Dermatologists weigh in on viral TikTok DIY sunscreen ‘hack’

DENVER ( KDVR ) — By now, millions of people have seen the viral do-it-yourself sunscreen “hack” on TikTok.

It started with a few creators and then took off with people copying the recipe. Then others joined in, debating whether or not it is as good as regular sunscreen.

According to dermatologists, these DIY sunscreens are not as good as the sunscreen you can buy at the store. The experts said they’re probably worse.

“I just think when it comes to skin cancer and cancer in general, do-it-yourself is probably not the way to go,” said Kishan Shah, a dermatologist with Epiphany Dermatology.

According to these TikToks and their recipes, the DIYers typically mix some type of oil with zinc oxide, which is a common active ingredient in sunscreen.

“The real problem, when you look at a homemade sunscreen versus a commercially available sunscreen, is that commercially available sunscreens are heavily regulated and vetted by the FDA,” said Dr. Annelise Dawson with the Swedish Medical Center.

Shah said the zinc oxide you can find online is even different than what is in commercially available sunscreen.

“The sunscreen and zinc oxide that you’re buying in a bottle has either been coated in, like a product to help it not clump together, it’s been regulated in terms of the size to help it spread evenly and then, you know, there’s large machines that actually equalize all of the zinc oxide particles within the sunscreen itself,” he said.

This means mixing it with a hand mixer or in a blender is not going to have the same effect.

“Oils themselves can actually cause burns even when applied to the skin and so if you’re combining things like zinc oxide that’s sort of clumping together, and then there was holes within the oil, only alone, you can get a worse burn in that, in that location,” Shah said.

Dawson said the fact that there is no way to know the SPF means you also can’t know how effective it is in protecting against the sun. The argument for many of these creators is they want a cleaner option with fewer ingredients.

“A lot of times, patients are still getting burnt through them which sort of indicates to us that the efficacy is not there,” Dawson said. “There’s never been any study that’s proved that sunscreen is more harmful than beneficial in terms of protecting yourself against not only skin cancer but the anti-aging effects.”

If people still are looking for an option with fewer ingredients, dermatologists recommend mineral sunscreen.

“Look for a sunscreen where the active ingredients are either zinc oxide and, or titanium dioxide only,” Dawson said.

Alternatively, some underrated methods also include staying out of the sun or wearing protective clothing.

“Cover your skin up, wear long sleeves and hats when you can and seek out shade. That’s really the most critical piece,” Dawson said.

In the meantime, for those wearing sunscreen, dermatologists recommend getting sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 30 and applying every day every two hours.

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