This and much more in my sunscreen e-report.

• 2 tbsp olive oil (or almond oil or coconut oil)
• 2 tbsp emulsifying wax
• 2/3 cups water, boiling hot

In a 1-cup glass measurer, combine oil and wax. Heat until melted, either in a microwave or water bath. In another heatproof measuring cup, measure out 2/3 cups of hot, boiling water. Combine the water with the oil/wax mixture. Blend with a spoon, stick, or handheld stick blender. Let cool, occasionally blending as needed. Pour the lotion into a lotion tube while it is still warm and is the consistency of skim milk. Otherwise, it is difficult to get the lotion in the tube once it has completely cooled.

You can add 1 to 3 drops of essential oil per fl. oz.

Note that these are volume measurements and therefore make a great starting point. But if you want to get a little more serious with lotion-making, it is worthwhile to invest in a scale; kitchen cosmetics are more accurate and repeatable with weight measurements. Here’s my all-time favorite lotion recipe that is very similar to this one but uses weight measurements.

Kitchen cosmetics share many of the same ingredients as food and like food, they are perishables. Without preservatives, which I do not advocate using as it defeats the whole purpose of homemade, this lotion has a much shorter shelf life than what you’d find in the stores. So many factors affect shelf life – temperature, packaging, etc… that all I can say is make just enough to be used up within weeks or longer if refrigerated. Use the same judgement as you would with any perishables to determine when it’s past its prime. I can make this lotion in less than 15 minutes so for me, the short shelf life is worth the trade-off of no preservatives. Plus, homemade lotion is better for your skin and much cheaper. Read more on shelf life here.

Entering this post in the Mountain Rose Herbs recipe contest.

Repellent spray and stick on the left; itch relief ointment and stick on the right

The other ingredients I use are witch hazel extract, soybean oil, lanolin, and beeswax, some of which have healing properties but in these recipes, they are used as the carrier or base for the essential oils. It is a matter of preference as to the type of product you’re going for – a cooling spray, a convenient stick, or a soothing cream. Using essential oil based bug repellent works great and makes me feel better about the amount of repellent I use regularly on myself and my kids. These recipes are very easy to make and last all season, probably longer but I usually just start over every year; there are no oil and water emulsions to mess with. I’m also entering this post in the Mountain Rose Herbs recipe contest – medicinal.

Bug repellent spray

This spray has a cooling effect but it doesn’t last long and must be applied often.
Ingredients by weight:

• witch hazel extract
• citronella oil
• peppermint essential oil

Fill a spray bottle with witch hazel extract. For a diluted version, use equal parts witch hazel extract and water. Add one drop each of the citronella and peppermint essential oil for each fl oz of liquid.

Bug repellent stick – makes approx. 2 oz

Ingredients by weight:

• 0.5 oz beeswax
• 1.5 oz soybean oil
• 2 drops each citronella and peppermint essential oils

Heat oil and beeswax in a microwave or water bath until dissolved. Add essential oils. Pour into stick tube and refrigerate about 5 minutes to let it set. Let sit at room temperature until fully set, at least an hour.

Bug bite relief ointment – makes approx. 2 oz

Ingredients by weight:

• 0.3 oz beeswax
• 0.7 oz lanolin
• 1.0 oz soybean oil
• 0.04 oz camphor

Heat beeswax, lanolin, and oil in a microwave or water bath until dissolved. Add camphor. Let cool. Blend with a stick blender and store in a jar. Alternative: omit lanolin and use 1.7 oz soybean oil.

Bug bite relief stick – makes approx. 2 oz

Ingredients by weight:

• 0.4 oz beeswax
• 1.6 oz lanolin
• 0.04 oz camphor

Heat lanolin and beeswax in a microwave or water bath until dissolved. Add camphor. Pour into stick tube and refrigerate about 5 minutes to let it set. Let sit at room temperature until fully set, at least an hour. Alternative: Use 0.5 oz beeswax and 1.5 oz soybean oil and omit lanolin.

Additional Notes:

• In the U.S, the FDA approves camphor for over-the-counter external analgesic drug products at concentrations of 0.1% to 3%. As a pain reliever and mild anesthetic, the FDA approves camphor at concentrations of 3% to 11%. So if the product is labeled as an anti-itch ointment such as Blue Star, you will see camphor listed as the active ingredient at 3% or less but if the product is labeled as a sore muscle rub like Badger and Tiger Balm, then camphor is listed at greater than 3%. These recipes contain 2% camphor. I’ve included this note here to show that you can use more camphor.
• You can substitute any carrier oil that is liquid at room temperature for the soybean oil.

