Mineral sunscreens use zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, and chemical ones use organic filters such as avobenzone. Both absorb most of the UV they stop, so the better pick is the broad-spectrum SPF 30 you'll wear every day and reapply. Neither kind wins for every face. Mineral tends to suit sensitive skin and toddlers, while chemical tends to go on clear, without a white cast.
Here's where the FDA stands, as of its sunscreen pages updated September 10, 2026. Of the sixteen filters it has long allowed, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are the only two it has proposed as GRASE, generally recognized as safe and effective. Twelve chemical filters are still waiting on more data, oxybenzone and avobenzone among them. The FDA says plainly that asking for more data is not a conclusion that any of those twelve filters is unsafe for use. I make balms, not sunscreens, so I've no stake in which kind you buy.
Tallow doesn't screen UV, so a balm goes on in the evening after the sunscreen's washed off, never instead of it, and our tallow and SPF hub shows how the two share a day. It's cosmetic care, not a treatment, and your provider's plan comes first. For the evening after a day outside, on skin that didn't burn, the jar I'd reach for is Bare Silk ($34 as of October 5, 2026) in the Unscented original.
How do mineral and chemical filters work?
In the American Academy of Dermatology's sorting, a sunscreen whose active ingredients are zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, alone or together, is physical, also called mineral. Anything without either one is chemical. Chemists call the same two groups inorganic and organic, which is closer to what they are. Organic filters are molecules that absorb UV and turn that energy into heat or a little fluorescence, a 2025 review by Araki and Baby explains. That's the easy half of the story.
The usual picture of a mineral screen is a mirror that bounces UV off the skin. The measurements don't back the mirror. In a 2016 study, Cole and colleagues used an optical integrating sphere to measure how much UV zinc oxide and titanium dioxide let through and how much they reflected. Reflection across the UV range averaged only 4 to 5%. That's worth less than SPF 2, they wrote, and the rest of the protection came from absorption, with the particles acting as semiconductors that take in UV. The AAD's FAQ lands in the same place: every sunscreen absorbs, and physical ones reflect some on top.
Visible light is where reflection takes over. In long UVA and visible light, past the range they absorb, the particles mostly reflect, up to 60% in Cole's data. Araki and Baby add that both oxides bend light strongly, which whitens skin. That's the white cast, and it's why makers have turned more and more to nano-sized particles, which look transparent.
What has the FDA said about them?
In the US, sunscreen is an over-the-counter drug, so its filters sit on an FDA list called a monograph. A 2019 proposed rule sorted them, and after the 2020 CARES Act changed how those lists work, a proposed order posted September 24, 2021, carried the same proposals forward. It proposed only zinc oxide and titanium dioxide as GRASE, at up to 25%. Fourteen chemical filters fell short. Two didn't pass on safety: the FDA found that the risks of PABA and trolamine salicylate in sunscreen outweigh their benefits. Twelve fell short on missing data, oxybenzone, avobenzone, octocrylene and homosalate among them.
That proposal still isn't final. The law sets no deadline for finishing it, though the FDA has acted twice on sunscreen this year. In June 2026 it added bemotrizinol, a chemical filter that covers UVA and UVB with low absorption through the skin, the first new sunscreen ingredient since the late 1990s. On September 10, 2026, it finalized one piece of the proposal, removing PABA and trolamine salicylate. The FDA says it knows of no sunscreen sold in the US with either one, and that shoppers needn't do anything. The AAD notes that an FDA study of four filters found enough absorption into the body to call for more research on whether it affects health. That's an open question, and the FDA still says Americans should use sunscreen along with other sun protection.
| Filter | Kind | Main UV range | FDA status, Oct 5, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zinc oxide | Mineral | UVB and UVA | Allowed, proposed GRASE up to 25% |
| Titanium dioxide | Mineral | Mostly UVB | Allowed, proposed GRASE up to 25% |
| Avobenzone | Chemical | UVA | Allowed, more data asked for |
| Octocrylene | Chemical | UVB | Allowed, more data asked for |
| Bemotrizinol | Chemical | UVA and UVB | GRASE since June 2026, up to 6% |
What does GRASE mean?
GRASE stands for generally recognized as safe and effective, and it's a monograph term. A sunscreen built from GRASE ingredients at the allowed strengths can be made without going through an FDA approval process, the AAD explains. A GRASE finding is the FDA's yes on both counts, safety and effectiveness. Bemotrizinol got that yes in June 2026, at up to 6%, for adults and children 6 months and older. A filter can miss GRASE in two ways. For PABA and trolamine salicylate, it was a safety call, and the September order took both off the list. For the twelve, it means the public record is short on data.
Which covers UVA better?
SPF values mostly indicate UVB protection, the FDA says, so the UVA check on a label is the phrase broad spectrum. Here the filter matters more than the camp. Zinc oxide covers UVA as well as UVB, while titanium dioxide mostly absorbs UVB, according to the 2025 review by Araki and Baby. Combining the two gives broad-spectrum coverage, they write. On the chemical side, avobenzone is a UVA filter, and it can break down in light. Pairing it with steadier filters such as octocrylene, itself a UVB filter, helps keep it working, a 2024 survey by Pniewska and Kalinowska-Lis reports. Bemotrizinol, the FDA's June addition, covers UVA and UVB on its own. It's been sold as a sunscreen ingredient in Europe and many other countries for years, the FDA says.
