While some people are singing “I make my own sunshine,” maybe we should think about making our own sunscreen! How to with four easy ingredients!
There are a million sunscreen products sold with claims of safe, organic, prevents skin cancer, and other numerous benefits. People put layers of those lotions on their skin and then soak up that sunshine feeling all protected. But are they really protected?
Sunscreen products are mostly made up of chemical ingredients: avobenzone, titanium oxide, and methoxycinnamate, among others. Research shows these ingredients not only destroy your skin cells, but also in fact produce cancerous cells. Shocking? Maybe. Maybe not. But there’s more. These ingredients are not just a threat to our health in the long run, they can cause irreparable damages such as reducing sperm count, causing endometriosis in women, and causing major hormonal imbalance in both men and women.
If you want to learn more, you might want to check out the book Sunscreen Photobiology—Molecular, Cellular and Physiological Aspects:
Sunscreen ingredients you should definitely avoid:
Oxybenzone: This ingredient is found in most sunscreen lotions. This culprit is known to enter the cells and cause an allergic reaction. It is also known to create hormonal disruption and ruins your endocrine production.
Retinyl Palmitate: With good intentions, this ingredient is added to the product to prevent skin damage and aging. But, when vitamin A and palmitic acid are combined together and exposed to UV rays. They break down and start producing free radicals, which can lead to the creation of cancerous cells.
Paraben preservatives: This ingredient, which is vastly used in deodorants, perfumes and sunscreens, is known to cause breast cancer, destroy hormonal balance, and is known to cause reproductive issues.
Basically, what you cannot eat should not be applied on your skin. There are some natural ways to protect your skin: use coconut oil (SPF 4), almond oil (SPF 5), zinc oxide (SPF 5) , grapeseed oil (SPF 4). You can create a mixture of these and apply it on your skin. This protects you from the sun, moisturizes your skin and feels great! Or take cover under some shade!
Natural Holistic Sunscreen
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon almond oil
- 2 tablespoons zinc oxide
- 2 drops lavender essential oil
Directions:
- Using a double boiler, slowly heat up the coconut oil until it’s liquidated
- Then add the other ingredients and stir well
- Quickly pour into a glass tight jar and close it.
- You can refrigerate it or leave it at room temperature.
