Thought I would report on how my “reef safe” sunscreen worked. I spent almost two weeks in French Polynesia most of that on a 40 foot sailboat. I was in the sun from morning till sunset though the boat had some covering. I brought Alba brand reef free sunscreen and MyChelle sunshield spf 28. The MyChelle brand says it’s reef free mineral based full spectrum sunscreen though it has a lot of ingredients.
The Alba was really thick and I found it difficult to apply and spread. It went on white and I had to rub it in to get rid of the white. I used the Alba for most of my body. As a sunscreen it worked well. I found it difficult to reapply. I used the MyChelle on my face, chest and shoulders. It went on white but it wasn’t as thick as the Alba and I found it much easier to use. It was easy to reapply.
I would buy the MyChelle again but would only buy the Alba if I was going in the ocean.
Both worked great as sun protection. I am of Irish descendants and I didn’t burn at all. What I also did this trip was I purchased a men’s Columbia SPF button down shirt. I bought it large in a pretty blue. I wore that over my swimsuit when I was just hanging out on the boat. For swimming and snorkeling I had several SPF rash guard type of long sleeved tops. Between the sunscreen, a hat and the protective clothing my skin came home the same shade as when I left. I didn’t get a single sunburn.