Eco-Friendly Sun Protection That Works? My Odyskin Sunscreen Review

Odyskin logo 250

Overall Rating:

4.85/5

Effective Protection = 5.0

Value For Money = 4.8

Ease Of Use = 4.8

White Film On Skin = 4.8

PROS:

  • Mineral UV filters in non-nano form
  • Only natural ingredients
  • Zero-waste packaging
  • SPF 30 and 50 available
  • Outstanding performance

CONS:

  • Leaves slight white film if not rubbed in properly

Sun protection is important and shouldn’t be skipped. But can you protect your skin and the planet? My Odyskin sunscreen review will tell you.

My quest to create a sustainable beauty routine has led me to look at the sun creams I used. The chemical sunscreens you’ll find on the shelves of supermarkets and beauty retailers are bad for our environment.

But as stopping the use of sun protection isn’t an option, I have discovered mineral sunscreens that are better for our planet while also keeping our skin safe from the sun’s UV radiation.

Let’s find out how the Odyskin mineral sunscreen has performed and if it’s a viable, eco-friendly alternative to conventional chemical sun protection.

What Attracted Me To Odyskin

why I decided to choose Odyskin

While they aren’t based here in the UK, which would be the ideal scenario, with their home in Belgium, they are still close enough. They produce all their products in France and source their ingredients in Europe as much as possible.

Their packaging comes from France and Belgium. This means they have a low carbon supply chain, which reduces the carbon footprint of their products.

The founder, Stéphanie, created Odyskin in 2022 because she wanted to make a difference, however small. And to achieve this, she made sure that her products wouldn’t have a negative impact on our environment.

Only Natural Ingredients

Odyskin carefully select their ingredients, ensuring they don’t use any harmful chemicals that will impact the environment. They only use natural ingredients in their products.

Their active ingredients, i.e their UV filters, are zinc oxide and titanium dioxide in non-nano form. On their website, they actually don’t mention what size their UV filters are.

But an email to their customer service was promptly answered, confirming they only use non-nano mineral UV filters. Exactly what I needed to hear.

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Zero-Waste Packaging

They have also created zero-waste packaging that is almost plastic-free. Their products come either in metal tubes that can be recycled and a plastic screw top (which should be recycled by most UK councils).

Or in glass jars with metal tops, both of which are recyclable. The cardboard boxes can be composted at home if you have access to a compost heap. Otherwise, they can be recycled.

All this convinced me that Odyskin is serious about being sustainable and reducing their carbon footprint. So I was very happy to try them.

Delicate Scent And Easy To Distribute

if the Odyskin sunscreen isn't rubbed in well, it cann leave a white film on the skin
If you don’t rub in the sunscreen well, a white cast will remain.
Odyskin suncreen leaves no white marks if rubbed in well
But when rubbed in well, it will disapear.

The first thing I do with most products is smell them. I don’t like it when a product has an overwhelmingly strong scent or smells chemical.

The good news is, the Odyskin sunscreen had neither. All I got was a faint scent of chocolate, which is no surprise as they add cocoa butter as perfume. It didn’t smell strongly of chocolate, but there was a sweet, agreeable scent.

What I love about this is that it’s subtle and there are no synthetic fragrances involved. I’m very happy to wear this sun cream with this lovely subtle scent all day.

No White Marks

The basis of the sunscreen is shea butter, so the consistency is thicker than you might be used to if you have used chemical sun creams up to now. However, the sunscreen is still very easy to distribute and gets absorbed by the skin quickly.

One disadvantage of mineral sunscreens is that they can leave a white film on your skin. That’s because mineral UV filters reflect visible light. (Cole et al., 2015)

But Odyskin has done a lot of research to reduce the appearance of white marks. And if you make sure you rub it in well, there won’t be a white residue on your skin.

Outstanding Sun Protection That Leaves Skin Soft

Odyskin mineral sunscreen leaves your skin soft and nourished

Let’s get to the main factor in my Odyskin sunscreen review: how well it protects you from the sun’s UV radiation. After all, if it doesn’t do a good job, there’s no point in buying it.

I have tried the Odyskin SPF 50 sunscreen, because I have very light skin that burns easily. They do also offer an SPF 30 though, if you don’t need such a high sun protection factor.

Any sunscreen with mineral filters offers broad-spectrum protection, i.e will protect you from both UVA and UVB radiation.

For best protection, the use of both approved mineral filters, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, has been recommended by scientists. (Abou-Dachech et al., 2022) And the Odyskin sun cream does contain both of them.

No Sunburn After Hours Of Exposure

I put the sunscreen to a tough test. We decided to dig out a path in our garden. This meant spending several hours in the glaring sunlight, doing sweaty work. With it being June, the sun was already quite strong, so sun protection was a must.

I normally don’t spend that much time in direct sunlight, as I tend to seek out shade. But in this case I had no choice. I was very pleased with the performance of the Odyskin sunscreen.

