Is there homemade sunscreen on TikTok? Give me all the chemicals

Experts warn consumers not to make sunscreen at home.
photo: Unsplash

Earlier this month, TikTok influencer Nara Smith sparked a sunscreen controversy when she posted a video of her husband, Lucky Blue Smith, mixing up homemade sunscreen.

A little coconut oil, a little beeswax, a little zinc oxide, a little this, a little that, is enough to make an effective sunscreen, right?

TikTok influencer Nara Smith and her husband Lucky Blue Smith made sunscreen together in a video.
photo: Tik Tok

The video, which went viral on social media, taps into a trend towards organic food, clothing and ingredients in skincare and cleaning products. Smith is known for her almost hypnotic cooking videos.

However, Smith’s American dermatologists published a warn The government has warned against using homemade sunscreen, saying it can cause sunburn, premature ageing and skin cancer. This advice is even more important for New Zealanders because New Zealand has some of the highest UV levels in the world. 40% higher Even worse than areas at the same latitude in North America.

In addition to the reduction in ozone (a major UV protection layer) in New Zealand’s atmosphere, “the sun is closer to the Earth in New Zealand in the summer, whereas it is farther away in the northern hemisphere,” said Dr. Louise Reiche, president of the New Zealand Dermatological Society. “We also have less pollution and we live outdoors.”

Dr Louise Reiche, president of the New Zealand Society of Dermatology.
photo: supply

Over the years, Reiche has seen the effects of homemade sunscreens, and they haven’t been great. Some patients’ sunburns were so severe that it took more than six months for their skin to recover. Others were left with permanent freckles.

I’ve lived in the US for a decade and have tried a few acceptable sunscreens. When I began to gravitate towards non-toxic products, I tried single plant ingredients like coconut oil, which is said to have an SPF of about 4. I replaced traditional sunscreens that used chemicals as active ingredients with mineral sunscreens that rely on zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.

In the US, where pollution and the ozone layer are a problem, mineral sunscreens seem to work just fine. This was not the case when I moved to New Zealand four years ago.

I quickly gave up on the idea that a small amount of coconut oil would provide effective protection. I tried several mineral sunscreen brands from New Zealand, Australia and the US, but my nose, cheeks and shoulders always turned red after swimming, sweating or just walking on the street. Now, I’m back to using only chemical sunscreen.

Not all sunscreens are created equal, and Reiche recommends using both chemical and mineral based sunscreens to again protect against the harsh New Zealand sun.

“Zinc oxide is pretty good at protecting against UVA (rays), but the UVB here is stronger,” Reiche says of mineral sunscreens. “But if you reapply it, it should still be effective.”

Belinda Castles from Consumer NZ.
photo: D&K Photo Phil Scott

Belinda Castles, research and testing writer for watchdog Consumer NZ, lets her children wear chemical sunscreen for a day in the sun. They use a zinc oxide stick for extra coverage on delicate areas such as the nose, cheeks and lips.

Sunscreens in New Zealand have been more strictly regulated since 2022. Sunscreens sold in New Zealand, whether chemical or mineral, must now Independently tested to meet established standards. The move comes after Consumer New Zealand tested a number of sunscreens and produced an annual sunscreen effectiveness guide for New Zealanders, finding many did not match the SPF stated on the packaging.

“When we test them ourselves in the lab, which is an expensive endeavor, we find that the sunscreens are only SPF 4 or 10,” Castles said. “But the manufacturers themselves don’t know that because they haven’t tested it.”

“It’s not as simple as just mixing a few ingredients together with zinc oxide,” she adds.

Now, Consumer New Zealand database Sunscreens that have been recently tested have shown that the product meets the new legal standards.

Castles said whatever sunscreen you used – as long as it met the standards set out in the Sunscreen (Product Safety Standards) Act – it should be applied before going out in the sun and reapplied regularly, along with wearing sun-protective clothing, a sun-protective hat and sunglasses.

“We have very strong UV rays here, so you need to take all kinds of sun protection measures,” she said.