Homemade Natural Sunscreen

by BrownThumbMama

5 Materials

10 Minutes

Easy

Keep the mystery chemicals off your skin this summer! This homemade, natural sunscreen only has 4 ingredients, is water resistant, and safe for kids.

I never thought of making homemade sunscreen, until I learned what's in the store-bought kind.

Check the label on yours--it's probably full of mystery chemicals and potentially harmful ingredients. Now that I know better, I hate seeing people spray and rub all that junk on themselves and their kids.

Great news. It's easy to make your own natural sunscreen with four safe ingredients. This sunscreen is water-resistant and works really well (even on those of us who usually burn instead of tan). It leaves a slight white residue, but I like that because it's easy to tell if the kids have applied it thoroughly.

Ingredients:

¼ cup beeswax pastilles (I like these)

¼ cup coconut oil

¼ cup non-nano zinc oxide powder (buy it here)

½ cup olive oil

In a heatproof measuring cup, mix the olive oil and zinc oxide powder until smooth.

Add the beeswax and coconut oil, and heat gently until the beeswax is melted. I use a makeshift double-boiler for this. When the beeswax is melted and everything is incorporated, your sunscreen will be a thin, milky consistency.

Allow to cool slightly and store in a recycled pump bottle (an old liquid soap dispenser is great)!

Because this is natural sunscreen, it behaves a little differently than the chemical kind. When we're outside in the sun, it's regular sunscreen texture. If we store the bottle in the house, the beeswax firms up and it's thicker. If you find your natural sunscreen is too thick to squeeze out of the bottle, let it sit it in the sun for a few minutes to soften.