I've been making my own natural sunscreen for a few years now with various degrees of success. I originally started with just oils known to protect skin from the damage of uv rays but oils alone are not very effective. I then formulated a product that I considered sending to an spf testing lab but I didn't like that what I had created required a preservative. So now I am using a simple recipe I came up with based on the research I've read on using sencha green tea topically. This sunscreen is very heavy, perfect for swimming and if sweating a lot. I'm really happy with what I've created because it's as natural as it can be and it keeps my fair skin from burning.
For my sunscreen I use sencha green tea infused olive oil, coconut and almond oil, shea butter, beeswax and zinc oxide (uncoated, non-nano - mesh size 325 nm).
Sencha green tea has been well researched and found to be effective in sunscreen formulations.
READ HERE
Green tea has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in both human and animal skin.[78] Animal studies provide evidence that tea polyphenols, when applied orally or topically, ameliorate adverse skin reactions following UV exposure, including skin damage, erythema, and lipid peroxidation.[79] Since inflammation and oxidative stress appear to play a significant role in the aging process, green tea may also have antiaging effects by decreasing inflammation and scavenging free radicals. Researchers have found that the main active ingredient in green tea, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), works well as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and sunscreen.
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Infusing sencha green tea in olive oil
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| Great consistency for bottling |
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| Smooth cream |
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| Goes on white but can be rubbed in, skin feels silky smooth |
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Perfect!
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