The boys and I had an absolute blast at the park earlier this week, but holy moly was it hot! Living in Texas, we get sun 360 days a year (not that I’m complaining)…which means that I’ve tried just about every sunscreen out there.
And you know what? The DIY sunscreen oil that works the best (and doesn’t cause issues for us) is the one that I make myself. Funny how that works.
I started looking into natural alternatives to traditional sunscreens when Smalls was a baby, but it’s become even more important for us to keep as many chemicals away from him as possible with his aplastic anemia diagnosis.
There is a whole list of items that he can’t have, or be exposed to. Have you ever read a label on some of the “natural” sunscreens? And if you haven’t, I highly recommend downloading the Think Dirty app from the App Store and scanning the sunscreens that you’re putting on your kids right now.
I’ll wait.
See?! They’re scary! Like really scary!
It became obvious to me fairly quickly that a store-bought sunscreen was just not going to cut it. I make sure the boys always have a rash guard when they’re playing in the water…but that doesn’t protect their arms or legs. And if you’ve been to Texas, you know that when it’s sunny, it’s SUNNY. There is just no way you can get away being pasty like me (and my boys) and not using some kind of sunscreen. It’s just not happening.
I knew that there were probably some oils out there that could help, I just needed to know which ones!
I was shocked to learn that carrot seed oil had the highest SPF on the list. I honestly don’t know what I thought it would be…but carrots? Followed by raspberry seed, thankfully.
You learn something new every day. And here’s your little tidbit for today: I absolutely, positively hate the smell of carrots. It’s gag city for me. I don’t mind them cooked, and I actually like to eat them, but something about my years working at Starbucks and associating Folger’s coffee with dead carrots….
Have I mentioned that I have a short attention span? Themoreyouknow
Anyway, I didn’t have raspberry seed oil on hand…and I panicked. What if I couldn’t find it?
Then I remembered that I did happen to have a bottle of carrot seed oil in my cupboard. It was ON.
Before you dive in and make this, make sure that you are comfortable using a double boiler. If you don’t have one, you can also make your own. It’s pretty simple and makes sure that you gently heat your oils. Because, if you do what I did the first time I tried, you end up with burnt everything. And tears.
Just trust me on this one.
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup avocado oil
- 2 tablespoons aloe gel
- 2 tablespoons Vitamin E
- 30-40 drops carrot seed oil
Set up a double boiler and melt your coconut oil. Once melted, remove your oil from the heat. Put your melted coconut oil, the avocado oil, almond oil, and vitamin E in a blender and pulse to combine. Allow to cool slightly, then add in the carrot seed essential oil and aloe. Blend briefly to combine, and pour into your choice of container.
This recipe ends up being somewhere halfway between a liquid and a solid, so I suggest a cosmetic jar or a roller bottle. It’s possible that if you live somewhere cooler than Texas, you’ll end up with a more solid product.
I have been known to add a few drops of lavender to cover the smell of the carrot seed essential oil.
If you are unable to use carrot seed oil, you can use raspberry seed oil (which is a carrier oil, not an essential oil). Other additions you may want to consider are shea butter, cocoa butter, and beeswax (there are theories that this may help make it slightly water resistant). If you add anything solid, just use your double boiler to melt it with your coconut oil.
I get most of my carrier oils from Thrive Market, with the exception of the raspberry seed oil (Which coincidentally makes a fabulous moisturizer!).
I exclusively use Young Living essential oils, and while I know that my sunscreen works for me using it, I cannot guarantee that it will work if you choose to use another essential oil brand. When I first started to work toward a healthier home, I focused on getting the yuck out of my cupboards-replacing the things I used on a regular basis with healthier alternatives.
While it may seem a little crazy, we actually started feeling better with every “yucky” product that I tossed. If you’re ready to get rid of the yuck, I recommend getting started with the Premium Starter Kit. It literally has everything you need to hit the ground running:
If you’re ready to get started, you can sign up HERE.
What do you currently use 
Original article and pictures take http://breagettingfit.com/2015/06/04/make-your-own-spf-40-sunscreen/ site
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