We want to change the way people think about sun protection. Forever.
Ao – born from a wild New Zealand
The name ‘Ao’ draws from the indigenous New Zealand Māori word for ‘earth’, symbolizing our deep roots in a land of intense exposure to the elements and home to many pristine natural ingredients. For us, it represents harnessing New Zealand's unique botanicals to create suncare that truly safeguards and restores skin.
We refuse to settle
Ao was founded on a clear conviction: traditional suncare often falls short, relying on chemical filters that can disrupt hormones, trigger allergies, and harm coral reefs. As a Harvard-trained dermatologist, Dr. Mark Gray witnesses the consequences firsthand—untreated or poorly protected sun exposure leading to premature aging, dryness, and elevated skin cancer risk in his patients.
“ The biggest threat to skin health isn't just the sun – it's the chemical-laden sunscreens that irritate, absorb into your body, and harm our oceans.”
Your skin barrier is protected, repaired, and restored
We’re redefining suncare by focusing on mineral-based protection that reflects UV rays without absorption, combined with potent repair actives. Our approach restores your skin’s natural barrier, making it resilient to daily sun stress—so you can enjoy the outdoors confidently, year-round.
We believe equally in both transparency and efficacy
After 25 years of clinical practice as a Dermatologist, Dr. Gray knew he could make a real difference – to make a range of skincare focused on protection from the elements – suncare that allowed the skin to perform at its optimum. Ao Skincare was born
He teamed up with the best in the business to help craft a revolutionary new set of skincare products like no other. It’s a new category of skincare, we call ‘suncare’ – inspired by the cleanest, most effective ingredients paired to ethical manufacturing processes – better for your skin, better for the planet.
Ao is skincare that’s independently clinically proven, yet totally safe, clean and non-toxic.
The journey to making the world’s healthiest skincare isn’t easy. Here are our proudest moments so far…
Recyclable Packaging
We’ve teamed up with TerraCycle to recycle our containers. Just mail back your used containers using the pre-paid label and we’ll take care of the rest.
1% for the planet
As 1% For The Planet members, we donate 1% of our annual revenue to grassroots environmental nonprofits.
“Green Innovator Brand of the Year”
We’re proud winners at the 2019 Indie Beauty Innovator Awards for our innovation in sustainability and what it means to be clean.
A new standard in clean standards
Ao is EWG Verified
When you see the EWG VERIFIED™ mark on a product, you can be sure it's free from EWG's chemicals of concern and meets our strictest standards for your health.
Ao meets the Credo Clean Standard
Ao products are formulated under the strict guidelines of the Credo Clean Standard and without any ingredients found on the Credo Dirty List, have ingredient authenticity and are cruelty free.