How to make your toxins free sunscreen

As mentioned previously in my article, hormonal disrupting chemicals are on the rise and pervasive. Unfortunately, some of them are contained into toiletries.

Hormonal disrupting chemicals are chemicals that interfere with the way the body’s hormones work.

Some of them act like “hormone mimics” and trick our body into thinking that they are hormones, while other block natural hormones from doing their job.

Other Hormones disrupting chemicals can increase or decrease the levels of hormones in our blood by affecting how they are made, broken down, or stored in our body.

A recent research as shown that active ingredients in many chemical sunscreens have high toxic level of systemic absorption – in this study, 24 people applied randomly different sunscreen 4 times daily for four days and blood samples were evaluated.

The FDA has provided guidance that sunscreen active ingredients with systemic absorption greater than 0.5 ng/mL should undergo toxicology assessment, including systemic carcinogenicity and additional developmental and reproductive studies.

In this study, systemic concentrations greater than 0.5 ng/mL were reached for all 4 products after 4 applications on day 1. The average peak oxybenzone level was around  200 ng/mL – that’s 400 times higher than the level to trigger a formal toxicology review.

One more reason to make your own sunscreen.

Here the recipe I share with patients:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup shea butter
• 1/8 cup sesame oil or jojoba oil
• 15 drops Carrot seeds essential oil
• 2 tbsp. beeswax granules
• Vit E as natural preservative ( 20 drops or the content of few capsules that contain vit E in oil form)

If you want you can add Essential oils of your choice (lavender, rosemary, rose, frankincense chamomile etc )

Instructions

1. Using a double boiler (or a small pan over very low heat), melt your coconut oil, sesame or jojoba oil, beeswax, and shea butter together. The beeswax will be the last to melt.

2. When the beeswax is melted, remove the mixture from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

3. Move the mixture to the fridge for 15-30 minutes. You want it to start to set up, but still be soft enough to whip.

4. Take the mixture out of the fridge and using a stand mixer or hand mixer, start to whip it. Add in the carrot seed oil, Vit E and any essential oils of your choice, and continue whipping until the mixture is light and fluffy.

5. Use as you would any regular sunscreen. Application rates will depend on your activity and exposure to water. Store in a glass container in the fridge between uses.

You can use any of the following to make your sunscreen.

Natural sunscreens – SPF

Red raspberry seed oil – SPF 28-50

Carrot seed oil – SPF 38-40

Wheat germ oil – SPF 20

Soybean oil – SPF 10

Macadamia oil – SPF 6

Jojoba oil – SPF 4

Shear Butter– approx. SPF 5-6

Coconut Oil– approx. SPF 6-10

Avocado Oil– approx. SPF 4-8

Carot Seed Essential oil– approx. SPF 28-40 (contains antioxidants to protect skin cells)

Myrrh Essential oil– approx. SPF 15 (ultra healing oil to help take care of your skin)

Feel free to tag your friends who you think might be interested in reading this article.

Enjoy it!

Paola

Paola Pizzuto is a registered Osteopath in Edinburgh with a commitment and dedication to helping people achieve better health.