5 replies to this topic

[labminion]

Do any of you make your own sunscreens? In recent months, I have been considering trying this myself using only physical sunscreen agents (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide). I have been on a 4-year quest to find the "perfect" physical sunscreen, but so far I have not found it. I have no problem with physical sunscreens that leave a white cast (the two that I am currently using do exactly this), but of these, the sunscreen that has excellent protection is of a terrible consistency (it literally crumbles off as I try to rub it in) and the other, which has a lovely finish, has a bit less protection than I am comfortable with. So, I thought, why not try to make my own?

Has anybody ever done this? If so, what do you use as a base? Oils? Silicones? Water? The sunscreen with the nice finish that I currently use contains a few silicones, which I have purchased in small quantities to try to improve the texture of my homemade SS. Will a blender/food processor be sufficient to make an even dispersion? I'd love to talk to anybody who has taken a do-it-yourself approach to sunscreen formulation.

Thanks for reading!

[Eva Victoria]

Good luck with this!
You will need a homogenizer for dispersing the pigments in (silicone) oil and for improving the particle size of the final formulation.
You would need a proper stirrer to form the emulsion and for blending it correctly so the emulsion would be stable. (And the sunscreen agents properly distributed through out the formula!).

Silicones will improve the formula tremendously compared to natural oils.

W/Si is a very good way to make sunscreens since the consistency will be approved, non-drying, water-resistant and a film will be formed that will hold the sunscreen agents in a matrix that will remain on the surface of the skin (as it should be).
/You will need a W/Si emulsifier, a small amount of a co-emulsifier and min. 1% NaCl to form a stable emulsion/.
Adding a small amount of silicone-wax will enhance SPF and film-forming.

Combining ZnO with OMC or Polysilicone-15 will give a less whitening susncreen with high SPF (and PA if ZnO is used min. 15% concentration).

It is recommended to use coated particles of ZnO (and/or TiO2). If you use silicone oils the natural choice would be silicone coated pigments. (Z-Cote HP1 from BASF is a good alternative or Zinc Oxide NDM from Symrise).

Do any of you make your own sunscreens? In recent months, I have been considering trying this myself using only physical sunscreen agents (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide). I have been on a 4-year quest to find the "perfect" physical sunscreen, but so far I have not found it. I have no problem with physical sunscreens that leave a white cast (the two that I am currently using do exactly this), but of these, the sunscreen that has excellent protection is of a terrible consistency (it literally crumbles off as I try to rub it in) and the other, which has a lovely finish, has a bit less protection than I am comfortable with. So, I thought, why not try to make my own?

Has anybody ever done this? If so, what do you use as a base? Oils? Silicones? Water? The sunscreen with the nice finish that I currently use contains a few silicones, which I have purchased in small quantities to try to improve the texture of my homemade SS. Will a blender/food processor be sufficient to make an even dispersion? I'd love to talk to anybody who has taken a do-it-yourself approach to sunscreen formulation.

Thanks for reading!

[labminion]

Hi Eva,

Thanks for the reply. Would a food processor-type blender be an adequate substitute for a homogenizer? I have access to a homogenizer where I work, but we use it for cell lysates. I wouldn't want to dip my homemade sunscreen in that and smear it all over my face knowing what it came in contact with before...

So far, I have just been trying to add silicones to one of my current sunscreens (Mexitan SPF 50) to try to make it go on a bit smoother (it crumbles very easily). It is not working so well. In fact, it seems that adding the silicones to this (I have tried dimethicone and cyclomethicone) only makes it rub off faster. So I might need to buy all the raw ingredients, as you suggested, and make it from scratch.

As always, thanks for your input.

Good luck with this!
You will need a homogenizer for dispersing the pigments in (silicone) oil and for improving the particle size of the final formulation.
You would need a proper stirrer to form the emulsion and for blending it correctly so the emulsion would be stable. (And the sunscreen agents properly distributed through out the formula!).

Silicones will improve the formula tremendously compared to natural oils.

W/Si is a very good way to make sunscreens since the consistency will be approved, non-drying, water-resistant and a film will be formed that will hold the sunscreen agents in a matrix that will remain on the surface of the skin (as it should be).
/You will need a W/Si emulsifier, a small amount of a co-emulsifier and min. 1% NaCl to form a stable emulsion/.
Adding a small amount of silicone-wax will enhance SPF and film-forming.

Combining ZnO with OMC or Polysilicone-15 will give a less whitening susncreen with high SPF (and PA if ZnO is used min. 15% concentration).

It is recommended to use coated particles of ZnO (and/or TiO2). If you use silicone oils the natural choice would be silicone coated pigments. (Z-Cote HP1 from BASF is a good alternative or Zinc Oxide NDM from Symrise).

