The world of skincare is full of buzzwords like natural, clean, and chemical-free. They sound comforting, but they don’t tell you much about whether a product is actually safe or effective. In fact, sometimes they can be red flags.

Let’s take a closer look at why small businesses shouldn’t make sunscreen, why “natural” isn’t a magic word, why “chemical-free” is impossible, and why health department registration is so important.

Sunscreen is not just another cosmetic

Sunscreen isn’t like soap or body butter. In most countries, it’s treated as a drug or therapeutic product because it makes a health claim: protecting you from skin cancer and sunburn.

• In Canada, sunscreens need government approval before sale (a DIN or NPN from Health Canada). They must go through strict lab testing to prove their SPF and UVA protection really work.

• In the U.S., sunscreens are over-the-counter drugs regulated by the FDA. They must meet official testing standards and drug labeling rules.

• In Europe, sunscreens are cosmetics, but only approved UV filters at specific levels can be used, and each product has to be safety-assessed and filed in the EU system.

Making a safe sunscreen is not something you can do in a kitchen or small studio. Studies have shown that most “homemade sunscreen” recipes online don’t actually protect the skin, even when they’re marketed as if they do. That’s dangerous because it gives people a false sense of security in the sun.

Why do people say “natural = good” and “chemicals = bad”?

This way of talking comes from marketing psychology more than science:

• We’re wired to think “natural” means safe and healthy. But nature also gives us poison ivy, mercury, and cyanide.

• Companies know people like the word “natural,” so they use it as a selling point—even though it has no legal definition in cosmetics.

• The word “chemical” sounds scary, but the truth is everything is made of chemicals, water, oxygen, jojoba oil, vitamin C. Calling something “chemical-free” is simply not true.

It’s important to be cautious when brands use these words. A product’s safety doesn’t depend on whether an ingredient is natural or synthetic, it depends on how it’s studied, how it’s regulated, and how it’s used in the formula.

How regulators protect you

When the FDA, Health Canada, or the EU look at ingredients, they take a very cautious approach.

• If an ingredient shows even a tiny and insignificant risk in studies, regulators flag it.

• If the risk is serious, the ingredient gets banned.

• If the risk is only at high doses, the ingredient gets a concentration limit (for example, “allowed up to 1%”).

• Something most do not know is that if we use the example above and use that ingredient at 1% maximum, the true threshold can be 10% to be safe, but governments keep the limit at 1% because we don't need it at 10% and this way, they ensure absolute safety.
  
  

• If the ingredient is safe at the levels used in cosmetics, it stays allowed.

This means that by the time an ingredient reaches your lotion, cream, or lipstick, it has already gone through layers of safety evaluation.

Why product declaration is so important

Responsible brands can’t just throw ingredients together and start selling.

• In Canada, every cosmetic must be filed with Health Canada using the Cosmetic Notification Form within 10 days of first sale. This form requires brands to list every ingredient and the exact percentages used.

• In the U.S., sunscreens must follow the FDA’s drug rules and now, under MoCRA, even non-drug cosmetics must be listed with the FDA since 2022. 

• In the EU, all products need a safety report and must be registered before sale.

If something is wrong, say, an ingredient is banned or used at too high a level, the health department has the power to order the product off shelves immediately. This protects you, the consumer.

Common myths, busted

• “Raspberry seed oil has SPF.” No oil can replace real sunscreen. They don’t provide reliable UV protection.

• “Natural means safe.” Poison ivy is natural. So is lead.

• “Small brands use good ingredients, big brands use bad ones.” In reality, all companies must follow the same ingredient rules. Safety depends on compliance, not company size.

What responsible small businesses do

• We register our formulas with Health Canada, listing every ingredient and percentage.

• We don’t make ''handmade'' sunscreen, because doing it properly requires drug approval and specialized testing.

• We’re honest about our products, we avoid “chemical-free” claims and always use proper ingredient names on our labels.

Takeaway for shoppers

• Don’t buy sunscreen from a small business unless it has official approval (like a DIN or FDA listing).

• Be skeptical of “chemical-free” and “all natural” claims, they’re marketing, not science.

• Support brands that follow the rules, register their products, and communicate transparently.

Good skincare isn’t about buzzwords. It’s about evidence, safety, and honesty.