Here’s a very simple, easy to make skin care product: body butter sticks and bars. All you need is oil and wax! For the winter, my favorite recipe uses 15% (by weight) beeswax and 85% coconut oil. Note that coconut oil has a room temperature melting point of about 75 °F, so this stick may be too soft to hold up in hotter weather. But it glides on great in colder climates!

Ingredients by weight for a 2 oz tube:
• 0.3 oz (15% by weight) beeswax
• 1.7 oz (85% by weight) coconut oil

Combine oil and wax and melt in a water bath. Once melted, immediately pour into container. Optionally refrigerate to solidify quicker. For more details, please see the related post: Winter Dry Skin Relief with Body Bars.

As for packaging, my favorite container is the round, twist-up tubes. They work much better than the push-up sticks. The only drawback is quite a bit of body butter gets left at the bottom. And if you’re like me and want to use up every last bit, then simply remelt in the microwave (I turn the stick upside-down fitted over a small shot glass and let the melted wax/oil drip down). Pour the melted mixture into candy molds or small soap molds. Though not as portable, these body butter pastilles are very convenient to use around the house. Just remember it’s not soap or candy!

And now, I’m going to explain why I brought up the subject of microbes.

A large portion of my posts are dedicated to homemade, do-it-yourself crafts and necessities. I do it mostly to save money without sacrificing quality, the trade-off being sacrificing personal time and a little effort on my part which I think is worth it. Some of the topics like cooking, aren’t so foreign to the vast majority. But other topics like homemade skin care and housecleaning seem to raise a lot of questions. Mainly, is it better? Does it work? IS IT SAFE?

I brought the subject of microbes to answer the safety question as it is one of the of the main concerns or aversions people have with anything homemade. Understandably so. Some of our concerns with contamination are misplaced and stem from our germaphobic mentality. In a public setting, then yes, it would be prudent to exercise some precautions. But in our very own home, a healthy home is one that co-exists with microbes. Again, I am not advocating living in filth. But we don’t live in a bubble. Trying to engage in a full-on war against microbes can have adverse consequences. So, the goal of homemade, whether it’s cooking, housecleaning, skin care, or some other craft, is still safety but without too much help from man-made biocides. The safety trade-off here means having a realistic expectation of what our homemade goods can accomplish. For example, in the case of housecleaning products, it means that your house will be clean but you won’t even come close to imitating a clinical, almost sterile environment. Not that this should be your goal – you’re not trying to operate on your kitchen table after all. Even in a clean house, bacteria can still spread and cause infections but again, that’s not a bad thing if you view it as exercising your immune system (provided it is not compromised in the first place). In the case of your homemade perishable goods, food and cosmetics, it means a significantly shortened shelf life. With cooking, we are accustomed to this trade-off. We know that the cupcake we bake and leave out on the counter is not going to last as long as a Twinkie. And we use our senses to determine when it’s past its prime and chuck it. Homemade skin care is also a perishable and shares many of the same ingredients you would find in food. However, it seems that we still have unrealistic expectations as to its shelf life and aren’t as accustomed to using our senses to judge when it is past its prime as we do with food. I will address this topic in detail in many future posts. For now, assume that as long as you apply the same mentality to homemade cosmetics as you do to homecooking, you should be fine.

One last point I want to make is that just like microbes, man-made biocides do have their place in our society. In a public setting, for better or worse, the public is more trustful of clinical-like environments and prepackaged, commercially prepared goods. So no homemade goodies to hand out at our kids’ soccer games. But it’s okay. A little bit of man-made biocide in our lives is not harmful. It is the cumulative overexposure that create problems. In the same manner that the dangers of the presence of germs has been blown out of proportion, the toxicity of man-made biocides has equally been overexaggerated. More on this topic in a future post. My point is to minimize, not eliminate, our exposure to biocides. How? By not including synthetic preservatives in our homemade goodies and only using germ-killing household cleaners when necessary, not as part of routine cleaning.

Humans are tough and very adaptable, whether it’s to normal levels of microbes or small amounts of man-made biocides. How else did we come out on top of the food chain and overpopulate the Earth? But if we let science over-intervene, eventually, our bodies and our environment will not be able to keep up with our science.

Everything in moderation.

Posts in this series on microbes: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV

Preservatives, like disinfectants, inhibit microbrial growth. But their main purpose is to extend a product’s shelf life. In our fast-paced, industrialized world where we as consumers expect to get what we want and when we want with minimal effort, it seems reasonable that so many of our products contain preservatives. But just like disinfectants and antibiotics, microorganisms do develop resistance to synthetic preservatives. Perishable goods like cosmetics and food are not expected to be aseptic – free of microbes. It is practically impossible! As you gleam through the product recalls, you will notice that contamination also happens to preserved products.

