Green and Tan: Coconut Oil’s Sun Protection

I used to live a half a block from the beach in Venice, CA, but I never really baked in the sun. I have blue eyes and fair skin. I burn easily, and only tan a few shades of gold. So, for most of my life, I’ve been a sunscreen fanatic, always carrying SPF 45, and putting up with occasionally stinging eyes.

A while back, when I was selling lavender at the Santa Monica Farmers Market on Sundays, some of my yoga students came to visit and they looked like Greek goddesses, oiled up and ready for a day at the beach. “Watch out, or you may burn today,” I cautioned, to which they replied, “No way, we’re protected by coconut oil.”

They went on to tell me that organic coconut oil is one of nature’s most powerful sun protectants. Of course, I with my Ivy League education thought that was crazy, so I didn’t believe them. I did notice the following week, however, when I saw the goddesses in yoga class, that they were indeed tanned and not burned.

I did some reading on the subject, and decided to use myself and my easily burned skin as a science experiment. So, I went to Palm Springs for a long weekend without sunscreen along. Instead, I went to the supermarket, walked down the baking aisle, and picked up a jar of virgin organic coconut oil. It was solid white at room temperature. When I got to Palm Springs, I put the whole jar in the sink and filled up the sink with hot water, and in no time the solid white oil turned to clear liquid. My experiment was about to begin!

I slathered on the oil (which I have to admit, was very greasy) and spent the afternoon out in the blazing sun. My host friends were concerned about me being all covered in baking oil and said, “Evan, you’re gonna burn to a crisp — put on some sunscreen!” and I replied, probably sounding completely crazy, “I don’t think I’ll burn, I’m protected by coconut oil, one of the most powerful sun protectants.”

Lo and behold, I didn’t burn that day or that weekend. I was amazed. I did get some color, and I noticed my shoulders were red, but nothing like they would have been without the coconut oil. I never felt pain, or itching. It seems coconut oil — unprocessed and organic — really is “all that.”

Using organic coconut oil instead of expensive and artificial sunscreen is a great way to honor the earth and protect the environment, and your health. Skin is the body’s largest organ and absorbs everything we put on it. This includes harmful chemicals like parabens, phthalates and SLS that go unregulated by the FDA and are found in many of our personal care products, including soaps, shampoos and sunscreens. Even worse, these chemicals contaminate our groundwater and kill ocean life.

This summer, my beach pack is a beach chair that folds up into a backpack, and in that backpack I keep water, organic coconut oil, some fresh fruit and my iPod. Using organic coconut oil instead of sunscreen is one of the healthiest ways to protect your skin and the planet.

So, I may sound like a hippie touting coconut oil over sunscreen, but blue eyes and fair skin don’t lie — try it, you’ll like it!