Sonrei Aims to Make Skincare Products for All Skin Colors

For those of us prone to painful sunburns and the skin cancers that can come next, sunscreen is a daily consideration, and finding the right one can be quite a chore. Fears abound about what some of the mass-produced, chemical-based sunscreens may be doing to the ocean — and to ourselves — while the natural-leaning scene is dominated by zinc oxide recipes. But I’ve never loved the creamy white sheen that’s often left behind, and that’s an even louder complaint from people with darker skin than me, who’ve long craved a clean sunscreen that goes on clear. 

This is what the Santa Barbara–based skincare company Sonrei is now delivering. Though not the first translucent gel sunscreen company, Sonrei — which is vegan, reef-friendly, fragrance-free, and loaded with beneficial vitamins and moisturizers — is wearing diversity, sustainability, and skin health on their shoulders like few others. Though just two years old, the company — whose name is the Spanish word for “smile” but double entendres well as “sunray” — is already catching a lot of national media attention for its BIPOC appeal, appearing in beauty magazines such as Glamour, Allure, and Vogue, and even being talked about on Good Morning America twice. 

“How can we craft something that can appeal to as many people as possible, and continue that mission and philosophy for future products?” explained cofounder Dustin Holt of the company’s driving motivation. Leaning on about a decade of experience working for the international dermatology company behind CeraVe, Holt, who moved to Santa Barbara in 2012, believed that launching a startup in the very competitive and highly regulated sunscreen sector would be the wisest move.