Sunscreen... are you one of the haters? You don't like how it feels on your skin? Worship the healing power of the sun -and SPF just gets in the way?

Chwynyn Vaughan - Slow Botanicals
5 days ago
4 min read

Or do you count SPF as one of the great inventions of our time?

“Sunscreen’s a modern invention and it’s not natural, so why do you encourage us to wear it?“ I get this question a lot.

“People used to spend all day in the sun and they never felt the need to protect their skin. They knew what they were doing back then.“

“I need my vitamin D and the best way to get it is to go out in the sun in my bare skin.“

“I’d rather shrivel like a prune than wear SPF. Sunscreen’s like poison.“

“Sunscreen causes cancer.“ Yes, this is very common, too.

These are facts.

And, yes, ancient people knew what was going on. That’s true.

So did our Middle-Ages, Renaissance, and Enlightenment ancestors.

And they wore sunscreen.

Maybe it looked a little different than what you buy off the store shelf now.

But it’s a myth that sunscreen’s a contemporary invention.

Back then, people had less distractions so they were more in touch with nature than we are now.

It seems pretty obvious they would have figured it out that sun makes your skin tough and wrinkled.

They would have noticed that the people with the most sun were more likely to come down with cancer that killed them.

So, like us, they practice prevention. We’re not as different as we think.

For fun, I’m going to share some of the SPF formulas and strategies they used:

The Ancient Egyptians used these 3 ingredients: Rice Bran, Jasmine, and Lupine. They must have been very aware, because what we know now is Rice Bran blocks UV rays, Jasmine repairs your DNA and Lupines lighten your skin.
Ancient Greeks rubbed Olive Oil into their skin. Turns out Olive Oil has an SPF of about 8. Noble women used parasols when they were outdoors to keep the sun off. Sadly, a man’s masculinity was called into question if he tried to keep the sun off this way!
Ancient Romans used Olive Oil straight on their skin, too. But they also made plant ointments from Olive Oil and Beeswax as sunblock and to treat sunburns. Sound famliar? Romans took sun protection into consideration when it came to architecture, too. The colosseum had a retractible linen roof to lessen the impact of harsh daytime sun.
In the 1600s, upperclass European women, starting in France, wore visards. These were black velvet masks they wore outdoors to protect their faces from the sun. I wonder how they carried on conversations? They held the mask onto their face with their teeth!
When the 18th Century rolled around, some women were still wearing masks. But mostly they carried parasols, wore wide-brimmed hats, tightly woven clothes with attachable sleeves, and they always wore gloves outdoors. Women also put on Zinc Powder. Although they wore the powder to stay pale, it protected their skin at the same time, and they knew it.
In North America, Indigenous People and some Settlers rubbed Sunflower Oil into their skin before and after being in the sun. While Sunflower Oil only has an SPF between 2 and 6, it’s natural Vitamin E content helps prevent oxidative stress in your DNA. So, while it doesn’t repair UV damage, sunflower oil does prevent some skin cell damage that would be caused by the sun’s radiation.
Eventually, in the 20th Century, tanning became a preoccupation of the rich and stylish that quickly filtered down to the rest of us. The introduction of sunbathing is credited to Coco Chanel. And the rest: it’s history as we know it.

But it's not quite the history most health-conscious people think it is. Getting out into the sunshine, taking in sun for the sake of your health... and beautiful tanned skin... is only 100 years old.

-Unprotected skin is a modern invention!

Our ancestors were definitely onto something.

Several years ago, I visited with a friend’s mother as she lay in hospice dying from skin cancer. It was devastating to see how the cancer covered her legs and took her life too soon. She still had so much love left inside her, to give freely to her large family and friends. I was impacted and still see her vividly in my mind’s eye.

After this, I created an SPF Cream. Every ingredient inside has a purpose:

Extra Virgin Organic Olive Oil has an SPF around 8.
Expeller Pressed Organic Coconut Oil naturally has an SPF from 4 to 7. It blocks 20% of the sun’s UV rays.
Beeswax provides water resistance and holds your own moisture inside your skin. This helps your skin stay hydrated while you’re in the sun. Beeswax repairs damaged skin and quickly regenerates new cells, giving you healthier skin even after you’ve been out in the sun.
Calendula flowers grow their own UV protection and transfer some of the protection to you. These flowers also repair UV damage in your skin.
Poplar Buds contain compounds that protect you from UV radiation. They also repair UV damage in your skin.
Wild Rose petals repair UV sun damage in your skin cells.
Zinc Oxide gives the skin cream full stength UV protection without the health risks of chemical sunblock ingredients.

I’m committed to protecting your skin from the sun, while leaving out the harmful chemicals that damage your skin and put your health at risk.

It felt like quite a responsibility to create sunscreen. But people tell me it’s the first sunscreen they’ve enjoyed putting on their skin. They tell me they love the way it makes their skin glow. They say they feel well protected.

I was scared and I put off making SPF for as long as I could. But in the end, it felt irresponsible not to make it.

Here it is: In the Sun SPF Cream.

Send me a message and let me know my handmade SPF Cream feels on your skin.