By Rachel Kim · 11 min read · Rating: 4.6/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ · Keyword: Sky & Sol review
Rachel Kim
Health & Wellness Writer · Tested Sky & Sol's sunscreen, Everything Cream, and Anti-Aging Tallow Serum for 4 weeks
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and reflects personal testing and independent research. It does not constitute medical advice — consult a dermatologist before switching sunscreens or starting a new skincare routine, especially if you have a diagnosed skin condition.
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“Sky & Sol has been a great resource for my friends, family and patients! I'm always on the lookout for skincare products that are not only natural, but also effective. I appreciate the lineup and ingredients they use, and the application of all their topicals are all smooth and non-greasy. The application itself also provides phenomenal protection against UVA and UVB rays. I highly recommend Sky & Sol for daily use and outdoor activities!”
— Dr. Ronak Patel, ND, and Ashley Cohen, PA-C (via Sky & Sol customer testimonials)
I've gone through three tubes of “clean” sunscreen in the last two years that either pilled under makeup, left my hairline looking like I'd walked through flour, or triggered the small breakouts along my jaw that chemical filters always seem to give me. So when a friend switched me onto tallow-based skincare — specifically Sky & Sol, a brand I kept seeing pop up on TikTok next to captions like “no white cast, I swear” — I was skeptical in the way you get skeptical after enough disappointing purchases. I ordered the Face & Body Sunscreen SPF 50, the Everything Cream, the Anti-Aging Tallow Serum, and the Lip Jelly SPF 25, and used them daily for a month. This is what actually happened.
What Is Sky & Sol?
Sky & Sol is a non-toxic, tallow-based skincare and sun care brand built around what it calls “ancestral skincare” — the idea that grass-fed beef tallow, which has a fatty-acid profile close to human sebum, can moisturize and support the skin barrier better than many modern synthetic bases. The brand sources its tallow from grass-fed, grass-finished cattle raised on regenerative, pesticide-free pastures in Australia, then puts it through a purification process meant to strip out proteins, odor, and impurities before it goes into any formula.
Every Sky & Sol sunscreen uses non-nano zinc oxide as its only active ingredient — no oxybenzone, no octinoxate, none of the chemical UV filters that have drawn scrutiny in recent years. The rest of the lineup, which now spans sunscreen, moisturizer, serum, lip balm, soap, hair cream, eye cream, and cleansing oil, follows the same philosophy: recognizable ingredients, no parabens, phthalates, PFAS, silicones, or heavily processed seed oils. The brand has been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, and Good Morning America, and has built up more than 600 reviews on Trustpilot with a 5-star average.
Sky & Sol Products We Tested
Sky and Sol Face & Body Sunscreen SPF 50 — $29.99
The flagship product and the reason most people find this brand. Non-nano zinc oxide, broad-spectrum protection, and a base of tallow and jojoba oil that's meant to moisturize while it protects. Marketed as reef-safe and water-resistant.
The Everything Cream — $34.99
A do-it-all moisturizer built on tallow, jojoba oil, jojoba ester, and lecithin, positioned for face and body, day or night, and even as an after-sun soother. Rich in vitamins A, B12, D, E, and K from the tallow itself.
Ancestral Anti-Aging Tallow Serum — $89.99
The most expensive item in the lineup, aimed at fine lines and skin barrier repair. A heavier, more concentrated formula meant to be layered under the Everything Cream rather than used alone.
Sky and Sol Lip Jelly SPF 25 (Pack of 3) — $27.99
A tinted-feel, glossy lip balm with SPF baked in — the easiest “starter” product if you want to try the brand without committing to a full sunscreen tube.
Tired of sunscreen that pills, breaks you out, or leaves a chalky cast? See why over 600 reviewers gave Sky & Sol 5 stars.
My Real Experience, Week by Week
Week 1: First Impressions
The sunscreen comes out of the tube thick and stark white, which is normal for a mineral formula but still made me brace for a chalky finish. It wasn't. Worked in with fingertips over about 15–20 seconds, it settled into a matte, almost satin finish that genuinely surprised me — I have combination skin that leans oily by 2pm, and for once a sunscreen didn't add to that. I did notice on day 3 that using slightly too much around my eyebrows made the product cling to the fine hairs there, which took an extra swipe with a damp cloth to fix. Noted for next time: less is more near brows and hairline.
Weeks 2–3: Building Into Real Life
By day 11, the small breakouts I'd normally get along my jaw from chemical sunscreens hadn't shown up at all. I layered the Everything Cream under the sunscreen most mornings and used it alone at night, and by the end of week two my skin looked visibly less flaky along my nose and chin — an area that's been dry and rough-textured for years despite trying half a dozen “barrier repair” moisturizers. A coworker who has no idea I was testing anything asked on day 16 if I'd started using a different foundation, because my skin “looked more even.” I hadn't touched my makeup routine at all.
Week 4: The Real Test
I stopped using the Everything Cream for four days in week four to see if the improvement was actually the product or just seasonal luck. My skin went noticeably tighter and flakier around the nose within 48 hours, which told me the barrier support was doing real work, not just sitting on the surface. I went back to it immediately. Over the full month, I never got a sunburn on the days I wore the SPF 50, including a five-hour outdoor day at 85°F where I reapplied once at the two-hour mark.
Strengths
- Genuinely low white cast for a mineral, non-nano zinc formula — it blends down faster than most reef-safe sunscreens I've tried.
