I know that many of you saw this comment, as I have received multiple emails re: this comment.
***First, I did not delete it (as has been suggested many times). All of my comments are now approved before being posted (I have been hit with a TON of spam over the past couple of months, which happens often to bloggers). This comment has simply been awaiting approval by me. Second, I have been chatting with Morgan re: her comments. Please know that this has been a learning experience for both of us. I will be updating my post with greater information to help you succeed with your natural organic, as it needs to be treated differently than regular, toxin-filled over-the-counter sunscreens.
Below is our email communication, verbatim. I will be updating this post with new information soon. I am out of town visiting with my parents today.
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June 23, 2014
Hi Morgan,
Thank you for your comment on my DIY sunscreen post. First, please know that I do take your comment very seriously. It is currently pending approval so that you and I can work through some of your concerns, which are incredibly important to me. Of course, I feel terrible that your family was burned. That said, I think that we can work through this together. I stand behind my sunscreen recipe, as I have been using it on my family for over a year and many DIYers and customers have also had great things to say about it. But…I do have a few suggestions AND you have given me some much needed feedback for me to add into my post, in terms of education for natural sunscreens.
First, it does sound as though you purchased the correct ingredients, since you purchased the same ones as me. That’s an important start. It also sounds as though you had some help in measuring and creating, which is great! I have a minor in chemistry, but went away from that path in my graduate studies. What will your husband do with his new chemistry degree?
Second, from your complimentary description of my sunscreen recipe’s feel, it sounds as though you got it right. That said, I have to ask that you are absolutely certain that you did a LOT of whisking. It is important to ensure that the zinc gets dissolved as much as possible. I am thinking that you did, so that is also an important step you likely followed correctly.
Now, let’s move into the brainstorming process.
One thing to note with natural sunscreens is that they do not contain the ‘bad’ chemicals found in most over-the-counter sunscreens, which really is a good thing! I know that you must be like me and try to avoid contact with as many unnecessary toxins as possible each day. This is important for our health and for the health of our families. Most over-the-counter sunscreens actually sink in and penetrate our skin. I don’t want that, and I’m guessing that most naturally-minded individuals don’t want that, either. Sunscreens like my recipe (and other organic and natural sunscreens you find at stores) will actually sit on top of your skin and reflect the sun away…that’s the zinc hard at work. They do NOT sink in.
This means that reapplying the sunscreen often is imperative. BUT…before we get to reapplying, I want to talk about how much you applied.
*As with any sunscreen, it is important to apply the correct amount…and apply enough. Mineral sunscreens like mine are thicker than chemical-laden sunscreens and can be somewhat harder to apply. People typically apply far too little of mineral sunscreen (and too little of over-the-counter sunscreens, too). Just to drive the point home, “…applying half the amount of sunscreen you should use provides only the square root of the SPF, so a half application of SPF 30 only gives you an SPF 5.5” (Badger sunscreen website).
*When applying a mineral sunscreen you need to make sure that it goes on quite white to start (visibly quite white) and then becomes much less white the more you rub it in. You mentioned applying it to where it was white, but it needs to be quite white so you know it is there. I do this before I arrive at the pool, lake, or beach AND then apply again once I am there.
*As I state in my recipe, it is important to note that while this does have some water resistant properties (due to the beeswax), it WILL come off in the water or with excessive sweating. Remember, this mineral sunscreen (and all other mineral sunscreens) sit on top of your skin and do not penetrate the skin with chemicals. They are meant to reflect the sun’s rays. So, with water play and excessive sweating, you’ll want to make sure you reapply often (at least every hour or so). Oh…it’s worth noting, too, that this type of sunscreen can also come off with towel drying, clothes rubbing, etc, since it simply sits on top of our skin and does not sink it.
So, take home points so far (and points I’ll be making much more clear in my recipe)…
***Apply more mineral sunscreen than you think you need, especially since most people do not apply nearly enough sunscreen (even the chemical-laden ones).
Reapply often, as natural, organic, mineral sunscreens do not penetrate the skin; they sit on top of the skin and reflect the sun’s rays.
Reapply even more often if you are in the water &/or doing a lot of sweating. For a four hour day involving water play, I would have applied at least 4 times.
***I do stand behind my sunscreen recipe and the products I sell in my shop. BUT…I think that your unfortunate situation brings some critical points to light that might not be as understood by all as I might have originally thought (and I might not have been as clear in my post as I meant to be). I will be updating my recipe and product listings with the information I have provided to you here.
***Meanwhile, I do hope that you will try the sunscreen again. You bought everything you needed for the recipe and I know that it works. I am here to support you with your endeavors in decreasing the toxic load on you and your family. I understand not wanting to try it again on your children right now. I think I would be afraid to do so, too. I encourage you to try it on yourself. I’d like you to apply more and apply more often. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised.
Finally, after receiving your second blog post comment today, please know that I do not censor my comments (unless they are spam, of course, which happens a lot). Both of your comments are simply pending approval right now. I would love for you to think about the information I have provided, give it another go, and note that I am updating my recipe (and the product descriptions in my shops) with this more developed information. It is important for people to have and know, and I do not think I was as clear as I could have been regarding how to apply and use natural sunscreens. I do thank you for helping me to see that I need to be more clear in my directions and explanations of how all-natural, organic, mineral sunscreens work on our skin.
I look forward to hearing back from you soon. I also wanted to pass this recipe your way as a way to help with your uncomfortable skin: DIY Sunburn Salve.
If you are interested, please send me your address so you can compare your creation to mine and again…thank you for your comments. Let’s get your burns feeling better and then give this another go.
Best,
Jess
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Morgan’s Response…
June 23, 2014
Jessica,
I am so pleased with your thoughtful response to my concerns. I believe that after re-reading your post and now these follow up directions on applying these home made sunscreens, that I made the critical mistake of assuming that this product would be more similar in application and need for re-application to a typical store-bought sunscreen. That fault lies also with me. I think a good point for new users might be to try this product (with your multiple re-applications instructions) for a short time in the sun on the first use to see how it works on their individual skin. In hindsight, a 4-hour swimming afternoon in the heat of the day was not a wise way to try this product for the first time!
I will absolutely be trying this product again and re-applying much, much more frequently. It certainly isn’t fair to expect it to do the same thing in the same way as a product with all the chemicals that we are trying to get away from. I will need to train myself and my family to use this product as what it is, and not simply in the same way we used previous sunscreens. I still see the health value in this natural product and hope to try it again on myself and eventually my family- treating it as a product that is different than those typical harsh sunscreens, and as such as different needs in application.
I very much appreciate your time and concern and will give you some feedback as we try again. Thank you for your clarification and suggestions that can help our family learn to use this product successfully.
As you asked, my husband is finishing his degree next semester and will immediately start a 1-year accelerated masters program in chemistry that our university offers. I work as a school psychology specialist (with a specialist degree in psychology and counseling) so most of his expertise is quite foreign to me.
Finally, please use any of this email as a follow up comment post to our conversation, or let me know if I can provide a follow-up response indicating my satisfaction with your thoughtful response and assistance.
Your additions and specifics in the difference of re-applications needs from typical products addresses my concerns and is the most important information to be seen by others. Our conversations may be an important dialogue for your readers to see, but if they can gather the overall message in a better way than reading my original post (or definitely 2nd response) then the posting of it after review is certainly not necessary. I do not want negative attention drawn to your product based on error in some way on my part.
Thank you again,
Morgan
