I would love to sell sunscreen

I really would. 

Renee,

I’m interested to know if you sell natural sunscreen products. If you do, what is the SPF range? Is it water repellent for sports? What is the cost?

Thank you,
Claude

Here’s the deal:  while there are some great sunscreen products on the market, I know my readers well. They prefer something where they fully understand the ingredients going into the product, and they’d like to know that they could make it themselves if they wanted to. Most importantly, they want to know that it works at least as effectively as store-bought sunscreen.

If I sold sunscreen, what would the ingredient list look like?

1. Zinc oxide. The Environmental Working Group included zinc oxide as one of the safest ingredients to use in a sunscreen, citing that it gives “excellent UVA protection”, very little chance of an allergic reaction, no hormone disruption, and hardly any skin penetration.
2. Coconut oil. It certainly doesn’t have to be coconut oil, but it’s what I’ve used in my family’s sunscreen and I’m sticking to it. It’s a good oil to blend the zinc oxide with, and because it’s liquefied in warmer weather, it will create a nice creamy texture to your sunscreen.
3. Shea butter. This butter is so nourishing to the skin. Your sunscreen will not only act as a protection from UVA but it will act as a lotion to condition your skin.
4. Beeswax. Your sunscreen needs something to emulsify the ingredients into one cream, and that’s the job of the beeswax. Beeswax is also a thickener, keeping it thick enough to hold together in your beach bag without turning it into liquid form.

That’s it! No need for oxybenzone, or octinoxate, or the common sunscreen preservative methylisothiazolinone (named “allergen of the year” by the American Contact Dermatitis Society).

So if I create the recipe that my customers approve of, and follow the SPF requirements set by the FDA, I’ve got the perfect product, right?

Not so fast, surfer.

I dove into the research last summer with the hope of having something ready for you to buy in 2015. Here’s what I found:

Prior to 2012, FDA regulations for sunscreens dealt almost exclusively with protection against sunburn, which is primarily caused by ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation from the sun. Now the FDA regulates for warnings about skin cancer and early skin aging as well, which is contributed by ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation. When you read a sunscreen label offering “broad spectrum” sun protection, that product has been tested for both UVB and UVA.

If I wanted to sell a sunscreen online, here’s what I would need to do:

1. I would need to send in a batch of sunscreen to be tested at an FDA approved test facility. I checked around and found that these cost several thousand dollars. This shouldn’t stop the savvy business person if there’s a good return on investment, but…
2. Testing one batch does not mean automatic approval. I would have to send in batch after batch, and pay for each one, until one was approved. Ouch. That would require some serious leg work first, which can be done… but what about the hiccups like…
3. Blending zinc oxide into your batch of sunscreen does not mean that the zinc oxide is equally blended throughout the cream. This is something to consider when you make it at home. Although you may have a fairly consistent blend, your SPF could vary (albeit slightly) within the same batch of sunscreen. There’s a risk with each batch. Bwaaah… back to the drawing board, or investing in a very powerful blender.
4. Zinc oxide is zinc oxide, which does leave a bit of whiteness on the skin. The more zinc that is blended in, the higher the SPF, but who wants to look like a ghost? While I might be fine with an SPF of 15, someone else might insist on a 50, which brings on an even greater amount of FDA regulation. It comes down to what my customers want…
5. Finally, there’s the whole waterproof claim. Even if I could prove the sunscreen is waterproof, the FDA does not allow me to say that it’s waterproof. I can’t call it sunblock, either. I could call it water resistant, if I’m willing to test the length of time the sunscreen is water resistant, and pay for that test, too.

And so, I make sunscreen for my family, share the recipe online, sell the ingredients, and now that I’ve learned about the blending aspect of it (#3 above), I do want to make you aware that when you make sunscreen, you are making it at your own risk. As always, be aware of the dangers of overextended exposure to the sun and cover when necessary… with clothing, or sunscreen.

I will definitely leave that door open in the future, and if you have questions or comments, reply and let me know!

Renee Harris, owner
MadeOn Skin Care

P.S. Are you interested in even more research? Here are some links to read up on:

Regulatory Explainer: Understanding the Regulation of New Sunscreen Ingredients – Published March 2014. Explains which sunscreen ingredients are approved now, and why there’s a hold-up of having other sunscreen ingredients approved.

Labeling and Effectiveness Testing: Sunscreen Drug Products for Over-The-Counter Human Use – Published December 2012. Everything you want to know about labeling and testing, straight from the FDA.

The Trouble With Sunscreen Chemicals – Published 2015. The Environmental Working Group’s research on sunscreen ingredients and their safety levels.