How much SPF, and how often?
The AAD asks for broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher, plus water resistance, which the FDA lets a label claim for 40 or 80 minutes. No sunscreen is waterproof. Most adults need about 1 ounce to cover the skin clothing doesn't, roughly a full shot glass, and the face takes at least a teaspoon. With a spray, the AAD says to spray until the skin glistens, then rub it in for even coverage. Reapply about every two hours, and again after swimming or sweating. The FDA's own floor is lower, broad spectrum at SPF 15 or more, and it pairs any sunscreen with less time outside from 10 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon. Cover up, too, with long sleeves, pants, sunglasses and a broad-brimmed hat.
Which one should you pick?
If your skin reacts to most things, start mineral, since dermatologists recommend mineral sunscreens for sensitive skin, the AAD says. Araki and Baby call inorganic filters the first option for lowering allergy potential. For toddlers, the AAD notes that zinc oxide or titanium dioxide may cause less irritation on sensitive young skin. Babies under six months are another case. The FDA doesn't recommend sunscreen for them, and the AAD puts shade and clothing first, with a little mineral screen only when those aren't available. For a baby, or for skin a dermatologist already manages, the clinician picks the screen.
If the white cast is what keeps you from wearing sunscreen, try a chemical screen or a tinted mineral one. The AAD says a tint matched to your skin tone can help. My pick for most people is the broad-spectrum SPF 30 they'll put on every morning without a fight, then reapply. A screen in the drawer protects nobody.
Start with Bare Silk ($34), five ingredients and sixty days to disagree.
Questions we hear
Is mineral sunscreen better?
Not for every skin, since mineral and chemical sunscreens both absorb most of the UV they stop. Dermatologists recommend mineral screens for sensitive skin, the AAD says. The white cast comes from mineral particles, so chemical screens tend to go on clearer. The better one is the broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher you'll wear every day and reapply about every two hours.
Does mineral sunscreen reflect UV?
Only a little: in a 2016 study, Cole and colleagues measured reflection from zinc oxide and titanium dioxide at just 4 to 5% across the UV range. That's worth less than SPF 2. The rest of their protection came from absorption, since the particles act as semiconductors that take in UV. In long UVA and visible light they mostly reflect, up to 60%, which is part of why a mineral screen can look white.
Is chemical sunscreen safe?
For most chemical filters, the FDA hasn't ruled yet. It's asked for more data on twelve, oxybenzone and avobenzone among them, and it says that request isn't a conclusion that they're unsafe. Its one new chemical filter, bemotrizinol, was found GRASE in June 2026. The AAD notes that an FDA study found four filters absorbed into the body, enough to call for more research. The FDA still says Americans should use sunscreen with other sun protection.
What does broad spectrum mean?
It means the sunscreen helps protect against both UVA and UVB, according to the FDA. SPF mostly indicates UVB. So broad spectrum is the phrase on the label that tells you UVA's covered too, and the FDA advises SPF 15 or more. The AAD sets its bar higher, at SPF 30 or more, with water resistance.
Why does mineral sunscreen leave a white cast?
Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide bend light strongly, and in visible light they're mostly reflectors, up to 60% in Cole's 2016 study. A 2025 review by Araki and Baby ties the whitish look to that high refractive index, and notes that makers increasingly use nano-sized particles because they look transparent. The AAD adds that a tinted sunscreen matched to your skin tone can help you avoid the cast.
Go deeper
The beef tallow for skin guide is where I'd start. To take a water-resistant screen off at night without stripping your skin, oil cleansing then tallow walks through it. If most products sting, read tallow for sensitive skin next, and how to use a tallow balm has the amounts for each part of you. Within the sun set, zinc oxide vs titanium dioxide compares the two mineral filters, sunscreen ingredients people are told to avoid covers the chemical ones by name, and tallow and zinc sunscreen is the morning order with a balm underneath. Craft Tallow vs Sky and Sol compares a balm maker with a sunscreen maker.
Sources
- US Food and Drug Administration (2026). Questions and answers: FDA's regulatory actions on over-the-counter sunscreen, content current as of September 10, 2026. FDA.
- US Food and Drug Administration (2026). FDA expands sunscreen options for the first time in 20 years, press release of June 9, 2026. FDA.
- US Food and Drug Administration (2026). Sunscreen: how to help protect your skin from the sun, content current as of September 10, 2026. FDA.
- American Academy of Dermatology Association (2025). Sunscreen FAQs, the academy's answers on choosing and using sunscreen, page last updated February 11, 2025. AAD.
- Araki SM and Baby AR (2025). New perspectives on titanium dioxide and zinc oxide as inorganic UV filters: advances, safety, challenges, and environmental considerations. Cosmetics 12(2):77.
- Cole C, Shyr T, Ou-Yang H (2016). Metal oxide sunscreens protect skin by absorption, not by reflection or scattering. Photodermatology, Photoimmunology and Photomedicine 32(1):5 to 10.
- Pniewska and Kalinowska-Lis (2024). A survey of UV filters used in sunscreen cosmetics. Applied Sciences 14(8):3302.
Brian is the founder of Craft Tallow, a small-batch tallow skincare line shipped from Cottonwood Heights, Utah, built on 100% grass-fed suet. Questions? Reply to any email from us; it lands with him.