Home Made After Sun Lotion
It is nearly the end of term and with it the annual tradition of the School sports day. This year, my eldest had opted out of taking part. (Apparently it’s optional at her school) Instead she watched the event with some of her friends.
When I returned home that evening, both she and my husband were glowing bright red from where they had been sitting in the sun.
When they were much younger, I would run around after both of my kids with a bottle of sun-lotion, smearing them from head to foot to keep their delicate skins protected from the sun.
Unfortunately, I was at work when they caught the sun.
In previous years, my go to remedy for sun stressed skin is Calamine lotion or cream from the pharmacy. The pink liquid is by far the fastest way of cooling down hot skin. It is also good for sensitive skins, the zinc in the lotion reduces any rash faster than anything else I’ve tried.
My daughter now considers herself to be way too cool to be using a lotion that she thinks is for kiddies. She turned her nose up at it declaring “it stinks”. I must admit it’s got quite a chalky medical aroma to it.
This is an argument that I’m unlikely to win.
I have therefore created a lotion that still has the cooling properties of the calamine, but, with all natural healing properties that will look and smell great.
So here’s how I made it:
6 Tablespoons of Calamine lotion (the type you get from the Pharmacy)
4 Tablespoons of Cold Pressed Organic Coconut Oil
2 Tablespoons of Sweet Almond Oil
1 teaspoon of Stearic Acid (orderd online from natural Heath & Beauty store)
Ingredients for Home Made After Sun Lotion
For the scent, I added the following essential oils: 7 Drops of Lavender essential oil (Great healing and skin soothing properties) 5 drops of Lemon essential oil (good antiviral and antiseptic properties and a refreshing scent), 1 drop of Citronella (just one drop, as it can overpower everything else, it’s a good bug repellent during the summer months).
As this was the first time I made this lotion, I tried out a very small amount first to see if it would work.
The Calamine lotion is water based, mixing it with the oils would need something to bind them together to stop them from separating.
I used Stearic Acid as this is a natural ingredient and works to act as an emulsifier, I simply added this to the mix in quarter teaspoon amounts.
This meant it was easier to whisk into a creamy consistency, switching to Sweet Almond Oil once I’d gotten to the bottom of the jar of Coconut oil.
I continued to alternate between the Calamine and the oils, adding the stearic acid whenever I felt the mix started to look too thin. I kept going until It was the consistency of a soft cake batter, in a pretty pink colour.
Essential oils were added at the end, which was whisked into the mix.
As there are no chemical preservatives, I’ve kept the quantity small, enough to last a couple of weeks for the whole family to use.
The mix was poured into an empty clean recycled bottle that used to contain a hand wash. I designed and added a lable and some clear vinyl to make the label waterproof.
I think the finished result wouldn’t look out of place in a beauty store. My husband was first to try the lotion, no adverse reaction from my Hub, no adverse reaction from me or from my kids.
The texture and smell is a lot better than the original lotion.
Do let me know if you’ve made your own sun lotion, or can recommend one to try.
I really enjoyed your homemade lotion! It would be great if we can support each other, and I look forward to reading more!
Thank you for your comment. I enjoyed reading your blog post about making your own succulent terranium. I’ve never been very green fingered but will give it a try as it looks so lovely.
This is a great idea. I buy commercial after-sun products but they are filled with so many chemicals that it can’t possibly be good for my skin. I’m going to try this homemade version. Thanks for sharing at Inspiration Thursday!