Unless you’ve been living under a rock, our guess is you’ve heard of green skincare and the environmental benefits of purchasing products good for the planet. We also bet you’ve never heard of “blue skincare.”

Similar to green and eco-friendly products, “blue skincare” puts an emphasis on protecting our oceans — to create a bluer and better planet. More specifically, blue skincare helps support ocean conservation by using reef-safe ingredients and zero-waste or plastic-free packaging.

Blue vs Green skincare

Blue skincare was developed by Jeannie Jarnot, founder of skincare company, Beauty Heroes, after discovering the staggering amount of plastic waste in our oceans.

Both blue and green skincare look to educate consumers on the side effects that products have on the planet and the body. The main difference being: green skincare is about transparency of ingredients, where they are sourced, manufactured and harvested. Whereas, blue skincare is all of this but with more concern for preserving the well-being of the oceans’.

Environmental impact

Packing is the leading component of harm for our oceans. Unfortunately, a lot of the packaging used in skincare is unlikely to be recycled and ends up in the ocean, further damaging our ecosystems and the sea animals that thrive off it. Chemicals are the second component. Tons of chemicals like oxybenzone and octinoxate (found in sunscreen) can damage the corals when worn by humans who are swimming.

Now we aren’t saying you should stop swimming or stop wearing sunscreen (please, don’t ever do that), but simply suggesting to buy ocean- and reef-safe options instead, that don’t pose as such a risk.

What can brands do?

Each brand should be thinking of their products from start to finish, through it’s entire life cycle. They need to be asking themselves questions like:

How much water does this require?
What ingredients pollute our waterways?
What ingredients don’t?
What happens if someone washes this product off, will it harm our waterways?
What happens to the plastic, is it recycled or tossed?

Once all these things are considered and planned out, only then should you go through with the product. Blue skincare brands typically think about all of this and more to ensure the oceans come first.

If you can financially afford to make healthier choices for our planet and oceans, shopping blue would be a great contribution for our oceans.

Below, shop some of our favorite products that are blue-skincare-safe.

Cleo Coco Zero-Waste Deodorant Bar in Sweet Surrender ($14)

Cosmydor E/1 Essential Care Vanilla Moisturizing Cream ($39)

Biossance Squalane + Zinc Sheer Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30 PA +++ ($30)

Love Sun Body Natural Origin Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 Fragrance-Free ($24

Honua Moana Mask ($38)

And in case you need more practice on deciphering if your sunscreen bottle is blue-safe, read the 411.

Photo via Getty/SolStock