Make At-Home DIY Natural Sunscreen Recipe | MaximumSkin

Creating your own sunscreen at home isn’t as simple as it looks. Mixing in a bunch of zinc oxide does not provide you with the level of SPF, nor does it ensure it’s even effective in the first place.

Additionally, sunscreens are regulated as drugs in Canada, USA, and most parts of the world. Why? Because it makes a therapeutic (drug) claim; protects from the sun. Since the suns rays cause cancer, it’s important to ensure these products are able to protect consumers.

Not complying with these regulations will get you in a lot of trouble. You cannot say “my product provides SPF30” if there hasnt been testing completed. Even if it’s tested in the USA, you cannot make that same claim in Canada or other countries. This is why a lot of sunscreens are sold exclusively in one country.

On a side note, I see a lot of people claiming that mineral sunscreens are natural, but they aren’t. They are synthetically produced because the natural forms contain impurities that are unsafe for consumers. So, no, your mineral sunscreens aren’t “natural”.

To take it one step further, mineral sunscreens do not “reflect 100% of rays” and this was established in ~2015. Mineral sunscreens primarily (95%) work the same way as chemical sunscreens work; they absorb the uv rays, and only 5% is scattered/reflected (DOI: 10.1111/phpp.12214).