Don’t give up on sun protection just because summer is coming to a close! Those crisp September days beckon us all outdoors – and when they do, we ready to tote along a jar of this DIY sunscreen from the master formulator behind S.W. Basics! Adina Grigore and her team at S.W. Basics hand make each of their small-batch beauty products in Brooklyn, New York. We love sharing their expertise through a series of simple and seasonal make-at-home beauty recipes like Adina’s rosemary bug spray and cider sunburn soother found here! Here’s Adina…

Sunscreen is a scary product to mess around with, so I’m not recommending skipping whatever natural sunscreen you use now. But – the nice thing about making your own at home is you will know for sure it is really, truly all-natural! You can layer it under your sunscreen, use it as a moisturizer, and experiment using it on days where you do not have much sun exposure.

The recipe below has approximately 15 – 20 SPF. Coconut oil and shea butter have a natural SPF on their own, which is awesome. You can grab zinc oxide cream at any drugstore, which is what makes natural sunscreen work. The particles are large, keeping them safely on top of your skin (beware of any sunscreen listing “nano” particles, those soak into your pores and can be very harmful). You can buy beeswax at craft stores, but I recommend just grabbing a natural candle and melting some of it! Then you have the added lovely vanilla or lavender essential oil scent that came with it.