Today we’d like to introduce you to Breelyn Vanleeuwen.
Hi Breelyn, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I never set out to start a sunscreen company. I am a Physician Assistant and at the time I was working in reconstructive facial plastics where I saw the real cost of skin cancer every day. Utah is the number 1 state in the Nation for Melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. Young women and young men would come in after melanoma surgeries needing their faces rebuilt. The scars were permanent and the fear was something they carried for life. Those faces stayed with me. And haunted me because most, I’m talking 90% of these cases, are preventable. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States AND the most preventable. That is insane.
When I became a mom that reality became impossible to ignore. I knew most lifetime sun damage happens in childhood and I was determined to protect my kids. But when my daughter had a severe reaction to a popular baby “mineral” sunscreen everything changed. I realized the products parents trust are often not as safe or as transparent as we believe.
I went looking for a truly clean mineral sunscreen for my kids. What I found shocked me. Many brands labeled as mineral quietly rely on chemical UV boosters to pass SPF testing. The aisle was full of marketing and half truths and parents had no way to know. There was a giant gap in the market and I decided to fix it.
With no outside funding and two young kids at home when I started, I hired an in house cosmetic chemist and spent four years developing what everyone told me was impossible: a 100% non nano zinc oxide sunscreen with no chemical boosters that actually disappears on skin. We went through years of R&D SPF testing, FDA registration and regulatory hurdles until we finally cracked it.
I launched Daily Shade from my kitchen table bootstrapped every production run and personally educated thousands of parents about what was really inside their sunscreen. Today Daily Shade is one of the only true mineral brands that meets both US and European standards and families all over the country use it daily.
I did not build this to sell sunscreen. I built it because I have seen what happens when sun protection fails and I believe the most common cancer in America should also be the most preventable. My mission is simple. Make safe daily sun protection the norm and reduce skin cancer in the rising generation one bottle at a time.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not at all. This has been one of the hardest things I have ever done. I did not come from a business background. I came from medicine. And I was a desperate Mom who needed a sunscreen I could trust and use Daily and it just simply didn’t exist. I was building a regulated consumer product in one of the most complex industries while raising young children and bootstrapping every step with no safety net.
The biggest struggle was that what I was trying to build did not exist. When I went to labs and manufacturers asking for a true mineral sunscreen without chemical UV boosters I was told again and again that it could not be done. That meant years of failed formulations expensive SPF testing and starting over. I had to learn FDA regulations supply chain logistics and cosmetic chemistry from scratch just to keep moving forward.
I was also doing all of this during Covid. Supply chains were breaking. Raw materials were delayed for months. Packaging was suddenly unavailable or unaffordable. At the same time e-commerce was becoming more competitive and customer acquisition costs were skyrocketing which made every marketing dollar more stressful and every inventory decision more risky.
Funding was another constant challenge. I self funded everything from R&D to packaging to manufacturing.
Two years into building the brand I also had twins. Suddenly I was running a startup with four small children at home while still pushing through product development regulatory hurdles and manufacturing delays. There were days when I was taking calls during naps and filling orders late at night just to keep things moving. I actually worked full-time as a tenure professor up until a year ago. So no, it was not a smooth road.
There were also emotional challenges. Being told no by manufacturers retailers and even people in the industry who did not believe in what I was building was exhausting. But those struggles are also what built Daily Shade. They forced me to create something truly different. I did not take shortcuts because I could not. I had to do it the right way. That is why the brand is what it is today and why families trust it.
We’ve been impressed with Daily Shade Sunscreen, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Daily Shade is a science driven, family sunscreen brand, built to solve one very specific problem. Most parents think they are buying mineral sunscreen when in reality 96% of sunscreens quietly rely on chemical UV filters/boosters to pass SPF testing. That means families who are trying to avoid chemical filters are often still being exposed to them without knowing it. When you do the math that’s only 4% of sunscreens qualify as true mineral. And then in those 4% which ones are designed for kids? which ones are free of harmful ingredients and other hormone disruptors? Which ones meet U.S. AND EU Standards? And are pleasing to wear… let me save you time, it is a tiny amount. I am thrilled to say Daily Shade meets all of those categories.
Daily Shade is different. We are one of the only sunscreen brands formulated with 100% percent non nano zinc oxide and no chemical UV filters or boosters of any kind. That allows us to meet both US and European sunscreen standards which are some of the strictest in the world. Our products are FDA registered independently SPF tested and built from the ground up to be truly transparent and truly safe for daily use on children and sensitive skin.
What we are known for is creating mineral sunscreen that actually feels good to wear. We spent four years developing formulas that disappear on skin without leaving kids looking like little ghosts. That matters because if sunscreen does not feel good families will not use it every day and daily use is what prevents skin cancer.
What sets us apart is that we did not take shortcuts. We did not use boosters to make testing easier or cheaper. We did not rely on marketing language to hide behind. We built our products the hard way because parents deserve honesty.
Brand wise what I am most proud of is the trust we have built. Parents tell us Daily Shade is the first sunscreen they feel confident using on their babies every day. We are not just another clean beauty brand. We are a public health brand with a mission to reduce skin cancer in the rising generation by making sun protection a daily habit.
What I want readers to know is this. Sunscreen is not a seasonal beach product. It is a daily health product just like toothpaste or a seatbelt. Daily Shade exists to make that daily habit safe easy and something families actually enjoy using. Our sunscreen is moisturizing and double as your child’s moisturizer while protecting their skin.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Yes. First, do not believe anyone who says just launch fast and pivot later. That advice works for software not for FDA regulated products that go on babies. You will save yourself a lot of stress and a lot of money by doing it right the first time even if it takes longer.
Second, everyone will tell you your idea cannot be done. Some of them are experts, and those sting the most. Most of them are just scared. Learn the difference quickly. And realize options and facts are different.
Third, do not underestimate how much of entrepreneurship is emotional. You will question yourself weekly. That is normal. Keep going. My favorite meme lately says if you haven’t seriously considered selling feet pictures you are not deep enough into entrepreneurship ha ha accurate.
Fourth, do not wait until things feel perfect. They never will. You launch when you are terrified but prepared.
And finally remember this. Nobody knows what they are doing. The people who win are just the ones who keep showing up after everyone else gets tired and goes home.
If I had known how hard it would be I probably would have been more scared but I also would not change a thing because building something that actually matters is worth every late night.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dailyshade.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailyshadesunscreen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Daily-Shade-100072319131835/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/breelyn-vanleeuwen-pa-c-3b9b19275/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyshadesunscreen
