Homemade Sunscreen Bars

By toobze

Ingredients

• 1 cup coconut oil (I get mine here)
• 1 cup shea butter, cocoa butter or mango butter (or a mix of all three equal to 1 cup)
• 1 cup beeswax (can add an extra ounce or two if you want a thicker consistency, which leaves less lotion on the skin when used)(I get mine here)
• 2 tablespoons (or more) of non-nano Zinc Oxide
• Optional: Vitamin E oil to preserve. I added 1 tsp vitamin E oil for this recipe made with 1 cup of each ingredient)
• Optional: a few drops of vanilla or essential oil for scent (do not use citrus oils!)

Details

Adapted from wellnessmama.com

Preparation

Step 1

Combine all ingredients (except zinc oxide and essential oils if using) in a double boiler, or a glass bowl over a smaller saucepan with 1 inch of water in it.
Turn the burner on and bring water to a boil. Stir ingredients constantly until they are melted and smooth:
Remove from heat and add the zinc oxide powder and essential oils.
Gently stir by hand until essential oils are incorporated.
Carefully pour into molds or whatever you will be allowing the lotion bars to harden in. I used these silicon baking cups, though any mold would work. This recipe exactly filled 12 silicon baking cups when I made it.
Allow the lotion bars to cool completely before attempting to pop out of molds. These could be made in different shaped molds for different holiday gifts (hearts for valentines, flowers for Mother’s day, etc.) or made in a square baking pan and then cut into actual bars.
They can be stored at room temperature or in the fridge or freezer for longer term storage. Keep below 80 degrees or they will melt! Adjust coverage to your needs and be careful not to burn while determining how long you can spend in the sun with these.