Store bought sunscreen is loaded with cancer causing chemicals that can overload your body, clog your pores and it’s expensive to boot. They don’t want you to know that you can make your own no sweat easy application sunscreen stick . . .
Why Sunscreen is Needed
Sunscreens protect again several different kinds of radiation, namely:
Ultraviolet-A (UVA)– known for damaging the layers of skin beneath the surface which essentially means, these are the rays that give you age spots, wrinkles, sagging skin and melanoma- aka the deadliest form of skin cancer.
Ultraviolet-B (UVB)– which are know for damaging the outer layers of skin- aka- visible sunburn, age spots, wrinkling and can also cause skin cancer as well
Chemicals in Sunscreen/Sunblockers
There is a wide range of not-so-healthy chemicals found in sunscreens and sunblockers:
UVA Blocking Chemicals:
- avobenzone: Lab tests in animals indicate mutation of internal organs including ovarian/egg mutations
- benzophenone– studies indicate use of this chemical causes endocrine disruption and is classified as toxic/harmful and bioaccumulative
- oxybenzone– studies indicate this chemical causes allergies, is an immune system toxicant, photoallergenic toxicant, endocrine disruptor, is it believed to accumulate in the system and cause developmental and reproductive issues/toxicity.
This chemical mimics estrogen and may be a cause of endometriosis (abnormal uterine tissue growth that causes severe pain)
- Sulisobenzone-this is not overly effective on it’s own, but is used to enhance the effects of other chemicals in the forumla, one or more animal studies show broad systemic effects at high doses
UVB Blocking Chemicals
Commonly used UVB blocking chemicals include: minobenzoic acid, cinoxate, homosalate, octocrylene, octyl methoxycinnamate, octisalate, padimate O, phenylbenzimidazole sulfonic acid, sulisobenzone and trolamine salicyate
- Homosalate– Research indicates it is a weak hormone disruptor, and sunlight breaks down the chemical into harmful byproducts.
- Octocrylene– Produces excess reactive oxygen species that can interfere with cellular signaling, cause mutations, lead to cell death and may be implicated in cardiovascular disease.
- Octyl Methoxycinnamate– there are over 600 studies linking this to various illness, disease, mutagenic qualities, etc
- Padimate O– research shows this chemical releases free radicals, damages DNA, has estrogenic activity, and causes allergic reactions in some people – This chemical interferes with cellular signaling and is known to cause mutations that lead to cell death & is believed to cause cardiovascular disease.
Some sunscreens even contain harmful chemicals such as Padimate-0 and parsol 1789 (aka avobenzone) which is believed to cause DNA damage when exposed to sunlight. One of the UV-filters, BP-3, has been found in 96% of urine samples in the US and several UV-filters in 85% of Swiss breast milk samples.
Broad Spectrum Options
Options that provide Protection from both UVA And UVB are called Broad spectrum chemicals and include:
dioxybenzone, oxybenzone, ulisobenzone, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide
We use either titanium dioxide or Zinc Oxide as our sun block for several reasons- first, it is one of the very few that block both UVA & UVB rays, secondly, it is a Physical Sunscreen- which means that it turns your skin white before it is absorbed- it works instantly and doesn’t need 20 before you go into the sun to start working.
It’s also excellent for those with sensitive skin & those who may have allergies or sensitivities to various chemicals.
It’s the least toxic and reportedly the safest option we’ve found, shy of avoiding the sun altogether (which would simply result in a Vitamin D deficiency, but that’s another post altogether.
Did you know that the use of Certain Sunscreens on your skin can chemically alter the hormones within your body and CAUSE skin cancer?
Check out the Dr Oz video link below to see a special episode explaining more dangers of sunscreens
More Sources:
- Sunscreens: are they beneficial for health? An overview of endocrine disrupting properties of UV-filters
- https://www.doctoroz.com/episode/breaking-news-sunscreen-dangerous
- No Hype Facts about Sunscreen & what’s in them
MYO No Sweat Sunscreen Stick
This No Sweat Sunscreen stick can be applied without getting it all over everything and having a stinky, greasy mess.
