Feeling uneasy about commercial sunblock? Make your own.
If you live anywhere with beach days, and unless you plan on being a hermit in an air conditioned cave for the next few months you’re bound to get hit by some serious rays of sun.
Sooner or later, you’ve gotta go to work, buy groceries, buy ice cream, and socialize. And when you do, you should be protected. If you’re feeling ambitious and crafty, why not protect yourself with some homemade organic sunscreen? It’s less complicated than you think to make.
To make your organic sunscreen you will need:
- a water pot
- empty tin can
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- a few drops of tea tree oil
- 2 tablespoons bee’s oil
- 2 tablespoons zinc oxide
- sealed container to store the sunscreen in (like a glass jar)
Watch the video below to see what to do with those materials:
The next steps? Coat your skin generously with your awesome homemade sunscreen, and show that sun sun who’s boss!
Read more about sunscreen and the beach:
Chemicals and Your Baby’s Skin
Recycling Beach Waste
Author: Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
Well, I was almost glad when I saw this recipie, but looking at the side lines (could’t help it) I saw This..
“According to Canada’s National Post and Britain’s Sky News Israel has a mermaid and she is causing quite a stir. The reported half female human, half dolphin creature has been sighted by sources independent of each other ..”
I lost interest. I don’t know..I just feel that anything associated with those type of stories on the same page, can’t be credible.
Sorry. don’t mean to offend.
I was wondering about the zinc oxide….is it in a pure form or is it like the over the counter, that has other components to it???
BPA lines many food cans today, beware.
Great videos. Really it’s very easy to make a sunscreen at home. I will try it.
1) I’m kind of sick of the anti-sunscreen zealots. There are many members of my family who have had plenty of Vitamin D in their lives as well as skin cancer removed from their bodies. Skin cancer is real people.
2) I have worn sunscreen on my face for 25 years. Yes, it was the artificial/chemical stuff until 3 years ago, but guess what–I look a hell of a lot younger than most of my peers, and I’m 37 and pale
3) I don’t put sunscreen on my legs and wear skirts as soon as the weather hits 60F. The legs like it, and I don’t have to worry about aging
4) The “bad” and useless stuff in modern sunscreens are the preservatives (parabens), fragrances, and anything that isn’t non-nano zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. You’re welcome, and now you know.
5) Thanks for the article and recipe
Tinamarie, it’s bad to burn, but in theory a sunscreen can protect you from burns but not from cancer.
Very useful especially after the news a few weeks ago about how bad some sunscreens are. From my understanding, the worst thing is to burn, so it seems prudent to wear sunscreen if you plan on being outdoors for long. But I have to admit that I don’t wear it, and haven’t for a long time, and prefer to wear hats and long clothing. Same with my kids. I keep them away from the direct, hottest days, and protect their skin with clothing. Why? I don’t know other than to say that I’ve always had this strange suspicion that we weren’t understanding the whole story about sun, suncreen and our health. Kind of like the whole butter vs. margarine debates from ages ago, or the sugar-sugar substitute stuff that’s also come to light.
A person needs about 5 minutes exposure to the sun to activate vitamin D. This can be achieved by indirect exposure to sun, as far as I’ve learned.
Don’t use sunscreen! It contributes to Vitamin D deficiency — very serious and common. In fact, consider having your vitamin d checked, and get plenty of light on lots of skin. If you are going to get burnt, cover up with clothing and a hat.