Diana

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I wrote a post about cautions of homemade sunscreens which I recommend reading before deciding whether or not it may be something you want to try.

Last year I wrote about natural sun screen, Raw Elements. This was the first sunscreen that I found that did not cause my skin to break out in a rash or itch. I was very happy to find a sunscreen that I could use, but wanted to find a way to make my own homemade natural sunscreen to save some money.

Now, in time for your winter warm weather vacation, here’s my homemade natural sunscreen recipe!

I tried several small batches of various recipes before selling on a water-resistant recipe. Note that like the Raw Elements sunscreen, this is thick and oily, and like all sunscreen I’ve ever used, if it gets in your eyes it will burn.

Ingredients

70 grams coconut oil

109 grams shea butter

13.6 grams cocoa butter

30 drops red raspberry seed oil

82.5 grams non-nano zinc oxide powder

homemade natural sun screen — ingredients

Instructions

1. Melt the coconut oil and very carefully, using care not to inhale any power, add the zinc oxide powder.

2. Still using care not to inhale any power, stir the zinc oxide powder into the coconut oil.

3. Add the shea butter and cocoa butter, warm a little more if needed, and stir until evenly blended.

4. Add the red raspberry seed oil and stir again until evenly distributed.

Store in an airtight container. I store in a mason jar and scoop out as needed. You could store in a squeeze tube, but since this sunscreen is very thick, it may be difficult to squeeze out.

How I use my homemade natural sun screen

To use this sunscreen, scoop or squeeze out a liberal amount.

Apply to all exposed skin and rub in well to blend the white zinc oxide into your skin. Reapply every hour or two, or as you determine necessary for your skin.

Since the sun protection in this sunscreen comes mostly from the physical zinc oxide granules, you can apply sunscreen any time before going out in the sun (it’s the chemicals in traditional sunscreen that need 20 minutes to sink into your skin to provide protection).

I am estimating that this homemade natural sun screen provides about SPF 20 or 25, mostly from the zinc oxide. Due to the thickness of the shea butter and cocoa butter, this sunscreen seems to be sweat resistant and water resistant. However, I highly recommend reapplying after swimming or excessive sweating.

Combining this sunscreen with a UPF hat and shirt I was able to keep my pale skin pale and protected from UV damage all summer!

Cost

Organic coconut oil – $14.99 for 54 oz (1458.99 g) at BJ’s Wholesale Club; (70g/1458.99g)x$14.99=$0.719 (or on Amazon for $16.99)

Organic shea butter – $11.70 for 1 lb (453.59 g) on Amazon; (109g/453.59g)x$11.70=$2.812

Organic cocoa butter – $15.15 for 1 lb (453.59 g) on Amazon; (13.6g/453.59g)x$15.15=$0.454

Organic red raspberry seed oil – $8.37 for 1.1 oz (650 drops) on Amazon; (30 drops/650 drops)x$8.37=$0.386

Zinc oxide powder – $8.95 for 1 lb (453.59 g) on Amazon; (82.5g/453.59g)x$8.95=$1.628

Total: $6.45 for 1 cup (275.1 grams = 9.7 oz), equating to $0.665 per ounce weight

For comparison, the Raw Elements sunscreen is currently $16.14 for 3 fluid ounces (which is about 2.88 ounces by weight based on approximate butter weights, or $16.14/2.88=$5.60 per ounce weight). My sunscreen is $0.665/$5.60=0.11875 or 12% the cost of the Raw Elements sunscreen. I’d say my homemade natural sun screen is a great price compared to the commercially available product on the market. Using this sunscreen will definitely help me save some money while protecting my skin!

Have you tried any natural or homemade sunscreens?

Last year I posted about joining a CSA – community supported agriculture – also called a farm share. Now that the 20 week 2016 CSA season has passed, I wanted to give you all my thoughts on participating.

Benefits of being a farm share member

Being a farm share member was awesome. For 20 weeks, I received 7 organic, locally grown veggies and fruits. Look at my fridge, above – just 5 of the 7 items filled the top shelf! The produce was excellent quality, and I knew I was getting good-for-me food without the chemicals and coatings that are often on standard grocery store fruits and veggies.

Being part of a farm share, I was exposed to foods that I had never tired, foods that I probably never would have tried. This was great for simply making me try new things, but also helps improve my health by adding variety to my diet. Plus, I had to learn how to cook new foods, which introduced me to new favorite recipes! I now know how to cook turnips in a way that I enjoy them (roasted), and I learned that you can roast pumpkin! Towards the end of the summer I was eating a lot of roasted veggie dishes – roasting was an easy way to prepare onions, potatoes, zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, turnips, and carrots. With a little olive oil and spices, the veggies tasted great, and made a nice meal mixed with rice or quinoa and roasted chickpeas.

Additionally, being part of the farm share made for nearly one-stop shopping each week. When I don’t get produce from the farm, I often have to go to 2-3 stores to find the produce I want in a quality I will accept. With the farm share, I can get all my produce on once place, and choose one grocery store for my filler foods.

I also really love that all the food is locally grown. Buying local not only supports the local economy, but also is better for the environment, cutting down on transportation and the associated fuel use.

Overall, the cost of the farm share is quite reasonable, given all of the benefits (excellent quality, organic, variety, exposure to new produce types, one stop shopping, supporting local business). I was so pleased with my first year as a CSA member that I signed up for the 2017 season.

My local CSA

If you’re in the Aquidneck Island area and interested in joining a farm share, I highly recommend Garman Farm. They’re currently accepting applications for the 2017 season. And this year, they are offering a half share as well (pick up every other week), which might be a good fit if you’re overwhelmed with the thought of 7 items/week for 20 straight weeks. (For one or two people, the full share is a lot of produce.)

The cost for the 2017 Garman Farm CSA is $528 for a full 20 week share of 7 items per week. This comes out to $528/20 weeks=$26.40 per week; $26.40/7 items = $3.77 per item. (Note that “one” item may be 2-3 squash or tomatoes, a quart of potatoes, a bunch of greens, a pumpkin, etc.).

Have you ever been a part of a farm share? Can you recommend a great farm share in your area?

Author: Diana

Homemade Natural Sun Screen

Ingredients

Instructions

How I use my homemade natural sun screen

Cost