Glide the stick over your skin and then use a single hand to rub it on evenly.
This sunscreen lasts 5-7 hours without reapplying, but if you have little ones swimming, we recommend reapplying after 2-3 hours.
You’ll Need (For an Approximate SPF 35):
DO NOT DOUBLE THIS RECIPE!! IT WILL NOT WORK IF YOU DOUBLE IT!
4 Tbs. pure sweet almond oil (Natural SPF 5)
4 Tbs Coconut oil (Natural SPF 4-10)
2 Tbs Zinc Oxide or Titanium Dioxide Powder (approximate SPF 20-25)
2 Tbs Beeswax (or 1 Tbs Beeswax & 1 Tbs Cocoa butter)
1/2 tsp Vit E Oil
1 Empty Deodorant Container or clean mason jar
In a small saucepan, melt the coconut oil, beeswax (& cocoa butter if using it) and sweet almond oil together over very low heat (or use a double boiler) until all the ingredients are fully incorporated and the beeswax is completely melted.
Remove from heat and add the Titanium dioxide powder, it is imperative that you wear a face mask and DO NOT BREATHE in the dust.
While this ingredient has been deemed perfectly safe to apply to skin, it is NOT safe to breathe it in ANY amount.
Stir it in gently to avoid causing dust to enter the air, I used a mini whisk. Add the vitamin E, stirring well.
Pour the sunscreen into an empty deodorant container or into a glass jar like this one:
Let it cool and harden completely before use. Use as you would any sunscreen.
We’re not saying this method is for everyone, but this is what I’m using for our family to help reduce the amount of toxic chemicals we’re putting into our bodies.
For additional recipes check out:
- No Secrets Deodorant- a DIY option that is chemical free and actually works all day
- Laundry Sauce– super concentrated no-fail homemade detergent
- Cosmetics & Beauty Recipes
The Titanium Dioxide is about $20 a bag, but will last you for the rest of your life, lol.
It will make a large number of recipes and can be added to other homemade cosmetics and beauty recipes as well.
The total SPF is about 35 depending on which oils you choose as a carrier.
Free Printable Labels for your Homemade Sunscreen
If you’d prefer to use a different oil rather than Coconut, here are some alternatives:
List of 10 oils with natural UV-ray protecting properties:
Carrot Seed Oil: SPF 38-40
Raspberry Seed Oil: SPF 28-50
Wheatgerm Oil: SPF 20
Avocado Oil: SPF 4-15
Coconut Oil: SPF 2-8
Olive Oil: SPF 2-8 (NOT Recommended)
Macadamia Nut Oil: SPF 6
Almond Oil: SPF 5
Shea Butter: SPF 3-6
Jojoba Oil: SPF 4
DO NOT DOUBLE THIS RECIPE! When you double the recipe the ingredients settle causing the LAST Sunscreen stick to be extremely Potent and contain ALL of the sunscreen properties, rendering the others completely USELESS.
Disclaimer for Sue-Happy People who prefer to get ahead in life the easy way: You are responsible for your Self, by using this site you agree to this site’s TOS, we are not doctors, physicists or chemists, nor do we play one the internet, this is just what we personally use.
Tried this recipe? Mention @Budget101com or tag #Budget101
The total SPF for this recipe is estimated to be about 35 SPF
i know you said in the article that without going in the sun we would all be vitamin d deficient, but using sunscreen will also cause vitamin d deficiency. sunscreen of any type prevents the body from making vitamin d. we only need 15 min.
of sun exposure without sunscreen to for our bodies to process vitamin D.
wow, i guess i never really thought about all of the chemicals in sunscreen, after i read this i went and read a couple of the articles that it linked to and just wow.
do your kids like this one? will they wear it? have you experienced any downsides to making your own?
i finally got the ingredients for this this past monday and made it. i didn’t have the cute containers so i just poured it into a jelly jar. this stuff works wonderfully!
it’s smooth, smells very faintly and i spent the entire day in the sun yesterday weeding my garden and completely forgot to reapply and still no burn.
thank you very much lady for all that you do!
i am allergic to almonds, is there an alternative that i could use? thank you so much!
you could use grapeseed oil (natural spf 4)
Found this online, it might help you.
