Homemade natural sunscreen anyone?
Thursday, 14 August 2008
Sometime ago when I was reading up about sunscreens, I learnt that there are some folks who would rather make their own sunscreens. I was both surprised and intrigued by the idea. So when Leon started her new beauty forum on organic and natural skincare at Glowing Diva, I immediately raised this topic and this is the natural homemade sunscreen recipe that Leon shared with me:
3 tbsp. Grated Beeswax
3 Tbsp Shea Butter
1 Tbsp. Avocado Oil
1 Tbsp. Coconut Oil
1 Tbsp. Sesame Oil
1 tbsp. Canola Oil
3 tbsp. Aloe Vera Gel
3 tbsp. Lavender Hydrosol
1/2 tsp. borax powder
1 Vitamin E Gel CapletTake Beeswax, Shea Butter, Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, Sesame Oil and Canola Oil and melt it in a double boiler. (Do not boil). Add Vitamin E Gel Caplet to the melted oil/butter. Now warm the Aloe Vera Gel, Lavender Hydrosol and borax powder in a separate pan until the powder is mixed well with the other 2 ingredients. Mix it with the melted oil and butter. Whisk properly until you get a creamy texture.Store it in an airtight jar and keep it refrigerated.
You can refrigerate it for up to a month if you have not used any preservative but if you use 5-6 drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract(Natural Preservative), it will last more than a year. You can take it out of the fridge 10-15 minutes before applying.
Besides vitamin E which fights free radicals and help to prevent skin damage from too much sun, there are a number of plant oil content in that recipe, some of which contain natural sunscreens according to what I’ve read at a holisitc resource and an environmental health resource. ”Sesame oil resists 30 percent of UV rays, while coconut oil, peanut oil, olive oil, and cottonseed oil block out about 20 percent.”
Leon told me she is using this homemade sunscreen and absolutely loves it because it contains no chemicals nor zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. In fact, I realized through a keyword search that many people are into making their own homemade sunscreens. One particular recipe I came across seems a lot simpler and to me, offer more protection because the main ingredients are zinc oxide or titanium oxide mixed with almond oil and beeswax. However, all the mixing and heating certainly makes me think twice about making it on my own.
Well, I guess while I may prefer natural ingredients but I don’t necessarily want to rely on something that is homemade for sun protection as I can’t tell if I’ll be getting sufficient broad spectrum protection from using it.
But if you’ve tried using a homemade natural sunscreen, I’ll certainly like to have your opinion.
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Posted in Homemade/DIY, Sun Protection | 19 Comments »
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August 14th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Like you, I’m leaving it to the experts especially when it comes to sunscreen! Great info btw
paris: Yeah, I’ll rather buy sunscreens but if I can get my hands on zinc oxide, I don’t mind trying a homemade concoction.
August 15th, 2008 at 8:44 am
My opinion,
I don’t think you’ll be getting the protection you need if the sunscreen does not have the ingredients zinc oxide or titanium oxide. Those key ingredients are must in sun protection.
Alyssa: I agree. If the homemade sunscreen contains enough zinc oxide, I’ll be happy to use it.
August 15th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Just curious if anyone’s ever tried mixing mineral makeup powder with moisturizer. I wonder if the oxides in the powder would give some sun protection.. though the level of protection would probably be hard to ascertain.
flym: I guess mineral makeup by itself would offer some protection so I doubt if anyone mixes the stuff with moisturizer. But typically, it’s about SFF8 or SFP 15. Not that high.
August 15th, 2008 at 11:03 am
well, i wouldn’t DIY my sunscreen as well, i believe the market ones are definitely more reliable than what i can do.
prettybeautiful: I know what you mean.
I’ll be worried about overheating or over calculating the portions.
August 16th, 2008 at 10:24 am
do you happen to know if the ingredients are available here and where?
chenyze: Try the two local online shops I’ve listed in my entry: http://www.vivawoman.net/2008/08/12/keen-on-homemade-diy-skin-care/
They have some of the ingredients, but maybe not all.
August 24th, 2008 at 11:23 am
when i read “borax” as an ingredient in this sunscreen recipe i freaked out! Maybe because that ingredient is banned in the u.s.?
kat: Is the ban on it more as a food additive? I know some pple are concerned that this is too harsh because it works like a disinfectant but in small quantity, it shouldn’t pose a problem except for those with very dry or sensitive skin.
