It is July, one of the hottest parts of the year in the northern hemisphere.   Most of us want to head outside and enjoy nature’s the hot weather at the beach or on a hike in the mountains.  We are not like your parents or grandparents, who didn’t see the need to wear sunscreen when going outside.  Yes, you still can get a great tan with sunscreen and without all the harmful UV rays from the sun.   At Tsi-La Organics, we’ve discovered a great DIY vegan sunscreen we needed to share with you!

Although we are protecting our skin from the harmful rays, we are not protecting our skin and bodies from the toxic chemicals in the non-organic sunscreens.  There are nanoparticles found in these products that can cause severe long-term conditions if the skin absorbs too much.  These nanoparticles are linked to skin’s accelerated aging, cancer, and environmental toxicity.  Check out this great recipe for homemade solar protection and tell us what you think!

1/4 c. coconut oil (SPF 8 – 10)

1/4 c. shea butter

1/8 avocado oil (SPF 15)

2 T. candelilla wax

1 t. red raspberry seed oil (SPF 30 – 50)

1 t. carrot seed oil (SPF 35 – 40)

You can use a double boiler to melt your candelilla wax and shea butter. After the wax and butter are melted, add your coconut oil and avocado oil (while still heated in a double boiler).  Next, remove the sunscreen mixture from the heat and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.  After the mixture cools, add in your red raspberry seed oil, carrot seed oil, and whip with a hand mixer until fluffy. Store your sunscreen in the fridge to extend its shelf life (6 months to a year).  The actual amount of SPF varies on the level of each ingredient you used.

We want to stress that homemade sunscreens don’t have the lab testing that conventional ones do, so there is no way of knowing the actual SPF levels.  But they also don’t have endocrine disruptors and coral killing compounds. Also, sunscreen should be a last resort, shade and to get out of the sun are better options.

** Some people add 2t. of non-nano zinc oxide.  Yes, it does provide excellent protection against the sun.  However, it is toxic if the powder is inhaled when making the sunscreen.  This is the main reason, and we do not recommend using this ingredient.

** For those people who are not vegan, we recommend substituting beeswax for the candelilla wax.