Natural Sunscreen (or body/face/nappy rash cream without the zinc)

[quirkycooking]

Hi everyone - my friend Crystal makes her own sunscreen in the Thermomix, and it's really lovely.  The kids and I tested it out at the lake the other day, and it was great - none of them got sunburnt even though it was the middle of the day, and two of them have very fair skin!  She says she's  still refining the recipe, but this latest batch is her best ever.  She hasn't recorded all the instructions with temps/times/speeds, but hopefully you can figure it out.  It's hard to clean the Thermomix afterwards, but it will come off with detergent and hot water.   So here it is, direct from Crystel...
 
- 30gm beeswax
- 80 gm oil (organic coconut, almond or sesame oil are usually my choices because they have some sunprotective qualities themselves)
- 30gm shea butter
heat gently and mix till beeswax is melted and shea butter incorporated.
 
- add 10 gm flaxseed oil (not necessary - but in combination with other oils is also good for sunprotection - better not to heat it too much though - I just add it in after I"ve finished heating)... if you don't do this then do 10 extra gms of oil at the beginning so your proportions are right.
 
* (Stop here if you just want an exquisite body/face/nappy rash cream) *
 
For suncream add:

- 50 gm zinc oxide powder (from aussiesoapsupplies) - don't get "micronized" zinc - it can absorb into skin some research suggests and can be harmful - so it is safer to be white and have regular zinc oxide... I try to add the right amount so it is 25% zinc - this will make 30+ - be careful not to breath in the powder...it's completely safe when mixed in though.
 
- optional 1teaspoon tumeric thoroughly combined with a little oil/water so it's not grainy - this is very good for your skin and makes it a bit less white... I've also tried mixing miessence bronzing powder which worked well - you could also mix it with miessence foundation if you wanted... all of these things are optional - you can just be white if you want
 
I also add a few drops of pure sandalwood essential oil - it's also very good for the skin, mildly sunprotective and makes the turmeric smell less intense.  You could use other essential oils - but not citrus ones as they make the skin more likely to burn in the sun... I've erred on the side of caution as I'm using it on babies.
 
Pour into container to set.

Hope that doesn't sound too complicated - it really isn't!

 

[Meagan]

Thanks Crystal and Jo 

[abundanceatangas]

Thankyou; that sounds wonderful.

I have heard that apricot kernal oil has the highest sunprotection of any oil; but couldn't say for sure - maybe that could be another option for the oil.

[quirkycooking]

That sounds like a good idea!

[tarosuma]

Thank you SO much to both of you - it looks brilliant.  I am going through bucket loads of sunscreen with the kids and at $30 a tube it is a bit crazy.  This idea is just great!  Will just need to source some of those bits and pieces though, might have to get my sister to bring from Oz when she visits soon.
thanks again!

[meganjane]

No oils really have any sunscreen protection, that's just a myth. But, the zinc oxide is and excellent sunscreen.

It's also a good idea to add 1% Vitamin E oil (just squeeze the oil out of a couple of capsules) as the oils can go rancid, especially if the jar is left in the heat.

I make and sell a Baby Balm using Zinc Oxide and Beeswax and have recommended to my customers that it's also a good sunscreen. I base mine on olive & castor seed oil and use both Vitamins A & E. I scent it really lightly with lavender and chamomile essential oils.
When I first developed it, I used my Thermomix, the TM21, and it made it so much easier to incorporate the zinc oxide. I now use a stick blender as I make 4 Litres at a time!

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

Thanks Jo. Regular sunscreen strips the pigment from our Ethiopian-born son's skin, but I will check these ingredients out.  We may have found another alternative here. 

[quirkycooking]

Thanks Jo. Regular sunscreen strips the pigment from our Ethiopian-born son's skin, but I will check these ingredients out.  We may have found another alternative here. 

That's interesting!!  Wonder why it does that...  Hope it works for you 

MeganJane, does the vitamin E oil stop it from going rancid, is that what you add it for? Thanks 

[meganjane]

Yes, Vitamin E is to prevent rancidity.

When I was researching Zinc Oxide as a sunscreen some time ago, I found this table:

low                  moderate                   high                         ultra high                                              (spf 2-5)           (spf 6-11)              (spf 12-19)               (spf >20)    titanium dioxide                         <4%                     8%                   12%                           20% titanium dioxide, micronized     2%                    4%                         6%                          10%    zinc oxide                                    5%                   10%                          15%                          25% zinc oxide, micronized                    3%                    7.5%                 12%                          20%

SPF refers to a world wide standard to do with the time spent in the sun unprotected before burning. If it takes you 5 minutes to burn, then you multiply that 5 minutes with the SPF and that is how long it will take before burning occurs.
Theoretically, a 20 SPF sunscreen would then protect you for 100 minutes.

Not all sunscreens protect both UVA and UVB rays, but zinc oxide does. UVB rays are the ones that cause burning, while UVA rays cause skin aging and sun damage.
If only I'd had this information when I was younger....

[quirkycooking]

Thanks for that Meagan - that's really interesting!

[Nay-nay]

Wow - very interesting indeed. How much does this make? And how much does that mix cost to make? The natural sunscreen I get is a ridiculous price! Love it!!

[quirkycooking]

I think it makes about 200g, but I'll find out for you.  Not sure of the price - guess it depends how 'bulk' you buy the ingredients.  Yeah, natural sunscreens cost a lot - it's got to be cheaper to make your own!

[zebraa]

Wow. Thankyou - that really is a great idea.

[quirkycooking]

I asked Crystel about the amount and price - she said it makes about 250g, which may not sound like much, but it's about half a Tupperware lunch box full!  She said the cost would work out to less than $40 a kg, but wasn't sure exactly the amount.

She also said, "to make it simpler for people who can't get ingredients - I only recently started adding shea butter.  It is a nicer consistency - but you can do it with just oils and beeswax if you want to be really simple - as Megan said, zinc oxide is the key."

[CreamPuff63]

as a face cream is it "greasy"? and do you get everything from aussiesoapsupplies including the essential oils? if so, do you have to buy bulk or can you basically get just enough to make this?