So why use it? From a business perspective, if you are going to produce perishables for a large consumer base and need to have a long shelf life to maximize profits, legal and consumer health benefits do outweigh the risks. The demand is also there; consumers do want the convenience and availability of perishable goods and so, preservative-laden products are a fact of life. Again, just like with disinfectants, we can limit our exposure by limiting our intake of commercially prepared perishables. But unlike reducing our use of antibacterial household cleaners, limiting preserved products means significant lifestyle trade-offs: cost, time and personal responsibility. We would have to pay a higher price for quality perishables or spend more of our time making our short-lasting homemade goods and trust ourselves in our ability to make safe products at home (without adding preservatives). The latter comes with practice. But these trade-offs are hard to come to terms with. I guess the point I’m trying to make is to limit your use of preserved products for the same reasons you don’t want to overuse antibiotics and antibacterial products – too much can turn into a health risk.

Next, I’ll close off this series of posts with my personal opinions and why I brought up this topic.

Posts in this series on microbes: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV

A few more references

FDA. Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM). This manual represents the agency’s preferred laboratory procedures for microbiological analyses of foods and cosmetics and is now available online to the public.

Chapman, J.S. Characterizing bacterial resistance to preservatives and disinfectants. International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation, 1998; 41:241-245.

Flores M, et al. Deterioration of Raw Materials and Cosmetic Products by Preservative Resistant Microorganisms. International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation, Volume 40, Number 2, September 1997 , pp. 157-160.

Chapman, J.S., Diehl, M.A., Fearnside, K.J., 1997. Preservative tolerance and resistance. Int. J. Cosmetic Sci. 19, l-10.

Green tea is a powerful anti-oxidant with many health benefits. Over the last decade, various forms of green tea have become increasingly popular in skin care products due to its healing properties. You see it in many anti-aging, damaged, and mature skin care products.

Green tea lotion is very easy to make, about as easy as the 3-ingredient lotion recipe. You just have to keep in mind of its limited shelf life. Make a smaller batch and/or store it in the refrigerator. Depending on the strength of the tea, the lotion can have a slight tan color which is hard to see in this picture.

Ingredients by weight for approximately 5 oz lotion:
• 3.7 oz brewed hot green tea, leaves strained
• 1.0 oz coconut oil
• 0.3 oz emulsifying wax
• 0.04 oz vitamin e oil (optional)

Melt the oil and wax together. Then blend in green tea. Click here for detailed instructions.

So next time you’re brewing yourself some green tea to drink, make a little extra for your lotion!

Year after year, new research and technologies unveil the latest findings related to sunscreen use and UV effects. Physicians, government regulators, manufacturers, and environmental groups all weigh in on the latest sunscreen debate. Yet with so much information, consumers are left with conflicting viewpoints and more questions than answers. Should we avoid the sun or do we need sun exposure? Is there a safe limit? Is sunscreen safe? How does the government regulate sunscreen and how does that affect me? Should we tan? Is there such thing as a safe tan? How much sunscreen should we use? What kind? When should we apply? How often? Can we put sunscreen on babies? Does sunscreen expire? Should we avoid sun exposure at certain times of the day? Do UV rays cause skin cancer? Or is it the sunscreen that causes cancer?

How did sun safety and consequently, sunscreen use get so complicated? And does it need to be? My answer is no! In this guide, I explain how to form sun awareness habits and why it is the more practical approach. Sunscreen use is just one part of the equation; healthy sun protection is not just about the sunscreen and choosing the safest products available on the market. This is not a “Secret to Sun Safety Revealed” guide. What I present is no secret and nothing new. Common sense sun awareness is how your grandparents and people throughout the world today cope with sun exposure in the absence of sunscreen. I am simply pointing out how we got derailed from our original intentions and how to get back on track – the practical way.

But given how much our modern lifestyles have changed, I don’t deny that we need to use sunscreen. Again, if you have been following my blog, you will know that I think that the best sunscreen is a conventional zinc oxide based formulation, homemade or a generic zinc oxide ointment. None of the products currently marketed as sunscreens are safer and cheaper than your ordinary zinc cream, the same kind that was used decades ago before the marketing of “clear sunscreens” became the norm. To convince you, I provide in-depth information on sunscreen ingredients including the chemicals and nano-technology. I also point out the flaws in sunscreen regulations and testing and why we should still simply rely on common sense sun awareness. Read my post on UVB and UVA testing for some of the details.

Common Sense Sun Care and Homemade Sunscreens – Click here to purchase and automatically download the PDF. $18.

