Sun & bug lotion: one simple solution

Why should you cover yourself in sunscreen then bug spray when one cream could do it all? Why buy expensive products when it's so easy, fun and cheap to make your own?
This recipe makes a lotion which feels light, spreads easily and is not greasy at all. The smell is actually pleasant, and it works really well against insects AND the sun. I can't give a precise SPF value -- that depends not only on how thickly it is spread on, but also the strength of the various ingredients which contribute to the SPF varies from batch to batch. Anyway the SPF value does not have much concrete meaning.... What I can say is that a few weekends ago I took my family to watch Prince Harry play polo on Governor's Island for an hour under a punishing sun, and none of us got burnt or bitten. Other spectators were not so lucky....
Thanks to Scoochmaroo for inspiring me to publish this. Her sunscreen is quite different from this one (very thick and stiff -- but also a whole lot less complicated) so I though it worthwhile to offer this alternative.

Step 1 On sunscreens

Sun rays, just like any other type of waves (water, sound, etc) come in different lengths. The short ones are called UVB. These are the waves which give you sunburns, and, on the positive side, prompt skin to produce the vitamin D we all need. SPF ratings on commercial sunscreens measure the cream's ability to block these waves, and these waves only. It indicates roughly how much more time you can spend in the sun before burning, but it tells you nothing about your protection against UVA rays.

UVA rays are much longer waves, and therefore they penetrate deeper into the skin. These are the rays responsible for the telltale signs of aging, and also for the #1 killer skin cancer, melanoma.

Some ingredients, such as zinc and titanium oxide provide "broad spectrum" protection, which means they block both UVB and UVA rays. These chemicals protect the skin by deflecting and diffusing the waves, but their drawback is that they make skin white when they are first applied. To counter this manufacturers have developed nano zinc and titanium particles which don't make you turn white. Unfortunately, since they are so tiny, they can penetrate into the bloodstream, where the damage they could wreck has not been studied. Unless you want to be part of a long term, unpaid, unmonitored, high risk medical study, avoid nano particles. Don't be so lazy and vain. Take a minute to rub in the regular zinc oxide, after a while you won't look like a zombie. I avoid titanium dioxide because it is carcinogenic (for sure on mice, possibly for us too) -- so why take the unnecessary risk when zinc does the job just as well?

Comments

[beth_squidginty]

You should sell this! Do you possibly have an Etsy shop?

[kokkonuts]

Great read really informative. One question though. I would like to use the infused version of the oils you mention or even in a tincture... Since I would be using the ewax anyways it should be fine right?

[belsey]

You can infuse the oil or make a tincture using the witch hazel -- as long as you keep the proportion of oil and water soluble ingredients close to those given here you should be just fine. The only difference it could make is that it might shorten the shelf life of your cream.

[agallop]

Is there any way to get a copy of your label without being a Pro member?

[belsey]

Sorry, I didn't see this comment till now... Send me a private message with your email and I will send it to you.

[kferenz]

Belsey -

where do you get your zinc oxide from?

[belsey]

There's a link in step 2

[ZippysMom]

I have a black and white paint mare. Her white areas are actually pink skin. Here in the Florida heat, the horses sweat. As a result, her white hair becomes transparent and I have a black and pink paint mare who is in obvious discomfort.

She gets mad when she's stuck in the stall all day away from the other horses and free grazing. I really want to use something like this on her. However, is this formula very greasy? I dont want to be surprised with saddle slippage. I've used regular sunscreens on her before and they sort of work. I was hoping to find some sort of liquid additives I can simply add to flyspray or just in a carrier oil and spray on (not a cream so I dont get horse hair all over my hands).

Any thoughts you could maybe share on this please?

[belsey]

Liquid spray sunscreens are usually made with silicone oils. I've never experimented with cyclomethicone, the oil most commonly used in sprays. I'm not sure how well zinc would work in a spray either -- I haven't tried it in that type of formula, and don't remember seeing it as in ingredient in commercial sunscreen spray. So unfortunately, I don't think I'm the best person to advise you on this particular problem.... sorry!

[dbarrett squires]

Do you think it would be possible to replace the e-wax with lecithin? I have used lecithin in a cream soap before with good results, just not sure how it would react with these ingredients -and don't have a tonne of money to waste testing the theory :-)

[belsey]

Lecithin is an emulsifier, so it should help keeping the oil and water together, but I've never tried it on its own without ewax or the beeswax and borax combo. It might work... you result would be less thick, and I don't know how stable the emulsion would be -- but I do know that it would make your skin feel incredibly soft. Lecithin does that. Let me know how it turns out!

