BRANDS I LOVE : SOLARA SUNCARE, THE BEST CLEAN FACIAL SUNSCREENS!
I just left lunch with Stephanie DiPisa, one of my skincare muses. Stephanie is the bold, imaginative and resolute founder of the clean sun- and skin-care brand, Solara Suncare — one of my favorite discoveries of the year.
She inspires me because she was determined to create the safest, most effective range of sunscreen products on the market. And she did just that!
That was no small feat. Formulating sunscreen products — and especially clean, effective and pleasurable sunscreens — isn’t easy. It’s a long, arduous process that requires true determination, something Stephanie has an abundance of. She’s got that New York grit!
So there we were, at The Smith in NoMad — one my favorite lunch spots for long, deep, nerdy conversations about all things skin care. Over kale and quinoa salads, Stephanie and I mused about the science of sunscreen formulation, the challenges of brand building, and lack of authenticity in skincare marketing.
The Skincarma Challenge in which I compared Creme de la Mer to Vaseline!
Which naturally led me to share my informed opinions about the absurdity of overpriced skincare products that under-deliver.
Products like Crème de La Mer.
The namesake brand’s iconic anti-aging cream provides nothing even remotely worth $185 in benefits to your skin. I had just finished recounting to Stephanie my Skincarma Challenge comparing Crème de la Mer to Vaseline when the woman sitting immediately to my left, a mere two feet from me, interrupted:
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your conversation, but can I ask you to repeat what you said about La Mer?” - Woman hoodwinked by skincare marketers
Everything she had come to believe about skincare products came crashing down on her at The Smith over lunch at 1 pm on December 6, 2019. She was the classic hoodwinked consumer of brands like La Mer and La Prairie — both of which she had apparently put blind faith in. She believed it all; believed all the nonsense these brands have “sold” her about expensive skincare. The higher the price, the better the product.
“Seriously, La Prairie, too?”
Yes, La Prairie, too. Without flinching, I shared a favorite Skincarma secret that there isn’t a single moisturizer on the market (anti-aging or otherwise!) worth more than $65. And that if you’re going to pay that much for one, you should at least find one that delivers what your skin needs — and nothing it doesn’t. She embodied the elite Upper East Side types who just need to spend a lot on skincare to feel like they’re in the know.
I felt bad. I couldn’t just leave her out there in the skincare wilderness, so I recommend moisturizers from Drunk Elephant. IMO they’re the most expensive that are also the most worth it. The Protini Polypeptide Cream is seriously good stuff for the $68 it will set you back.
There’s no better anti-aging product than a well-formulated sunscreen!
Which brings me back to the subject at hand, sunscreen. Without a well-formulated daily sun care product, everything else you’re doing — from washing your face to Botox injections — is meaningless. If you care about your skin health, you need to be using a sunscreen with at least SPF 30 protection every single day of the year — even on sunless, seemingly cloudy days. As I’ve said many times before, sunscreen is the most effective anti-aging product you’ve got in your age-fighting arsenal.
I’ll take 18 tubes of The Ordinary’s Mineral UV Filters SPF 30 over a single jar of Crème de la Scare any day!
“SPF 15 blocks 93% of UVB rays
SPF 30 blocks 97% of UVB rays
SPF 50 blocks 98% of UVB rays.
So, the difference between 30 and 50 is about 1 percent.”
Truly, a well-formulated, mineral sunscreen with an SPF 30 is the gold standard. And if your sun product pick is a clean formula, all the better!
Which brings me to a fateful moment on the crosstrainer six months ago and my latest find — Stephanie’s new, indie brand, Solara Suncare. I came across Solara the same way I’ve discovered two other favorite clean skincare brands — Codex Beauty and Ethique; I found Solara on the cyber pages of Beauty Independent.
And I’m so excited to share Solara with you. It’s one of my favorite discoveries of the year…
Solara’s clean, effective, non-toxic, mineral skincare checks all the boxes for a superb sun care product.
Meet Solara!
