There are chemical and physical sunscreens today. Our tallow sun balm is a physical sunscreen. The sunscreen is a filter created from natural minerals that causes the sun's rays to be reflected away when they reach the skin. The sun's rays therefore do not penetrate the skin.
Our choice of minerals is non-nano. This means that it does not consist of particles so small that it can be absorbed by the skin. The use of nano-ingredients is considered risky and there is debate about whether it has negative health effects. We do not yet fully know how it can affect us and nature. Therefore, we avoid it.
Physical non-nano sunscreens are considered much kinder to the environment. Chemical sunscreens with questionable and sometimes untested ingredients are more difficult and sometimes not biodegradable in nature. In parts of the world, chemical sunscreens have been banned due to their negative impact.
The consistency of a physical sunscreen is often thicker. It is not supposed to be absorbed by the skin, but you can go out in the sun directly after applying it. Without waiting for it to "go into the skin". The minerals give the sunscreen a natural whitening effect. In our tallow sun balm, we have added calendula and iron oxide to give it a certain tinted color and thus dampen the whitening effect.
The whitening effect also shows when you need to reapply and is practical on children to ensure that the sun protection is sufficient. Apply when the whitening effect wears off and especially after swimming, sweating and using a towel.