DIY Non-Toxic Sunscreen

I can’t believe how much I didn’t know about sunscreen.  I almost always get burned once in the spring or summer before I remember that I need to use it, and then pat myself on the back for preventing skin cancer!  Well…according to my research, I may be doing the opposite as there are several toxins in most commercial products that can CAUSE CANCER! 

Sunscreen didn’t always exist, and skin cancer (cancer in general) statistics used to be much lower.  So how did people prevent sunburn in the past?  The answer may be as simple as this: God provides!  Many of the berries and other produce that grow in warm, sunny months, give us natural sun protection through anti-oxidants!  Yet another reason to consume fresh, local, seasonal produce!  Also worth noting is that we need vitamin D in fairly high doses which we get from the sun.  Blocking all those rays can cause a new set of problems.  So during the summer, I try to let my skin have unfiltered sunlight for some of the day and use the homemade sunblock for walks and other times when we’ll be in the sun at peak hours (10am-2pm).  I don’t generally re-apply, but I may as we get into hotter weather and/or go swimming.

This sunscreen recipe could use a little adjustment.  Summer hasn’t really hit in the Midwest, and we’ve hardly had a day in the 70s.  Beeswax keeps the oils from being completely liquid, but unless it’s really hot outside it is a SOLID.  It would never work in a tube.  I keep about ¼ of this recipe in a tin I got from mountainroseherbs.com and the rest in a small jar.  I’ll probably use 1/8^th of a cup next time and see how it goes.

Homemade Sunscreen

1/4 cup beeswax pellets (they melt much faster than a stick of wax!)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup coconut oil (natural SPF 4)

2 Tablespoons Zinc Oxide (aprox. SPF 20)

1 teaspoon Vitamin E oil

2 tablespoons Shea Butter (natural SPF 4-5)

Essential oils

(Most if not all ingredients can be found on amazon)

1. Melt beeswax in a jar placed in a saucepan with a few inches of water over medium heat.

2. Add olive oil, coconut oil, vitamin E oil, and shea butter and continue melting. Shake or stir occasionally.

3. When everything is completely melted, remove from heat and thoroughly stir     in zinc oxide.

4. Continue stirring occasionally as it cools to room temperature. 

I used citronella essential oil to give a little bit of bug resistance to my sunscreen!  Coconut oil makes this mixture feel a little greasy, but it does absorb in the skin after a while, and coconut oil has only done good things for my skin.  Unlike some recipes I’ve heard about, this one does not leave white residue.  It is completely transparent once applied.

I’ve used it for a few weeks in Wisconsin spring time, and only got a little pink in some places that I must not have completely covered.  My almost three-year-old has not gotten pink at all! 

I don’t know if zinc oxide is recommended for infants, though it is a common rash cream ingredient, but it would be easy enough to put straight coconut oil and/or shea butter on a baby for extra sun protection that he or she may not get from the shades we try to keep up at all times!

DIY Non-Toxic Liquid Laundry Detergent

I’m a few weeks behind in my blogging.  I’ve experienced a return to pregnancy exhaustion that I’m pretty sure is related to my thyroid starting to cause problems again.  (Long story for another post.)  I’m exhausted today, too, but since my grocery run was done on Saturday, and laundry is almost finished, I have this dreary Monday mostly free. 

I posted earlier about homemade powdered laundry detergent.  It gets mixed reviews from me.  I grew up on liquid detergent.  It’s what I know.  Since we have a lot of dark clothing and my little guy LOVES red, I wash mainly in cold water.  The problem with cold water is that the castile soap doesn’t dissolve very well.  I’ve made it through most of my batch of detergent by liquefying it as much as possible in a jar with hot tap water before each load.  I’d be more than willing to put in two extra minutes with each load of laundry, but since I still occasionally see soap flakes left on my clothes, I decided it was time to move on to a new recipe—as long as I can continue to use the bar soap I already purchased!

If I’ve learned anything from my do-it-yourself journey, it’s patience.  I expect my first attempts to be less than perfect plan to tweak recipes as I learn more.  If you want store-bought results every time, don’t try it at home!  I still believe it will be worth it in the long run.

Today’s laundry detergent batch is in the overnight waiting step, but I’ll post the recipe now and results in a few weeks.  This is modified from blogs I’ve read and scaled to fit in the one and only empty detergent bottle I have (1.45 gal).

Liquid Laundry Detergent

¼ bar of castile soap (Dr. Bonner’s baby mild)

2 cups of water

1 gal water

¼ cup borax

¼ cup washing soda

Essential oil if desired

Large bucket, with lid if possible

Empty detergent bottle or other storage container

1. Grate soap in blender, food processer, or cheese grater

2. Heat soap in sauce pan with two cups of water over low-medium heat, stirring frequently until completely dissolved.

3. Meanwhile, add 1 gal very hot tap water to bucket. Add borax and washing soda.  Mix thoroughly. 

4.  Pour soap and water mixture into bucket and stir to combine. 

5. Cover and let sit overnight.

6. Stir until smooth and transfer into storage container.

7. Use 1/2- 1 cup per load.

Results to come!  I also hope to try recipes without borax (some consider it harmful) and with liquid castile soap instead of bar soap once I run out of the bars I have.