If you’ve been shopping Sky & Sol’s tallow sunscreen, you already know what you want: a mineral sunscreen built on grass-fed tallow and non-nano zinc, no chemical UV filters, reef-safe. Good instincts. That’s exactly the right thing to look for.

Here are two things their marketing won’t put front and center. First, flip the tube over — it says Made in China. Second, and more important: in June 2025, independent consumer-safety tester Tamara Rubin (Lead Safe Mama) published third-party lab results showing 4.6 ppm of lead in Sky & Sol’s SPF 50 sunscreen — more than 4× the 1 ppm limit Washington State sets for cosmetics. She reported it to state regulators. (Source: leadsafemama.com.)

For a product marketed as “so safe you can eat it,” that’s a real problem. If you love the tallow-and-mineral-zinc concept but want it made in the USA, with a short food-grade ingredient list and no lead headlines, here are the best alternatives.

Quick comparison

A note on the lead testing: In June 2025, Lead Safe Mama (Tamara Rubin) published independent third-party lab results reporting 4,612 ppb (4.6 ppm) lead in Sky & Sol’s SPF 50 Face & Body Sunscreen — over four times Washington State’s 1 ppm cosmetic limit — and reported the product to regulators. Sky & Sol publishes its own “heavy-metal tested” PDFs but has not publicly refuted that specific number; instead it filed copyright takedown requests to remove the article. We’re linking the original so you can read it and decide for yourself: tamararubin.com.

#1 — Eat My Face (the made-in-USA pick)

Same core idea as Sky & Sol — grass-fed tallow, non-nano zinc, reef-safe, no oxybenzone or octinoxate — but made in the USA in a USDA-registered, SQF Level 3 facility, and held to one simple standard: if you wouldn’t eat it, don’t wear it.

Where we’re different:

• Made in the USA. Not contract-manufactured overseas to a generic white-label spec.
• A short, food-grade ingredient deck — grass-fed tallow, cocoa and shea butter, jojoba, sea buckthorn, vitamin E, non-nano zinc. No water-based fillers padding the label.
• $24.99 for a clearly labeled 4 oz tube — more product, lower price than Sky & Sol’s 3 oz at $29.99.
• Reef-safe on non-nano zinc oxide, broad spectrum, 80-minute water resistance.

Best for: anyone who wants the Sky & Sol concept — tallow, mineral, reef-safe — made at home, with a cleaner label and a better price.

Shop Eat My Face SPF 30 →

#2 — Sky & Sol (if you want the SPF 50 and don’t mind overseas manufacturing)

Fair is fair: Sky & Sol has built a real following, offers an SPF 50 in addition to SPF 30, and backs it with a long money-back guarantee. The formula is tallow-based and reef-conscious. If those extras matter more to you than where it’s made, it’s a legitimate product to consider.

The trade-offs are real: it’s made in China, it’s $29.99 for 3 oz (less product at a higher price than EMF), the ingredient list runs long — and an independent 2025 lab test (Lead Safe Mama) reported lead in their SPF 50 at over 4× Washington’s legal cosmetic limit, which they’ve never publicly refuted.

Best for: shoppers who specifically want an SPF 50 mineral option and aren’t fussed about overseas manufacturing.

#3 — Other tallow sunscreen options

If you want to keep comparing, Toups & Co makes a tallow-based sun balm, and a handful of small US makers offer tallow SPF in limited runs. Most are balm-style rather than a smooth lotion, and availability comes and goes.

Bottom line

Sky & Sol got you looking for the right things — tallow, mineral zinc, reef-safe. If the “Made in China” stamp or the 2025 lead test gives you pause, Eat My Face is the same idea made in the USA, with a cleaner label and four ounces for $24.99 instead of three for $29.99.

Shop Eat My Face SPF 30 →