Natural Sun-Tan Lotion?

L

Lost In Shuffle

Joined
May 2, 2005
Messages
109
So I'm thinking that since i am very moley(sp?) and there are plenty of light skinned people, what would be a good natural suntan lotion (besides cover) that could be used. Im thinking you could maybe rub mud all over yourself but I'm not sure? Any ideads?
 
If you live in Colombia you could crush up some coffee beans, add water, and smear the mixture on your skin. Apparently the caffeine has some beneficial effects on skin cells.
 
I heard that you can use the juice from a prickly pear cactus (the green stems part, not the fruit). I haven't tried this myself, though.
 
I have used prickly pear pads for TREATING sunburn (more for relief than anything), not sure how good of a preventative it would be.

The Apache also used it for all kinds of wounds, according to Eve Ball's book In the Days of Victorio.

I have read that comfrey leaf, jojoba oil, and African shea butter are good natural sunscreens, as well as octyl methoxycinnamate from cinnamon or cassia oil. I know shea butter comes from the pits of green berries on the Kotschy trees in central Africa. There is jojoba everywhere in my stomping ground, but how to extract the oil is a mystery to me.

Beta carotene supposedly helps protect from UV rays, so eat your carrots.
 
Have heard the same about prickly pear, good for relief and works as a weak sunscreen (not sun block).
 
white longsleeve loose fitting shirt, pantsTilley hat! (i'm allergic to many ingredients in sunscreen so i opt for covering instead.

if your in the field and need a natural sunblock/screen, rub wet clay onto your skin, completely cover it. works very well (but washes off obviously). plus your skin gets nice and smooth after!!!
 
You can use charcoal (from any chared/burnt wood) to block the suns rays on your skin. Of course, you'll not look very inviting to other hikers/campers. But it does work.


Roger
 
I wanted to second the charcoal. Ron Hood covers this in his desert video.
 
Aloe Vera is pretty common in desert and semi arid coastal areas. The juice from the fleshy leaves will relieve the pain of sunburn, but I'm not sure whether it acts as a 'blocker'.

Asian type conical hats are pretty easy to weave out of local grasses if you are caught out in the sun without a hat.
 
You have basically 2 options when it comes to effective and readily available natural sunscreen and neither one will win you any beauty pagents. The two key words here being effective and readily available (ya I know... it's three words :cool: )

Option 1: Mud
Option 2: Charcoal

I have used both and both work well. Apply both generously.
 
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