Frequently asked

Our balm is a cosmetic product, not a drug, so we don't put numerical claims on the jar. That kind of testing is expensive and we're still a two-person brand putting every dollar back into the product.

What we can tell you is that our formula is 16.3% non-nano zinc oxide by weight, a meaningful amount of mineral zinc for a daily balm. It sits on the surface of your skin rather than absorbing into your bloodstream.

Not when you rub it in properly. A little goes a long way. Warm a small amount between your fingers first to soften it, then work it into your skin in thin layers until it disappears. If you see a white cast, you've used too much or haven't blended it fully.

Six ingredients. That's it.

US grass-fed, grass-finished beef tallow (64.7%), organic jojoba oil (17.2%), non-nano zinc oxide (16.3%), organic vitamin E oil (1%), organic rosehip oil (0.5%), and organic lavender oil (0.3%). Every oil except the tallow is certified organic. The vitamin E is natural, not synthetic.

No fragrance, no preservatives, no emulsifiers, no fillers. The scent comes entirely from the lavender oil.

Tallow has a lipid profile very close to human skin, which is why it tends to work well even for people who break out easily. Every ingredient in the formula is non-comedogenic and it's been tested on all skin types without issues.

That said, skin is personal. If you have sensitive skin or a history of reactions, we always recommend patch testing on a small area first.

Soft lavender. The scent comes entirely from organic lavender essential oil, not synthetic fragrance. It's not overpowering and it fades within a few minutes of application.

The formula is food-grade and cosmetic-grade organic, and plenty of parents in our community use it on their kids. That said, we'd always recommend talking to your pediatrician about any new product you're putting on young skin, and patch testing first.

Every ingredient is clean and food-grade or cosmetic-grade organic, and there's nothing in the formula that's flagged as unsafe during pregnancy. But we're not doctors, so please check with yours if you have any concerns.

Yes. The only mineral in it is non-nano zinc oxide. There's no oxybenzone and no octinoxate, which are the two ingredients Hawaii and Key West banned over coral damage.

Non-nano matters here too. The particles are large enough to sit on your skin rather than being small enough to be taken up the way nano particles can be. Six ingredients, nothing synthetic, nothing we wouldn't want in the water we surf in.

Fair question, and we'd rather answer it than dodge it.

Fewer ingredients doesn't mean cheaper ingredients. Here it's the opposite. US grass-fed, grass-finished beef tallow, certified organic jojoba, rosehip, vitamin E and lavender oils, and non-nano zinc oxide cost several times what the synthetic and petroleum-derived bases in a drugstore bottle cost. We also make it in small batches and whip it by hand overnight instead of running it through a high-speed industrial line.

Shipping is in that price too. We don't tack it on at checkout. What you see is what you pay.

Then there's how long it lasts. The jar looks small, but you use about a pea-sized amount. On your face and neck daily, a jar runs two to three months. That works out to somewhere around forty to sixty cents a day, delivered.

No. There are six ingredients and iron oxide isn't one of them, so the balm is untinted and won't add any color to your skin.

Iron oxide is what gives tinted mineral products their shade, and it's usually what people are after when they're managing melasma or hyperpigmentation. If that's what you need, this isn't that product. It's a request we've heard more than once.

Not yet. Organic lavender oil is 0.3% of the formula and it's the only thing you smell. If you're sensitive to essential oils, or you're avoiding lavender specifically, we'd rather you know that before you order than after it shows up.

It's one of the more common requests we get, so it's on our minds.

No, and we're not planning one. Beef tallow is 64.7% of this formula. It isn't an additive we could swap out, it's the reason the balm works the way it does.

If you're looking for a plant-based mineral option, we'd rather say that plainly than sell you something that isn't what you want.

No. We're two people and we haven't pursued or paid for professional endorsements.

What we have instead is the full ingredient list with exact percentages, published openly, and the reviews on our product page from people who actually bought it and used it. We'd rather you judge us on those than on a logo we paid for.

A lot of our customers found us for exactly that reason.

What we can tell you is what's in it. Six ingredients, no synthetic fragrance, no preservatives, no emulsifiers, no chemical UV filters. Those are the usual suspects in a reaction.

The one to be aware of is the organic lavender oil. It's a small amount, but essential oils are a common trigger for people with very reactive skin. We're not doctors and we don't make medical claims, so if you have a diagnosed condition, read the full ingredient list past your dermatologist and patch test on your inner arm for a couple of days before it goes anywhere near your face. If it doesn't work for you, email us and we'll refund you. You don't need to send the jar back.

Maybe, and here's the honest way to find out rather than guess.

