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DIY Ultra Moisturizing, Non Toxic Sunscreen Recipe

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Updated on October 6th, 2014

Summer is upon us!  Which means for the fair skinned it’s time to cover up or lather up! Conventional store bought sunscreen can be laden with harmful chemicals which have been questioned to cause more harm then good.  CNN did a study where it was found that 25% of 800 tested sunscreens were effective at protecting skin without the use of potentially harmful ingredients, which means that, 75% of sunscreens contain harmful ingredients!  Here are some baddies to look out for on the back of your sunscreen label:

  1. Oxybenzone a.k.a. benzophenone-3 – prevents other ingredients from deteriorating and is readily absorbed by our bodies.
  2. Nanoparticles – Easily absorbed through your skin and often not listed as an ingredient. Check ingredients to list that no nanos are present.
  3. Retinyl Palmitate [RP] – a dangerous form of natural vitamin A when exposed to ultraviolet light.
  4. Octyl methoxycinnamate (Octinoxate, Eusolex 2292 or Uvinul MC80) – can affect your thyroid hormones and creates free radicals under your skin.

This list of Toxic Sunscreen Ingredients is from Revitalise Your Health, read their full article for more information.

Fear not.  There is a solution to all of this.  Mother Nature has granted us it’s own SPF, that you can whip together in your own batch of natural, safe and effective sunscreen.This is were being empowered comes in.  We have options and choices about what we put on our bodies!

DIY Non Toxic Sunscreen Recipe

What you will need:

Non Toxic Sunscreen Recipe



  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup Coconut Oil
  • 1/4 cup beeswax
  • 2 tablespoons zinc oxide (you can purchase zinc oxide at some pharmacies or on Amazon)
  • 2 tablespoons shea butter
  • 12 drops Helichrysum essential oil

 

Mix everything except the essential oil and zinc oxide in a glass container.

homemade sunscreen

Place in a medium sized sauce pan with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally.

NOTE: It took about 15 minutes for the beeswax to melt

Sunscreen-0015

Once everything is melted, take the glass container out of the pan and let sit for about 3 minutes. After the 3 minutes is up, add the essential oil and zinc oxide.

Sunscreen-0021

Sunscreen-0023

Pour into a small jar.  I used a super fancy upcycled olive jar. 🙂

DIY Sunscreen

Let sit for 30 minutes or so, then label and use!

DIY Moisturizing Sunscreen recipe

NOTES:  This does set firm, you can use the back of your fingernail get it out.  This recipe made about 1 cup of sunscreen, so it was enough for 2 little jars or one big one. Total SPF of this sunscreen is about 20.

BONUS: Here is a graphic of SPF of other natural oils.

my work New

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Jill says

    I’m definitely going to have to try this! Well…next summer maybe. So far we’ve just been going out really early in the morning and late in the evening and skipping the heat of the day altogether. No really though, I have been meaning to look for a sunscreen recipe! Maybe I can even try THIS summer! 🙂

  9. Karen says

    I’m so glad to see this. We are going on vacation soon and I’ve already thought about the sun-screen dilemma. Now, my problem is solved. We can be protected from sunburn AND chemicals. Thanks for sharing.

  11. Sarah Oswald says

    I am vey fair colored and I am always slathering on the sunscreen I would love to try this out to see if it works thanks for the recipe so I can try it out!

  12. http://www.harmfulrays.net/ says

    I am quite sensitive to the commercial sunscreen products and therefore looking for some easy homemade sunscreen recipes (if possible). This post and sunscreen recipe are just amazing and I like the graphic at the end. Will definitely try this, yet is there any other essential oils other than Helichrysum essential oil that you will recommend?
    Carol

    • Tricia Crookston says

      Yes. Here are some other essential oils that you can use with spf:

      Carrot seed- 30
      Raspberry seed-30
      Peppermint- 7
      Lavender- 6

      Helichrysum is at about 20 spf. Both me and my baby are easy tanners so I just wanted light protection.

  14. Monica says

    sunscreen is so expensive and we seem to go through it so quickly. This recipe looks like a more economical, not to mention much safer alternative for our family!

  16. Robin Wilson says

    I don’t know if you are familiar with Lupus at all, but I have it and it means I cannot get any, I mean any sun. So I have been slathering sunscreen on every single day for 30 years without any idea of what was in it that was bad for me. So this is awesome for me. I am not sure what Helichrysum essential oil is or where to get it, but I’ll find it and make this!

    • Tricia Crookston says

      I am familiar with Lupus. That’s tough one. I suffered from Chronic Fatigue years ago and one of the first things my natural doc told me to stop doing was using over the counter beauty product! They are loaded with chemicals that burden our immune system and hormone balances.

      If you go to TheNourish.com, click on the webinars page and you can register for a free webinar where we talk more about essential oils and the amazing healing they offer. Let me know if you would like more info on Helichrysum as well. 🙂

  17. nicole dz says

    I can’t believe sometimes all the yucky stuff they put in products and still are able to say its okay to buy. I never even thought I could make my own sunscreen. Thanks for this post, I am gonna try it out and pass it along to my family and friends.