September 5th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Hi Kat,
Use Cosmetic Grade Borax which is safe on skin and does not contain surfactants and detergents which are commonly found in commercial Borax products.
September 5th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Kat,
Forgot to add, you can even skip Borax if you want but make sure you increase the quantity of Beeswax(natural emulsifier) so that water and oil mix well.
Leon: Hey Leon! Thanks for answering this. I haven’t seen Borax around where I am though.
September 9th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
You can skip it Sesame but you have to increase the quantity of Beeswax:)
March 1st, 2009 at 1:23 am
whoopeekiddies is selling red raspberry seed oil.. they claimed that a recently study by Oomah et al suggests taht this oil is potentially a broad spectrum sunblock comparable to titanium dioxide..
Raelynn: Oh that’s interesting! I will go and check it up. Are you planning to get it? I won’t mind using this at home provided it doesn’t leave a stain like sea buckthorn. :p
April 20th, 2009 at 1:03 am
I’m not a pro, just a hobbiest formulator. I’ve been trying to develop a sunscreen for myself, since I’m outdoors most of the day. I’ve tried using RRSO alone and as part of a lotion. It’s great on the skin, one of my favorites. Unfortunately, I have not found it to prevent sunburn, so I don’t rely on it for sun protection. I still use it in my lotions, facial moisturizer & lip balms b/c it’s great stuff. I also tried avocado oil, with similiar results and it is much greasier. The only thing I’ve found that works as a sunblock is Zinc Oxide & Titanium Dioxide. So, I use the RRSO as a moisturizer with my own mineral makeup containing ZO/TD brushed on top as a sunscreen. That’s my experience.
Kim: Thanks for sharing your experience. Very interesting! I think some of the natural ingredients offer a limited sun protection and hence, we need the zinc oxide or titanium dioxide to get ourselves protected.
June 14th, 2009 at 7:57 am
I have found this recipe on a few occasions and as mentioned before i was concerned abt the borax but i do know that stearic acid is a good one to one substitution for borax as an emulsifier and safer for kids under 2. My only other concern was the fact that it had to be refridgerated and the practicality of that is questionable if you do any amount of primitive camping or are at the beach and forget to put it back in the cooler. However I am all for trying a natural sunscreen because of the tendancy for commercial products to contain parabens, petrolatum, and any number of things not good for your skin. Is there a way to combine the sunblocking properties of zinc and many of the ingredients in this recipe to make a more heat or outdoor forgiving sunscreen?
sesame Reply:
June 14th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
I guess it’s fine to have it outdoors for a short period but for storage, not too good. Even for commercial products, they would degrade with the heat.
June 20th, 2009 at 11:03 am
It is not that hard to find zinc oxide. I am just about to try making my first batch before taking the family to Creation. I have found that we are less sun sensitive since we have removed artificial ingredients from our food. Many chemicals increase sensitivity to the sun.
sesame Reply:
June 20th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
I guess it’s much easier to source in US. Here in Singapore, it’s not so easy. But great that you’re making your own sunscreen. You’re right about chemicals increasing sensitivity to the sun.
July 3rd, 2009 at 8:41 am
While I would like to leave it to the professionals. I and my two daughters are allergic to vitamin E which is in 99.9% of all manufactured suncreens, therefore I am looking for an easy one that I can make and leave it out of.
sesame Reply:
July 3rd, 2009 at 9:58 am
They are allergic to vitamin E – even the natural one?
August 15th, 2009 at 2:23 am
I don’t know what you are calling natural, but everything labeled with vitamin E, tocopherol, tocopherol acetate, tocopheryl we break out with a rash….
January 25th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
I found Zinc Oxide at the pharmacy, I was used to use a diaper rush ointment as a sunblock, was very effective (if you don´t mind the “ashy” look. I don´t as I rather be ashy than sunburned…) but it was discountinued, so I started talking to the pharmacist and she told me they did carry powder Zinc Oxide, so I will try my own recipe, I have been reading 10 to 20% per volume is accepted, I´ll start small and increase it with time. I read some people instead of oil use Aloe vera gel, wich you can get at the health isle in the grocery store, as weel as most organic or cold pressed oils. I am tired of getting “attacked” with chemicals even on things that have labels that say “natural”. So I am trying to stay away from known commercial brands that will do the job, but at what cost???