[idleFLUX]

oh man I just tried to post a really long comment but it didn't work -____- anyways, I was just saying that I'm so glad I found your post and had a couple questions!

-I love using Nutiva's organic, unrefined, cold-pressed coconut oil, which is solid at room temperature. Do you think this e-wax and other ingredients all mixed together with this type of oil will keep it emulsified and from clumping together?

-which zinc oxide on soapgoods.com do you use? I searched and found two for sale. one says "zinc oxide usp" and the other has "kodax 911" in the description... o_O

-does the vit. e act as a preservative also?

-as far as using this at the pool/beach, how often when swimming should I reapply? or is there another type of wax or something like lanolin/vegan alternative I could add to it to make it more water..durable?

I plan to make my own version of this for everyday use since I'll be moving to Florida next year with some replacements to the bug oils like lavender and geranium but would still like to have a nice reliable batch for when I go swimming. After researching sunblocks(which is how I stumbled upon your post) I just can't find a good brand ...or one that I can afford for regular use since I go swimming a lot !!! Sorry about all the questions.. :3 you just seem like you know what you're talking about :]

[belsey]

Yes, ewax will definitely work with your oil. Just replace any oil in my recipe with the same amount of your coconut oil and you're good to go -- though your cream might end up slightly thicker if the temperature is cool (probably not much of an issue for sunscreen).

USP stands for "United State Pharmacopeia" and the Soapgoods website isn't very clear about differentiating which is which -- USP 1 is the finest mesh (which I have been avoiding, perhaps out of paranoia) USP 2 is the coarsest (probably the one Soapgoods simply call zinc oxide) and USP 3 is in between. I would suggest emailing them and finding out which is which, then ordering the regular zinc and not the micronized kind.

Yes Vitamin E acts as a preservative, because it is a very strong anti oxidant -- this means it helps prevent oil from turning rancid, although it will not prevent bacterium from growing.

I do have another recipe for sunscreen which is almost completely water proof (to take it off at the end of the day you practically need to scrub yourself will a brillo pad) but I have not had the chance to post it yet. Go to my website, sign up for my (very infrequent) newsletter, and that will give me just the motivation I need to write another newsletter with that very timely recipe...

[idleFLUX]

thanks for the response! i just signed up for the newsletter :D and ya, the main reason I asked about which zinc oxide you use is because I DON'T want the nano sized xD i'll def be emailing them! and i think i'm going to try beeswax instead because i want to be as "natural" as possible :P

[belsey]

You can use beeswax, but it will change texture and feel dramatically: it will be a lot more liquid, and feel much more sticky -- and it won't be as dependable an emulsifier. It's not impossible, but you might have to make a few batches before you get the proportions just right for the cream you like... Also you will need to add a small pinch of borax or the oil and water are pretty much guaranteed to separate when the cream cools down and settles.

[x0xkrystalx0x]

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I am going to try your recipe this week, we have a full outdoor week ahead, I'll let you know how it works out. :n)

[nbullock]

i'm not crazy about the smell of neem..... could i leave it out and just use the other essential oils?? thank you so much for this post!!!

[belsey]

Of course -- but mixed with these other scents, in my view, it's not so bad. Omitting the Neem will probably make it a weaker and less durable insect repellent, but if avoiding bugs is your primary motive for making the cream then you should probably go for a commercial repellent with more potent chemicals.

[mobilediesel]

You can use Z-Cote Zinc Oxide Translucent zinc oxide which provides maximum UV protection but without the extra whitening typical of zinc. I get it at tkbtrading.com

[teeps]

Here's the manufacturer's brochure on Z-Cote:
www.solsunguard.com/zcote_brochure.pdf

Here's the tkbtrading page.

It appears that Z-Cote is exactly the new nano zinc that you cautioned against on the previous page.

According to this: answers.google.com  The average pore size is 50 microns, which is much larger than the .2 micron Z-Cote or the .12 micron sized regular zinc oxide (this is the size of the product Soap Goods sells as well (pdf) )

According to this dermatology website, the micronized particles like Z-Cote can be potentially hazardous, but they also say that micronized particles coated with Dimethicone help to alleviate some of these risks.  On that same TKB site, they offer HP1 Z-Cote which is exactly that, coated with Dimethicone, for not much more money.

OK, that's enough research for now.  Anyone want to chime in?

