Raw Elements
Quick verdict: Brian Guadagno spent years as an ocean lifeguard, which is the relevant qualification: he was reapplying sunscreen all day and watching it fail. Raw Elements is the answer, non-nano zinc that stays put through sweat, surf and hours of sun, sold in recyclable metal tins rather than plastic tubes. It’s thick, it’s a workout to apply, and it leaves a cast. That’s the trade for something that doesn’t wash off. Our rating: 4.0 out of 5.
Who they are
Guadagno founded Raw Elements in 2010 and it’s still independent and founder-owned, based in Huntington Beach with deep ties to Hawaii through its reef work.
The company’s whole design brief is endurance rather than cosmetics, which is why it reads differently from the everyday mineral brands.
What they get right
It stays on. This is the actual differentiator. Most mineral sunscreen fails at the point of sweat or immersion, and Raw Elements is formulated for people who will be in salt water for hours. Water resistance is where the thickness earns itself.
Protect Land + Sea certification, an independent mark verifying the absence of chemicals known to harm aquatic environments. Like Stream2Sea, that puts it ahead of the many brands printing “reef-safe” with nothing behind it.
Non-nano zinc oxide as the only active, at a meaningful percentage.
Recyclable metal tins rather than plastic tubes, which is a genuine packaging improvement in a category that mostly ignores it.
Founder-owned and independent fifteen years on.
Where they fall short
It is thick. Applying it is a job, especially from the tin in cold weather, and it does not disappear into skin the way a light lotion does. The cast is pronounced, and on deeper skin tones the untinted version is a real problem rather than an inconvenience.
Certification stops at Protect Land + Sea, and that’s the whole list now. A Leaping Bunny claim we used to carry isn’t in either register that runs the programme, so it’s gone. There’s no B Corp, no MADE SAFE, and unlike Stream2Sea the brand hasn’t published its own aquatic toxicity research, so the reef claim rests on the certification and the active ingredient rather than on commissioned testing.
The range is narrow, and it’s more expensive than everyday drugstore mineral options.
What they sell and what it costs
Sunscreen in tins, tubes and sticks, tinted and untinted, plus lip balm. Most items run $16 to $25, with the tins at the higher end and lasting a long time.
Who it’s actually for
Surfers, swimmers, sailors, trail runners, and anyone whose sunscreen has failed them by lunchtime. If you’re outdoors and moving, this is the one built for it.
For school runs and everyday wear, All Good or Attitude blend far better for less. If reef testing specifically is what convinces you, Stream2Sea publishes its data.
Deals and discounts
No affiliate program on our side, so nothing here earns us anything.
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
Does Raw Elements actually stay on in water?
Better than almost anything else in this directory, which is the entire reason it exists. The formula is thick and heavily zinc-loaded specifically so it survives sweat and immersion, and it was built by someone who spent his working life reapplying sunscreen on a beach. The cost of that staying power is how it feels going on.
Why is it so thick and hard to apply?
Because thin, easily spread mineral sunscreen doesn’t survive water. The zinc load and the beeswax base are what make it stay put. Warming it between your palms first makes it far easier, especially with the tin.
Is Raw Elements reef-safe?
It holds Protect Land + Sea certification, which independently verifies the absence of chemicals known to harm aquatic environments, and uses non-nano zinc as the sole active. That’s stronger than an unverified “reef-safe” claim. Stream2Sea goes one step further by publishing its own coral toxicity testing.
Who owns Raw Elements?
Brian Guadagno, a former ocean lifeguard who founded it in 2010 and still runs it. It’s independent with no parent company, which after fifteen years in sun care is unusual.