List of 10 oils with natural uv-ray protecting properties:
carrot seed oil: spf 38-40
Raspberry Seed Oil: SPF 28-50
Wheatgerm Oil: SPF 20
Avocado Oil: SPF 4-15
Coconut Oil: SPF 2-8
Olive Oil: SPF 2-8
Macadamia Nut Oil: SPF 6
Almond Oil: SPF 5
Shea Butter: SPF 3-6
Jojoba Oil: SPF 4
Can wheat germ oil be used additionally with all other ingredients, or must it be swapped out for almond oil
in regards to the titanium dioxide, the picture of all the ingredients shows a bag of zinc oxide. also, when you click on the titanium dioxide link above in the ingredients list, it takes you to amazon to a page selling zinc oxide, and the bag is the same as the one in the picture on this page. please clarify which should be included in this recipe.
thanks!!
Doesn’t matter which, its according to your own preference.
Can wheat germ oil be used in addition to all the other ingredients our does it have to be substituted for the almond oil
you could probably use half and half, or use all wheat germ and then add some extra beeswax to it for solidity.
no it really does matter! titanium dioxide reacts toxically with sun rays and the zinc oxide has to be non-nano particle or it is also toxic! i found this blog post after reading your blog post and it gives more info about making a healthy diy sunscreen, some of it is really important to know so you don’t go making toxic sunscreen to replace your toxic sunscreen.
as a reader it’s something i would want to definitely know.
this sounds wonderful, but what do you do when you medically need to have a higher spf?
if you need something higher use an oil that is higher spf like carrot seed oil!
i would suggest using one of the other oils with a higher spf rating in an earlier post on this thread. it looks like you can increase the rating. good luck.
will this melt in hot temps at the pool? can see this being a mess if you put in the deoderant container rather than a jar.
Is this safe for faces?
i made this today. first, the smell is delightful with the almond oil and beeswax. second, it feels incredible on my skin, nourishing.
making it was a little nerve racking with the zinc powder but it went well. it was a little grainy on the bottom though, not sure what that was about but it set up fine when it cooled. i put some in deodorant containers and some in jars.
it’s soft enough where you can spoon out what you need with your fingers. in hot temperatures, yes, this will melt so using jars is a good idea for that.
thank you for this post. sunscreen is very expensive.
is it possible to use the zinc oxide that is in a tube to make this instead of the powdered form?
why is there a picture of cocoa butter but its not on the ingredient list?
I see that no one has answered this question. Living in Texas, where everything melts in this summer heat (including people), you need the beeswax and/or cocoa butter to help the product remain solid in the higher heat. Of course it may make the sunscreen take a bit longer to melt on the skin but that might be why they are showing it in the picture.
It’s a shame they didn’t explain the reason for using cocoa butter or the directions. I’m sure you would just melt the cocoa butter into the mix like the rest and then expect it to be solid? Just my best guess.
the ingredient list shows
2 Tbs Beeswax (or 1 Tbs Beeswax & 1 Tbs Cocoa butter)
that’s where the cocoa butter comes into play
I’m looking forward to making this sunscreen!
ok, just so i am clear; if i wanted a higher spf i could use the rasp oill and coconut oil and it would be ok? or can i use any combination of the oils listed above just make sure that i put in 4 tbsp each? Also, we go to the pool a lot and the sunscreen is frequently left in our bag and I do try to keep it in the shade as much as possible, but how would this hold up in the sun at the pool?
Should I put it in the jar instead of the deodorant tube because it will melt? Thanks 🙂
i’m allergic to coconut is there anything else i can use in replacement for this recipe for sunblock?
made mine today! got my supplies from the mailman and 20 min later it was cooling. That includes time it took to open the packages!
Super easy. Just waiting for some swimming weather to use it!
this stuff works brilliantly. used it today at a swim meet. was out in the sun for 4 hours and did not need to re-apply.
