Clean Mineral Sunscreen Brands + Homemade Zinc Sun Balm Recipe

Chemical vs Mineral Titanium Dioxide Brand Rankings The Recipe FAQ

Anyone who knew me in high school and college knows I used to burn almost instantly in the sun. I was eating an inflammatory diet at the time, which can make you burn easier, and I worked as a lifeguard at an outdoor pool with two or three chemical spray sunscreens in my bag. I avoided sunburns that way, but my toxin exposure during those summers was high.

If you take one thing from this article, avoid aerosolized chemical sunscreens. They put volatile compounds into the air you breathe, and independent lab testing has found benzene contamination concentrated in spray products. If you are switching away from sprays anyway, it makes sense to pick a formula that does not absorb into your bloodstream. Several of the clean sunscreen brands below are expensive, so at the bottom of this article I share the zinc sun balm recipe I make at home for a fraction of the cost.

Key Takeaways

• Chemical UV filters like oxybenzone absorb through skin into the bloodstream at levels above the FDA's own safety testing threshold.
• The FDA currently recognizes only two sunscreen actives as safe and effective: zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. I only use non-nano zinc oxide.
• Anhydrous formulas need no preservatives. Water-based sunscreens always contain them.
• Homemade sunscreen cannot carry an SPF number. My recipe uses zinc oxide at the concentration commercial mineral sunscreens use, but without lab testing, no SPF claim is possible or legal.

The content in this article is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health routine.

What Is the Difference Between Chemical and Mineral Sunscreen?

Evidence: strong. FDA clinical trials, regulatory filings, and independent lab testing.

Chemical sunscreens absorb UV light using synthetic filters like avobenzone and oxybenzone. Mineral sunscreens sit on top of the skin and physically block UV using zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. That difference in mechanism is also the difference in exposure.

In 2019 and 2020, FDA researchers published clinical trials in JAMA showing that six common chemical filters, including oxybenzone, absorb into the bloodstream after a single day of normal use at levels above the agency's threshold for requiring safety testing, and stay detectable for days afterward. In its 2021 proposed order, the FDA listed only zinc oxide and titanium dioxide as generally recognized as safe and effective. The chemical filters are not banned. They sit in a category the agency itself calls insufficiently studied.

Hawaii banned the sale of sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate in 2021 over coral reef damage, and independent testing by Valisure in 2021 found benzene, a known carcinogen, in dozens of sunscreen batches, with aerosol sprays the worst offenders.

Zinc oxide behaves differently. As long as the zinc is non-nano, meaning the particles are too large to pass through skin, it stays on the surface where it belongs. Zinc is a mineral your body actually uses for immune function and skin repair, which is more than can be said for oxybenzone.

Some brands blend both approaches, so read the active ingredients panel even when the front label says zinc. The UV filters are always listed under "active ingredients."

Why I Avoid Titanium Dioxide

Evidence: strong for regulatory findings, preliminary for the metabolic animal data.

Titanium dioxide is in a large share of cosmetics sold in the US. Most foundations, concealers, and many lip products contain it for incidental sun protection. I avoid it, and here is the sourced case:

• Nano-sized titanium dioxide, the form used to keep formulas clear, generates reactive oxygen species under sunlight in laboratory studies, which can damage skin cells.
• The EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety concluded in 2024 that it cannot exclude genotoxic effects from the nanoparticle grades common in cosmetics, and declined to set a safe level.
• The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies inhaled titanium dioxide as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B). This matters most for powders and sprays.
• The EU removed titanium dioxide (E171) from the food supply in 2022 because long-term genotoxicity could not be ruled out.
• A 2025 mouse study linked dietary titanium dioxide nanoparticles to disrupted gut hormones and impaired glucose control. Animal data only, but worth watching.

Handmade in Montana

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The Cleanest Mineral Sunscreen Brands

My scoring favors short ingredient lists, non-nano zinc oxide, no water phase, and fats I would use in my own formulations. Two of the three below are tallow sunscreens, which is not a coincidence. Tallow-based formulas skip the seed oils and the water phase in one move.

9/10: Sky & Sol Tallow Sunscreen, $29.99

Active: Non-nano zinc oxide, 25%
Inactive: Water, grass-fed and grass-finished tallow, jojoba oil, jojoba ester, lecithin, beeswax, silica, vitamin E from olives, radish root ferment filtrate

This is the best commercial option I have found. Grass-finished tallow as the base fat, non-nano zinc at a working concentration, and a ferment-based preservative rather than a synthetic one. Two caveats keep it from a 10. It contains a water phase, which is why it needs a preservative at all, and zinc oxide quality varies by supplier across this whole industry. Zinc oxide can carry lead and cadmium depending on the source, so for any mineral sunscreen, this one included, it is fair to email the company and ask for a current certificate of analysis showing heavy metal testing. A brand with clean sourcing will send it. At this price, though, my main hesitation is simpler: a comparable batch at home takes about ten minutes and five dollars in ingredients.

8/10: Primally Pure Sun Cream SPF 30, $38.00

Active: Zinc oxide, 25%
Inactive: Caprylic/capric triglyceride, organic tallow, organic beeswax, organic coconut oil, organic mango butter, tocopherol

The best texture of anything I tested, smooth application and a neutral smell with no beef note. It is fully anhydrous, which I love. The unscented version is the one to buy. They also sell a scented version made with essential oils, which I avoid because several common essential oils have documented estrogenic activity, a topic I cover in my article on fragrance and volatile compounds. The tocopherol is present in a trace amount as an antioxidant and does not concern me at that level.

