Why We Reformulated PROTECT

Formulation is an ongoing process. Ingredients evolve, raw-material technology improves, and new information becomes available. Sometimes that means revisiting a product we already love and asking whether there is an opportunity to make it even better. That is what happened with PROTECT.

Our newly reformulated mineral sunscreen is more fluid, easier to spread, quicker to settle into the skin, and formulated without Butyloctyl Salicylate.

Why Butyloctyl Salicylate was in the original PROTECT

Mineral sunscreen is deceptively difficult to formulate. Zinc oxide needs to be properly dispersed and remain stable throughout the formula while providing consistent protection. At meaningful concentrations, it can also create challenges with texture, drag, whitening, separation, and wear.

When we originally developed PROTECT, our highly respected sunscreen laboratory partner required Butyloctyl Salicylate as part of the formulation system used to help stabilize the product and support the performance of the zinc.

This was also a period of increasing scrutiny around sunscreen performance. Independent testing was raising questions about whether some products, including zinc-based sunscreens, were delivering the level of protection consumers expected. In one laboratory analysis of 51 U.S. sunscreens, measured UV protection varied considerably from labeled SPF, and one zinc formula could not be tested because of phase separation. For us, creating a formula that remained stable and performed consistently was non-negotiable.

Before agreeing to include Butyloctyl Salicylate, we researched it carefully. We found it used broadly throughout the sunscreen category, including in mineral products developed for babies, children, and sensitive skin. At the time we developed PROTECT, Butyloctyl Salicylate was permitted under EWG’s standards and appeared in countless EWG Verified products, including products intended for children. EWG only recently changed its policy on salicylate esters as part of its July 2026 standards update.

That history matters to us because ingredient conversations can easily lose their context. Butyloctyl Salicylate is not an ingredient we regret using, nor do we think it is helpful to reduce ingredients to simply “good” or “bad.” A recent Cosmetic Ingredient Review safety assessment that included Butyloctyl Salicylate concluded that the salicylates reviewed were safe in cosmetics under the practices and concentrations assessed when formulated to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing.

So why remove it?

The simplest answer is that improved technology gave us the opportunity.

Butyloctyl Salicylate has developed a complicated reputation, particularly as the sunscreen industry and ingredient-rating platforms have debated how certain inactive ingredients should be characterized in mineral formulas. Apps and ingredient databases can be useful tools, but an ingredient score cannot always capture concentration, exposure, formulation context, or the behavior of a finished product. Different organizations may also reach different conclusions or revise their criteria over time.

We never wanted PROTECT to require a long explanation. When our zinc supplier introduced an improved system that allowed us to achieve the stability and protection we wanted without Butyloctyl Salicylate, it gave us the opportunity to simplify the formula. We did not remove it because the previous formula had suddenly become unsafe. We removed it because the newer technology allowed us to achieve what we wanted without it.

Doing it a little more the LINNÉ way

Rather than returning to the larger laboratory that developed our original sunscreen, we chose to undertake this reformulation with an independent cosmetic chemist who has been reviewing and advising on LINNÉ formulas for nearly eight years.

She already understands how we like to work, which gave us the freedom to go ingredient by ingredient and refine the entire experience rather than simply remove one component and call the job finished. We updated the zinc system, made the emulsion slightly looser and more fluid, and incorporated buriti oil and rice bran extract into the supporting skincare matrix while also helping support SPF performance. We worked to reduce visible white cast and help the formula settle into skin more readily, then put the finished formula through the necessary independent FDA OTC product testing again.

What changed on skin

The new PROTECT has more movement and slip. It spreads more readily and feels less dense as you massage it over the skin.

Like any sunscreen containing a meaningful amount of zinc oxide, there may be a momentary visible cast on some skin tones when first applied. With a little massage and a moment to settle, the emollient system helps the formula integrate beautifully with the skin, leaving it conditioned, comfortable, and luminous rather than chalky or dry.

It still feels distinctly like PROTECT, only more refined.

What “100% mineral” means for this formula

Zinc oxide is the only sunscreen active in PROTECT. There has been considerable conversation around Butyloctyl Salicylate because some organizations characterize it as having UV-supporting properties, while on a U.S. Drug Facts panel it appears as an inactive ingredient rather than an approved sunscreen active. EWG, for example, currently discusses it among ingredients that may increase SPF performance, while the ingredient also has recognized cosmetic functions beyond sunscreen use.

We do not think consumers should have to become cosmetic chemists to understand their sunscreen. With the new PROTECT, the story is much more straightforward:

Zinc oxide provides the mineral sunscreen protection. The rest of the formula is there to keep that zinc stable and to make the sunscreen nourishing, elegant, and genuinely pleasurable to wear.

Still PROTECT. Just better.

PROTECT remains broad-spectrum, with an SPF rating above the widely recognized SPF 30 benchmark, 40-minute water resistance, reef-friendly positioning, and clinical testing for sensitive skin. It continues to provide the luminous, skincare-first experience that made us want to create a LINNÉ sunscreen in the first place, but it is now more fluid, more elegant, and simpler in its sunscreen system.

Reformulating an OTC product that customers already love is not the easiest path, but we do not believe a formula should remain static simply because it works. As ingredients and technologies improve, we want to remain willing to revisit what we make and take advantage of meaningful opportunities to improve it.

In this case, better zinc technology gave us that opportunity, and PROTECT is better for it.