Finally, if you want the most affordable and highest quality sunscreen (and skin care for that matter), your best bet is to make it yourself. In this guide, I show you detailed step-by-step instructions for making all kinds of sunscreen to cover yourself from head to toe. The recipes are for sunscreen bases: there is no ‘start with a cream base’. They are presented in convenient percentages by weight so English and metric users alike can readily use the recipes. I also talk about the inactive ingredients I use and what they do (there are only 14!) in case you want to formulate your own sunscreen.

Just so you know what’s in this guide, here’s the Table of Contents:

Why did I put together this guide? For the same reason I started the skin care section of this blog. I care about quality of life – for myself, my family, my community, and our environment. Quality of life is not about finding and affording the best or most ecologically-friendly products on the market. With respect to skin care, I want to show people why homemade is best and how easy it is. For many people, homemade skin care is a mystery. But once you begin to think about it in the same light as home-cooking, it becomes less foreign. And I am here to help demystify the whole process. So please support my efforts. Aside from purchasing this convenient downloadable PDF guide on sun care, any ingredients you purchase from Mountain Rose Herbs through my site sends a small referral fee my way at no extra cost to you.

Common Sense Sun Care and Homemade Sunscreens – Click here to purchase and automatically download the PDF. $18.

Disclaimer:
The content herein is for educational and information purposes only. It is in no way intended to be used as a substitute for professional advice or treatment. You expressly agree that your use of this information is at your sole risk.

I am very close to finishing my sunscreen e-report. I apologize for the delay. Summer, holidays, family, you get the idea. But mainly, I don’t want to put out a half-hearted attempt.

Related articles:
UVB and sunburn
UVA protection
Sunscreen series

UVA rays penetrate deeper into the skin layer than UVB rays. Excess exposure to UVA rays may cause premature skin aging, wrinkling, and cell damage and to a lesser degree than UVB rays, damage to the epidermis (redness and sunburn). However, there are many other factors that cause cell damage. With respect to premature aging, other risks beside sun overexposure are diet, smoking, environmental pollutants, stress, and lack of sleep. Likewise, factors such as family history and genetics, skin type, and weakened immune system also contribute to skin cancer. Getting sunburned does damage the skin and increase your risk for both skin cancer and photo-aging. Sunscreen does prevent sunburn. But sunscreen use alone does not help prevent the effects of cell damage.

Even the FDA finds that there are not enough data to support these claims – “FDA has tentatively concluded that the available evidence fails to show that sunscreen use alone helps prevent skin cancer or premature skin aging. Thus, the antiaging, skin cancer, and sun damage claims…would be false or misleading due to lack of sufficient data in support of these claims.” However, sunscreen use as part of a comprehensive sun protection program that includes limiting sun exposure and wearing protective clothing for example will reduce your risk of cellular damage. To address these issues, the FDA is proposing a required “sun alert” statement in the Warnings section of the label to read something like this: ‘UV exposure from the sun increases the risk of skin cancer, premature skin aging, and other skin damage. It is important to decrease UV exposure by limiting time in the sun, wearing protective clothing, and using a sunscreen.’

There are just as many variances and discord with UVA testing as there are with UVB testing. Currently, there is no consensus on the best method for UVA testing. Three methods are being considered: the Persistent Pigment Darkening (PPD) test, the Protection Factor in UVA (PFA) test, and the Critical Wavelength test. Both the PPD and PFA are in vivo methods performed on live organisms. They are similar to the SPF testing in that they are based on erythema and pigment color changes. In the Critical Wavelength test, a 1 mg/cm2 thin film of the sunscreen is exposed to UV substrate spectrophotometry. It is an in vitro method of determining the critical wavelength where 90% absorption occurs over the integral from 290 to 400 nm.

UVA protection assessment, in vivo or in vitro, is beyond the scope of a home based analysis. However, existing UVA testing and research of commercially prepared sunscreen and zinc oxide manufacturers can serve as a benchmark. For micronized zinc oxide, BASF which manufactures Z-Cote® and Kobo Products Inc both show that even just 5% of their various grades of micronized ZnO give UVB and UVA coverage up to 380 nm.

To my knowledge, there are no current analysis of conventional zinc oxide as a sunscreen as it is not currently marketed as such. But that does not mean it is not an effective UVA/UVB protector. Back when zinc oxide was more popular, sunscreen was used to prevent sunburn, not provide UVA protection. Conventional zinc oxide does block some UVA rays but exactly how much I do not know. However, its protection is relative straightforward: the more opaque and higher the concentration, the more UV protection.

Update! Proof that regular zinc oxide blocks UVB/UVA rays

Not having uva testing data with conventional zinc oxide is not a concern to me. As I explained earlier, limiting UVA exposure is just one of many ways to reduce the risk of cellular damage. To combat premature aging and skin cancer, you are better off leading a healthy lifestyle that includes, for example, eating natural foods high in antioxidants.