5/10: Mad Hippie Ultra-Sheer Body SPF 40+

Active: Zinc oxide (non-nano), 20.5%

I used this one myself for a while and it works as a sunblock. It earns points for being mineral-only, then loses them on the inactive list:

• Safflower and sunflower oil. High-PUFA seed oils that oxidize rapidly once pressed. I keep them out of everything I put on my skin.
• Citric acid. Nearly all commercial citric acid is produced by fermenting the mold Aspergillus niger, not extracted from citrus. Published case reports have linked manufacturing residues in fermented citric acid to inflammatory reactions in sensitive people. I avoid it unless a product states citrus-derived sourcing.
• Multiple fatty alcohols (behenyl, arachidyl, cetearyl, cetyl). These can be drying for sensitive skin, which prompts compensatory oil production. If your skin is resilient, this may not matter for you.
• A long preservative and stabilizer list, which brings me to the next section.

Why Water-Free Formulas Matter

Evidence: established chemistry for the preservative requirement, speculative for the microbiome mechanism.

Any skincare product containing water, including aloe juice, must contain a preservative or it will grow mold. That is not a criticism of any one brand, it is chemistry. The ideal sunscreen contains no water phase at all, because anhydrous formulas need no preservative system. This is the core principle behind every product I make.

My further concern with preservatives is the skin microbiome. Your skin hosts bacteria and yeasts that defend it from pathogens. An ingredient designed to stop microbial growth in the jar does not know to stop working when it touches your face. I have not seen this studied directly and I label it as my own reasoning, but it is part of why I formulate without preservatives entirely.

If you have dry skin, hydration still fits into an anhydrous routine. Apply water-based hydration first, then seal it with an oil-based product. I spray my face with rosewater after washing, then apply balm over it to lock the moisture in. Rosewater is the water fraction left after rose essential oil is steam distilled from the petals. It needs no preservative, it is anti-inflammatory, and it smells wonderful. I get mine from Mountain Rose Herbs (affiliate link).

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My Homemade Zinc Sun Balm Recipe

This is what I make and use myself. It costs a few dollars per batch and takes about ten minutes.

A note on what this is and is not. This recipe uses non-nano zinc oxide at 28% of total weight, which sits in the same range commercial mineral sunscreens use. It has not been lab tested, and SPF can only be established through standardized testing on human subjects. The FDA treats a stated SPF number as a drug claim, and no maker of a homemade product can offer one. Zinc dispersion in a hand-stirred balm is also less uniform than in a commercially milled product. Treat this as a mineral sun balm for everyday incidental exposure. If you burn quickly or will be in intense sun for hours, use a lab-tested product, reapply often, and cover up.

When shopping for ingredients, I recommend Mountain Rose Herbs (affiliate link). Of the US-based herb retailers I have ordered from, their quality is the freshest and their sourcing is verifiable, with most products either USDA organic or wildcrafted. Using my link helps fund the upkeep of this site and the time these articles take to write.

Makes about 473 g, which fills two 8 oz jars.

Ingredients, by Weight

• Coconut oil, 150 g
• Shea butter, 100 g
• Jojoba oil, 70 g
• Rosehip seed oil, 20 g
• Non-nano zinc oxide, 133 g (28% of total weight)

Instructions

1. Melt the base fats. In a double boiler, melt the coconut oil and shea butter together over gentle heat. Avoid overheating.
2. Add the liquid oils. Remove from heat, then stir in the jojoba and rosehip oils.
3. Add the zinc oxide. Wear a mask for this step and work in a ventilated space, since zinc oxide powder should not be inhaled. Slowly stir it in until the mixture is smooth and fully uniform, with no streaks of white powder. Thorough mixing matters more here than anywhere else in the recipe.
4. Jar it. Pour into glass jars or metal tins and cool completely before sealing.

Use and Storage

• Store in a cool, dark place. Refrigerate in hot climates.
• Reapply every one to two hours in the sun, and after swimming or sweating.
• A light white cast is normal. It means the zinc is present and sitting on the skin where it works.
• Shelf life is about 6 months. The formula is anhydrous, so no preservative is needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I need to make homemade sunscreen?

Five ingredients: a solid fat (coconut oil and shea butter here), liquid carrier oils (jojoba and rosehip), and non-nano zinc oxide as the active mineral. You also need a kitchen scale, a double boiler, and a mask for handling the zinc powder. Exact weights are in the recipe above.

Is mineral sunscreen better than chemical sunscreen?

For safety, yes. The FDA recognizes only the two mineral actives, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, as safe and effective, while its own published trials show chemical filters absorbing into the bloodstream above the agency's safety testing threshold. Chemical filters spread more sheerly, which is the one advantage they hold.

Does mineral sunscreen leave a white cast?

Non-nano zinc formulas leave some white cast, and that is a feature. The visible mineral layer is what reflects UV. Brands that promise zero cast get there with nano-sized particles, which defeats the reason for choosing mineral in the first place.

Does mineral sunscreen expire?

Yes. Commercial mineral sunscreens carry an expiration date, usually two to three years out. The zinc itself is stable; it is the carrier oils that oxidize. My homemade balm keeps about 6 months because it uses fresh whole fats with no stabilizers.

How do you remove mineral sunscreen?

Oil dissolves oil. Massage a cleansing oil or plain jojoba over dry skin, then wash with a gentle cleanser or a tallow soap. Water alone will not lift a zinc balm, which is also why it holds up through sweat.

Can you sell homemade sunscreen?

Not legally as sunscreen. In the US, any product making an SPF or sun protection claim is regulated as an over-the-counter drug, which requires monograph compliance, drug facts labeling, and registered manufacturing. This is exactly why my recipe is framed as a balm and carries no SPF number, and why you should be skeptical of small-batch sellers who print one on the label.

For more on what I moved away from and why, my article on synthetic fragrance and volatile compounds covers the essential oil question in depth, including why I no longer use them even in leave-on products.

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