I use high proof alcohol from the US or failing that, vodka. You can get potato vodka if you don’t want the GMO grain factor.

I wash everything by hand with soapy water, then swab in swirls from bottom inside to top outside, then I rinse again with water because some people of Muslim, Hindu etc faiths don’t want alcohol, then I dry the pots on the stove to heat sterilize.

Susanne—rubbing alcohol and denatured alcohol are just regular alcohol with a poison added to exempt them from the taxes on alcoholic beverages. the one in rubbing alcohol is allegedly safe for topical use but that safety is doubtful. I never use it in any toiletries or even for sterilizing tools for anything to be consumed (internally or externally) but instead I buy the cheapest potable alcohol I can find instead—usually vodka here, but some places sell plain grain alcohol. good luck.

I sell zinc oxide by the 100g (never micronized) for $2.39 at http://www.anarreshealth.ca/node/249 . You can also buy it through a wholesale distributor such as New Directions Aromatics. Look for @325 microns in size.

I can’t recall if I got your questions and answered them, but in brief:
~ benzoin is used primarily for a vanilla scent and as a skin protector. You can leave it out.
~ pola wax is completely safe in my view. If you use bees wax, you must emulsify it with a tiny amount of dissolved borax. Vegetable waxes like pola are absorbed into the skin, while bees wax sits on the surface, which is why it’s great for sunscreen.
~ borax is needed to emulsify the beeswax properly. If you don’t mind a beady texture then you can whip the beeswax in without borax until it sets.
~ I prefer zinc oxide because the body uses it, while TD is not natural to the body. They are interchangeable and give a high SPF and are the only reliable UVA blockers.

Email me for more details! AnarresHealth@gmail.com.

Thanks!

thanks again for commenting and following!
Elizabeth

unfortunately I am congenitally incapable of actually following a recipe as written :} to help me substitute effectively would you please comment on
•the purpose of the benzoin and what form you use? guessing it is a preservative because it is grouped with the grapefruit seed extract and vitamin e, but maybe it is just there for its scent, or skin benefits. in the swamp where we live gfs and e aren’t enough so we just keep homemade toiletries in the freezer a lot of the time maybe this three way combo will be just the solution
•a safer wax that can substitute for polawax–bees’? soy? or maybe palm oil?
•what the borax is for and can I just leave it out so the product will be safer or is there something it is doing that needs to be replaced?
•bottom line, is the zinc oxide (or titanium dioxide, do they substitute equally?) the only ingredient that gives it the spf 30 and the rest is flexible?

it seems it must be from what you said at the top, but I am nervous monkeying around with this. if I am going to say to my loved ones, “please, stop using that toxic sunscreen and try this instead,” I want to be sure I understand what I am doing. I mean when we make balms or ointments people try them and within a few minute or a few days they can tell if a rash clears up or chapped lips heal or dry skin is soothed, and if not just adjust the next batch, no biggie; but preventing skin cancer, who can tell until it is too late?!

thank you so much!