Good Instincts May Be The Answer To Your Mineral Sunscreen Struggles

If your bathroom cabinet resembles a graveyard of chalky, thick mineral sunscreens, you aren’t alone. Most of us have spent a small fortune on SPFs that promise seamless protection, but end up leaving a white cast with major ghost energy.

But that long-standing mineral SPF compromise may finally be meeting its match. Enter Good Instincts, a new brand founded by former tech executives Carylyne Chan and Emily Hurd, with a mission to make high-protection suncare that feels elegant on the skin and looks good, too.

The idea was born from the pair’s own frustration with the category. At one point, Chan reportedly had more than 100 failed mineral sunscreens sitting in a drawer. That exhaustive search eventually led the founders to vet 70 different labs and go through more than 100 formula iterations alongside a specialist chemist team in Singapore. The result is Proper Sunscreen ($48), Good Instincts’ debut launch, and a 100% mineral SPF 50 designed to rethink what mineral protection can feel like.

Now for the science bit. Most mineral sunscreens begin to turn thick, pasty, and difficult to blend once the mineral active load creeps towards 20%. It is essentially the category’s technical breaking point, which is why many formulas either sacrifice texture or dial down protection. Good Instincts claims to have cracked the code with a formula containing an unprecedented 25.8% total mineral active load, including 22.1% zinc oxide, while still delivering the finish of a prestige skincare product rather than a traditional sunscreen.

To develop the formula, Chan and Hurd partnered with dermatologist Dr Veronica Rotemberg of Memorial Sloan Kettering. Alongside broad-spectrum protection, the non-comedogenic, hypoallergenic formula is packed with skincare-led ingredients, including 2% niacinamide, squalane, vitamin E, red algae, and palmitoyl tripeptide-38. Together, they work to hydrate, soothe, and support the skin barrier, while helping defend against environmental stressors.

Good Instincts is now available online at goodinstincts.com, with shipping currently limited to the US.