WHY ZINC.
WHY IT MATTERS.
WHY DANK'S.
We've been championing mineral sunblocks and have been skeptical of chemical sunscreen actives since before the research caught up.
The FDA isn't sure.... Can you believe the FDA didn't comprehensively test the safety of active chemicals in sunscreens until 2019? Sunscreen had been on the U.S. market long enough that the active ingredients were 'grandfathered in' before modern safety testing became standard. When the FDA finally did review all 16 then-accepted active ingredients, only two — zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, both minerals — had the data to be called 'safe and effective'. The chemical filters didn't.
Chemical sunscreen active ingredients don't just stay on the skin's surface. They have been found to cross your skin into your bloodstream. A lack of testing data means we aren't certain the extent of what they do once inside of us, though we do know that at least several are endocrine disruptors. That means they interfere with our hormones - like testosterone and thyroid hormone - which can cause reproductive and developmental issues.
What rinses off doesn't disappear... These chemicals are toxic to coral, sea anenomes, and other aquatic organisms — and they break down from exposure to sun and water into new potentially-toxic compounds we've only barely begun to study.
Non-nano zinc oxide stays on the skin's surface (out of your blood), and in water, its toxicity to aquatic life is low — far below that of the chemical filters it replaces. Plus, it delivers the broadest UV protection of any single filter and is a mineral dermatologists have trusted for a century.
Choosing 'zinc' is the easy part. But just because it's 'zinc' doesn't mean it'll stay on your skin. Most zinc sunscreens are mostly water - emulsions that have to dry down and can sweat, rinse, or slide off mid-session. Dank's formulas are anhydrous: no water, nothing to evaporate, built on a strong wax matrix made from ingredients you probably recognize, calibrated to stay put through time in the water.
DERMAL DEFENSE
coming soon
WHERE TO BUY
Find Dank's at these local retailers. Online orders ship from Santa Cruz.
MADE BY A SURFER.
BUILT ON CONVICTION.
Dank's started with a simple frustration: every sunscreen was either loaded with synthetic chemicals that we didn't trust or wouldn't stay on for long in heavy water.
So we made our own. Anhydrous wax formula. 100% mineral zinc oxide. The kind of coverage that holds through a long session, doesn't harm aquatic organisms, and doesn't end up in your bloodstream. Made in small batches in Santa Cruz, CA.