Do any of you make your own sunscreens? In recent months, I have been considering trying this myself using only physical sunscreen agents (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide). I have been on a 4-year quest to find the "perfect" physical sunscreen, but so far I have not found it. I have no problem with physical sunscreens that leave a white cast (the two that I am currently using do exactly this), but of these, the sunscreen that has excellent protection is of a terrible consistency (it literally crumbles off as I try to rub it in) and the other, which has a lovely finish, has a bit less protection than I am comfortable with. So, I thought, why not try to make my own?

Has anybody ever done this? If so, what do you use as a base? Oils? Silicones? Water? The sunscreen with the nice finish that I currently use contains a few silicones, which I have purchased in small quantities to try to improve the texture of my homemade SS. Will a blender/food processor be sufficient to make an even dispersion? I'd love to talk to anybody who has taken a do-it-yourself approach to sunscreen formulation.

Thanks for reading!

[Eva Victoria]

Hi Labminion,

Food processor type will not do, I am afraid.
You will definitely need a homogenizer and a stirrer to be able to create an appropriate product that will have film-forming ability and to deposit the equal amount of protection all over on your skin.

If you have access to a homogenizer than it is just to sterilize all parts of the shaft and than it is as good as new

Hi Eva,

Thanks for the reply. Would a food processor-type blender be an adequate substitute for a homogenizer? I have access to a homogenizer where I work, but we use it for cell lysates. I wouldn't want to dip my homemade sunscreen in that and smear it all over my face knowing what it came in contact with before...

So far, I have just been trying to add silicones to one of my current sunscreens (Mexitan SPF 50) to try to make it go on a bit smoother (it crumbles very easily). It is not working so well. In fact, it seems that adding the silicones to this (I have tried dimethicone and cyclomethicone) only makes it rub off faster. So I might need to buy all the raw ingredients, as you suggested, and make it from scratch.

As always, thanks for your input.

Good luck with this!
You will need a homogenizer for dispersing the pigments in (silicone) oil and for improving the particle size of the final formulation.
You would need a proper stirrer to form the emulsion and for blending it correctly so the emulsion would be stable. (And the sunscreen agents properly distributed through out the formula!).

Silicones will improve the formula tremendously compared to natural oils.

W/Si is a very good way to make sunscreens since the consistency will be approved, non-drying, water-resistant and a film will be formed that will hold the sunscreen agents in a matrix that will remain on the surface of the skin (as it should be).
/You will need a W/Si emulsifier, a small amount of a co-emulsifier and min. 1% NaCl to form a stable emulsion/.
Adding a small amount of silicone-wax will enhance SPF and film-forming.

Combining ZnO with OMC or Polysilicone-15 will give a less whitening susncreen with high SPF (and PA if ZnO is used min. 15% concentration).

It is recommended to use coated particles of ZnO (and/or TiO2). If you use silicone oils the natural choice would be silicone coated pigments. (Z-Cote HP1 from BASF is a good alternative or Zinc Oxide NDM from Symrise).

Do any of you make your own sunscreens? In recent months, I have been considering trying this myself using only physical sunscreen agents (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide). I have been on a 4-year quest to find the "perfect" physical sunscreen, but so far I have not found it. I have no problem with physical sunscreens that leave a white cast (the two that I am currently using do exactly this), but of these, the sunscreen that has excellent protection is of a terrible consistency (it literally crumbles off as I try to rub it in) and the other, which has a lovely finish, has a bit less protection than I am comfortable with. So, I thought, why not try to make my own?

Has anybody ever done this? If so, what do you use as a base? Oils? Silicones? Water? The sunscreen with the nice finish that I currently use contains a few silicones, which I have purchased in small quantities to try to improve the texture of my homemade SS. Will a blender/food processor be sufficient to make an even dispersion? I'd love to talk to anybody who has taken a do-it-yourself approach to sunscreen formulation.

Thanks for reading!

[zorba990]

I usually use Magnesium ascorbyl phosphate (MAP) and Resveratrol in water sprayed on. I love map in water and will use it all over my scalp and face in high amounts. I use the spray daily. For stronger protection if I have to be out all day I'm looking at Melanin based suncreens now. The chemical sunscreens all seem to end up causing enlarged pores for me. This one might be good but still has a lot of oil: http://www.impex-intl.com/. I used the high dose MAP strategy on long runs last summer and it doesn't even seem to sweat off.

[Ben]

Where did you find out about MAP? Do you have any sources that can show it provides photo-protection in the medium you apply it?

I usually use Magnesium ascorbyl phosphate (MAP) and Resveratrol in water sprayed on. I love map in water and will use it all over my scalp and face in high amounts. I use the spray daily. For stronger protection if I have to be out all day I'm looking at Melanin based suncreens now. The chemical sunscreens all seem to end up causing enlarged pores for me. This one might be good but still has a lot of oil: http://www.impex-intl.com/. I used the high dose MAP strategy on long runs last summer and it doesn't even seem to sweat off.