The Reduce Report

View Original

Pipette Mineral Sunscreen Review 2021 | Mineral, reef-friendly sunscreen

The Top Line: BUY NOW AND BUY MANY. We LOVE Pipette’s Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50. It is everything we want in a safe sunscreen that we can use on our face and body, and for the entire family — including babies! We’ve tried a few different mineral sunscreens (which do not include benzenes and other harmful ingredients that is not safe for kids, and frankly not great for adults either…) and this one is our current favorite by a long shot. Its moisturizing thanks to the plant-based squalene in the product and there is NO WHITE CAST. Hallelujah.


The Breakdown:

  • Cost & Products: $19.99 for 4 fl oz on Amazon

  • How ‘Clean’ Is This? Baby-friendly ingredients, reef-friendly natural sunscreen that uses 100% mineral, non-nano zinc oxide for broad spectrum UVA/UVB sun protection. The non-nano part is important — there are studies showing that very small nanoparticles (smaller than 35nm) of uncoated zinc oxide and uncoated titanium dioxide can be harmful to the environment by being toxic to marine life.

    Pipette also bans over 2,000 potentially toxic or irritating ingredients from their formulas, replacing them with the cleanest, purest possible ingredients. All of our products are created with the support of biologists, pediatricians, and dermatologists, and are rigorously tested to ensure they're hypoallergenic, gentle, and safe for babies. All Pipette products are hypoallergenic, cruelty-free, and vegan.

  • Packaging: Unfortunately does come in a plastic container.

  • Purchasing & Shipping: I purchased on Amazon, but will purchase from Pipette’s site directly next time!

  • Good to know: OMG - no white cast for a mineral sunscreen!

  • What’s Your Impact? The big thing here is the reef friendly, non-toxic ingredients. Chemicals commonly found in sunscreen cause permanent DNA damage to coral. Key here is to look for biologically toxic chemicals such as oxybenzone, paraben, phthalate, and avobenzone.


The Experience

Context: As an expecting mom, I have been on the hunt for the best mineral sunscreen and have tried a few (more reviews to come!). Most of the “top recommended” mineral sunscreens I have been able to find online from other articles have been very disappointing - I had almost given up on finding a good mineral sunscreen!

  • Very blendable with foundation to make your own tinted sunscreen moisturizer

  • Plant-based squalene in formula makes Pipette’s sunscreen very hydrating and easy to apply with no white cast — though those with oily skin may find it too moisturizing

  • No scent which we appreciate

  • I have combination oily and dry skin on my face, and have not gotten any breakouts from using Pipette’s sunscreen

  • Awesome to use for body as well

  • LOVE that this is also baby-friendly (when the baby comes!) and great for the whole family

Overall, EXTREMELY happy with the experience! Great product that is now making me consider trying the rest of Pipette’s products!


The Cost

We compared Pipette’s Mineral Sunscreen SPF with other Mineral SPFs on the market and found the price to be really reasonable (we were actually surprised — as we were prepared to pay more given how much we loved this product!).

Money Report:


The Good:

Blendable and NO WHITE CAST(!!)

Unscented, great to use on face and body

100% mineral, non-nano zinc oxide that’s reef-friendly, free of oxybenzone and octinoxate (ingredients that can damage reefs and marine life)

While it comes in plastic tube (like pretty much all sunscreen) we do like the packaging design

Moisturizing plant-based squalene makes it so hydrating

✔ Wild gooseberry extract helps calm the effects of infrared light

✔ Plant-derived antioxidant bisabolol calms irritation and moisturizes

✔ Baby and toddler friendly

✔ No breakouts (even on combination oily and dry sensitive skin)

The Bad:

Comes in a plastic bottle

Our Recommendation:

BUY NOW AND BUY MANY. We LOVE Pipette’s Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50. It is everything we want in a safe sunscreen that we can use on our face and body, and for the entire family — including babies! We’ve tried a few different mineral sunscreens (which do not include benzenes and other harmful ingredients that is not safe for kids, and frankly not great for adults either…) and this one is our current favorite by a long shot. Its moisturizing thanks to the plant-based squalene in the product and there is NO WHITE CAST. Hallelujah.


We're on a mission to reduce our personal carbon footprint with small, hopefully easy, changes in our home to fight against climate change. This means we're looking for products that may be all natural, ideally zero waste, reusable or compostable -- while still being affordable!