Home Made Sunscreen
Most commercial sunblocks contain nasty chemicals and there is much evidence to suggest that they are actually the cause of many of the diseases associated with sunlight exposure including skin cancer!
You can make your own sunscreen from several natural ingredients.
The easiest and most effective kind is made from zinc oxide, which you can purchase at a health food store or pharmacy. It will usually come in powdered form. Mix this with lotion, aloe extract/gel, or any other “juicy” item you can spread on your skin safely.
Another good formula is to buy vitamin C powder, preferably with rosehips added. You can also get these in pill form and crush them to powder in a mortar and pestle or blender. Mix this with aloe vera, lotion, or something similar. Combine them at about 1:4 (one part powder to 4 parts lotion). You can adjust this up or down some to make the result creamier or thicker, as you wish.
Sesame oil has a sunfactor of 4 so can often be used on it's own or can be used with the other ingredients above. This oil has the advantage also of being not too greasy and is adsorbed well by the skin preventing the drying effects of sun exposure. It is very similar to almond oil in this respect. It has a distinctive 'nutty' aroma which may be a little off-putting to some.
Coconut oil added to the mix (or as the cream mix for the C) can help dry skin while fragrances can also be added, like rose oil for example.
You can also mix Vitamin C and zinc oxide together in any of these mixes to maximize the sunblock potential. Zinc is more effective than C is at blocking UV rays. Whatever you mix, it’s best to make as large a quantity as possible. Put the lotion into a jar, an empty (and clean) shampoo bottle, an old lotion bottle, etc. to make it easy to use and store.
Eating dark vegetables (greens, reds, and yellows) boosts skin health and will help prevent damage from the sun. Getting plenty of exposure early in the year and also starting with small amounts first helps to condition the skin to sunlight.
One of the worst things that many people do is avoid sunshine on the skin until the weather is really hot and sunny and then go for maximum evposure to try and get a tan. This is just asking to be burnt. if you pre-condition the skin earlier in the year you will often find you will need little if any sunblock in the hotter weather and tanning will be more effective and natural.
