Natural Sunscreen

We are blessed to have sunny weather most of the year in Pretoria and as I adore the feel of the warm sunshine on my skin. Being outside and in my garden often means I need to use sunscreen. Even though I try to wear a hat and wear loose clothing to cover my exposed skin, sunscreen is always needed to protect and shield the skin of any exposer. I have tried many different natural recipes but this one works well and gives a good amount of Zinc oxide. The zinc particles sit on the outermost layer of your skin, scattering and absorbing UVA and UVB rays, protecting the skin below, and together with coconut oil and shea butter, you get good coverage.

Homemade DIY Sunscreen Recipe

Ingredients:

• 60g Coconut Oil 
• 60g Sweet almond Oil
• 60g Beeswax
• 60g Shea Butter 
• 60g Zinc Oxide Non-Unionized
• 1/2t Vitamin E 

Make It:

• Add all ingredients EXCEPT the zinc oxide in a glass bowl.
• Place a glass bowl over a pot of shallow, slightly simmering water. Melt ingredients completely (stir with a whisk to help it along).
• Carefully remove from stove and wipe down condensation on the bowl.
• Add zinc oxide… slooooowly
• Whisk, whisk, whisk until blended well and then carefully pour into the container of your choice.
• leave for 30 minutes to cool and set.

You can change the ingredients as it suite you, Shea butter can be replaced with Cocoa butter and Sweet almond oil can be replaced with olive oil.

This recipe is not water resistant and needs to be reapplied every few hours, or more often if swimming or sweating.

The shelf life of this natural homemade sunscreen is about 3 months. Refrigerated when not using.

The oils are photosensitive, so do not leave your homemade sunscreen sitting out in direct sunlight. Keeping it in a cooler box will prevent it from melting in high temperatures when taking it to the pool or beach.

a little bit about the ingredients:

1. Coconut Oil: Protects the skin and tissues from sun damage and successive exposure. Coconut oil doesn’t block the sun completely, allowing the skin to absorb beneficial Vitamin D. Consuming coconut oil during the summer months can help prevent sun damage. Make sure the coconut oil is pure and not processed.

2. Sweet Almond Oil: Contains a smaller SPF (around 5). Also provides Vitamin E which nourishes the skin.

2. Shea Butter: Contains fatty-acids along with Vitamins A & E. Shea butter moisturizes and provides a small amount of sun protection.

3. Zinc: Provides physical protection against damaging rays and SPF. Non-nano zinc will not absorb into your bloodstream.

4. Beeswax: This ingredient simply solidifies the oil, producing a spreadable lotion. Beeswax will melt when exposed to heat.

Why use a natural sunscreen?

Protect the Coral Reefs

Recent research is showing compounds in many types of sunscreen harm ocean life, especially coral. Researchers estimate that over 5,000 metric tons of sunscreen wash off of swimmers each year. This “swimmer pollution” threatens a large part of the coral life in the ocean and indirectly many other ocean species as well. This homemade sunscreen recipe avoids all such ingredients.

The most common harmful ingredients found in sunscreens today…

• Oxybenzone– Detected in mother’s milk, widespread skin allergies, mimics estrogen in the body, linked to endometriosis, etc etc etc.
• Octinoxate (Octyl methoxycinnamate)– Again, found in mother’s milk, allergy concerns, and also acts as a hormone in the body.
• 4-MBC and 3-BC– I’m not even going to try to explain this one, but the states are not good.