Most reactions to conventional sunscreen trace back to one of three things: chemical UV filters like oxybenzone, avobenzone, octinoxate and homosalate, synthetic fragrance, or preservatives. None of those are in our balm. The complete list is grass-fed beef tallow, organic jojoba oil, non-nano zinc oxide, organic vitamin E, organic rosehip oil, and organic lavender oil.

Read that against whatever you've reacted to before. If nothing on it is a known trigger for you, there's a reasonable chance you'll be fine. Patch test anyway. And if it still doesn't work out, we'll refund you.

Mostly yes, and here's the honest version.

Around nine out of ten people who've told us about it have had no white cast at all. A handful have. Zinc oxide is white, so any mineral product can flash if you use too much, and technique matters more than most people expect. Use a small amount, warm it between your fingers first, and build it in thin layers instead of one thick one.

We haven't done formal testing across skin tones, so we're not going to pretend we have. What we will do is stand behind it. If it doesn't disappear on your skin, email us inside 30 days and we'll refund you. You don't need to send the jar back.

It's popular with it. Tallow is close in composition to the lipids in human skin, and this formula is 64.7% tallow plus jojoba, rosehip and vitamin E oils, which is a rich combination for skin that's gotten drier over time.

Some of our most enthusiastic customers are women in their fifties and sixties using it as a morning moisturizer with mineral sun protection built in. Worth knowing too: plenty of people use it at night as a straight moisturizer with no sun involved at all.

This is the one question where we'd rather be careful with you than persuasive.

We haven't completed FDA monograph testing, so we have no verified protection rating and we're not going to guess at one. If you have a history of skin cancer, your dermatologist should be the one telling you what to wear. If they tell you to wear a tested sunscreen with a rating on it, wear it.

What we can tell you is what's in the jar. It's 16.3% non-nano zinc oxide by weight, the same mineral used for mineral sun protection, in a base of five other clean ingredients. Plenty of people in your situation use it as their daily balm alongside what their doctor recommends. We'd just rather you make that call with your doctor than because of something we wrote on a website.

Less than you'd think. Start with about the size of a small pea for your face. Warm it between your fingers to soften it, then work it into your skin in thin layers until it's fully blended. You can always add more.

On your face and neck daily, most people get two to three months out of a 2 oz jar. If you're covering larger areas like your arms and chest, expect closer to one to two months.

It goes further than it looks like it will. Most people use far too much on day one, so give it a week before you judge how long yours will last.

Keep it out of direct sunlight and away from heat. Room temperature is fine. The amber glass jar protects it from light, but storing it somewhere warm for long periods can affect the texture. If it gets soft, pop it in the fridge for a few minutes.

Because it's made in small batches by hand. Tallow is a natural ingredient and its color and texture can vary slightly depending on the season and the batch. None of that affects how the product works.

Everyday wear. That's what we built it for and it's how most people use it: face and neck, every morning, as part of getting dressed. It also holds up for the kind of outdoor time we actually do. Jon wears it for an hour and a half of surfing.

Here's where we'll be straight with you. For a full day at peak sun on the beach, we still put a heavier sport product with a tested rating on top of it. We haven't put this balm through that kind of testing yet, so we're not going to tell you it replaces one. Use it as your daily driver and you'll get the most out of it.

It's a balm, so it repels water by nature. Tallow and jojoba don't sheet off the way a lotion does. We haven't done water resistance testing though, so we're not going to put a number or a time on it. If you've been swimming, sweating hard, or towel drying, reapply.

One thing we can tell you from experience: it does not run into your eyes and sting. Jon surfs in it. That's one of the most common complaints about conventional sunscreen and it isn't an issue here.

United States only right now. We're working on expanding to Canada and international shipping. If you're outside the US and want to be notified when we ship to you, email us and we'll add you to the list.

Orders usually ship within one to two business days. Once it's out the door, standard shipping is five to eight business days depending on where you are in the country.

Yes. If you're not happy with your order for any reason, email us at info@ritualorganics.co and we'll take care of you. No pushback, no guilt.

Email us at info@ritualorganics.co with your order number and we'll track it down. If it's been more than a week past the expected delivery date, we'll reship it on us.

We live on the North Shore of Oahu and Gabrielle originally started making the product in our kitchen because we couldn't find a clean daily sun balm we trusted. It's grown past what we can do by hand now, so we work with a small natural manufacturer in Florida who makes every batch to our formulation. The business is registered in Colorado for legal reasons. We stand by every single jar.

Jon and Gabrielle. That's it. We're a married couple running this thing together from Hawaii. When you email us, one of us reads it. When you DM us, one of us replies. There's no customer service team.

Head back to the welcome page and fill out the application form. Jon reviews every application personally and you'll hear back within a few days.