Natural Sunscreen: A Simple Homemade Recipe

Personal Products 37 Comments

A natural sunscreen made at home with simple, healthy ingredients that actually work and NO WHITE RESIDUE!

natural nontoxic sunscreen in glass jar

I make a lot of our personal products around here. This natural sunscreen was probably one of the firsts. I got tired of spending A LOT of moolah on safe and natural sunscreens, and I certainly wasn’t going to purchase sunscreens that were made of harmful chemicals and toxins.

Video Tutorial Natural Sunscreen: A Simple Homemade Recipe

What’s really lurking in those store-bought sunscreens?

beach towel, sunhat, sunscreen on the sand at the beach

Well, a lot of bad things you don’t want in your system, that’s for sure!

I am NO EXPERT by any means. That’s why I do my research and stay informed and educated, as with any other thing in my life, right?

It turns out there’s a study that’s found “chemical sunscreen ingredients are systemically absorbed after one application, and some ingredients can stay in the blood for at least 3 weeks.” Source

We’ve already been told that our skin is the largest organ of our body. Source And so we know how important it is to keep what we put on our skin as natural and healthy as what we would ingest.

For further education and resources, like the best sunscreens to purchase and which ones to avoid, check out Dr. Axe’s article here. This is a great list to have on hand if you’re wanting to purchase rather than DIY.

Natural sunscreen simple, non toxic, and no white streaks! Picture of homemade sunscreen in a glass jar. Our Amyable Farmhouse.

About the Natural Sunscreen Ingredients

natural sunscreen ingredients beeswax, zinc oxide, shea butter

I like to use oils that are conditioning and healthy for the skin. Some great choices are coconut oil, avocado oil, shea, cocoa or mango butters, and carrot seed oil. Bonus: they have naturally occurring SPF qualities! Source Here’s a quick overview of some of the top oils used for natural sunscreen:

  1. Coconut oil- SPF 7
  2. Olive oil- SPF 7.6
  3. Almond oil- SPF 4.7

Another great SPF oil option is carrot seed oil. Because of its antioxidant properties, carrot seed oil is an ingredient commonly used in natural sunscreen products and contributes to sun protection, as well as skin repair to dry and damaged skin. Source

Zinc oxide is the mineral of choice when blocking out UVA/UVB sun rays, as shown in this study (for those of you who geek out on science). It’s also the only active ingredient in sunscreen approved by the FDA for infants under 6 months.

It’s important to use non-nano sized zinc oxide, though. Sunscreens that use zinc oxide but rub on with virtually no “white” evidence is often because it’s nano sized. This means that the skin absorbs it, causing unknown problems, and perhaps cancer.

In the same study cited above, the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology declares:

“Studies have shown that nanoparticles of these two compounds [zinc oxide and titanium dioxide] cause cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and potential photocarcinogenecity.”

M.S. Latha, MD, Jacintha Martis, MD, V Shobha, MD, Rutuja Sham Shinde, Sudhakar Bangera, MD, Binny Krishnankutty, MD, Shantala Bellary, BDS, Sunoj Varughese,a Prabhakar Rao,a and B.R. Naveen Kumar, MBBS, “Sunscreening Agents A Review”, The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, 2013 Jan; 6(1): 16–26, Website

Yep, I’ll continue making my own natural sunscreen. It’s really simple and easy, and kind to my budget for sure!

More natural homemade products from me

How To Make Hard Lotion And Lip Balm

DIY Oil Face Wash | All Skin Types

Homemade Facial Powder | From Your Pantry!

Simple Frugal Facial Moisturizer With SPF

All-Natural, Roll-On Deodorant

Supplies for Natural Sunscreen

plate of natural sunscreen ingredients

Recipe Natural Sunscreen

To make a single batch (about 1/2 cup) you will need the following ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup shea butter

2 TBL beeswax pastilles, or if you have it in bulk form, weigh out 1-2 oz, depending on your climate. Less beeswax = softer lotion; good for mild summers.

2 TBL zinc oxide powder

1 tsp cocoa powder — this will vary according to your skin tone. Simply test on your skin at time of blending and adjust if necessary.

Directions

quart mason jar melting sunscreen ingredients in a pot on the stove
  1. Heat a small pot filled with a few inches of water on the stove over medium low. This will act as your double boiler.
  2. In a quart-size glass jar, add oil, shea butter, and beeswax, and place jar in pot on stove.
  3. Completely melt ingredients.
  4. Remove jar from pot and add zinc oxide and cocoa powder.
  5. Using a stick blender, blend powders into melted ingredients until combined, ensuring there are no lumps of zinc oxide. A good 30 seconds should do.
  6. Pour sunscreen into storage container.

Notes

This sunscreen maintains its firmness as long as kept out of direct sun, and not outside in 90+ heat for long periods of time. It’s still useable when melted, just be aware of spillage. We live in the PNW so our summer temps never are in the 90+ range for too long.

We did take this sunscreen with us on a trip to Hawaii and it held up just fine. Worked like a champ! I was able to take a double batch on the airplane with no hassle.

I’ve had my sunscreen last over a year. In some seasons, we may have some sunscreen left and we’ve used it the following year and it worked just as well.

Pin It For Later!

Sunglasses and hat on the beach. Natural Sunscreen. A simple, healthy recipe. No white residue. Glass jar of skin-tone sunscreen.

Homemade or Store-bought?

I get the greatest pleasure out of being able to make our own skin care products. How about you? Though it’s nice to know there are safe and healthy products available to purchase if that’s what’s needed or preferred! I’d love to hear your favorite sunscreen you use that has served you well.