Even after hours of sweaty work, my skin stayed protected. At the end of the day, there was no sign that I had caught the sun, even slightly. This was an excellent result, and it gives me confidence that this sun cream offers great protection.

Soft Skin Days After

One thing I love is how the sunscreen also nourishes my skin. It contains natural ingredients that help to moisturise and nourish your skin, including shea butter, jojoba esters, copernicia cerifera cera, and helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil.

I noticed that in the evening, after I had a shower, my skin was very soft and this continued another day or two. It feels really nice. This is great, as sun exposure can dry out your skin, but not with the Odyskin sunscreen.

And because they are all natural, plant-based ingredients, I can be sure that they won’t irritate my skin. I have sensitive skin, which gets irritated easily with many conventional sunscreens, but there is no such issue with this mineral sunscreen.

Excellent Value For Money

a pink piggy bank next to a stack of coins

So far so good, but do you get value for money? Compared to conventional chemical sunscreens, the Odyskin mineral sunscreen is more expensive.

That’s partly due to natural ingredients being more expensive, especially if you source good quality ingredients by reputable suppliers.

A small company like Odyskin also can’t buy the quantities that a multibillion corporation like Nivea, so won’t be able to get big bulk-buy discounts. But consider what you get for your money.

Zero-Waste Natural Sun Protection

You can get rid of harmful chemical ingredients that hurt our aquatic life, including coral reefs. Instead, you get natural ingredients that will nourish your skin rather than harm the environment.

Plastic bottles are a thing of the past as well, as this mineral sun cream is packaged in an aluminium tube, which can be recycled. The plastic cap can also be recycled with many UK councils.

And all this without compromising on the level of protection your skin gets. Now, for me, that’s value for money. And compared to other mineral sunscreens, Odyskin’s is similarly priced.

Invest In A Tube Squeezer

a tube squeezer is a great tool to avoid waste

To make sure you don’t waste any of the sun cream, we would recommend investing in an aluminium tube squeezer. This handy metal tool makes getting the last bit out of your tube easy work.

It’s the first time I have used one of those, and I have to say I’m a fan. There is nothing worse than knowing that there’s still some left in the tube, but being unable to get it out. No more waste.

And it can’t just be used for this sunscreen, but any tube you have. So you can reduce waste in your home even further.

What Other Odyskin Customers Said

I always like to see what other customers have to say before I buy a new product, so I did the same with the Odyskin sunscreen. They have a 3.5-star rating on Amazon, which is lower than what I expected.

Still, 61% of reviews have given the sunscreen a 4- or 5-star rating. With 23% only giving 1 or 2 stars. Having tried the sunscreen myself, the amount of negative reviews has surprised me.

It’s to be expected that some people find it irritates their skin, because we all react differently to different ingredients.

No White Marks For Happy Customers

Of those customers who have left positive reviews, they confirmed that they didn’t experience a white cast on their skin. Many also mention that the texture makes it easy to apply and that their skin feels moisturised.

This sunscreen is amazing. It’s smooth, not oily, not thick and not white on the skin. Eco-friendly and plastic-free packaging definitely makes it a plus.
I will definitely buy again.

5-Star Review on Amazon

Some of the negative reviews, however, seem to have experienced the opposite. Many reported that the cream was grainy. This could be because the shea butter has crystallised, which is natural.

Normally, that’s solved as soon as you rub the cream into the skin. I have had it and didn’t find it a problem. Once the sunscreen had been absorbed by the skin, the white bits were gone.

Final Thoughts Of My Odyskin Sunscreen Review

Odyskin mineral sunscreen

So, what’s the final verdict? I was very happy with this mineral sunscreen and would recommend it to anyone wishing to switch to eco-friendly sun protection.

The natural ingredients and non-nano mineral UV filters make it a sustainable alternative to chemical sunscreens. Providing broad-spectrum protection, it will protect your skin from UVA and UVA rays, ensuring your skin’s health.

I love that you can get SPF 50 and 30, so even if you have very fair skin, you are covered. It’s the only mineral sunscreen I found so far that offers the highest sun protection factor, making it the best eco-friendly sunscreen you can find.

The zero-waste packaging let’s you remove even more plastic waste from your bathroom, which is great. While there are some negative reviews, the majority of customers are happy with the sunscreen, and I found that it’s an excellent product.

If you are looking for an eco-friendly sunscreen that protects your skin and the planet, look no further, this is it.

Our Top 3 Eco-Friendly Sunscreen Picks

ProductsSPF AvailableSun ProtectionValue For MoneyMy RatingFull ReviewOfficial Website
Odyskin logo 230x23050 and 30OutstandingExcellent
4.85
Read ReviewVisit Website
Sintra Naturals logo 230x23030ExcellentOutstanding
4.8
Read ReviewVisit Website
UpCircle logo 25025ExcellentGreat
4.77
Read ReviewVisit Website

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