Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Homemade Sunscreens - Try This Easy Recipe

Why Use Homemade Sunscreen?

ZINC OXIDE OINTMENT FOUGERA 2 OZ
Homemade sunscreens are likely to get more popular as people seek more non-toxic or organic options to protect them from the sun. Here is a homemade sunscreen recipe that is easy to make using easy to get ingredients. I've included some links to Amazon for the ingredients if you want to save yourself a trip to various stores to get them.

Labels were misleading before but now the FDA recently came out with new guidelines for sunscreen labeling. Research shows that although use of sunscreen is up, so are cases of skin cancer. The reason for this is that people were using sunscreens which protect them from sunburn causing UVB rays but not against skin cancer and wrinkle causing UVA rays.

In order to get the most protection from your sunscreen, if you use commercial sunscreens, is to look for "broad spectrum" which protects from both UVA and UVB rays. Remember too, organic and natural ARE NOT the same thing. Look for the USDA organic seal if you want organic ingredients.

Homemade sunscreens can be organic and natural. If you want your sunscreen to be organic, make sure the ingredients are labeled that way. New FDA guidelines for broad spectrum sunscreens will be covered by the zinc oxide, which  protects from UVA and UVB rays.

Ingredients for Homemade Sunscreen Recipe

1 cup olive or almond oil
1 oz beeswax
2 oz shea butter
2 tbs 100% aloe vera
3 tbs zinc oxide

Begin with one cup of olive oil or almond oil. You can find these oils at the grocery store or local health food store. Warm the oil on low heat.

Add beeswax and shea butter and heat until they melt. Shea butter can also be purchased at your local health food store or purchased online from Amazon. Beeswax can be purchased at the same sources or from your local bee keeper.

Add Aloe Vera and mix. Make sure your product says 100% aloe vera.

Take the mixture from the heat and add the zinc oxide. This can be purchased at the local drug store under diaper rash treatments.

Blend completely and put into a sealable container. If ingredients separate as they cool, shake the container or set it into a bowl of warm water to soften.

Apply as your homemade sunscreen recipe as needed.

Remember that excessive exposure to the sun and tanning isn’t safe if you want to protect yourself from skin cancer and aging of the skin but if you go into the sun, be sure and apply sunscreen liberally.

Order sunscreen recipe ingredients from Amazon.com

Organic almond oil
Organic olive oil
zinc oxide
100% Aloe Vera

Shea Butter
Organic BeesWax

The ingredients to homemade sunscreen aren't expensive and in fact, will save you money over buying organic sunscreens.

New FDA Guidelines for Sunscreen

Know the Warning Signs of Skin Cancer

2 comments:

Mario said...

Is there a recipe for homemade sunscreen that actually starts from the PLANTS, not with bottled, purchased oils and without pre-packaged chemicals such as zinc oxide?

Joan said...

As far as I can tell through research, you need oils to create the base for the sunscreen. These oils are also good for your skin so there are benefits to using them.