Common Sunscreen Ingredients Linked To Infertility

It’s no secret that fertility rates have been dropping worldwide. Many attribute these falling rates to the chemical-loaded health, beauty and cleaning products we use every day. Recent findings from researchers at the University of Copenhagen show that chemicals commonly used in sunscreens could be playing a large role in these decreased male fertility rates.

These chemicals, used in sunscreens to filter out UV rays, actually seep into your skin and enter your bloodstream. If that’s not scary enough, the study’s results showed that 45 percent of the tested chemical filters stopped healthy sperm from functioning properly.

To gather their results, researchers examined 29 of the 31 chemical filters currently approved for use in the US and Europe by applying the dissolved chemical filters to the sperm of healthy volunteers. While almost half of the tested filters were found to interrupt normal sperm functioning, eight of them are approved for use in the US.

These eight offenders to be on the lookout for are avobenzone, homosalate, meradimate, octisalate (or octyl salicylate), octinoxate (or octyl methoxycinnamate), octocrylene, oxybenzone (or benzophenone-3 or BP-3) and padimate O. Shockingly, one or more of these chemicals are found in the majority of large sunscreen brands distributed in the US.

That’s why at MANDA, we’re stoked to produce a sun care product that contains zero harsh chemical ingredients. Instead, our sun paste is formulated with natural, organic ingredients proven to increase skin health and overall wellbeing.

For more information about the negative effects of chemical sunscreens and which chemicals to avoid, check out our previous blog, Breaking Down Chemical Sunscreens.