fundamental - One of the problems is that some of those sun screens could have had ingredients that were just as bad for as UV is supposed to be. Even then, we were out in the sun all day as kids and rarely ever used any sun screen.
On the upside, we were getting LOTS of vitamin D ;-)
One wonders what we were doing to ourselves in the heady days of our youth when sunscreen meant Coppertone, Hawaiian Tropic, or Sea & Ski.
Now it's all about not letting a single photon in the UV spectrum strike the skin.
Something I've been trying lately that seems to be making a positive difference is, before I throw all my used tea bags away, I'll rub one on my face, preferably when they're still really warm.
I was prescribed Tretinoin (Retinol A) cream for my face by a dermatologist to help with a condition but it makes me break out. Using the tea seems to help with that. I get these small dry scales at times and the tea helps with that. I was noticing the start of crows feet by my eyes and since using the tea, there is a very noticeable improvement.
Green tea is what is recommended for skin care, but I drink black tea and find that seems to also work well, for me anyway. This also appeals to my frugalness as I like when I get multiple uses out of things that most throw out after a single use.
FWIW - I had to get pre-approved for the Tretinoin. Apparently a number of older women were taking it because it's supposed to be an anti-wrinkle cream in and of itself, but that was not why the doctor prescribed it for me. Also, I use the Tretinoin one day and tea another. Otherwise I'd just be wiping off the cream with the tea bag.
Anyway, using tea for skin care is something to consider. As we get older, the most noticeable signs of that beyond sight and hearing loss are definitely changes in skin. Tea is supposed to somehow help temporarily firm/tighten loose skin, hence the need for regular use. I drink tea multiple times daily, so pretty easy for me to keep up with. It's also a one ingredient product unlike the chemistry set list of ingredients that many skin care products have.
DB - It wasn't that the sunscreen didn't work on me. It was that I found out stuff that I had at home had ingredients that were actually banned as being unsafe. For most people, this is probably not as big of an issue because they don't use it regularly. Being genetically predisposed to getting skin cancer, my dermatologist recommended that I wear a moisturizing sunscreen daily.
If I'm going to be using something like this that often, I don't want to be using a product that protects me from the sun only to potentially cause other issues. A little checking around and it is actually easy and relatively inexpensive to make your own, where you know exactly what's in it.
What I'm using now has zinc oxide (a mineral) and either cold pressed organic coconut oil, or cold pressed organic Jojoba oil. At 20% zinc oxide, it provides SPF 30 protection.
Below is a full ingredient list of a recommended (top 4 of link below) sunscreen that I just picked at random. It could be that most/all of these ingredients are safe, but rather than look them all up, I can make something that contains only TWO ingredients and provides SPF 30 protection against UVA and UVB for a fraction of the cost of higher end sunscreens. I can always add more stuff, but if I do, I have complete control over what goes in it, versus something like this -
WATER, ETHYLHEXYL METHOXYCINNAMATE, HOMOSALATE, ETHYLHEXYL SALICYLATE, DIETHYLAMINO HYDROXYBENZOYL HEXYL BENZOATE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, OCTOCRYLENE, CYCLOPENTASILOXANE, DICAPRYLYL CARBONATE, C20-22 ALKYL PHOSPHATE, C20-22 ALCOHOLS, SILICA, 1,2-HEXANEDIOL, PORTULACA OLERACEA EXTRACT, CETYL ALCOHOL, GLYCERYL STEARATE, GLYCERIN, TROMETHAMINE, POLYACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER-6, OCTYLDODECANOL, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, FRAGRANCE, GLYCERYL CAPRYLATE, GLYCINE SOJA (SOYBEAN) LIPIDS, NELUMBO NUCIFERA FLOWER WATER, MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE, XANTHAN GUM, SODIUM ACRYLATE/SODIUM ACRYLOYLDIMETHYL TAURATE COPOLYMER, POLYISOBUTENE, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, GLYCERYL POLYMETHACRYLATE, ECHIUM PLANTAGINEUM SEED OIL, CELLULOSE GUM, SORBITAN OLEATE, ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF EXTRACT, ALTHAEA ROSEA FLOWER EXTRACT, CAPRYLYL/CAPRYL GLUCOSIDE, CARDIOSPERMUM HALICACABUM FLOWER/LEAF/VINE EXTRACT, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) SEED OIL UNSAPONIFIABLES, PLUKENETIA VOLUBILIS SEED OIL
sokoglam. com/products/thank-you-farmer-sun-project-light-sun-essence?utm_source=pepperjam&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=120661&utm_content=8-11882&clickId=3931763832
I have been fortunate to have skin that tolerates the sun quite well. Plain old sunscreen works great for me.
