Green Tea Sunscreen

After much experimentation, I finally came up with this winning Green Tea Sunscreen formula and I’m sooooo excited to share the recipe with you. I wanted to make a sunscreen that contained natural oils and butters (that contain their own natural sunscreens), that really nourish your skin. This creamy, moisturizing sunscreen smells amazing and won’t leave your skin shiny or white.

You should be able to find all the ingredients at Mountain Rose Herbs. Once you’ve purchased everything you need, you will get many jars of sunscreen from the ingredients that you buy. Also note that the shelf life of the butters, oils and essential oils is at least 1 year, so you can store what you don’t use in a cool, dark cupboard for when you need it again. Also keep in mind that many of these ingredients can be used to make other skin care supplies too.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tbsp mango butter
• 1 tbp shea butter
• 1 tbsp avocado oil
• 1 tbsp jojoba oil
• 1 tsp beeswax pellets
• 1/2 tsp vitamin E oil
• 4 tbsp green tea*
• 4 tsp zinc oxide powder
• 6 drops ylang ylang essential oil
• 6 drops of vanilla essential oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the green tea by steeping a green tea bag in 1/2 cup of hot water (boil the water and leave it to cool for about 5 minutes before using) for 5 minutes.
2. Steep the tea bag and move onto step 2 while it is steeping.
3. Place the butters, oils and beeswax in a small stainless steel bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. Allow the butters and waxes to completely melt and then remove from the heat. (Should only take a couple of minutes).
4. Remove green tea bag.
5. Add 1 tbsp of warm green tea to oil mixture and whisk vigorously before adding the next. Repeat until all 4 tbsp are added.
6. Add the zinc oxide and whisk VIGOROUSLY to ensure that there are no lumps.
7. Whisk in the essential oils.
8. Pour into a sterilized jar. This recipe makes approx 3 ounces of cream, so a 4-ounce dark glass jar would be ideal. If you haven’t got a dark glass jar, just use any jar that you can find. As you can see from my photograph, I used a clear glass jar that I found in my bathroom cabinet. I just sterilized it on my dishwasher before using.
9. Storage: Keep the cream in a cool, dark spot. It should last for up to a month, but if you want it to last for up to 3 months, keep it in the fridge. When it is refrigerated, it will obviously harden-up, so take it out a few hours prior to using.
10. Texture: You can play with the texture by adding more green tea if it feels too thick. I made a couple of batches. If you want a thicker texture, you’ll use less green tea, but if you want it more like a lotion, you’ll use a couple of tablespoons more.
11. SPF: This cream has an approx SPF: 20. Make sure you reapply at least every 2 hours because it is not waterproof.