To start, Solara Suncare checks all the boxes: it’s a 100% clean, non-toxic, good-for-skin mineral sunscreen based brand. And Solara really gets it — with firsthand experience. The brand was founded by fellow New Yorker Stephanie DiPisa who discovered, while on a family vacation on the Jersey Shore, that her 8-year-old son was allergic to the chemical sunscreen she had applied to his skin. She simply wanted to protect him and keep him from burning in the glaring summer sun.
Eager to prevent a recurrence on the next family outing, she looked for an alternative. All of the sunscreens she looked at were loaded with the same chemical toxins that triggered her son’s allergic reaction. And the mineral options were awful. (We’ve all been there!) It seemed that nothing was going to protect him the way Stephanie needed it to.
So she’d just have to make it on her own. Stephanie set out to create a clean, non-toxic brand for herself and moms like her who just wanted to protect their kids from the sun’s harmful rays without poisoning them with toxic substances.
At the outset, Stephanie identified what Solara calls “six common sunscreen offenders.” The list includes chemical sunscreens, PEGs, denatured alcohol, silicones and siloxanes, artificial fragrance and potentially irritating synthetics.
The amazing part is Stephanie began to formulate her clean sunscreen brand five years ago — well before the clean craze that has swept the industry over the last year.
I told you she was my muse!
When I first reached out to Stephanie through the brand’s IG page, I wasn’t expecting much of a response — if I got one at all. More often than not, new brand founders have no one managing their social media and they rarely have time to figure it out on their own. But, I always at least try!
Some brands get it, some don’t. Stephanie did. She recognized my enthusiasm and my passion for sunscreen immediately; that Skincarma and Solara share the same ethos when it comes to the importance of protecting the skin from the sun’s damaging UV rays. She shared her story, shared her products and even shared her mission — to bring clean, non-toxic, pro-skin health products to everyone who wants them. (Including me!)
““I started this company to solve a need for my three children who have allergies to chemical sunscreens + my own Lyme’s Disease journey where I learned:
Ingredients + Transparency DO Matter.
In that process, I realized not all zinc SPF is clean. Read your labels.
After more than three years working with talented chemists, doctors, labs and global testing facilities, we’re thrilled to give natural SPF a long overdue makeover! We clean up ingredient lists, removing questionable stuff in favor of more of the good stuff. Our products complement your skincare regimen with more pleasant (yes, they rub in and hydrate!), healthier + skin-loving formulas that drive skincare level results.”
- Stephanie DiPisa, founder Solara Suncare”
Solara Suncare | Time Traveler Ageless Daily Face Sunscreen
I first wrote about Solara’s Time Traveler Ageless Daily Face Sunscreen in my blog article on my dream routine titled, A Complete $175 Clean Skincare Routine with Herbivore, The Inkey List, Solara Suncare & More!
Time Traveler is that good.
The Time Traveler formula relies upon a 20% mineral concentration of non-nano Zinc Oxide. Remarkable since it uses a non-nano form of the molecule, and still leaves no white cast. It’s kinda miraculous. And the formula is packed with a terrific blend of replenishing, antioxidant plant oils including Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, Oat Kernel Extract and a new skincare sensation — Ashwagandha Root Extract, a healthy medicinal herb.
I’ve been known to display irrational fondness for a really good sunscreen. I’m weird and nerdy like that. It’s no secret that my fave sunscreen of all time is the Skin Aqua UV Milk, made with alien technology. But Time Traveler has earned it’s place, too, in the Skincarma Vault as one of my daily sunscreen go-to’s.
Also at a high enough level to deliver legit benefits to the skin are two plumping peptides and ceramides and multiple skin-soothing extracts including the Ashwagandha Root Extract and time-proven Oat Kernel Extract.
Solara’s Time Traveler has earned it’s place in the Skincarma Vault.
Aside from the fact that Time Traveler is clean, safe, really well-formulated and effective — it’s got this unusual added benefit to it that I found striking the first time I used it. It gives you an out-of-this-world radiance — a remarkably reflective, healthy looking glow. Your complexion just lights up! I dubbed it the #solaraglow.