I followed up on using an oil other than coconut. After some online research, I settled on Jojoba oil. One of the things with coconut oil is that it can potentially clog pores. I didn't have a problem with that happening, but also was looking for something that would flow at a lower temp so I could use it with a pump or spray bottle.
The problem with other oils is that the zinc oxide separates over time. It's a simple matter to shake it so that it's mixed when you use it, but that is why some sort of emulsifier is needed in commercial products to keep it from separating.
I could probably use hydrogenated lecithin to keep things from separating and lecithin is also supposed to be good for skin. Something to consider I guess.
You can actually get extra virgin cold pressed organic coconut oil at Walmart. It was $7 for 16 oz and they stock it as a regular item, or at least they do by us.
The hand/body lotion you use may be a cause for concern, or not. The idea for me was to minimize the ingredients in whatever I use so that I know exactly what's in it. This is one of those cases where "less" can be better.
When I was a baby, I had a severe case of something called "cradle cap". My skin was so sensitive that my mother couldn't even use baby oil. She wound up using olive oil. I've long since outgrown that condition, but I probably have more sensitive skin than most.
We use coconut oil, when we go to Jamaica we get some , cocoa butter Hand body lotion with vitamin E. We think it works well.
I have had good luck with the coconut oil in terms of it not making me break out, but unlike coconut oil, sweet almond oil is noncomedogenic, meaning it won’t clog pores. It is also supposed to be good for skin. I will likely consider trying that as well, and the upside of that is that it can be used in a spray of pump bottle, where the coconut oil can't unless it's really warm.
There are other oils that can be used as well, but in any event, I like limiting the # of ingredients in something that I'm supposed to be using daily. I never realized how bad some of the commercial sunscreens can be until I started looking into it. We used to use a moisturizer/sunscreen made by Simple, but it is no longer available, hence the recent search and this topic.
I figure if I didn't realize how bad some of the suncreens were, others may not know either, or know that an inexpensive and safer alternative is so easy to find and use.
BTW - The zinc oxide is considered a mineral and not a chemical. You can Google "mineral sunscreen" to get a lot more info on this topic in general.
I am one of the unlucky ones that inherited a likelihood of skin cancer from my mother. I "should" be using sunscreen on my face daily. I do try to do that when I go out in the sun, but depending on what's in your sunscreen, that can be almost as bad as the UVA/B the sunscreen is protecting you from, depending on who you listen to.
Having sensitive skin in general also doesn't help, but I've been trying an experiment using coconut oil on some very small dry patches, and it has been working very well. I looked into what the active ingredient in sunscreen is. There are various ones, but it seems like the overall best/safest one is zinc oxide. Mixed with the coconut oil at 20% zinc, 80% oil is supposed to yield an SPF of 30. Apparently coconut oil by itself has some small SPF value too (5%?).
Anyway, I got some organic cold pressed unrefined coconut oil (which is what is recommended for skin/hair care) and added 20% zinc oxide powder that I found on Amazon and am going to try that in lieu of the chemical based stuff I was using. A little bit of the coconut oil goes a very long way.
The zinc powder is specificaly listed as being for DIY sunscreen and was $17 for a pound of it. The zinc oxide itself never expires, so I only mix it up in small batches.
Only thing is that with the cold pressed coconut oil, I will smell like coconut. I like the smell, but not everyone does. Curious if anyone sees a downside in all of this, but all natural sunscreen (which is basically what I made) is stupidly expensive and this was super easy to make. I thought the coconut oil would leave my skin feeling greasy, but it doesn't.
If people decide to do this, you probably want to try it on a small area first, but from what I've read, zinc oxide is what they use in the higher end all natural sunscreens, and unless you have a coconuut oil alergy, that should be pretty safe too. Especially relative to some of the chemicals they put in some sunscreens.
