Learn to create effective and safe sunscreens.
by Tracey TieF, Anarres Natural Health
the full length version of the DIY column of the Karma Chronicle, summer issue

What's worse? The sun, or the toxins in the sunscreens?

Regular exposure to the sun lets your skin adapt to defend itself against harmful rays, all the while making vitamin D. So tanning is a healthy response, and those who get regular exposure to the sun lower their skin cancer risk. Burning is absolutely not healthy – it clearly increases your risk of deadly skin cancer. So what to do?

1.Drink lots of water – 2 litres a day. Skin is moisturized from the inside out, and we need more water the more we perspire. Drinking water keeps us cool, detoxified and is essential to healthy skin.

2.Take care of your skin – Moisturize with good vegetable oils and butters, never wash with Sodium Laurel Sulphate soaps or shampoos, and eat a wide variety of raw and cooked foods.

The possibly not that much more exciting stuff about safer sun exposure:

1.Always wear a wide brimmed hat and a light natural fibre shirt in the sun.

2.Use sun protecting vegetable oils and butters to moisturize the skin all summer long. The following oils and butters can have an SPF (sun protection factor) of 15: avocado oil & butter, cocoa butter, hemp seed oil, coconut oil, shea butter, sesame oil.

3.Wear a natural sunscreen during daylight hours. Carry it with you at all times, and reapply it every 2 hours in the sun.

Now that's the problem! What is “natural”? What is toxic?

In general, if you can't read the ingredients, or it's all initials such as OMC for octyl methoxycinnamate, it's probably toxic. The exception is if you see the latin botanical names of plant extracts or essential oils such as Benzoin or Gum Benjamin (Styrax benzoin), or if you see “Tocopherol” - that's a vitamin E.
Look up suspicious ingredients at the Environmental Working Group's easy-to-use Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database

All citrus essential oils are potentially photosensitizing, meaning that they cause the skin to burn faster in the sun. Mandarin, tangerine, petitgrain, bergamot, orange, grapefruit, lemon and lime essential oils should not be used as perfumes or ingredients in oils or sunscreens during the day.

So what ingredients should you see in a natural, safe sunscreen?

For a SPF (sun protection factor) of 5-15 in 20%+ concentration, there's: unrefined avocado oil, cocoa butter, hemp seed oil (unrefined), coconut oil , shea butter, sesame oil, sunflower seed oil, and any oils that are yellow, orange, red or green – the deeper the colour, the more sunscreening. Make sure your hemp is unrefined Canadian and your cocoa, coconut and shea butters are fairly traded.

Natural minerals from clay and sand deposits remain on your skin to reflect and scatter away UVA and UVB rays from the body by forming a physical barrier shield, without irritating or clogging your pores.

Safe Sun Protection Cream SPF@28
Melt together: 80g cocoa butter, 50g beeswax, 300ml avocado oil, sesame oil, hemp seed oil, shea butter or coconut oil
At the same time, heat gently: 450ml water, 25g borax
Pour the waters into the oily mixture.
Add: 5ml grapefruit seed extract, 5ml vitamine E
Blend in: 100g zinc oxide
Pour and let set in open-mouthed jars. Do all these steps very quickly and efficiently. Do not over mix. Pour immediately. Mistakes will separate your batch!