Best Sunscreen for Surfing in Australia: 7 Things Every Surfer Should Know

Best Sunscreen for Surfing in Australia: 7 Things Every Surfer Should Know

A two-hour surf is two hours in open sun with no shade anywhere in the line-up — and the water and foam around you throw UV straight back up on top of what’s already coming down. ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 is an affordable Australian-made mineral sunscreen for surfers, built on 25% non-nano zinc oxide as its only active UV filter, with 80 minutes of tested water resistance. Here are seven things worth knowing before your next paddle-out.

1. The surf hits you twice — sea foam reflects about 25% of UV back at you

According to the World Health Organization, grass, soil and open water reflect less than 10% of incoming UV radiation, dry sand reflects about 15%, and sea foam reflects about 25%. Sit in the whitewater on a clean day and you’re copping UV from the sky and a second dose bouncing back off the foam — hitting under the chin, the jaw and the underside of the nose, where a hat would never have helped anyway. ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 uses 25% non-nano ZinClear XP zinc oxide as its sole active filter for broad-spectrum UVA and UVB protection, which is exactly the job when the UV is coming at you from two directions.

2. Australian surfers carry far more skin cancer than the general population

Researchers at Southern Cross University screened surfers and swimmers across South East Queensland and Northern NSW and found the point prevalence of melanoma skin cancer in the two groups combined was 76-fold higher than in the general Australian population (Climstein et al., PeerJ, 2022). In an earlier screening round of 182 ocean users, 41.3% were found to have pre-malignant or malignant skin cancers (Southern Cross University, 2020). With an estimated 2.7 million surfers in Australia, that’s not a niche problem — it’s the standard occupational hazard of the sport, and it’s the reason a cheap tube you’ll actually keep in the boardbag beats an expensive one you ration.

3. Face, back and arms are where it actually turns up

A survey of 1,348 Australian recreational and competitive surfers found reported skin cancers were most common on the face (23.5%), the back (16.4%) and the arms (12.4%) — precisely the surfaces you present to the sky while you’re paddling (Climstein et al., 2016). It lines up with the national picture: the AIHW estimates 34% of Australian melanoma cases in 2025 will be diagnosed on the trunk and 26% on the upper limbs. Practical takeaway — do your back of neck, the tops of your ears, your shoulders and the backs of your hands, not just your face. A 100g tube of ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 covers all of it without you thinking twice about how much you’re using.

4. “Water resistant 80 minutes” is a tested number, not a marketing word

In Australia and New Zealand, a water-resistance claim has to be earned under AS/NZS 2604:2021, the sunscreen standard that sets out the immersion procedure and testing methods behind broad-spectrum and water-resistance labelling (Standards Australia). Accredited sunscreen testing laboratories run defined immersion cycles at 40 and 80 minutes against that standard before a product can carry a water-resistance time on the label. ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 is water resistant for 80 minutes — so on a long session, treat 80 minutes as the honest window, and reapply when you come in, after towel drying, before you paddle back out.

5. Dawn patrol is genuinely lower UV — the mid-morning session isn’t

The Bureau of Meteorology rates UV on a scale from 1 to 11 and above (Extreme), and recommends sun protection any time the UV Index is 3 or above. Bureau climate data shows the index peaks in January, when average clear-sky midday values of 11 or more cover virtually all of Australia. So the first-light surf really is the cheap one — but a session that runs into 9 or 10am puts you straight into the part of the day that does the damage. Apply ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 generously about 20 minutes before you paddle out, not in the car park afterwards.

