There's a skin-scorching buzz across social media about a pair of online influencers turning heads with their homemade sunscreen formula. Rolling up their sleeves, Nara Smith and Lucky Blue Smith have concocted a sunblock from everyday ingredients right in their kitchen, racking up over 20 million views on TikTok. Their recipe involves a hodgepodge of elements: coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, beeswax, jojoba oil, and the showstopper sunscreen ingredient-zinc oxide.

The DIY project sounds fun, frisky, and frugal on the skin, but does it do the job? Can this homemade goop shield your skin against the sun's blazing wrath? We've compiled insights from top-notch experts to separate the sun-kissed facts from the sizzling fiction.

Dr. Jennifer Gordon of Westlake Dermatology shares her thoughts on DIY sunblocks. Spoiler alert: She thinks they're as protective as a screen door on a submarine. Why? Zinc oxide powder provides the only actual sun protection in these sunscreen recipes, while the rest makes sunscreen smoother, creamier, but without adding any skin-shielding power.

Dr. Saira George from the University of Texas emphasizes the lack of rigorous testing and regulation in the DIY formula world. No assurance of its sun protection factor (SPF) or broad-spectrum protection makes it risky. It turns out deciding SPF requires medical evaluation and field knowledge, not just a haute cuisine mindset in your home kitchen.

Making your own sunscreen might be as reckless as cooking your safety net. Some ingredients can interact unexpectedly or cancel the very functions you're looking to gain. Other preparation processes might leave a concoction providing sketchy, partial, or absolutely no UV protection, wholly depending on what's thrown in, mixed and preserved.

Store-bought sunscreens have a meticulously measured shelf life; homemade sunblocks, on the other hand, could go bad quicker than a gallon of milk in the Sahara. Without preservatives, the protection could degrade faster than anticipated, setting up an open buffet for bacteria and leaving your skin unarmed against deadly UV rays.

As for how long the protection lasts, well, place your bets, people. It's lottery luck, swinging on a pendulum of variables: the ingredients, their compatibility, and the product’s shelf life.

By no means does this imply that homemade sunscreen will melt your face off, but just because it doesn't scream 'hazardous' doesn't mean it's your smartest choice. Some ingredients found in these internet-shared formulas, like coconut oil and jojoba oil, are more likely to lure the sun in for a char, leading to burns, irritation, or allergic reactions.

When it comes to shielding your skin, the art is best left to the professionals. And luckily for us, there’s an exciting slew of options to choose from. Commercially available sunscreens, with thorough testing and FDA approval, are the way to go. Much like gym training and clean eating, wearing sun-protective gear, avoiding peak UV hours, and sporting fancy sunglasses are equally crucial for your year-round fight against the fiery sun.