- Jun 27, 2018
- 3 min read

DIY: How To Make Sunscreen & Why You Should Stop Using Your Conventional Brand

Summer is here! And with summer comes the sun and our need for sunscreen.

Personally, this is my favorite season. Temperature is going up, which means I can wear dresses, nice tops, and go to the ocean or the river as much as I want/can! Yet, to do so, I personally need to put sun protection on my skin, overwise my skin turns pink/red and I turn into a cooked shrimp.

I’m sure you can relate.

This year, I feel comfortable sharing about zero waste sunscreen. I spent many hours learning about the making process and the ingredients to put on our skin. My take away is that I will no longer buy one in a conventional supermarket.

Conventional sunscreen. A new Sanitary crises?

You wouldn’t believe the toxicity of some ingredients in your sunscreen. EWG has done a large benchmark of what’s available on the market and the ingredients found in them. The results were highly alarming. Many of them contain potent endocrine disruptors which are often linked to reproductive dysfunction, brain damage, accelerated skin aging, malformation of newborns, etc…

Endocrine disruptors don’t have to be absorbed in big quantities to have a negative impact on our bodies. Especially for kids. This is why it is crucial for you and your family’s health to research about the brand you should use or spare the time and make your own instead! Here’s a great link with more details on the subject.

Making Your Own Sun Protection is Easy!

Making it is so liberating! Like they say, knowledge is power. For instance, did you know that fats naturally have different SPF? From Carrot Seed Oil that has over SPF40 to olive oil with a low 2 to 7. You can select your oil and ingredients based on where you go, how long, etc.

Ready?

Sunscreen Recipe

Ingredients

4 Tbsp of beeswax
4 Tbsp of cocoa butter (15 SPF)
4 Tbsp of coconut oil (2-7 SPF) (if choosing a light protection go more towards Carrot or Raspberry seed oil for a stronger protection)
4 Tbsp of liquid oil blend (I like to combine of argan oil, shea butter, and castor oil)
4 Tbsp of zinc – Don’t get the nano. Choose the uncoated version.
1 Tsp of Vitamine E (make sure it’s organic, or at least non-GMO)
A Scale
A Double boiler (I recently purchased one at a flee market, but if you don’t have the budget, using a glass or stainless steel bowl in a regular pot will work perfectly.)
A Container – Your old sunscreen container will work perfectly if well rinsed before.

Preparation

This recipe is quite close to the face cream DIY that I have shared here.

First, start heating water in your pot or double broiler.
Put all your fats in a bowl that you will put in the hot water. Make sure the water cannot leak into your mixture.
Use a whisk to help you melt all the fats together.
Once the fats have melted, remove the bowl from the heated water
Remove condensation water from your bowl.
Add the Zinc and vitamin E and mix well.
Whisk some more

Wait until your cream cools down and then, use a funnel to pour your preparation in your container.