Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Homemade Sunscreen

Did you know that most sunscreens you buy from the store do more harm than good? While it's true that they may protect your skin from harmful UV rays that cause skin cancer, the chemicals in sunscreen can actually cause other forms of cancer (like breast cancer). Your skin absorbs these harmful chemicals, which causes cellular mutations and hormonal changes. Awesome, huh? Yeah...that's what I thought. How great that I've been spraying my kids down with liquid cancer!

So on my quest to become healthier, I've been ditching chemicals in my life. I've already gotten rid of 95% of household cleaners, insect repellent, hand sanitizer, anti-itch cream/sprays for bug bites, and diaper ointment. Don't worry, I'll include the recipes for those gems too!

When you make your own toiletries, it's important to buy organic ingredients. After all, we're trying to get rid of all harmful chemicals. You can find most of these ingredients at your local health food store. I recommend this zinc oxide from Amazon. Just be careful not to inhale it when you mix it in. A little of this sunscreen goes a long way, so don't use too much or you'll have white streaks.

Ingredients
1/2 c. sweet almond oil

1/4 c. coconut oil
1/4 c. beeswax pastillies
1 T. shea butter
30 drops essential oil (I did a lemon, orange, grapefruit combo)
2 T. zinc oxide

Directions
1. In a quart size Mason jar, combine the almond oil, coconut oil, beeswax & shea butter.
2. Make a double boiler by boiling a few inches of water in a medium pot. Place the mason jar in the water and melt the ingredients together over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
3. Once everything is melted, remove the jar and add your essential oils & zinc oxide. Stir until incorporated.
4. Pour immediately into the glass jar you will store the sunscreen in. 

**Wipe out the mason jar with a paper towel & wash in hot water immediately**

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