This really is just an appeal for help and advice into bloggy-land. Now we don't go out sun-bathing or anything like this, but working in the garden and walking outside, we naturally get exposed to the sun a lot. The Italians like to roast out in the sun on the beach... in summer. Then they will put on conventional suntan lotion. However, this early in the season it is impossible to find in the shops. I don't have too sensitive a skin and colour easily, building up my own protection. Of course I am also sensible and don't over expose myself. However, Susan is an Irish Rose with fair skin, and she wears sun protection all year around. She has now finished her last tube and cannot find any in any of the shops anywhere, which is just ridiculous!
So, the question is, is there a natural alternative, preferable something based on olive oil and wild herbs, which we have plenty of. I have found some recipes on the internet with various exotic oils, which are difficult for me to obtain and are very expensive, including mixtures containing almond oil and jojoba oil. What are the active ingredients in sun protection creams and where can I find them in nature?
Any advice much appreciated.
Additional note 2 July 2014: Just come across this recipe, which seems worth a try: http://higherperspective.com/2014/07/make-non-toxic-coconut-oil-sunscreen-guide.html?utm_source=MAM
15 comments:
PLEASE do NOT use olive oil all it will do is to burn the skin. Loretta
I'm not much help on the natural suggestions, but I'm sure I saw sunscreen on sale at Iper in Sarzana today!
Thank you for the advice Loretta. Somebody else just told me though that olive oil does offer 20% sun protection...?
italytutto, I hate that Iper with a passion and will only go into there if absolutely necessary and under great duress. However, my sister-in-law who is visiting at the moment managed to track some down after I wrote this post. I would still be interested in natural alternatives though.
Heiko I based my advice on the advice given to me by my doctor when I told him I would use olive oil as sun protection....the poor man nearly fell off the seat. Olive oil is good for the skin to keep it soft but would not chance it as sun protection. I'm italian and live in Italy so sun protection is a subject of interest to me. However if you have info about the good benefits of olive oil as sun protection, maybe u can try it and see. It may be that I was given the wrong info. Best of luck, loretta
you can make a base cream out of olive oil water and an emulsifier then add the active sun block ingredient - check this out http://plasticisrubbish.wordpress.com/2009/05/09/3223/
others suggest drinking lots of tea
I read somewhere that a mix of one part olive oil and 2 parts aloe vera make a good sunscreen...I have never used this though. Perhaps the cheapest method would simply be a long sleaved shirt and sombrero type hat?
Olive oil moisturises the skin but doesn't block harmful rays sadly.
You need either zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, which you can buy from t'internet ;-)
Here's a simple recipe I found...Pour 1 cup of olive oil, one ounce of beeswax, heat and stir the contents until the beeswax has melted into the oil.
After you have carefully mixed these two items add 1 to 2 tablespoons of zinc oxide powder into pan.
Alternatively you could just add zinc oxide to some ready made moisturiser.
Polythenepam, thank you this is the most useful link I have found so far.
Mr.H, I heard this too, but opinion is evidently divided on how effective a protection it is.
Contadina, your version seems to be confirmed by others. Only trouble I can't purchase anything via the internet without a bank account.
Hi Josiah, and welcome to my blog. I shall look forward to reading your blog, but why wait so long? My main advice would be to stay positive and not give way to the general doom and gloom. I've chosen this lifestyle not because I believe it's the way to survive Armageddon, but I actually enjoy the freedom of living this way.
That`s a good word, Heiko! I actually like the idea of a hat and long sleeves. I can`t understand people who roast out in the sun, when everybody knows sun rays can cause such damage.
Thank you for all your nice comments! No, blogger is not (yet) charging money, I only offered a bribe of my library fees amount. But apparently we are friends again.
Loved your post on eating wild with the whole town! What a great experience to live in a town where 1/3 of them showed up for a event. I could live there : ).
I too use sunscreen most of the year, well on my face anyway, so I completely understand Susan's need for it. I'm surprised there's none in the shops yet though.
Heiko my face has already summer color from last month olive pruning :P
Seriously now, my skin is white and it burns easily in the summer. I am not the person who use creams in my face or body BUT I wear sun protection from April when I am in plot.
We have the same sun, weather and problems :)
I can't play with my face, in past I had a very very very bad burn from sun and I don't want to live it again because I change skin 4 times like a snake and my face was really bloat, I couldn't see my nose.
Well... the last 5 years I use bepanthol sun protection cream. I can't live outside the summer without this
http://www.pharmazon.gr/product_info.php?products_id=486&language=en&osCsid=0a76b623ce82f945e07e046737ecaa80
Here in Greece we can find this in pharmacy only. This bottle is big, I wear this cream once every day in the morning. It's not a small bottle for face only, when I am going to swim I wear it in my body also. It's water resistant and makes something like protection film in the skin.
That's my 2 cents about sun protection.
Its a hat and long shirt for my suggestion. I live where there is a bad whole in the ozone layer (not made by me!) and always wear a hat with a good brim.... NOT sunglasses as they make your skin think its in the shade. Seriously, your skin reacts to what your eyes take in. If I do use sunscreen at all, its invisible zinc.... no nasty chemicals.
I just researched this and found that Coconut oil (which leaves the skin feeling AWESOME and won't break you out, or shouldn't, I guess there's always the rare exception) has an SPF of 2, but red-raspberry-seed-oil has an spf of 23-50. I'm trying to track that down...
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