Natural D.I.Y. Sunscreen

Toxic, chemical-based sunscreens have made a lot of headlines lately.  They can be just as dangerous as too much sun.  Even the "natural" sunscreens found in stores cause one of my children to have a reaction.  He has very sensitive skin, and anything with zinc oxide causes his skin to turn bright red and burn, usually causing his eczema to flare up.  I have a recipe for sunscreen that has been tested on four of my children with great results, and they all have different complexions.  We also have a pool, so if it worked for them, that's pretty good results.  If you do not have sensitivities to zinc oxide, you can add it to this mixture to make it much more waterproof.  Our sunscreen has worked for us, but I just make sure to reapply it often on my kids after they have toweled off or have been in the water for awhile.  All of my ingredients can be found on Amazon. 

D.I.Y. Sunscreen:

1/4 cup fractionated coconut oil

20 drops of carrot seed oil

*Optional*  You can also add lavender oil to improve the scent of your sunscreen.  An added bonus is that bugs don't like it!

That's it!  This will have a SPF of 40.  Make sure that you get the "fractionated" coconut oil and not the stuff you cook with.  Fractionated coconut oil remains in a liquid form...the other stuff hardens at room temperature.  Also, it is important to choose a good carrot seed oil, or you will end up with something that makes you more sensitive in the sunlight (photo toxic)...not good when you are making sunscreen.  I used Eden's Garden brand, and I even emailed them to ask how they extracted their carrot seed oil.  They steam expel it, so there are no other chemicals used in this process.   Lastly, I used a glass spray bottle.  Plastic can break down when using natural oils and you could end up with toxins in your sunscreen, which we are trying to avoid!  This is a natural mixture, so remember to shake it before spraying it on!

***Please be careful in the sun.  If you are extremely fair skinned, this may not be enough protection for you.  You may need to don the hat and find a shade tree!!!***