Happy Summer!

With the temperatures pushing 100 this week, 4th of July next week, AND my vacation in 3 weeks, sunscreen has been on mind lately. Especially since my weekend trip to the pool left me with a cluster of connect-the-dots-worthy zits on the right cheek ☹. While sunscreen is a definite necessity when outdoors (especially in the summer months), it is not always easy on the skin. I have trouble finding sunscreen that will not cause my super-sensitive skin to break out. I also have trouble with sunscreen drying my skin with all the chemicals!

Personally, I prefer to use sunscreen oils on my body instead of creams. The oils help to keep the moisture in my skin, and I believe that they hold up better in the water. This works for me, because an SPF of 8 is enough to keep my Native American skin from burning, but I’m well aware that this is just not enough for most people. However, the oils are not a good idea for my face, which is why I’ve been researching making my own sunscreen, and what I’ve discovered, is that it’s pretty easy and affordable. You can mix up your own sunscreen with any SPF you would like just by adding one ingredient to your favorite lotion, moisturizer, or even oil, if you want. I’m definitely thinking about using this info to formulate a Pamper Parties Pittsburgh Sunscreen solid lotion bar that will be slightly water resistant and SUPER moisturizing.

In order to turn your favorite lotion into sunscreen all you need is either zinc oxide or titanium oxide. Both of these ingredients act as reflectors, causing UV rays to bounce off of your skin rather than penetrate and burn it.

See the chart below to determine how much of your selected oxide to add to your lotion. The percentage mentioned is the percentage of the total weight of the product. Figure out the percentage by moving the decimal of the percentage below 2 places and multiplying by your base weight. For Example: If you have 12 oz of your base, and you would like an SPF of 15, look at the chart below and find the percentage necessary. For an SPF of 15, you need 15% oxide. 12 x .015 (move decimal 2 places) = 1.8 oz. So, you will need 1.8 oz of oxide. However, I would round up to 2, as your total weight be 13.8 after adding your oxide. I plan to make a 6oz product with an SPF of 8. To figure out how much oxide to use, I will multiply: 6 x .08 = .48. I will add half of 1 oz of oxide to get my desired SPF... GET IT?

Here’s where I got my Zinc Oxide, $10.19 for 1 lb: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zinc-Oxide-Powder-1-lb-Pure-White-Fine-Nano-Powder-/110535398653?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19bc6c54fd#ht_2210wt_1278

Thanks for reading!

<3 Beth