Introducing MADE SAFE® Certified Products from Salt + Blue, along with a Q&A from the company’s Co-Founder, Rachel Pachivas.
"Kevin had been suspicious of sunscreen just as long. He's spent his whole career reading what's in things, and this was the one product he could never feel good about. So when we finally said it out loud, that somebody should make a better one, it wasn't a new idea. We'd both been circling it for years. We just decided to stop waiting for someone else. So we made our own. That's pretty much the whole story." - Rachel Pachivas and Kevin Gianni, co-founders
Why are you proud of your MADE SAFE® Certification?
Because we didn't take a single shortcut to get it. MADE SAFE is one of the most rigorous certifications out there—it screens every ingredient against known behavioral, reproductive, and environmental toxicants, not just the obvious offenders. And honestly, for a sun care brand, that's rare. Most sunscreens can't clear that bar. What I love is that it doesn't stop at what's safe for your skin—it looks at what happens when that product washes off into the water, too. So when I look at our seal, I know every single ingredient earned its place, that a family can put this on their kids and themselves without a second thought, and that the ocean isn't paying the price for it. That's the whole point of what we're doing.
Why is it important to have third-party validation for your product(s)?
Because "clean" and "safe" have kind of lost their meaning in this industry. Anyone can put them on a bottle. We hold ourselves to an incredibly high standard—but I don't think you should have to just take my word for it. Third-party validation puts that same claim in the hands of people whose entire job is to be skeptical, so you're not only trusting me, you're trusting the standard too. It confirms what we already know about our products, and it holds us accountable to something we don't get to define ourselves—which is exactly how it should be.
Why did you start your company?
Honestly? Because the sun care I wanted just didn't exist. I mean, for years I completely skipped sunscreen, and it wasn't the sun that bothered me—it was the sunscreen. That fake coconut smell, that slick film I never wanted soaking into my skin. And then one day I'm at the river, and I see that same film floating on the water, coming off all these families who did exactly what they were told. And I just couldn't stop staring at it. That was the moment it went from being my own little hang-up to something I actually had to fix. And Kevin had been circling the same thing for years—so at some point we just went, why are we waiting for someone else to make a better one? Let's do it ourselves. And that's kind of the whole story.
How are your products different from other, more conventional, products in the space?
So, most conventional sun care leans on chemical UV filters—the stuff that's linked to coral bleaching and hormone disruption—and it's usually loaded up with water, synthetic preservatives and fillers. Ours is different from the ground up. We use non-nano zinc oxide, so it sits on the surface of your skin where it belongs, actually doing its job, plus organic, wildcrafted botanicals—because your sunscreen should feed your skin, not just coat it.
The part I absolutely love is that it's an experience. We use pure, sun-safe essential oils, so there's real aromatherapy to it. It's not that flat, dull, nothing you get from most mineral sunscreens, and it's definitely not that heavy synthetic fragrance either. It actually smells beautiful, in a way that only comes from real plants. Every single choice we made was deliberate—we didn't cut corners on the formula, on the packaging, on any of it. We wanted using it to feel like something you look forward to.
What’s the one thing you would never do as a maker of better products?
I would never take a shortcut. That's honestly the big one for me. I'm not going to swap in a cheaper ingredient, or chase a faster margin, or make a claim I can't fully stand behind. If something can't clear our standard, it just doesn't go in—even when it would've made the whole thing easier or cheaper to make. Because the second you start compromising the formula, or the packaging, to hit some number, you've kind of become the exact thing you set out to replace.
What do you wish shoppers thought about more, and why?
I wish more people just took the time to think, in general, about the ingredients in their products. It's really twofold. There's the obvious part—where is this sunscreen going after it washes off my body, and is that okay? And then there's the other side: is this ingredient going to make me or my baby sick... or even the people around me? Like if I'm spraying an aerosol, or swimming right next to someone else.
I just think if people took even a fraction of the time they spend scrolling social media, or researching which clothes to buy—just as a random example—and put that toward understanding the ingredients they're lathering onto their skin or into the ocean, we'd really start to see some shifts. Because the regulatory agencies aren't going to protect us. It's on each of us to do our own due diligence before we buy something and use it. And honestly, it just takes paying attention.
What’s the one product in your line you can’t live without, and why?
Our BODY sunscreen, for sure. The scent alone is so captivating, I actually crave it now when I'm out in the sun, just so I can experience that intense moisture and the beautiful aroma. And there's something about knowing I can go swim in the ocean right after and not leave anything harmful behind in the water—I don't have to think twice. It's become part of my everyday, not just a river-day thing. This is what salt+blue started with. It's kind of my baby.
What have you done to make your life healthier, and why?
I definitely live it—I guess you kind of have to when you're this consumed with clean personal care brands. I homestead up in the Sierra Nevada foothills, so my days are full of getting my hands in the dirt, raising chickens, tending a garden (organically, of course), caring for our land. And really, so much of my life is just using my hands to make things—botanical plant dyeing, cooking, baking sourdough, harvesting wild herbs, making tinctures and flower essences. All the things.
That same mindfulness carries into our home, too. Everything gets looked at through a particular lens—our building materials (when we were renovating or have ad hoc projects), our textiles, going hard-wired and removing wifi to limit EMF exposure, the products we reach for every day or even just once in a while. It all sort of works synergistically in my world.
And then there's my connection to nature—getting out on hikes, spending time in the river, sun gazing and sun therapy... actually being with the sun rather than fearing it. I think for me, living healthy isn't a routine I check off a list. It's just how I integrate with the natural world. Hence, the very long and extended answer.
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