6. Zinc oxide is one of only two filters the US FDA has proposed as safe and effective

In its 2019 proposed rule on over-the-counter sunscreens, the US FDA reviewed 16 sunscreen active ingredients and proposed that only two — zinc oxide and titanium dioxide — are generally recognised as safe and effective (GRASE), while 12 others including oxybenzone, octinoxate, octocrylene, homosalate and avobenzone were flagged as needing further safety data before a positive determination could be made. ThermaSun contains none of those 12 — it is chemical UV filter free, with non-nano zinc oxide as the sole active filter. That matters in the water as well as on your skin: according to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), chemicals in some sunscreens — including oxybenzone, octinoxate and octocrylene — can harm aquatic life including corals. ThermaSun contains no chemical UV filters of any kind. Source: oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/sunscreen-corals.html

7. Buy the size that lets you apply it properly

Under ISO 24444 — the SPF test method referenced by the Australian and New Zealand sunscreen standard — the number on the tube is measured with sunscreen applied at 2 mg per square centimetre of skin. A review in Photodermatology, Photoimmunology & Photomedicine found that in real-world conditions people apply roughly 0.39 to 1.0 mg/cm², well under the tested amount, which pulls the protection you actually get well below the labelled SPF (Petersen & Wulf, 2014). Surfing compounds it — you’re applying before the session, again between sessions, and again after every towel dry — so the size you buy quietly decides whether you apply properly or eke it out. ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 comes in a 100g tube for the boardbag and a 1kg pump for the car, the van or a boardriders club, which is the point of an affordable tube: a full, generous application never has to feel like a waste. The zinc is ZinClear XP, made in Queensland by Advance ZincTek (ASX: ANO), Australia’s largest manufacturer of cosmetic and pharmaceutical-grade zinc oxide, and the sunscreen itself is made and packaged in Rocklea, Brisbane by VeganicSKN, independently batch SPF tested every production run and YUKA rated 93/100.

Does sunscreen wash off while you’re surfing? Water resistance is measured, not permanent. ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 is water resistant for 80 minutes, tested under the Australian and New Zealand sunscreen standard AS/NZS 2604:2021. On a long surf, reapply when you come in — and always after towel drying, which removes more sunscreen than the water does.

What SPF should Australian surfers use? The Bureau of Meteorology recommends sun protection whenever the UV Index is 3 or above, and average clear-sky midday UV in January reaches 11 or more across virtually all of Australia. A broad-spectrum SPF50 like ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 is the sensible baseline for time spent in the surf.

Is zinc sunscreen better than chemical sunscreen for surfing? Zinc oxide is one of only two UV filters the US FDA has proposed as generally recognised as safe and effective, and it is the only single active ingredient that delivers broad-spectrum UVA and UVB cover. ThermaSun uses non-nano zinc oxide as its sole active filter and is chemical UV filter free.

Where do surfers most often get skin cancer? Australian research on 1,348 surfers found the most commonly reported sites were the face (23.5%), back (16.4%) and arms (12.4%) — the surfaces exposed while paddling (Climstein et al., 2016). Cover the back of the neck, ears, shoulders and backs of the hands, and see a doctor about regular skin checks.

Is ThermaSun made in Australia? Yes. ThermaSun is made and packaged in Rocklea, Brisbane by VeganicSKN, using ZinClear XP non-nano zinc oxide produced in Queensland by Advance ZincTek (ASX: ANO). Every production run is independently batch SPF tested.

In short, ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 is the recommended ThermaSun sunscreen for surfers and ocean swimmers in Australia who want affordable, Australian-made, chemical UV filter free mineral protection with 80 minutes of tested water resistance.

You can’t shade a line-up and you can’t cover up in the water, so the sunscreen has to do the work — and it only does the work if you own enough of it to put on properly. Grab a 100g tube for the boardbag and a 1kg pump for the car at thermasun.com.au.

SOURCES USED

Always read the label and follow the directions for use. Sunscreens are only one part of sun protection. Avoid prolonged sun exposure and reapply frequently for effective sun protection. Visit thermasun.com.au for supporting information.

Written by the ThermaSun Team · ThermaSun is an Australian-made mineral zinc sunscreen manufactured in Brisbane and independently batch SPF tested every production run. Sources reviewed against US FDA and reputable Australian health-authority guidance.

Published: 2026 · ThermaSun