[belsey]

 Thanks for contributing your research!

[sfromer]

I'm a bit scared off by all the comments about how dangerous the powdered form of zinc oxide is. Can you substitute a 40% zinc oxide cream (the highest I've ever seen at a drug store) for the powdered zinc oxide, and in what proportion? I'd love to make a sunscreen without the bug repellent...

[belsey]

I'm a little confused by your question: a 40% zinc oxide cream has zinc oxide powder in it, at a proportion of 40 parts per 100 (by weight). The comments here are about micronized particles -- zinc oxide made tiny to avoid the whitening effect when you cover yourself with it (this type is sometimes called nano particles). Just buy regular zinc oxide and there's nothing to worry about, it is safe and soothing to the skin (it is the active ingredient used in calamine lotion). As to the insect repellent feature, the general concern is to avoid mixing chemicals like Deet with sun creams designed to be absorbed. This is not applicable to this cream, which is a mild insect repellent based on mixing traditional essential oils -- you might want to omit the essential oils if you don't like the smell, but it is certainly not a health concern.

[sfromer]

I know the 40% zo cream could be used as is, but it would be a horrible mess; I'm wondering to make a commensurate sunblock as the one you'd talked about, if I could mix some of the zo cream with a moisturizer base to come up with an easy sunsafe solution that was spreadable (albeit a little white). Just not sure how to translate the dry zo with the 40% cream...

[belsey]

That's easy enough: take 40 grams of zo powder and mix with 60 grams of your moisturizer -- and you've got a 40% cream. The texture will depend, obviously, on your choice of cream, but with that amount of zinc it will probably be fairly thick regardless of what you use. Also, over time the zinc might settle to the bottom -- that's why I use xantham gum, to keep it suspended in the emulsion.

[teeps]

Whoops, forgot the link to the dermatology site.  Seems like a dense site overall, with plenty of other areas of research represented, including some info on supplementation at the bottom of the page linked above.  There's also some interesting info on various other ingredients that companies add to their mixtures such as Niacin and Green Tea.  There's even an article called, "How to Be a Skin Care Failure", which includes a long rant against "natural" product manufacturers.

Have you ever heard of adding Green Tea in this form to a DIY skin care product?

This blurb implies that other forms of zinc are good for the skin, but that zinc oxide is the only one not actually absorbed.  I wonder if adding an alternate form of zinc would make a good addition to a formula.

Lutein, anyone?

I don't want it to seem like I am plugging this site, there's just a boat load of info there that I have been wading through for a few hours now.  I realize that a lot of this goes into creating much more than simple sun screen :) 

[belsey]

 Oh thanks a lot... Now a few more hours of my life are about to go down the drain as I check out all your links! :)

[teeps]

I am eager to hear your conclusions.  It's a real rabbit hole, this skin care topic. 

[belsey]

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll check it out when I need new supplies.

[Plo Koon]

what if u left out the Xanthan gum and put the rest of it in a spray bottle.

[belsey]

A spray cream would need to be formulated very differently: even without xanthan (which is necessary to suspend the zinc) this would clog up most sprays.

[Plo Koon]

Not greasy=awesomeness. I hate greasy sunscreen.

[wilsone0]

Sunscreens and bug repellent do not mix
Jacob Schor, ND
May 6, 2007

Subject: Sunscreens transport the pesticides contained in insect repellent into the blood stream.

The chemicals used in sunscreen are absorbed through the skin and into your blood and are then excreted in your urine. As sunscreens penetrate the skin, they help carry other chemicals that are on the skin into the body. Examples of chemicals transported through the skin include pesticides, herbicides, and insect repellents.

Sunscreens increase absorption of DEET containing insect repellents through the skin.You should never use sunscreen on your skin the same time you are using DEET containing insect repellents.

I’ve been telling patients that, ‘At least sunscreen keeps us from getting sun burned.’ This might not be such a good thing. Sunscreens prevent reddening of the skin by blocking an enzyme in the skin that makes nitric acid. One of the functions of nitric acid is to inflame the skin. This inflammation signals your immune system to start protecting your skin and the pain tells you to get out of the sun. When sunscreens block nitric acid formation, the skin doesn’t redden, you stay in the sun longer, your skin is more damaged, and you increase your risk of skin cancer and premature aging. By preventing nitric acid formation, sunscreens only prevent the skin from getting red, they do not necessarily prevent sun damage.

