KITTERY, Maine — Summertime is in the rearview mirror, but one R.W. Traip Academy student’s invention shines a light on how beachgoers can protect the water and the environment during the dog days of summer.
A coral reef-safe sunblock dubbed Saltwater Sunscreen is the creation of Traip junior Keele Ford, who is a local lifeguard, sailing enthusiast and loves the Gulf of Maine. Ford first began toying with the idea of producing an environmentally friendly sunscreen in her “Changemakers” climate science class, which is akin to an independent study.
The key element is sugar kelp, which flourishes in the water along the Traip-owned dock on the back channel of the Piscataqua River.
“I was wondering if (sugar) kelp had any properties … that could help your skin, and I found out that it has its own SPF (sun protection factor),” Ford said. “Then I did more research to see if that was a problem in our oceans and if sunscreen had big effects that were causing pollution. It was, and the main chemical that provides the SPF in sunscreen causes coral whitening and the destruction of those habitats.”
After more than two years of work, Ford’s invention was named a finalist in the high school division of Maine Venture Fund’s Maine Startup Challenge.On Wednesday, her business plan placed third among all Maine high school applicants, and she also won the competition's People's Choice Award, receiving $500 to further her work.
Ford's sunscreen has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for commercial sale.
How Saltwater Sunscreen was developed out of a Traip classroom
“I’ve always lived near the water so it’s definitely been something that’s always just been in the background of my life,” Ford said. “It was really cool to get to dive deeper into that.”
The “Changemakers” class is co-taught by Traip biology teacher Jens Vittoria and Susan Johnson, the school’s expanded learning opportunities coordinator.
“We designed the class so that students could look at the impacts of climate change on our coastal community and understand different ways that that impact of climate change could be mitigated,” Johnson said.
Ford and her peers drew inspiration for their self-led research after hearing from Inga Potter and Krista Rosen, the co-founders of southern Maine kelp farm and skincare company Cold Current Kelp.
One student began exploring the idea of producing concrete with kelp, while another student studied whether Irish moss could be used in an ointment to help treat eczema. Ford and her peers work in a sunlight-filled workspace overlooking the river, then occasionally head down to the dock to pull up kelp and gain inspiration from the waterway.
“We had a grant that provided a small budget for students so that we could get the materials for them so that they could innovate and prototype their different business ideas,” Johnson said.
Ford began a second year of the course as a sophomore to develop her product that she worked on her freshman year. She experimented with seven different recipes before landing on Saltwater Sunscreen’s current makeup, powering through previous iterations where the cream was too grainy, discolored and had an odor.
“But I tested it and it worked,” Ford said of her first prototype. “Then from there, it was kind of just, how can I make this better? That was when I realized, ‘Oh, this actually works.’”
Ford’s Saltwater Sunscreen is made up of coconut oil, lavender essential oils, Vitamin E oils, mango butter, zinc oxide, kelp oil extract and beeswax, she said. Her product replaces oxybenzone, a typical chemical in many sunscreen brands, with naturally-occurring nutrients from sugar kelp.
Ford has received requests from students and people going on vacation to use the sunscreen, then later has received positive reviews. She has even used it herself during her lifeguarding shifts.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that sunscreen chemicals induce defects in young mussels, bleach and even kill coral reefs, impair growth and photosynthesis among green algae, damage and deform sea urchins and decrease fertility and reproduction in fish. Estimates from the Smithsonian Institution note that upwards of 14,000 tons of sunscreen trickle into global waterways every year.
“Our oceans are so important to us and they provide so many things, whether you realize it or not,” said Ford. “They provide energy, they provide food, they remove carbon from the atmosphere, and so does sea kelp.”
Traip student hopes to get product approved by FDA, bring it to market
The student’s biggest learning curve in the prototype process was figuring out how to extract the nutrients from the Traip-grown sugar kelp to use within her product. Now, her current hurdle is identifying how to patent her sunscreen, get it approved for commercial sale and market it in the future. Ford has not yet sought approval from the FDA, but she hopes to take that step one day and get her product on the market.
Ford participated in the University of New Hampshire’s Community Changemaker Challenge in the spring to present her idea, then submitted a business plan and a video in recent months to the Maine Startup Challenge.
Ford’s Saltwater Sunscreen was packaged in small tins for the Maine Startup Challenge judges and spectators on Wednesday.
“It kind of made me feel like I could change something and maybe this could help. Even if I don’t pursue the idea, someone else could take this up and make a change in the industry,” Ford said.
But she’s not counting out furthering her sunscreen as she gets older. Ford is deciding whether to study marine sciences in college and may continue working on Saltwater Sunscreen as an independent project.
Johnson says students feel empowered to contribute to the climate change mitigation conversation.
“It’s all been really inspirational, both for the students and also for us as teachers to see what the kids come up with and what they’re passionate about,” she said.
Ford’s advice for young scientists, inventors and climate champions?
“If you want to do something, you can. I did not see any of this happening and I just kind of kept pushing for it. Advocate for yourself. If you want to do something and make a change, find the people to do it (with) and get it done,” she said.
“The ones that I’ve found that are most interested in this product are younger people, because we’re seeing the issues firsthand and how they’re going to impact our future,” she added. “Everyone my age wants to do something about it, so starting by just using stuff that is sustainable and can help our environment is really good for anyone. People will find that they can start small and change the things they’re doing.”