There’s Vitamin E, Shea Butter and a solid amount of humectant Glycerin to help lock in moisture and keep skin from drying out. How and why Time Traveler ignites the complexion remains a mystery to me. I may have stumbled on yet more evidence of alien technology with this one!
Oh, I almost forgot the one thing people always ask about a mineral sunscreen: Does it leave a white cast? The answer is a resounding, “No, just a #solaraglow!”
Time Traveler is available on the Solara Suncare website and, as of this month, on the Detox Market website, too.
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the Solara Suncare Time Traveler Ageless Daily Face Sunscreen SPF 30 for $42 here.
Solara Suncare | Glow Getter Nutrient Boosted Daily Sunscreen (Naturally Scented)
Solara’s Glow Getter is more of an all-over, head-to-toe sunscreen product, though IMO a well-formulated sunscreen should work on all exposed skin — whether it’s your face, legs or, well, your backside! (For the record, I wouldn’t be caught dead on a nude beach — with or without sunscreen on.)
Formulated with 99.99% plant origin ingredients, Glow Getter Nutrient Boosted Daily Sunscreen is a tad thicker than Time Traveler though it blends right in and, after a few minutes, leaves no discernible white cast.
So what’s distinctive about this particular formula?
As with Time Traveler, Glow Getter is packed with just good-for-skin ingredients, as well as non-nano zinc at 20% for ideal mineral sunscreen protection. There are a significant number of additional replenishing oils in this formula — the reason it’s a bit thicker and perhaps more suitable for the body.
Among the formula’s skin-loving oils are high levels of two powerful antioxidants, Coffee Seed Oil and Sunflower Seed Oil. In fact, there are so many antioxidant botanical oils and extracts I didn’t bother to count them. The INCI is comprised of at least 20 of them — including several that give the formula a light, refreshing, natural scent.
According to Solara, “You’re already a Glow Getter, so here’s the skin protection to match your vibe. Our lightweight mineral SPF 30 moisturizer is a wake-up smoothie for your skin! A potent mix of botanicals and responsibly sourced mica help tone, illuminate and hydrate while protecting against everyday sun and digital + environmental pollution.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. And, as Solara notes, Glow Getter contains what the brand calls, “responsibly sourced mica” for a bit of complexion boosting iridescence. And what about that .01% of the formula that’s not of plant origin? Stephanie shared with me that it’s Potassium Sorbate, a mild preservative used in skincare formulas as an alternative to parabens.
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the Solara Suncare Glow Getter Nutrient Boosted Daily Sunscreen for $32 here.
WATCH MY VIDEO REVIEW OF
SOLARA SUNCARE’S COOL, CLEAN, NON-TOXIC SUNSCREENS
ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE
Solara Suncare | JuiceBoost Defense Boosting Serum (Non-SPF)
Juice Boost — another great name — is one of two non-SPF skincare products that Solara offers. Solara describes it as a “hydrating cocktail of powerful, bioavailable actives that instantly reinvigorate thirsty skin.” Sure, but to put it simply, it’s an antioxidant powerhouse serum that’s easily layered into any skincare routine.
Juice Boost is super lightweight and reminds me a lot of the Paula’s Choice Power Berry Serum — powered by 13 potent antioxidant berry extracts. Juice Boost doesn’t contain Paula’s veritable fruit salad, but it’s got quite a bit of goodness in it, including Watermelon Seed Oil and Apple Cell Culture Extract — aka apple stem cells. While stem cells are often mischaracterized as providing some sort of miraculously regenerative skin-cell benefit, they are known to be a potent antioxidant.
According to Paula herself,
Pyrus malus (apple) fruit extract is a species of apple; the pectin derived from it is used as a thickener in cosmetics and the fruit is a tremendous source of polyphenolic antioxidants, which lets it ably scavenge multiple types of free radicals before they damage skin.
The numerous types of apple-derived ingredients used in skin care have shown to be safe for skin; however, do keep in mind that in the case of apple stem cells, these do not work on skin as they do in the plant. Despite this disappointment, apple stem cells maintain their antioxidant benefit.