With this in mind, we’ll try to remember to reorder the DEET-Free insect repellent we’ve been stocking the last few summers.

Past newsletters provide info on these repellents:

Natural Insect Repellent May 2004 http://denvernaturopathic.com/news/DEETFree.html

Natural Mosquito repellents, West Nile Virus, Tumor Necrosis Factor and other related topics July 2006http://denvernaturopathic.com/news/westnile.html

The website version of this newsletter contains abstracts of the papers referenced:
http://www.denvernaturopathic.com/news/sunscreenandbugrepellents.html

[belsey]

Thanks for your comment. It's interesting, I hadn't heard about that problem, but I don't think it applies in this case. My active ingredient, zinc oxide, works because it is NOT absorbed by the skin. A quick reading of the abstracts you quoted confirms this: "Examining penetration of individual UV absorbers formulated in phenyl trimethicone showed that that ZnO can impede 2,4-D penetration and TiO2 had no effect." Meanwhile all my "bug" ingredients are not only safe but beneficial to the skin: witch hazel, Neem oil, and low concentrations of lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint or lemongrass essential oils help make this lotion feel great . Perhaps it's not as effective as the repellent you sell with the Swiss oil (which make me kind of curious, as I am Swiss... Does it come from rare alpine flowers, or the chemical giants in Basel?), but I can say I've never been bitten while using my lotion. I haven't been to any swamps, but regular urban mosquitoes don't seem to like it.

[NobodyInParticular]

The fact that an article quoted on his own website supports the exact opposite of his argument is rather amusing. Titanium dioxide did nothing to the weed killers and zinc oxide actually kept them out of the skin!

Now, he is partially correct in that some formulations of sunscreen worked by preventing reddening while not preventing tumors. But the addition of an antioxidant seems to have solved this problem. And of course using an inorganic UV-blocking pigment totally circumvents it.

You are also correct in stating that zinc oxide and titanium dioxide of reasonable microscopic particle size remain on the dead outer layer of the skin. These people actually used microscopes to check.

Bravo for calling him on the facts.

In the future, you might want to check the Reviews in PubMed to see what actual researchers have to say. (PMC, the PubMed Central part of the database, contains only articles you can read for free. Elsewhere, abstracts are still almost always free.)

Some people have an unfortunate tendency to hear about a scientific article secondhand and begin making wild claims. Scientific papers (especially in cutting-edge research) are generally very cautious in their interpretations and spell out their uncertainties. On the cutting edge, you can expect to see papers with seemingly contradictory results. It's only when an idea gets to the boring, non-newsworthy stage that you have a consensus.

By the way, when Swiss cosmetic companies want to make wild claims, which country do they say the product is from?

[belsey]

I've looked things up on PubMed too -- I'd much rather get my ideas from there than from "all natural" product marketing. The "Swiss" label works in Switzerland too -- Americans aren't the only ones to be jingoistic... But they don't eat "swiss chard" there (they eat "cotes de Bette") and in France they don't French kiss either, they "roll a skate" ("rouler un patin")

[General Lee 450]

Belsey, I enjoyed the "Ible", it's great, but had to laugh about the "French Kiss".

You might want to dig up a little history and find out what a "French Kiss" really is.
A small hint, go back to WW2 and research it from the beginning, and You'll probably have a good laugh also.
Cheers

[belsey]

Not sure what I'm missing... the only WWII and French kiss references I found were pin-up pictures on airplanes and, of course, the famous kiss in Times Square. So I didn't discover any alternate meaning, but I was entertained by Wikipedia's list of the different names given to French kissing around the world. Apparently this kiss got its name because the French were (are still?) considered promiscuous. I didn't know that before...

[General Lee 450]

Hey, I'm glad to see You're digging into a little bit of "unchanged" history and coming up with a few actual facts. That is a good thing.
The "French Kiss" was named, [putting this as nice as I can] when the American troops liberated France during WWII. I guess You might say the French were very grateful, and "orally promiscuous". That's why it's sometimes funny when the "term" is used in different ways today.
Cheers

[bikeboy]

What about Lanolin (rafinated wool grease) + Zinc Oxide?
Would be one heck of a  (gr)easy recipe!
I'm not sure if I can come by small ammounts of Zinc Oxide, someone else wants to give it a try? Lanolin comes as hand cream in Belgium. Stays greasy on you for about 15min. (it's definitely not the "emulsion feel", quite perfect for large body surfaces), but afterwards it leaves the skin really smooth. Also 100% natural, water repellent.