Absolutely wonderful!:worthy:
i will have to give this a try, because my doctor actually told me to never use sunscreens bought at the store for these very reasons so if this works i will be so happy! my only question is is this safe to use on the face and if not do you have a separate recipe for the face?
I must give this a try! I haven’t been using sunscreen and staying out of too much sun because my doctor told me not to use it for these exact reasons for how bad it is! My only question is is this safe to use on the face?
I do have sensitive skin and eyes so I don’t want that to be bothered, and if not do you happen to have a recipe for the face?
i have made a couple batches of this so far. it’s awesome. one question i have is….how do you get this off your pots and stuff??
some of it got on some other utensils that i had in the sink. i ran everything through the dishwasher and it is still on. help!!!
i used a good pot for this (mistake).
Pour boiling water into it…or since it’s a pot boil water in it and let it come to room temp. Once completely cooled you should be able to use a strainer to catch any little bits of beeswax and just chuck them in the garbage. Then try cleaning it or throwing it in the dishwasher.
I haven’t tried this recipe but that’s what I do for other recipes that involve beeswax. Plus you don’t want that hardening in your pipes. ?
well….figured it out on my own. sugar scrub with palmolive and sugar got it off most of the stuff.
oh wow well that’s good to know! I was going to say maybe something that takes off heavy grease stains could cut through it?
Have you used this stuff on your face? If so how is it?
how do i clean my pot after making this?! i poured it into a large measuring cup also to make it easier to pour into the containers and have no idea how to clean it out….dishwasher didn’t help much!??
Wash everything with DAWN Dishsoap, worked fine for me. 🙂
i made this sunscreen recipe a week ago and then used it this weekend on a float trip and re-applied every hour to 1.5 hrs and I got so BURNT. It didn’t work at all. I’m very disappointed since I spent so much on all of the ingredients.
To make mine I used: 4 Tbs. pure sweet almond oil, 4 Tbs Coconut oil, 2 Tbs Zinc Oxide, 2 Tbs Beeswax, 1/2 tsp Vit E Oil, 1 Empty Deodorant Container, then I multiplied all of the ingredients it by 5 to make 5 servings.
Has anyone had any success in the sun with this recipe? Or if you tweaked it and it worked better, what did you do?
That’s why you burned. When you multiplied the recipe all of the heavier ingredients settled and you basically just applied oil to your skin, instead of sunscreen. The LAST one you poured has all the sunscreen properties.
how long does this sunscreen last for? i assume that all of the ingredients are left out on their own unrefrigerated individually so they last a long time, but heated and mixed together does it go bad/collect any mold or anything like that?
what is the consistency of the sunscreen? when you say “wait for it to harden” does it become rock hard, or a thick creamy consistency?
thanks! 🙂
i just made a batch and am super excited to try these, i’m a ginger living in the desert and i spend most of the time indoors due to commercial sunscreens not working (not to mention all the darn chemicals and $$$$) i will try this then try on my kiddo (super pale as well) ..stay tuned ….
i was so excited when i first found this recipe. i made this whole recipe according to instructions (4 Tbs. pure sweet almond oil, 4 Tbs Coconut oil, 2 Tbs Zinc Oxide, 2 Tbs Beeswax, 1/2 tsp Vit E Oil, 1 Empty Deodorant Container), I and multiplied everything by 5 to make 5 servings.
And believe me…I calculated everything to its exact measurement (I didn’t get a BS in food science for nothing!) Then I used my finish product the next weekend on a float trip and re-applied it every 1 hours to 1.5 hours. Sadly I got burnt to a crisp! Luckily I did put regular sunscreen on my face earlier in the day, so it didn’t get AS burnt as the rest of my body.
I was itching and peeling for weeks. I asked several people what they thought went wrong, and we can’t figure out. Has anyone had success in the sun or can tell me what went wrong?
Thank you!