    • Tricia Crookston says

      Thanks! If you Google “toxins sunsucreen,” there is tons of stuff available for research! It’s way better to know exactly what you are putting on your body!

  21. Tricia Crookston says

    Hi Karen! It does small great! You can even put in some Lavender oil to make it smell even nicer. Most of the products you can find at you area health food store. Make sure you get a pure grade essential oil that you trust!

  22. Karen Glatt says

    I like this very healthy sunscreen that I bet smells good and is great for the skin without the chemicals. I would have to find a few of these ingredients to make this. Thanks for the recipe.

Trackbacks

  1. […] DIY Ultra Moisturizing, Non Toxic Sunscreen Recipe from A Mom’s Take Summer is upon us!  Which means for the fair skinned it’s time to cover up or lather up! Conventional store bought sunscreen can be laden with harmful chemicals which have been questioned to cause more harm then good.  CNN did a study where it was found that 25% of 800 tested sunscreens were effective at protecting skin without the use of potentially harmful ingredients, which means that, 75% of sunscreens contain harmful ingredients!  […]

  5. […] DIY Ultra Moisturizing, Non Toxic Sunscreen Recipe from A Mom’s Take Summer is upon us!  Which means for the fair skinned it’s time to cover up or lather up! Conventional store bought sunscreen can be laden with harmful chemicals which have been questioned to cause more harm then good.  CNN did a study where it was found that 25% of 800 tested sunscreens were effective at protecting skin without the use of potentially harmful ingredients, which means that, 75% of sunscreens contain harmful ingredients!  […]

  6. […] DIY Ultra Moisturizing, Non Toxic Sunscreen Recipe from A Mom’s Take Summer is upon us!  Which means for the fair skinned it’s time to cover up or lather up! Conventional store bought sunscreen can be laden with harmful chemicals which have been questioned to cause more harm then good.  CNN did a study where it was found that 25% of 800 tested sunscreens were effective at protecting skin without the use of potentially harmful ingredients, which means that, 75% of sunscreens contain harmful ingredients!  […]

  11. […] DIY Ultra Moisturizing, Non Toxic Sunscreen Recipe from A Mom’s Take Summer is upon us!  Which means for the fair skinned it’s time to cover up or lather up! Conventional store bought sunscreen can be laden with harmful chemicals which have been questioned to cause more harm then good.  CNN did a study where it was found that 25% of 800 tested sunscreens were effective at protecting skin without the use of potentially harmful ingredients, which means that, 75% of sunscreens contain harmful ingredients!  […]

  12. […] DIY Ultra Moisturizing, Non Toxic Sunscreen Recipe from A Mom’s Take Summer is upon us!  Which means for the fair skinned it’s time to cover up or lather up! Conventional store bought sunscreen can be laden with harmful chemicals which have been questioned to cause more harm then good.  CNN did a study where it was found that 25% of 800 tested sunscreens were effective at protecting skin without the use of potentially harmful ingredients, which means that, 75% of sunscreens contain harmful ingredients!  […]

  13. […] DIY Ultra Moisturizing, Non Toxic Sunscreen Recipe from A Mom’s Take Summer is upon us!  Which means for the fair skinned it’s time to cover up or lather up! Conventional store bought sunscreen can be laden with harmful chemicals which have been questioned to cause more harm then good.  CNN did a study where it was found that 25% of 800 tested sunscreens were effective at protecting skin without the use of potentially harmful ingredients, which means that, 75% of sunscreens contain harmful ingredients!  […]

  14. […] DIY Ultra Moisturizing, Non Toxic Sunscreen Recipe from A Mom’s Take Summer is upon us!  Which means for the fair skinned it’s time to cover up or lather up! Conventional store bought sunscreen can be laden with harmful chemicals which have been questioned to cause more harm then good.  CNN did a study where it was found that 25% of 800 tested sunscreens were effective at protecting skin without the use of potentially harmful ingredients, which means that, 75% of sunscreens contain harmful ingredients!  […]

  15. […] DIY Ultra Moisturizing, Non Toxic Sunscreen Recipe from A Mom’s Take Summer is upon us!  Which means for the fair skinned it’s time to cover up or lather up! Conventional store bought sunscreen can be laden with harmful chemicals which have been questioned to cause more harm then good.  CNN did a study where it was found that 25% of 800 tested sunscreens were effective at protecting skin without the use of potentially harmful ingredients, which means that, 75% of sunscreens contain harmful ingredients!  Faith is Knowing That God Will Be There from Forever Ashley With so many big changes coming our way now and in the next few weeks I’ve been finding it hard to stay strong in my faith in God.   It’s never a matter of having faith that He exists (I know He does) but rather it is about having faith that everything is going to be ok, that it is going to work out, and that we are doing the right thing. […]