Make your own After Sun lotion – with natural ingredients your skin will absorb fast

Too much sun and too little care can often lead to wrinkles or skin damage through over-exposure to light. Those little folds on your knees and décolleté can also make you look older.

DIY After-Sun lotion – the natural sundowner for your skin

When the sun goes down, it’s high time for some evening skin care. After a hot, dry day in the sun your skin is ready for a little refreshment – with moisture as the key ingredient. Read on to find out how to make your own natural after sun lotion.

What you’ll need:

• 150 g coconut oil
• 70 g aloe vera gel or 20 drops aloe vera concentrate from a supplier such as Spinnrad
• 50 g olive oil

Coconut oil:

• The oil soaks in quickly and acts as a moisturizer to care for and heal your skin. Coconut oil is rich in medium-chain fatty acids, particularly triglyceride fats. These have a perfect structure that penetrates skin fast, then improves the nutrient supply in an efficient way.
• One of the most important fats in coconut oil is lauric acid. Lauric acid is antimicrobial (disinfects and combats infection carriers on the skin), antiviral (combats viruses on the skin) and antimycotic (fights fungi on the skin). It works when applied or ingested and can be helpful for a range of skin diseases. That can be particularly useful in summer when you swim outdoors.

Aloe vera:

• Aloe vera is a medicinal plant with an unusual combination of active ingredients. Its moisturising properties last far longer than those of conventional, water-based products. The simple and complex sugars in aloe vera are antibacterial, antiviral and antimycotic and stimulate our body’s immune system.
• This medicinal plant contains seven of the eight essential amino acids we need to ingest or apply because our body can’t produce them itself: lysine accelerates collagen formation; collagen makes our skin supple and slows its ageing process.

Good ol’ olive oil:

• Skin can offer suffer from the effects of intensive sunlight when we sunbathe. The oxygen levels in olive oil are stable and unusually high. Olive oil also contains a range of antimicrobial substances, making it the go-to solution for sensitive skin as well as for skin irritation or mild burns.

So much for the theory. Now for the practice – and the blender:

• Set your blender to steam mode and heat all the oils for 10 minutes in a glass container that holds at least 250 ml, and has a lid.
  
• As the mixture cools, the vacuum effect will seal the container so it’s airtight.
• After you sunbathe, massage the oil gently into your (moist) skin and relax. The oil will be solid below 21°C, liquid at higher temperatures.

Helpful hint: Regular peelings on healthy skin remove old skin particles so your skin can better absorb the active ingredients in care products. If you have sunburn but still want to shave, click here for some useful advice.
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