In addition to its antioxidant content, Juice Boost contains a plumping peptide or two, humectant Vitamin E and Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate — a stable oil-soluble form of Vitamin C that is similar in potency to L-Ascorbic Acid, the purest form of Vitamin C. I love how quickly the milky serum formula absorbs into skin, making it the perfect antioxidant booster.
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the Solara Suncare JuiceBoost Defense Boosting Serum (Non-SPF) for $42 here.
I hope you’ll give Solara a look the next time you’re in the mood to power up your routine with a clean, natural sunscreen like Time Traveler. Trust me, you’ll enjoy that #solaraglow.(No need to thank me for it!)
🖤 SKINCARMA
WATCH MY VIDEO REVIEW OF
SOLARA SUNCARE’S COOL, CLEAN, NON-TOXIC SUNSCREENS
ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE
Orpheus loves his #solaraglow too!
The Ingredient List of the Solara Suncare Time Traveler Ageless Daily Face Sunscreen:
Active Ingredient: Non-Nano, Non-Coated Zinc Oxide: 20%
Inactive Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, C13-14 Alkane, Polyglyceryl-4 Diisostearate/Polyhydroxystearate/Sebacate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Coco-Caprylate, Propanediol, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Magnesium Sulfate, Copper Tripeptide-1, Acetyl Heptapeptide-4, Ceramide Ng, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax, Squalane, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Withania Somnifera (Ashwagandha) Root Extract, Perilla Frutescens (Mint) Leaf Extract, Punica Granatum Flower Extract, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract, Gardenia Taitensis (Tahitian Gardenia) Flower Extract, Rubus Idaeus Leaf Extract, Potassium Sorbate, Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenylpropanol, Sorbitan Olivate, Isostearic Acid, Lecithin, Cetyl Palmitate, Sorbitan Palmitate, Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Fructose.
The Ingredient List of the Solara Suncare Glow Getter Nutrient Boosted Daily Sunscreen:
Active Ingredient: Non-Nano, Non-Coated Zinc Oxide: 20%
Inactive Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, C13-14 Alkane, Polyglyceryl-4 Diisostearate/Polyhydroxystearate/Sebacate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Coco-Caprylate, Propanediol, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Magnesium Sulfate, Coffea Arabica (Coffee) Seed Oil, Nelumbo Nucifera Leaf Extract, Squalane, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Withania Somnifera (Ashwagandha) Root Extract, Perilla Frutescens (Mint) Leaf Extract, Punica Granatum Flower Extract, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Fruit Extract, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Fruit Extract, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract, Gardenia Taitensis (Tahitian Gardenia) Flower Extract, Rubus Idaeus Leaf Extract, Impatiens Balsamina Flower Extract, Potassium Sorbate, Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Extract, Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract, Cucumis Melo Cantalupensis Fruit Extract, Dianthus Caryophyllus Flower Extract, Fragaria Ananassa (Strawberry) Fruit Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Musa Sapientum (Banana) Fruit Extract, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Cetyl Palmitate, Sorbitan Palmitate, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenylpropanol, Sorbitan Olivate, Isostearic Acid, Lecithin, Mica, Tin Oxide, Fructose, Benzyl Salicylate*, Amyl Cinnamal*, Hexyl Cinnamal*, Coumarin*, Linalool*, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891) (*0.004% or less, naturally occurring in plant extracts)
The Ingredient List of the JuiceBoost Defense Boosting Serum (Non-SPF):
Water/Aqua, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice*, Glycerin*, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Dicaprylyl Ether, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38, Ubiquinone, Malus Domestica Fruit Cell Culture Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Citrullus Lanatus (Watermelon) Seed Oil, Opuntia Ficus Indica Seed Oil, Gardenia Tahitensis Flower Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Panthenol, Citric Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Sclerotium Gum, Xanthan Gum, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil+, Hydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Tocopherol, Bisabolol, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract+, Sodium Phytate, Glyceryl Behenate/Eicosadioate, Lecithin. *Organic, +Non-GMO
