Making Sunscreen for a School Project

Hello! I understand you're working on a school project about making sunscreen and have several questions about the process. Making sunscreen requires key ingredients called UV filters, which can be either physical or chemical.

Key Sunscreen Ingredients

Commonly used UV filters include:

• Physical Sunscreens: These work by reflecting or scattering UV rays. They are typically white powders like Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide. These two ingredients are often used together to provide broader protection against both UVA and UVB rays. Various grades are available, such as grades that disperse easily in oil or silicone (EasyDisperse™) or ready-to-use liquid dispersions (Transparent Dispersion) to help reduce the white cast on the skin.
• Chemical Sunscreens: These absorb UV rays and convert them into heat, such as Enzacamene, Homosalate, Bisoctrizole, etc.

In addition to UV filters, other ingredients are needed, such as a cream base (emulsifiers, oils, water), stabilizers, preservatives, and other skin-benefiting additives.

Aloe Vera in Sunscreen

Aloe Vera Extract has properties that help soothe the skin, reduce irritation, and provide moisture. It can be included as an ingredient in sunscreen for its skin benefits, but aloe vera alone does not provide sufficient sun protection. Therefore, you cannot use only aloe vera instead of the main UV filters. If you want to substitute aloe vera with other natural extracts that have similar properties, such as moisturizing or soothing, that is possible.

How to Make Sunscreen

Making sunscreen from scratch (mixing everything yourself) is quite complex and requires precision in weighing and mixing, especially ensuring the even dispersion of physical sunscreens for effective sun protection. This may require special equipment like a homogenizer.

For a school project, you might consider simpler methods:

• Using physical sunscreens that are EasyDisperse™ grades or Dispersion types that are easier to mix.
• Using a pre-made sunscreen base like Clear Sprayable Sunscreen (Super Light, SPF40), which already contains UV filters. You can simply add other beneficial ingredients like Aloe Vera Extract to this base. This method is easier and ensures the presence of the main sun protection ingredients.

Equipment and Cost

The equipment needed for making a small amount of sunscreen (2-3 bottles) from scratch would include a digital scale, beakers, stirring rods, heating equipment (for melting some ingredients), and containers. If you need very good dispersion of UV filters, you might need a small homogenizer, which can be quite expensive.

However, if you choose to use a pre-made sunscreen base or dispersion-type UV filters, the equipment needed is much less. A digital scale, mixing container, and a spatula or stirring rod would be sufficient.

The cost of basic equipment is not very high, but the cost of ingredients, especially the UV filters, can be the main expense. Using a pre-made base might help control costs and simplify the process.

For more information and sample formulas, you can explore various resources or the formula collection section of the MySkinRecipes webboard.