Contrary to popular beliefs about sun exposure, natural sunlight actually boosts your performance at a cellular level.

Direct sunlight on your skin and in your eyes (without sunglasses) for 10-15 minutes a day will increase your vitamin D levels, which can make you happier, reduce your risk of diabetes and certain cancers, and can even boost fertility.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2290997/”]

Still, too much sun can cause DNA damage that depletes your skin’s vitamin A stores and destroys collagen and elasticity.[ref url=”http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002944010633378″] This is what causes sunspots, wrinkles, and loose skin as you age. And yes, overexposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is associated with certain cancers and other conditions like cataracts, but the instances of these conditions as they relate to excessive UVR exposure are really low – about 0.1%.[ref url=”https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/60807″][ref url=”http://www.who.int/uv/publications/solaradgbd/en/”]

Here’s where you can learn a ton more about the benefits of sun exposure. And here’s a post on hacking the light in your life for better performance and a sharper brain.

Avoid overexposure and aging skin

If you want all the benefits of natural UV light, but also want to avoid the signs of aging, don’t worry. There’s a hack for that. The secret is to get just the right amount of exposure on bare skin (about 15 minutes per day) while protecting the delicate skin on your face, neck, and chest.

For that, you’ll want some sunscreen.

Sunscreen: more harm than good?

Sunscreen is great for full-coverage protection when you’re going to be in the sun for extended periods of time or if you want to avoid the signs of aging.

Unfortunately, most sunscreens aren’t much better for you than the sunburns they prevent. Many varieties contain nasty, hormone-disrupting chemicals that your body absorbs and can be measured in blood, urine, and breast milk.[ref url=”http://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/the-trouble-with-sunscreen-chemicals/#.WXFjEdPyvVo”] And those are just the chemicals we know stuff about. A Danish review of active ingredients in common sunscreens determined that there’s not much information about them. Sixteen of the 19 ingredients reviewed had zero information about their potential to cause cancer.

Natural sunscreens, on the other hand, will have fewer chemicals and will likely contain a physical blocker like zinc oxide, rather than chemical penetration enhancers that encourage the sunscreen to soak into your skin. More natural sunscreens might not soak in quite as easily, but they’re effective and super safe.

You can make the recipe below in about 5-10 minutes and feel good about slathering it all over yourself and your kids without fears of the breakdown products harming your internal organs.

Homemade Bulletproof Sunscreen

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. beeswax (this will make it water resistant)
• ¾ cup coconut oil
• 1 tbsp Brain Octane Oil
• ½ cup non-nano zinc oxide (powder)

Instructions:

1. Heat the beeswax with the coconut oil in a small saucepan, just until it’s melted. Do not bring to a boil.
2. Pour the melted wax and oil to a bowl and the remaining ingredients. Mix well using a spoon or spatula.
3. To use, distribute evenly over exposed skin and massage in. Reapply every couple of hours or so, especially if you’re sweating or swimming.
4. Save leftover sunscreen in an airtight glass container in the fridge. About eight drops of vitamin E oil will also help to keep it from going rancid.

Bonus tip: If you skipped the sunscreen this time, take care of your burn by generously coating it with Brain Octane Oil or coconut oil. It helps with wound healing.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2792613/”][ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20523108″] Please note: Do not do this while the burn is still hot, only after your skin has cooled.

That’s it! You should be able to make this all-natural, completely non-toxic sunscreen within a matter of minutes. For more recipes and hacks just like this, subscribe to our newsletter below. Thanks for reading and have a great week!

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