Best Natural Sunscreens

Typically around the first week of March, I start getting a horde of emails from readers inquiring if I know how to make homemade sunscreen and if I would share my formulation.  I giggle because they have no idea how many hundreds of dollars I spend each year buying STORE-BOUGHT sunscreen for myself and my family.  Yes, you read that right.....I PURCHASE my sunscreen at the STORE! I don't trust myself enough to formulate an effective and safe natural sunscreen.  It can be tricky to keep it stable and evenly suspended in the carrier ingredients.

I spent enough time in high school tanning in tanning beds and I totally regret that decision.  My wonderful dermatologist has a hard enough time measuring and documenting my moles on a yearly basis...I don't want to increase my risk of developing skin cancer anymore by trying to handcraft an unstable DIY sunscreen. 

The difficulty with making your own kitchen-crafted sun protection is that it is nearly impossible to know if you have created a stable and effective blend. Certainly,  you could spend a lot of money sending your formula to a lab to test  its effectiveness if you are that passionate about making everything yourself.   I trust the professional companies to spend the time, money and research to make certain their sunscreens are effective! 

Below are sunscreens that I have used in the past and have found effective! I also wear a wide brimmed hat and cover my entire body up with sun protective clothing when I am outside during the hottest part of the days. 

I spend the entire summer at my lake house and cover up during the time of day that the sun is the strongest.
I am always in a wide brimmed hat when the sun is out.

You need a wide brimmed hat, good sunglasses and an effective sunscreen!
visit Elemental Herbs for more information. 
Elemental Herbs has a really great zinc sunscreen SPF33 for just under $16. You get 3 ounces which is good for about three applications if you are applying it to your exposed body areas. The ingredients listed on their website are: Organic Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Juice*, Water (Aqua), Organic Camelia Sinensis (Green Tea) Extract*, Glycerin, Caprylic Capric Triglyceride, Organic Rosa Canina (Rose Hip) Fruit Oil*, Organic Mauritia Vinifera (Buriti) Fruit Oil*, Organic Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Hydrolyzed Jojoba Esters, Glyceryl Stearate, Methylcellulose, Stearic Acid, Organic Olea Europaea (Olive) Oil*, Organic Butyrospermun Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Xanthan Gum, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Ethyhexyl Glycerin. 

I buy at least ten tubes of this per summer. 

visit for more information
One of my children refuses to rub sunscreen into their body. So this convenient spray works well and has a high SPF of 50. It is about $17 for a 6 ounce can, but it does last for about six applications. The ingredients from their website lists the ingredients as: Active Ingredients: Avobenzone 3%, Homosalate 10%, Octinoxate 7.5%, Octisalate 5%, Octocrylene 5% 

I purchased a tube of Badger Unscented Broad Spectrum SPF35 for some guests that were visiting my lake house and they liked it. I tried it out and it seemed to stay on my face pretty well while I was swimming. You can find out more information about this product by visiting The ingredients can be found on their website.

There are a lot of really good natural sunscreens on the market.  I encourage you to look into one of them before you try to formulate and handcraft your own sunscreen. has some really good prices on several brands of natural sunscreen.