sun can affect it for the few moments you may be outside. If you’re going to be out in the sun working, enjoying the pool or exercising, the two sunscreens by Coola are SPF 50.
As with most of their products, they are made with organic botanicals and are suitable for use by vegans. Their products are also reef safe, so they can be worn in places which have banned sunscreens deemed unsafe for use around living coral reefs.
Some of the ingredients in the Coola face products are:
- Algae Extract
- Fruit Extract
- Cucumber
- Safflower
- Plankton Extract
- Sunflower
Body Sunscreen
Coola also includes body sunscreens in either sprays or lotions. To protect the scalp and hair, they offer an SPF 30 mist. Your hair is also vulnerable to the sun’s UV light and easily become damaged whenever you’re outside unless you’re always wearing a hat.
If your hair is thin, this mist will also protect the sensitive skin on the top of your head.
Sunscreens for the body are available in both lotions and sprays with an SPF factor of either 30 or 50. The mist for the hair and scalp is SPF 30, and they also offer a moisturizer and after-care lotion that is SPF 30. As with the face sun protectants, the body sunscreens are made with organic, hypoallergenic botanicals.
Lip Sunscreen
Although you may put on the recommended amount of sunscreen to protect your skin, you may forget the area like most other people do, your lips.
It is recommended that everyone use a lip balm that includes an SPF.
Coola offers lip protection in a plain or flavored sunscreen and in tints, so it looks like lipstick. All their lip products are SPF 30. Some of the ingredients for the lip sunscreens include:
- Organic Coconut Oil
- Jojoba Esters
- Iron Oxides
- Natural Olive Oil
- Shea Butter
- Beeswax
- Avocado Oil
Baby Sunscreen
Coola also offers organic sunscreen in a lotion or a stick for babies. Since they have tender skin, the sun protection factor on both products is 50.
As with their other products, most of the botanicals are organic and the sunscreens are mineral based. A few of the ingredients are:
- Natural Shea Butter
- Beeswax
- Cocoa Seed Butter
- Zinc Oxide
- Titanium Dioxide
Coola Sunscreen Pricing
Compared to most national brands of sunscreen, the Coola products are slightly more expensive, but they have organic ingredients. If you live a vegan lifestyle, you’re not going to be able to walk into most retailers and find vegan sun lotions or sprays.
Coola Suncare Suncare Citrus Mimosa Moisturizer Mineral Sunscreen SPF…
- Soothes skin and balancse moisture
- Tones and firms skin
- Ultra Water Resistant (80 minutes)
Pricing for Body Sunscreens
Also, when comparing Coola’s products to skin care brands like Neutrogena, Avene, Banana Boat or Olay moisturizers, the prices are comparable.
The sunscreen sprays are available in eight-ounce containers, while some of the lotions or sprays for other brands only come in four or five-ounce containers.
The body sprays and lotions made by Coola come in a variety of scents that are not available from most brands when you buy sunscreens from a retail store. Some of the Coola sprays and lotions come in Mango, Tropical Coconut, Pina Colada and Guava Mango scents.
Pros
- Hypoallergenic, Paraben Free, Ultra Sheer,
- Oxybenzone Free, No nano-sized particles
- Water Resistant (40 min) and provides immediate softness and smoothness upon application.
Cons
- Leaves a smell on skin and clothing
- Turns white as you get wet or start to
Public Perception of Coola Sunscreen
Overall, the reviews by users of Coola products are positive. Many women like the matte tint face sunscreen because it doesn’t clog their pores nor leave their faces feeling oily. Also, many women like that the tint gives their faces some color and they can use it on days when they don’t want to wear foundation.
Coola products are also available on Amazon, where the mineral face sunscreen is an Amazon’s Choice product. It has an overall average rating of 4.5 stars for 740 reviews. One reviewer noted that they had bought less expensive products, but always ended up rebuying the Coola sunscreen due to its texture and a skin allergy to chemical based products.
Another reviewer noted the product helped to moisturize their dry skin and didn’t clog their pores in the same way other products do. Amazon sells most of the Coola products and most of them are rated 4.3 stars or above.
Coola Sunscreen: What We Think
Based on the reviews and the fact that Coola sunscreen products are organic and vegan, we think they are worth buying. They provide the protection your skin needs on any part of your baby. The mineral sunscreen contains over 70% certified organic botanical ingredients, it won’t clog pores, and it leaves skin feeling smooth and not oily.
While you will pay more than you would for other sunscreens in most retail stores, Coola products do not contain harsh chemicals that can harm your skin and cause breakouts. They are hypoallergenic products that people with problem skin can use to protect it from harmful UVA and UVB sunlight.
Whether you are vegan or just concerned with the chemicals that can be absorbed into your body, you won’t need to worry about them when you choose Coola products for sun protection. They offer everything for head to toe protection for you and your family, including babies.
Along with being gentle on your skin, their sun lotions, sprays, lip balms and face moisturizers will protect your skin and keep it healthy while you’re enjoying time in the sun.