Welcome to this post: Homemade Organic Sunscreen Recipe.

How to Make Homemade Organic Sunscreen

Summer is upon us! For my family, that means many hours outside gardening, around the pool, walking Kona, running, exploring, kayaking, etc. With that in mind, I have an elevated sense of urgency to have lots of organic sun protection on hand for my family. I’ll be honest, I really enjoy the sunshine–as a Florida-born girl, and my skin absorbs the sunlight readily. It doesn’t take much sunlight for me to have a solid base tan. But, I do try to be mindful of when I am getting a little too much sun.
Besides enjoying having a good tan (as a reason to not always apply sunscreen), I have steered away from generic, drug store bought sunscreen because….well, have you ever read the ingredient lists? I have rambled a whole lot more about the sunscreen issue in this post.

So, my thoughts on sunscreen are:

1. Know your skin and how easily you burn; use sunblock and clothing accordingly.
2. Skin temperature is important in skin damage. In other words, your skin can withstand sunlight for longer if it is cooled off–like in the pool or the ocean, for instance.
3. Rely mainly on clothing to cover up your skin. Use sunscreen when needed–and always reach for the good stuff! There are a few good brands out there: iHerb has several clean options for brands that make a great, natural sunscreen.
4. To go completely organic, have control over your ingredients and be creative, make your own! Furthermore, ALWAYS look for “non-nano” sized Zinc Oxide. This is the safest, physical sunscreen ingredient available. Many sunscreen ingredients are chemical sunscreens, which is a whole lot of what-we-don’t-want! Non-nano sized zinc oxide will sit atop your skin (appearing white–this is a good thing, as it means your skin isn’t absorbing it. It is simply serving its purpose as a sun barrier).

Homemade Organic Sunscreen Recipe

(I merely always eyeball measurements, so I use the word “recipe” loosely”

Ingredients (keep in mind, these are approximate):

-2 tablespoons of non-nano Zinc Oxide
-1/4 cup of Coconut Oil
-1 tablespoon of Beeswax beads (optional–will thicken the mixture)
-1/4 cup of Shea Butter

Instructions:

-Melt Coconut Oil, Beeswax, Shea Butter in double boiler
-Take off of the heat and add Zinc Oxide
-Sunscreen is ready when it has cooled and solidified
**It is most helpful to clean your bowls while the ingredients are warm, as they will come off more easily.
Enjoy! Please share if you make this recipe for yourself–I’d love to hear about it.
If DIY doesn’t speak to you, check out my favorite clean sunscreen by Living Libations here and get 15% off. (discount auto-applied at checkout