DO NOT DOUBLE THIS RECIPE! When you double the recipe the ingredients settle causing the LAST Sunscreen stick to be extremely Potent and contain ALL of the sunscreen properties, rendering the others completely USELESS.
so i made this sunscreen today, it was really easy and i was nervous and it was still a piece of cake! however if you don’t wash your stuff immediately with soap and a scrub cloth and you have to really scrub, i can see why others said they weren’t able to clean their stuff, so just be sure to do it right away and you will be able to clean it, however i still suggest using old pots just for this or other beauty products you might make just in case it didn’t all come off.
i have 8 oz mason jars that I used to put the sunscreen in, and this recipe only made about 4 oz, so my question is what can I do to make 8 oz with out making it so I would burn? Do I double the recipe? Like everything including the titanium dioxide?
Hi if you really need 8oz make 2 batches up 1 after the other,if you don.t the heavier materials will sink.
would it not be possible to use raspberry seed oil or carrot seed oil by themselves if their spf is so high naturally?
well not for full spectrum coverage, it does help with fighting against the suns rays but it’s not as beneficial by itself and you are more likely to burn, the major sun protecting is the titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, the rest is just beneficial and the oils are just good to hydrate your skin with nutrients as well. another way to protect from the sun is to eat these type of veggies like carrots to help from inside out but it still doesn’t work as well without proper sunblock.
to say the oils don’t work by themselves is not true – i use only organic, unrefined coconut oil when i lay out in my hammock and as i understand, it doesn’t even hit spf 10 but it still prevents me from getting burnt in the late afternoon sun.
I still get a little red at times, so I want to add other oils to it to increase the spf quality.
I want to know the same as mak1600, but those oils are super expensive to just use by themselves to try.
If I use, say, 1/4 cup coconut oil, 1/4 cocoa butter and maybe 15-30 drops of the carrot seed oil without using the zinc oxide (sounds chemically to me lol or maybe not ideal to be absorbed by the skin?) does that not equal 43-54 spf?
I plan to use jars, so the runniness is not an issue. :brew:
I know I’m posting long after this originally showed up. Also, my question may already be answered here and I haven’t seen it. I have researched making sunscreen for several months now (just haven’t committed) and one of the things I run across is the use of non-nano zinc oxide as a MUST. As I said, I do not see that addressed in this post and am curious what the general opinion on using nano vs.
non-nano and if there is support concerning the opinion. I have included a link to an article which supports use of only non-nano and addresses TiO2 but would like to have some information on alternate opinions if this does not seem to be necessary concern. Thanks for sharing!
I really do like the base formula and think this is a little more push for me to start making my own.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hillary-peterson/sunscreen-safety_b_2903525.html
Can someone please help me? I just made this but after I poured into my tube containers, there was a lot of the zinc oxide on the bottom. I really want to make this but I don’t want to waste over $10 in ingredients again.
How do you get this to blend in completely? I used zinc oxide powder non nano from amazon.
am i translating the tablespoon to 15 grams as i have to purchase and really don,t want to buy too much.
I just made the sunscreen, what’s the easiest way to clean up? The ingredients stick to everything. Help!
Dawn Dishsoap, a sprinkle of Baking Soda (for scouring) and a dab of vinegar when rinsing.
Help please. I was thrilled to find a homemade recipe for sunscreen. I followed the directions to the T and used coconut oil.
I made 3 separate batches. I used this on the kids a couple of times at the pool. Seemed to work well no burns.
We went to Florida last week and the first day were FRIED! All of us. I rarely burn and I burned.
Not a happy camper. May I add carrot oil to the batches I have already made? I hate wasting the product.
The ingredients were not cheap. Please advise.
I’m going to do this because I am allergic to store bought sunscreen. And I’m already hot in long sleeves!
Does the liquid oil matter? I think I will use almond because it does have a pleasant fragrance. I saw a similar recipe with olive oil.
Ick. But could I use fractionated coconut oil? I’m just curious about the point.
Otherwise I assume I could use more regular coconut oil.
Does carrot oil smell? Is it orange?
Is this No Sweat Sunscreen Stick safe for children?
Thank you!