Frequently Asked Questions

It is really important to choose a broad spectrum sunscreen that protects your skin from both UVA & UVB rays. UVA is responsible for skin "aging", and UVB is what generates a "burn" or redness to the skin, both of which can contribute to skin cancers. It is reported that two in three Australians will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer by the age of 70.

And remember, the best sunscreen is the one that you feel good about wearing every day. Choose an SPF 50 if possible. For sporting and active days, choose a waterproof sunscreen. Otherwise, it really is a matter of personal choice.

Our sunscreens are packed full of skin-loving goodies and nourishing emollients to keep your skin looking and feeling hydrated, while you focus on the fun stuff!

Applying sunscreen every morning should be an essential part of your daily routine. In fact, anytime the UV rating is above 3 (which it is in post parts of Australia every day of the year, you should be wearing an SPF.

Up to 90% of skin aging and most skin cancers are caused by unprotected sun exposure. The damage is cumulative, and in Australia, can occur in as little as 10 minutes in the sun.

SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. It refers to how long the sunscreen will protect you before you start to burn (sunburn = sun damage). Because some UV radiation still gets through the sunscreen and into your skin, the SPF number refers to roughly how long it will take for a person's skin to turn red. 

Sunscreen with an SPF of 15 will prevent your skin from getting red for approximately 15 times longer than usual (so if you start to burn in 10 minutes, sunscreen with SPF 15 will prevent burning for about 150 minutes).

A sunscreen with an SPF of 15 protects against about 93% of UVB rays, one with an SPF of 30 protects against 97% of rays and a sunscreen with an SPF 50 blocks 98% of UVB rays, according to the Mayo Clinic. Or, another way of looking at it is:

SPF 15 (93% protection) allows 7 out of 100 photons through

SPF 50 (98% protection) allows 2 out of 100 photons through

So, while it may not seem that you're increasing your level of protection by a significant amount, an SPF 15 will let through three times the amount of photons than an SPF 50.

There is no sunscreen that can block 100% of UV rays, which is why it is important not to spend prolonged periods of time in the sun, even whilst wearing sunscreen.

Typically, you should apply the equivalent of a teaspoon of sunscreen to each arm, leg, front of body, back of body and face (which includes neck and ears). If you are not applying this amount to each of these areas of the body, you will not be getting the amount of protection listed on the bottle. This is another reason why SPF 50 is so important as it offers more insurance for poor applications. 

*Apply sunscreen on all exposed areas and reapply according to product directions. Avoid prolonged exposure.⁠ Sunscreen is only one component of sun protection, it is important to wear protective clothing such as long sleeves, hats and protective eyewear when exposed to the sun.⁠

"Actives" in sunscreens are the chemicals within the ingredients that make it work! In sunscreen, they are there to absorb or filter the ultraviolet light to stop you from burning and protect you from the harmful rays. These include ingredients found in both chemical and physical sunscreen formulas.

We have developed our sunscreens to avoid using filters such as Oxybenzone and Octinoxate.

We use a mix of organic (chemical)  and inorganic (mineral) compounds in our range to achieve the best result and provide maximum protection. 

It is important to note, both chemical and mineral (physical) sunscreens work in the same way, by absorbing UV rays from the sun and converting them to heat, but vary by how well they do this. Different chemical structures (i.e. different UV filters) will absorb different wavelengths of light, hence the need for multiple filters. Some filters are better at absorbing UVA rays, whereas others are better at absorbing UVB rays. By using a combination of UV filters, sunscreen formulations are able to achieve better protection, aka Broad Spectrum (UVA + UVB) coverage.

If you have any further Q’s on the difference between Mineral and Chemical UV filters, please refer to our blog, Mineral vs. Chemical Sunscreens

The manufacture of sunscreens is strictly regulated by the Australian Government's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

The TGA's sunscreen regulations are among the strictest in the world. They are rigorous in seeking to exclude or minimise the use of any ingredients with any scientific evidence for potential adverse effects for humans. 

Unfortunately, the sun doesn’t discriminate your surroundings. It beams it's beautiful light wherever we may be so make sunscreen your daily habit. We do!

Wrong! A tan is basically your skin’s response to being injured or damaged from UV light. Your skin produces melanin (the pigment that colours or darkens your skin) when exposed to UV light in an effort to protect itself. Even when you have a tan, the UV light is still penetrating your skin and causing further damage. People with tanned skin are not immune to developing skin cancer.

Sunscreen staining can occur with multiple UV filters when they react with iron in water (particularly, high iron content in your household water) or can be common in chlorinated pools. This is why you may see an orange, rust-coloured stain on your clothes after using some sunscreens. Although this is unlikely, unfortunately we cannot guarantee our sunscreens will not cause staining. 

Sunscreens stains can be tricky to avoid, however we recommend you following these steps should you have a stained garment:

1. Remove as much excess sunscreen from the affected area as you can, then blot it with a dry cloth. 

2. Sprinkle either bi-carb soda or cornflour over the stained area to absorb excess oils and give it about 30 minutes. 

3. Brush off any excess powder and rub it with a strong laundry or dishwashing detergent.

4. Soak your clothing in hot water mixed with detergent for up to 30 minutes, then rinse it with clean hot water once this time has expired.

5. Finally, launder as normal.

Most of our sunscreens contain Beeswax for so therefore are not 100% vegan. However, our Good Morning SPF50 and our Mineral Sunscreen SPF50+ are both free from Beeswax, so are considered vegan.

In addition, all of our Body Milks (Coco Milk, Sensitive Body Milk, Kakadu Plum Body Milk and Wild Rosella Body Milk), Good Night Skin Restoring Cream, After Sun Cooling Lotion and Pawpaw Nectar are all vegan.

We Are Feel Good Inc. in Australia we are 100% cruelty free, unfortunately we have no control over other countries' rules and regulations that we supply to. This is why we do not claim cruelty-free on our packaging.

We do not believe these tests are necessary to evaluate safety or performance. But currently, these countries won’t accept alternative non-animal testing methods. We will continue to advocate for alternative methods to end animal testing in this industry.

Our sunscreen formulas are all free from the commonly used UV filters, Oxybenzone and Octinoxate, both of which have been found to have enough evidence against them to suggest that damage to reefs was possible when using these ingredients. Some governments from around the world are now taking action to ban the use of sunscreens containing these ingredients. Whereas we respect the decisions made by these government bodies and have decided against including these particular UV filters, we do not believe the issue is as simple as this. 

It is important to note that there are no regulations around companies using the term “reef safe”, as there have been multiple studies done, both for and against which ingredients are deemed “safe” for our reefs. Many people have different understandings of what this term means, which is why we choose to steer clear of using this claim.