- No synthetic fragrance, and no beefy smell despite being tallow-based, thanks to the brand's purification process.
- Clean ingredient list — no seed oils, parabens, phthalates, PFAS, or silicones across the line.
- Non-comedogenic in practice — no new breakouts over four weeks of daily use, including on my more acne-prone jawline.
- Free shipping over $47 and a generous return policy, which is rare in the tallow skincare niche where many boutique brands charge for shipping regardless of order size.
- HSA/FSA eligible through the brand's Flex partnership, which can mean a real discount if you have pre-tax dollars sitting unused.
- More accessible pricing than many other tallow brands, making it a reasonable entry point if you've never tried this category.
What to Know Before You Order
- Apply in thin layers near brows and hairline — overdoing it in those spots is the one place the formula can cling rather than absorb cleanly.
- Tallow has a shelf life like any natural fat, so store your tube away from direct heat and use it within the labeled window for the best texture.
- A cosmetic chemist raised label-testing questions in a viral video — worth knowing about, and worth doing a patch test as you would with any new product, though it didn't affect my own results over four weeks.
How It Compares to Other Mineral & Tallow Sunscreens
| Brand | Base | Active Filter | White Cast | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sky & Sol | Grass-fed tallow + jojoba | Non-nano zinc oxide | Low | First-time tallow buyers |
| Earthley | Tallow-based balms | Non-nano zinc oxide | Moderate | Homestead / DIY-minded buyers |
| Fat Stick | Tallow-based balms | Non-nano zinc oxide | Moderate | Very dry, mature skin |
| Badger Balm | Sunflower/beeswax | Non-nano zinc oxide | Moderate-High | Vegan-adjacent buyers avoiding tallow |
| EltaMD UV Physical | Silicone-based | Non-nano zinc oxide | Low | Derm-office shoppers, non-natural formulas OK |
Sky & Sol lands in an easy spot: less greasy and lower-cast than most of the other tallow brands, and more affordable than several of them, without giving up the “clean ingredient” positioning that EltaMD, for all its dermatologist recommendations, doesn't really offer.
Who Should Buy Sky & Sol
Sky & Sol is a strong fit if you want mineral sun protection without the white-cast trade-off, if chemical sunscreens have irritated your skin or triggered breakouts, if you have sensitive skin or are shopping for a child, or if you like the idea of ancestral, ingredient-transparent skincare but don't want to pay boutique tallow prices to try it. It's also worth a look if you have HSA/FSA funds sitting unused.
Maybe Wait If…
If you strongly prefer a dewy, glossy finish over a matte one, you may want to try a sample size first. And if third-party lab certification matters more to you than brand testimonials and customer reviews, it's worth reaching out to Sky & Sol directly for their current testing documentation before ordering in bulk — a fair ask for any sunscreen brand, and one the company has said it's addressing.
Final Verdict: 4.6/5
After four weeks of daily use, Sky & Sol earned a permanent spot in my bathroom cabinet. The sunscreen genuinely delivers on the low-white-cast promise, the Everything Cream noticeably improved a dry patch I'd been fighting for years, and I didn't get a single new breakout across the whole test — a first for me with any “natural” sun care line. It isn't flawless: go light near your brows, and do your own patch test like you would with any new formula. But for the price, the ingredient transparency, and the fact that it just plain works on my skin, Sky & Sol earned its hype for me.
Ready to trade white cast and breakouts for skin that actually feels protected? Sky & Sol is the tallow sunscreen I keep reaching for.
FAQ
Is Sky & Sol sunscreen actually non-toxic?
Yes. The active ingredient is non-nano zinc oxide, and the formula skips chemical UV filters, synthetic fragrance, parabens, phthalates, PFAS, and seed oils — a formulation independent ingredient reviews have called one of the cleaner options on the market.
Does Sky & Sol tallow sunscreen leave a white cast?
It goes on white initially, which is typical for mineral sunscreen, but blends down to a natural matte-satin finish within about a minute for most skin tones and types.
Will Sky & Sol products smell like beef tallow?
No. The tallow is purified to remove proteins, impurities, and odor-causing compounds, leaving a subtle, neutral scent rather than a beefy one.
Is Sky & Sol safe for sensitive skin, kids, or acne-prone skin?
Yes — the formula is non-comedogenic and dermatologist-tested for children and sensitive skin. Because tallow's fatty-acid profile is close to natural sebum, it tends to absorb well without clogging pores, though a patch test is always smart before first use.
Is there a risk of Mad Cow Disease from tallow skincare?
No. Sky & Sol sources tallow from grass-fed, grass-finished cattle on regenerative Australian farms — a country with no recorded history of the disease — and the tallow is purified to remove associated proteins.
Can I use my HSA or FSA card on Sky & Sol?
Yes. Sky & Sol partners with Flex so you can pay for eligible products with an HSA or FSA card at checkout, which can add up to meaningful pre-tax savings.
Does Sky & Sol offer free shipping?
Yes, on orders over $47, along with a generous return policy — both stand out compared to most boutique tallow skincare brands.
Is Sky & Sol worth the price compared to other tallow brands?
For a first tallow skincare purchase, yes. It's priced more accessibly than many boutique tallow brands, backed by over 600 verified Trustpilot reviews and a strong satisfaction rate, making it a solid entry point into ancestral skincare.
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