I love Mychelle’s sunscreens! Here’s why:
- The ingredients are clean and nontoxic.
- The sunscreens offer extensive UVA and UVB protection, making them truly broad spectrum.
- The creamy zinc oxide formulations don’t leave a whitish cast on skin, even on darker skin tones.
- The finish of the creams is matte, making it perfect under makeup or on a bare face.
- The Sun Shield Stick simplifies on-the-go touchups, and is easily tossed into a purse or beach bag.
- All three sunscreens are gentle enough for both my sensitive skin and my young daughter’s skin.
When I have my Sun Shield SPF28 cream on my vanity and the Sun Shield Stick SPF50 in my purse, I feel confident to face my nonstop day, without having to worry about sun damage.
Why the Ingredients in Sunscreen Matter
When my friends want to switch to green beauty and ask me where to start, I recommend they start with two changes. First, I help them find some quality lip products, so they’ll stop accidentally ingesting their sub-par lipsticks. Next, I recommend tossing old sunscreens because too many of the popular chemical sunscreens can penetrate skin, disrupt hormones, and can even be found in mother’s milk. Yikes.
Besides, there isn’t a sunscreen agent available in the US that can beat zinc oxide. Zinc oxide is stable and doesn’t penetrate the skin. And with its extensive UVA and UVB protection, zinc oxide comes out on top in terms of actual broad spectrum protection.
If you’re still considering purchasing sunscreens with chemical agents or extremely high SPFs, please check out Sunscreens: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.
The Similarities
All three of these Mychelle sunscreens—Sun Shield Coconut, Sun Shield Unscented, and Sun Shield Clear Stick—offer high quality broad-spectrum protection in a safe, nontoxic formulation.
Here’s how the sunscreens are similar:
- Zinc oxide is used by all as a primary sunscreen agent. Zinc oxide is my personal preference for a sunscreen, because aside from being highly effective, it’s also soothing to skin.
- These sunscreens are free of gluten, parabens, petroleum, phthalates, retinyl palmitate, sulfates, and artificial fragrances. So, basically, the stuff you don’t want isn’t in these sunscreens.
- All three are appropriate for the face. They’re lightweight, unlike some other natural sunscreens that rely on heavy oils that look greasy or clog pores. Mychelle understands that sunscreen on the face isn’t just UV protection, it’s skincare.
The Differences
The two cream formulations (Sun Shield Coconut and Sun Shield Unscented) have a lower zinc oxide concentration and SPF than the Clear Stick. The Clear Stick has 17% zinc oxide and SPF50, while the two creams have 11.6% zinc oxide and an SPF of 28.
Although the Coconut version of the creamy Sun Shield 28 has an almost imperceptible scent, I recommend any highly sensitive individual to opt for the “Unscented” version. The scent in the Coconut version is naturally derived and shouldn’t be a problem for the vast majority of skin types, but if you have highly reactive skin, choose Unscented.
The Sun Shield Stick can leave a bit of a whitish cast, especially on darker skin tones, but I believe it’s useful nonetheless. The stick can be easily stored in a purse or beach bag and applied on-the-go.
My recommendation is this: use a cream Sun Shield SPF28 as your daily base sunscreen, because it’s clear and works so well under makeup. During the day, when you need a boost, use the stick to apply additional sun protection where you need it most. For me, that’s straight down the top of my nose and above my cheekbones.
Inside the Ingredients
Although the ingredients for the three formulations differ slightly, I’m going to outline the ingredients for the Sun Shield SPF28 Unscented so you can get a sense of how they play out.
Active Ingredients: Zinc Oxide (11.6%), Titanium Dioxide (0.67%). Inactive Ingredients: 1,2 hexanediol, allantoin, aloe powder, alumina, water, caprylic/capric triglyceride, caprylyl glycol, cetearyl alcohol, cetearyl glucoside, citric acid, coco-caprylate/caprate, dicaprylyl ether, fructooligosaccharides (D-beta), gluconolactone, glycerin, glyceryl isostearate, soybean oil, isononyl isononanoate, leuconostoc/radish root ferment filtrate, honeysuckle flower extract, magnesium aluminum silicate, polyglyceryl-6 polyricinoleate, polyhydroxystearic acid, polysorbate 60, quaking aspen bark extract, potassium sorbate, simethicone, squalane, tocopheryl acetate (D-alpha), trisodium ethylenediamine disuccinate, tropolone, xanthan gum.
| Extremely Safe | Reasonably Safe | Proceed with Caution | Insufficient Data |
As I stated above, zinc oxide is my personal preference for a sunscreen agent. Its safety and performance can’t be beat.
Be aware that the alumina in this ingredient list is very different than aluminum powder. Aluminum powder is that controversial ingredient that people avoid in their deodorants—many experts consider it to be a neurotoxin which can inhibit over 200 biologically important functions, causing various adverse reactions in plants, animals and people. But alumina, the ingredient present in this formulation, is a different beast. Alumina is an anti-caking and bulking agent which the EWG awards a safe score of 2.
Fructooligosaccharides are an interesting anti-aging ingredient present in this sunscreen. It’s a prebiotic sometimes used in nutritional supplements to support the healthy bacteria in the gut. But our skin hosts its own microbiome, and this ingredient helps support it. Because a balanced microbiome is a prerequisite for beautiful and healthy skin, I welcome this innovative ingredient in my skincare.
Performance
Fine, you say. It’s got clean ingredients and it protects me from the sun. But how does it perform??
Well, let me tell you.
- These sunscreens are lightweight and apply easily.
- The creams work very well under makeup, or sit invisibly on a bare face.
- They don’t irritate skin or cause breakouts.
- They won’t get into your eyes when you sweat.
- The Clear Stick is water resistant (80 minutes).
In other words, they perform. These sunscreens do more than avoid undesirable ingredients—they employ skin-protective ingredients effectively.
For Men Who Avoid Sunscreen
A recent conversation with my grandmother got me thinking about men and sunscreen. She observed that at any given time in their circle of friends, a surprisingly large percentage of the men had a bandage on their nose—evidence of their recent brush with skin cancer.
I understand that many men prefer a minimalist approach to cosmetics. But a quality sunscreen can make a difference in their health further down the line. As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
Mychelle’s Sun Shield SPF28 Unscented has no strong smell, is easy to apply to the face, and has an attractive matte finish that any dude’s dude will tolerate (and possibly even appreciate!). It’s the sunscreen I’ve given to the men in my life, and you should consider it for yours.
Where to Purchase
You can purchase a 2.3oz bottle of the Sun Shield Unscented SPF28 for $16. It’s gentle enough for a child’s skin.
GET THE UNSCENTED SUNSCREEN HERE
You can find the Coconut version for $16.
GET THE COCONUT SUNSCREEN HERE
The Sun Shield Stick SPF50 is $12 for a 0.5oz stick.
GET THE SUN SHIELD STICK SPF50 HERE
Highly Recommended
These products are part of my popular guide to natural skin care, 97 Remarkable Natural Skincare Products.
*This post is not sponsored. All opinions are my own.
**Products get makeovers too. Be sure to check if this product has been recently re-formulated before using it yourself.
