Mama Kuleana is a local Hawaiian brand sunscreen made with the intention of being safe for coral reefs and safe for the human body. They focus on making their brand environmentally and ethically sound, rooting their practice in the Hawaiian idea of Kuleana, which means accepting responsibility with diligence and intent.
Take a moment out of your day to think about the ocean. Let the blue beauty and sound of crashing waves relax you. Think about Finding Nemo and all the cool animals and anemone you see in the film. Wouldn’t it be a shame if that beauty disappeared?
Mama Kuleana is trying to help preserve those colors and fish. Based on the island of Maui, Mama Kuleana’s core belief is taking responsibility with diligence and intent. That includes protecting Maui’s Mother Reef, and all of her descendants. The name comes from the Hawaiian word Kuleana, whose simplest definition is responsibility.
The harmful toxins in sunscreen that Mama Kuleana is fighting are oxybenzone, butylparaben, octinoxate, and 4-methylbenzylidene camphor. According to a Huffington Post article, Hawaiian lawmakers banned sunscreens only containing oxybenzone and octinoxate, which scientists have thought lead to coral reefs’ susceptibility to bleaching. According to both the aforementioned HuffPost article and Mama Kuleana’s website, all of the chemicals are harmful to the human body. These chemicals affect the body’s hormone production, and “they mimic the hormones that our bodies create daily and can interfere with everything from our reproductive systems to our metabolism.”
Therefore, if children use them frequently or in large doses, it can easily stunt their growth and hormone development and lead them to have serious medical concerns after puberty.
Not only is Mama Kuleana sunscreen super safe, each two ounce container is hand-packaged with love in containers that biodegrade within two months. The sunscreen, which I sampled from a friend, also smells delicious and doesn’t feel thick when applied. In fact, after wearing it for a day, I felt like my skin was hydrated and healthy.
Currently, you can only buy Mama Kuleana in-person on three of the Hawaiian islands. However, they do have an online store and if you’re someone who wears sunscreen daily, I highly recommend trying them out — your skin will thank you!