Instead of running to the store or online shopping for sunscreen , increasingly people are looking to one of TikTok’s popular trends: making it themselves. In a TikTok video with nearly 21 million views, model and social media influencer Nara Smith joined her husband Lucky Smith in making their own sunscreen, after realizing they ran out. In the video, Smith and her husband create a concoction of coconut oil, beeswax, shea butter, cocoa butter, jojoba oil, and zinc oxide powder.
Other influencers have shared similar recipes, claiming these ingredients are more natural ways to block harmful UV rays than store-bought sunscreen. However, experts warn that these homemade recipes do not meet the standards for necessary sun protection that commercial sunscreens are formulated to provide. Of the DIY skincare hacks that exist, board certified dermatologist Dr.
Dustin Portela (who has 2.4 million followers on TikTok himself ) says “sunscreen is one of the ones that poses the biggest risks to people.” Sunscreen and concerns about toxins Portela says this DIY trend comes from a fear of ingredients in commercial sunscreens.
“People have this idea that they’re toxic or harmful or endocrine disruptors or will cause cancer in and of themselves,” he tells Fortune. That uncertainty about sunscreen safety could have originated from the FDA’s own concerns with some commercial products. In 2019, the FDA proposed updates to regulatory requirements to sunscreen, after studies reveale.