Home made sunscreen

[dryadgrl]

http://www.mommypotamus.com/how-to-make-non-toxic-homemade-sunscreen/

Simple Homemade Sunscreen Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 batch homemade lotion, or 3/4 cup premade lotion with good, antioxidant rich ingredients like virgin coconut, avocado or olive oil.Here’s what I would use. If you’re using a scale the total weight should be about 9 oz.

• .4-1.6 oz uncoated, non-nano zinc. Weight will vary based on the level of protection you want (Find it here)

• Essential oils (optional – but make sure they are not ones that increase photosensitivity!)

• Iron oxides or cocoa powder for tint (optional) – find pre-blended iron oxide here, find cocoa powder here

Special Equipment:

• food processor (Here’s the one I have)

• mask (Nanoparticles should not be breathed because of lung damage but I couldn’t find a definitive answer on zinc. I just covered my face with my t-shirt. Okay, I didn’t really, but maybe you should :))

Method:

1. If you’re using my homemade recipe (which is 9 0z. weighed), add the zinc oxide right after you make the lotion. See below for details on how much to add.


2. If you’re using a pre-made lotion, warm it in a water bath and then add/blend in the zinc oxide in a food processor.


3. Add essential oils and tint as desired.


4. How you store depends on the composition of the lotion you used. If it’s premade it probably contains preservatives, so room temp is fine. If it’s coconut oil it will last at room temp for quite awhile, but longer if stored in the fridge. Olive oil tends to go bad quicker than coconut oil, so I’d probably store that in the fridge from day 1. I’m not sure about avocado oil, but I’m thinking fridge. I’ll bet it hardens when it gets cold like coconut oil, though, so you’d want to let it warm up before use).

Deciding How Much Zinc Oxide To Add

Anywhere from 5-20% of the total solution is generally considered to be effective, with 20% having  a higher level of protection. You may find the information below helpful in determining your measurements. I have not tested these ratios in a lab for SPF value.

If you’re looking for moderate protection, measure the lotion you are going to use and then add 10% of it’s weight in zinc oxide.

For example, 8oz. (weighed) of lotion + .8oz of zinc oxide (weighed) = 10% zinc ratio

Or 8 oz (weighed) of lotion + 1.2 oz zinc oxide (weighed) = 15 % zinc ratio

Note: Huge differences in SPF numbers are actually pretty insignificant when it comes to differences in protection. SPF 100 blocks 99 percent of UVB rays, while SPF 50 blocks 98 percent. SPF 30 blocks 96.7 percent, SPF 15 blocks 93%.