More backpacking ?’s - natural sunscreen & bug repellant???

[Guest guest]

I read cacao butter is good for a sunscreen. Is that true? Is that the

best choice for me? Will it attract bugs or bees?

 

I heard that lavender is good for a bug repellant, but I tried it and

it just repelled my family! What is good for a bug repellant? I might

give lavender a try again, after all even deet isn't perfect at

repelling bugs either! Does lavender work for anyone here?

 

Do natural food stores have any acceptable products for these needs? I

would like to hear many suggestions for sunscreens and bug repellants

please, thanks.

 

I'm sure I'll be asking more raw backpacking advice, so if someone has

any suggestions outside of the things I've already asked, please feel

free to let me know! :-)

 

Minnie

[Guest guest]

I heard coconut oil is a good sunscreen but haven't tried it. I also heard it

was good for

sunburn and so I tried it recently on the sunburn I received after eating 2 days

of 50%

cooked food and then going to the beach for several hours. The past 2 summers,

since

being 100% raw 95% of the time, I haven't needed any sunscreen! I read that it

is because

sunburn is caused by the toxins that are released through the skin, so if your

diet and

environment are pretty clean you are less likely to burn. I did burn a little on

my face at

the beginning of the summer and had a spay bottle of alloe vera handy and would

spray it

on and it felt great! The next morning my face sunburn would be a tan! But

everyone's skin

is different, so expiriment and see... I also read that the less you wear

sunglasses the

better because the ammount of sunlight that you receive through your eyes

signals to your

skin how much natural sun protection to " release " or whatever the skin does. The

day after

I heard about this concept last summer, my sunglasses broke and I haven't

replaced them.

I never wear them anymore and most of the time it isn't a problem. So, unless I

slip back

into eating some cooked food, which i did this past week while visiting my Mom,

I haven't

hardly had any sunburn. That might be partly because I gave up sunglasses and

partly

because I eat all raw most of the time and of course partly because I have not

been one

who is super prone to sunburn although I had always needed sunscreen before when

exposed to the same ammount of sun as i am now. Does that make sense?

 

As far a bug repellent, my favorite is to fill a small spay bottle with filtered

water and add

5-6 drops of peppermint essential oil and spray it on myself and my kids when

the

mosquitos come out and also throughout the day when it gets really hot just

because it is

very refreshing! However, it is only effective if sprayed on regularly, like

every 1/2 hour or

so, so although it is fun to spray it on that often, if you forget, it isn't

very practical. Also

be sure to close your eyes or it will sting! That is what I did last summer.

This summer, I

haven't gotten any mosquito bites at all but up until last week i was 100% raw

since early

May. I have read other raw foodists attest to not getting bit by mosquitos,

something

about our ph not being apealing to them I think???

For my kids who are 95% raw I still buy the bug repellents from the health food

store for

those times when we HAVE to be out at dusk, which is rare. Usually I just

encourage them

to come inside at dusk when the mosquitos are at their worst and then go back

out after

dark. I don't care for the smell of citronella though, never have, so I bought

some without

it, which is hard to find, but I did find some, I think the brand name was " Swy

Flotter "

by Kiss My Face. Here is a link I found by doing a google search:

http://www.herbalremedies.com/swyflotter-repellent.html

I actually looked at the ingredients at this link and saw that it does have

citronella, so i

guess it just has less than others, because I wasn't bothered by it. The other

thing that I

have tried are citronella ensence sticks which my kids burned around them when

they

were outside at dusk once and they didn't mind the smell and it seemed to be

effective,

but I only tried it once and I went somewhere else so i didn't get overwhelmed

by the

smell.

I have also heard of people who make their own insect repellent that is very

effective with

the various essential oils that are effective, I think peppermint, lemongrass,

lavendar,

cedar? I can't remember exactly, but unless you have use for these oils for

other things I

think that could get expensive to buy all those different oils, or if you

already had most of

them or went in on it with some other families...

Anyway, you would want to do a google search for " making your own insect

repellent " or

something of that sort, I bet there is a recipe out there online somewhere!

Good luck!

Let us know what ends up working for you!!!

Denise Thomas

 

 

rawfood , " minnie9090 " <minnie9090 wrote:

>

> I read cacao butter is good for a sunscreen. Is that true? Is that the

> best choice for me? Will it attract bugs or bees?

>

> I heard that lavender is good for a bug repellant, but I tried it and

> it just repelled my family! What is good for a bug repellant? I might

> give lavender a try again, after all even deet isn't perfect at

> repelling bugs either! Does lavender work for anyone here?

>

> Do natural food stores have any acceptable products for these needs? I

> would like to hear many suggestions for sunscreens and bug repellants

> please, thanks.

>

> I'm sure I'll be asking more raw backpacking advice, so if someone has

> any suggestions outside of the things I've already asked, please feel

> free to let me know! :-)

>

> Minnie

>