Procrastination, people.
Procrastination is what does THIS.
One minute you’re innocently sunning at the pool, and the next—BAM! You’re next to a lobster that kind of resembles your boyfriend.
All because you procrastinated making the sunscreen.
(And also because he didn’t warn you how fair he was and *technically* also because he didn’t wear a shirt at the pool.)
Regardless.
Too little, too late my friends.
So that is why you should make your 3-step, 4 ingredient, better-than-store-bought, waterproof sunblock RIGHT NOW! Before all you can do is tenderly rub aloe vera into your loved-one’s skin…
And I’m not lying when I say this is better than store-bought. It’s the same consistency, same color (easier transition for reluctant family members), did I mention waterproof?, and you can even add essential oils to make it smell nice? Not to mention it’s also good for wrinkles (anti-aging) and toning the skin?
Not bad. Not bad.
Oh, and it’s ridiculously fast, easy, and inexpensive to make.
Homemade Waterproof Sunscreen: Ingredients
(This makes 2 cups of sunblock. Cut the recipe in half to make a smaller batch.)
You will need:
A double boiler OR there are alternatives if you don’t have one (buy here)
A food processor (buy here)
1 cup coconut oil (buy here)
4 TBSP beeswax (buy here)
1 cup herbal tea (buy here) *Note: Depending on what tea you use, it may affect the color of the resulting sunscreen.
2 oz. by weight of non-nano zinc oxide (buy here)
20 drops carrot seed oil, opt. (buy here)
20 drops lavender essential oil, opt. (buy here)
10 drops myrrh essential oil, opt. (buy here)
Squeeze tubes (buy here)
Homemade Waterproof Sunscreen: Instructions
I use my double boiler to melt oils, butters, and wax for cosmetics, but if you don’t have a double boiler, you can use a pan with another pan on top OR a pan with a metal bowl on top OR a pan with a glass bowl on top.
So using your double boiler, melt the coconut oil and beeswax together. You should also steep your tea during this time. You can use regular warm water if you want, but I prefer tea. Anyway, when the oil and beeswax is melted, pour it into your food processor and turn it on.
Then SLOWWWWLLLYYY add the warm tea to the mixture and continue to blend for 60 seconds or until it begins to look emulsified.
Stop the food processor and scrap down the sides. Some of the beeswax may be clumped together. That’s okay. We’re just going to blend it again. Keep scrapping and blending until the entire mixture is smooth.
Next, add the zinc oxide and essential oils. I have a food scale, so I was able to measure the zinc oxide by weight. If you don’t have a scale, my best estimate was 1/3 cup of zinc oxide. Sorry that it’s not more specific. Blend the zinc oxide until smooth. Voila! Done!
If you want, you can buy these cute little squeezy tubes and put your sunblock in them to carry to the pool or the beach. :)
Also, the essential oils aren’t necessary if you don’t have them, but they have their own naturally occurring SPF values that are beneficial. See photo below.
Thanks for the recipe with zinc! I just got some in and can’t wait to try it! I also just did a blog article on sunscreen and I’ve shared this with my readers as additional info!
The recipe mentions butters but I did not see any in the instructions?
Is there an oil that is not coconut that could be used? I have an allergy…
Palm oil would work.
I made this and used it on my 5yr daughter. She was in the pool and out in the sun for two hours. No burn and I didn’t need to re-apply It was great. I didn’t use a food processor. I used a stick blender in the pot on the stove. Thank You! Courtney, this was just what we were looking for.
Thanks for the comment! So happy it worked for you! :)
How did you figure out the spf factor?
Nevermind, I’m blind lol. I saw the oils chart :)
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Hello, thank you for the recipe! I would like to know if it stays white on the skin or absorbs nicely. Some of the organic sunblocks make my daughter look like a ghost and she does not like using them.
It absorbs somewhat slowly, but it does absorb. If you want to make it less white, you can add cocoa until it’s the right shade. :)
This looks great, but what kind of herbal tea do you use?
Thanks!
I used red raspberry leaf, but you can use whatever you want.
Did the raspberry tea have the same SPF as the Raspberry seed oil would?
Not exactly because raspberry seed oil is much more concentrated.
I have heard that chamomile tea is not real tea. Can I still use it?
Yes. You can use whatever you want for the water base.
Thank you for this!!! We only use sunscreen a couple times a year (if that). Would these ingredients keep from year to year once mixed, or would you recommend making a smaller portion if it won’t be used in a couple months?
I would recommend using smaller portions if you’re only going to use it for month-to-month. It is water-based so it doesn’t last as long, unless you have something like vitamin D oil as a preservative.
This is a great DIY, but I would recommend making this is a very small batch [what you will use in a weekend] and keeping it refrigerated! Vitamin D or E or grapefruit seed oil is not a preservative and this will go bad very fast.
How is the clean up with the food processor? I’d be worried that the beeswax would be really hard to get out of the processor.
It was mildly challenging. Using hot water and a lot of soap does the trick. And I threw away the sponge afterward.