If you’ve been on social media over the past few years, you’ve likely scrolled past videos of Nara Smith: the South African model turned “trad wife” TikTok creator who’s best known—and now, beloved—for making everything from Oreos to bubble gum entirely from scratch.
The idea has become such a a fundamental component of Smith’s ethos, that upon announcing her third pregnancy, she joked that she was “growing a human from scratch.” And on June 25, Smith took her DIY endeavors into the wellness realm by posting a TikTok in which she formulated her own homemade sunscreen using everyday ingredients found in her kitchen.
In Smith’s video, which has already amassed 10 million views, she and her husband (fellow model Lucky Blue Smith) combined, melted, then solidified coconut oil, beeswax, shea butter, cocoa butter, jojoba oil, and zinc oxide powder as DIY SPF. According to Smith, it was a success: “This went on so smooth and didn’t leave a white cast,” she said in her corresponding voiceover.
Nara Smith’s homemade sunscreen fits right in on TikTok, where controversial “wellness” influencers claim that chemical sunscreen available for purchase is harmful and causes cancer. However, several skin-care experts debunked this claim, and tell Glamour that making your own sunscreen with Smith’s or any other recipe is not recommended, as there’s no way to know how much sun protection it provides.
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“DIY sunscreen should be avoided as there is no way to know how effective the formulation is and how much protection it will actually provide,” says Marisa Garshick, MD, a New York City board-certified dermatologist. “It may provide a false sense of security and leave someone susceptible to sunburn or potential for irritation.”
Adarsh Vijay Mudgil, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and founder of New York City’s Mudgil Dermatology, agrees, telling Glamour that DIY sunscreen is a “terrible idea,” even if Smith says her recipe worked.
“Many things applied to the skin have some degree of SPF, including some of the ingredients Nara used. But these may be an SPF 2 or 3, not SPF 30, which is what I recommend my patients use—and ideally one with a mineral component like titanium or zinc,” Dr. Mudgil explains.
His final thoughts? “Don’t do it! Purchase a reputable sunscreen that contains a minimum SPF 30 and contains a mineral ingredient like titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide. There are an infinite number of options available.”
Danielle Sinay is the associate beauty editor at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram @daniellesinay.
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