ORDER IN TIME FOR MOTHER’S DAY – Learn More
ORDER IN TIME FOR MOTHER’S DAY – Learn More
Our sunscreen has a base of 20.1% zinc oxide and a natural vanilla coconut scent. The zinc is great for encouraging tissue healing, and it’s paired with shea butter to help moisturize and soothe your skin. It has an SPF of 31 and provides broad-spectrum protection.
We use 100% natural and toxin-free ingredients in our sunscreen. Real vanilla is known to turn colour over time. This change in colour does not impact the effectiveness of the sunscreen, so it can still be used until the expiry date.
Sunscreens are products that protect the skin from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays.
There are two types of UV rays: UVA and UVB, which damage the skin, age it prematurely, and contribute to skin cancer. UVB rays are the ones that cause sunburn, while UVA rays are mostly associated with skin aging. UVA rays are implicated in exacerbating the effects of UVB rays and causing skin cancer on their own, so it is important to choose a broad spectrum sunscreen and protect against both types of rays.
SPF — or Sun Protection Factor — is a measure of a sunscreen's ability to prevent UVB rays from damaging the skin.
No sunscreen blocks all of the sun’s rays, no matter how high the SPF. Broad spectrum sunscreens offer protection against both UVB and UVA rays.
We recommend reapplying our natural sunscreen every 2 hours, or after swimming, towel drying, perspiring heavily or washing. Important notes to remember are that no sunscreen stays effective after 2 hours without reapplication and that “red” skin doesn’t tell you how much damage has occurred from UVA rays – plenty of damage can occur before your skin goes red.
Sunscreens like ours work by providing a physical barrier against the sun (using an active natural ingredient like zinc oxide). Chemical sunscreens, however, soak into the skin and absorb UV rays before they can cause any damage.
Chemical sunscreens need a lot of different chemicals to provide both UVA and UVB protection and as a result may cause irritation, allergies and, because they are absorbed by the body, they raise concerns over other negative health effects.
Natural sunscreens are safe for you and your family because they contain no harmful ingredients and are not absorbed into the skin.
To get the full SPF protection on the label, you need to apply about 1oz (or a shot glass full) of sunscreen. Studies show that most people don’t use enough! For a day at the beach, with sunscreen applied all over your body and face, one person should use at least 60 ml of sunscreen.
Reapply every two hours, and after swimming, toweling off, or sweating. For lip products, reapply every hour.
You can definitely apply our natural sunscreen to your face. We do not recommend mixing makeup and sunscreen together before applying, as this usually results in too little sunscreen being used.
If you plan on putting makeup over the top, wait for the sunscreen to bond to the skin first. Make sure you use enough sunscreen to protect your skin, even though you are putting makeup on over the top.
Some of the ingredients in our sunscreen are oil-derived from rapeseed, coconut, castor or vegetable oils, so it's not oil-free.
All of our sunscreens are safe and effective for your whole family. If you plan on using sunscreen on babies under 6 months of age, Health Canada recommends consulting a doctor first. The same quantity guidelines apply for children and adults.
Our sunscreens contain the safest natural ingredients available, but they are not meant to be ingested.
If your child licks their hand after applying sunscreen, that should be fine, but if they have consumed a significant amount, seek medical attention or contact a poison control centre immediately. Make sure you take the package with you so the health practitioner knows what has been ingested. If your children get sunscreen in their eyes, wash thoroughly with water and seek medical attention.
Warm soapy water will remove sunscreen from your skin.
Yes, our sunscreen is non-whitening. However, any product containing zinc oxide has some degree of whitening when first applied. However, once the product is absorbed, any whitening disappears.
Chemical sunscreens have been discovered to be harmful to coral reefs and other aquatic populations, with some tour companies banning it from use. Our natural sunscreen formula is 100% natural and toxin-free meaning it is safe for you and for the aquatic environment. Zinc oxide is naturally biodegradable and weather degradable.
Current regulations regarding reef-safe sunscreen highlight that sunscreens should not contain either oxybenzone and octinoxate. Our sunscreen contains neither of these ingredients. These two chemical compounds are common UV blockers worldwide but they are harmful to marine life. Up to 6000 tons of sunscreen ends up in the oceans every single year, so choosing a reef-safe sunscreen that is mineral based and non-nano is important.
Yes, our sunscreen is non-nano. Nanoparticles refer to the size of the zinc oxide particles and are suspected to be harmful to the body if they are very small or "nano-sized" as they could potentially be absorbed into the bloodstream. A nanoparticle is defined as being between 1-100 nanometres. Our sunscreen is non-nano, with the particle size ranging from 1-7µm (microns), or 1000 to 7000 nanometers which is too large to be absorbed into the bloodstream.
Sunscreen may stain some fabrics. The best way to remove a stain is to apply watered-down rubbing alcohol (50/50) directly to the stain, then dab gently to lift the stain.
If you do not have alcohol on hand, stains resulting from natural oils may be removed that same way you would remove a salad dressing stain: apply a dish soap directly to the stain (because regular laundry detergent does not contain oil-removing properties), then launder as normal.
Staining can be minimized by letting the sunscreen absorb into the skin before allowing any fabric to touch it.
Our sunscreens have a shelf life of one year, and we recommend you use the product within one year of opening, or when the expiration date is reached
We test every batch of sunscreen before it's released. In the product development stage we also conducted clinical trials to determine the efficacy of the formula.
Arachidyl alcohol and Arachidyl glucoside are not necessarily derived from peanuts, or indeed any nuts, and in the case of our ingredient, the source company has confirmed they definitely are not derived from a nut oil. The source vegetable oil is rapeseed seed (not Canola, which is a hybrid of rapeseed) and wheat seed.
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Rocky Mountain Soap Company
February 29, 2024
Thanks so much for checking in Susan – we’re glad to hear you’re a fan of our Natural Sunscreen! We are expecting to have our sunscreen back in stock by March/April before the summer rays grace us here in Canada. In the meantime, we recommend signing up for a ‘back in stock notification’ from the sunscreen product page. That way you’ll be the first to know when it’s ready for you!
If there is anything further that you are curious about, please do not be shy to reach out. We are happy to help!