goop Mineral Sunscreen: Which One to Try

In September 2008, Gwyneth Paltrow sent the first goop newsletter from her London kitchen. It was a weekly email, and the first issue was banana-nut muffins and turkey ragú. The name came from the branding executive Peter Arnell, who told her that successful internet companies have double o's in them. That is where goop started, as a recipe email with a silly name. By 2009 it had around 150,000 subscribers, and in 2014 it began selling products of its own.

Since then the brand has become famously opinionated, and sunscreen is one of the places where its opinion is easiest to state. goop sunscreen is mineral only. Its own guide says there are only two camps, mineral and chemical, and that at goop only one makes the cut. It tells you to look for zinc oxide and titanium dioxide as the only actives, and to be wary of the phrase mineral-based, which can hide a hybrid with chemical filters. I find that a clear and useful rule, even though it is a point of view and not a medical requirement. The American Academy of Dermatology accepts chemical, physical and hybrid sunscreens as long as they are broad-spectrum, water resistant and SPF 30 or higher. It also helps to know that goop does not make its own SPF, as far as I could verify. Its sunscreens come from other brands, which makes the edit itself the product. If you want to keep going, The Best Mineral Sunscreen Picks, and the Two Filters the FDA Backs is the one I would read next.

The trick is to read the first grid as a short list of brands goop stocks and recommends. iris&romeo's Weekend Skin SPF 50 adds vitamin C and glow, and RMS Beauty's SuperNatural Radiance Serum SPF 30 is the glowy one. RMS's SunCoverup Super Tint is SPF 50 with color. DUNE's The Mineral Melt is SPF 30, Augustinus Bader's The Mineral Sunscreen is SPF 50, and MARA's Algae + Zinc Sea Kale Sunscreen Serum takes the serum route. FORAH's Everyday Mineral Sunscreen is SPF 30, and Goldfaden MD's LumiShield is SPF 50.

Rub a pea-sized amount of any mineral sunscreen on the back of your hand and look at it in a bathroom mirror. If it leaves a gray film there, it will do the same on your face, and you will stop wearing it.

White cast is the old complaint about mineral SPF, and the names on this shelf are mostly trying to solve it. Lion Pose's Unghosted 100% Mineral Sunscreen SPF 42 has zinc and squalane and, as the name says, it is meant to disappear. Supergoop's 100% Mineral Mattescreen SPF 40 is for oilier skin. Shiseido's Ultimate Sun Protector Lotion Mineral is SPF 60+ for a long, bright day. Nudestix's Nudescreen is a mineral SPF 30, and Dezi Skin's SOLD Broad Spectrum Mineral Sunscreen is SPF 30 with PA+++.

INNBEAUTY Project's Mineral Sun Glow SPF 43 is the hydrating one, and Saint Jane's Luxury Sun Ritual Pore Smoothing SPF 30 is for skin that wants its pores blurred. Dr. Dennis Gross's All-Physical Ultimate Defense SPF 50 is a name goop itself lists, and the all-physical label is right there in the name.

A pairing I like: a mineral sunscreen in the morning, and a mineral powder or stick for topping up at midday, so the routine stays mineral from start to finish. I went deeper on a related idea in CeraVe Tinted Sunscreen and the Mineral Tints I Would Pair With It.

What I would skip: applying mineral sunscreen in a thin, stingy layer. It needs to be generous to do its job, and a pea of it on a whole face is not enough.

Measure the body amount once, then never again. goop suggests about a shot glass for the whole body, and once you have poured it out you will know how much more it is than you think.

Body SPF is where mineral options get interesting, because the formats are less strict. Supergoop's Glow Oil is an SPF 50 dry body oil sunscreen, and its Unseen Sunscreen Body is SPF 40. Supergoop's PLAY 100% Mineral Lotion with green algae is SPF 30 and is one goop lists. Supergoop is an unrelated brand despite the name, for anyone wondering. Utu's SPF30 Moisturizing Body Sunscreen is the lotion-like choice.

Sticks are for the places a lotion misses. Shiseido's Ultimate Sun Protector Clear Stick is SPF 60+ and Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum-In-Stick is SPF 50+. Ultra Violette's Vibrant Screen is SPF 50, water resistant, and made for face and body, and Evereden's Cooling Mineral Stick is SPF 30 for sensitive skin. Dermatologist Teresa Song, quoted by goop, says mineral SPF suits sensitive skin and is less likely to clog pores.

What I would skip: a sun stick as your only body sunscreen. It is for ears, shoulders and the bits you will touch up, not for the whole afternoon.

Put a lip balm where you will see it. Beside the toothbrush works, because the easiest way to remember lip protection is to tie it to something you do twice a day.

Lips burn, and so does the skin you forgot. Vacation's Classic Whip Lip SPF 30 is the playful one. Iris&Romeo's Weekend Skin SPF 30 Moisture Lip Balm comes from the same brand as the Weekend Skin sunscreen in the first grid. Supergoop's Glow Gloss SPF 40 is the shiny version.

Mists are for reapplying over skin and hair without a full application. Vacation's Super Spritz SPF 50 and Ultra Violette's Preen Screen SPF 50 Facial Sunscreen Mist with Niacinamide are the ones I would try. Isle of Paradise's Daily Defense Body Mist SPF 30 is the body option. They work best as a top-up, and shot-glass rules still apply for the first layer.

Then the after-sun shelf. Kate McLeod's The Sun Stone After Sun Balm is the solid-balm version, and Tanning Club's After Sun Hydration Gel is the cooling one.

What I would skip: after-sun care as a substitute for sunscreen. It soothes, and it does not protect.

Honestly, the most useful part of goop's sunscreen stance is its habit, not its rule. Thira Burns, goop's VP of product development, says the best clean sunscreens are the ones you want to reach for daily. I agree, and I would pick one from the first grid because the texture makes you want it, then add a body option and a lip balm.

Paltrow's first newsletter had muffins and a name she was told to give it. You have a bottle with zinc in it and a shot glass to measure with, which is a far better start. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Makeup Brands We Love and Ciele Skin Tint.