An Answer for an Allergy to Sunscreen

I never knew an allergy to sunscreen could even happen. I had never met anyone who was allergic to sunscreen and I had used it all my adult life and had never had a problem.

That all changed when I went to a conference in Denver, CO. The day before we left for the conference, I had gone boating and used sunscreen as I always had while boating. The next afternoon, we started the 8-hour drive to Denver from our home (at the time) in southern Minnesota. Half way there, my face and arms started to itch very badly and then began to swell.

We stopped at a pharmacy along the way and I picked up some allergy medicine and talked with the pharmacist there. They gave me an over-the-counter allergy medicine and said it should clear up overnight.

It did not. It got much, much worse. At the conference on Monday, my face, neck and arms had ballooned up and itched even worse. By Tuesday morning, my neck began to swell with giant welts that grew up the side of my face.

I was in trouble. I was directed to the conference doctor, who upon examining me and getting my history of sunscreen use, called in a prescription to a strong steroid. He said the welts were starting to form inside my neck and were sure to cut off my breathing by midnight. He also said I should never use sunscreen again until I determine which chemical I had the reaction to. I was scared at that point, but the steroids worked and the swelling was slightly reduced by morning and the itching was starting to clear up.

Going on from there, I had to find a solution because I was getting badly burned and I wasn't about to give up boating.

I did find a solution and it's better than any sunscreen I've ever used....and it's chemical-free! The main sun-blocking ingredient is zinc oxide and since it's a mineral, not a chemical, it does not harm my skin. I tested it and had no reaction.

I took the opportunity to add frankincense to it because frankincense is so incredibly good for skin. I love essential oils for their versatility.


My recipe:

1/2 cup avocado oil
1/4 cup cocoa butter
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup beeswax
1/4 cup non-nano zinc oxide (found on Amazon)
15 drops frankincense essential oil


Melt all ingredients except frankincense in a double boiler until smooth. Cool slightly. Add frankincense and stir. Pour into desired containers and let set. One batch lasts us all summer.

Happy oiling!
~Tricia

Cold Sore vs Frankincense

Sunday morning I felt a cold sore coming on. My upper lip was sore and I felt the unmistakable tingling that has always preceded my cold sores. I had no cold sore medication in the house.....but I have plenty of essential oils. I have a whole box full of them, as a matter of fact!

I keep Frankincense in a roller bottle at all times. The roller bottle contains 10 drops of Frankincense essential oil and is topped off with fractionated coconut oil. This is what I used on my pending cold sore. Here's a timeline of what happened:

Day 1 - Sunday - I felt the cold sore coming on. I put a tiny amount of the contents of the Frankincense roller bottle on my finger and put it on my lip. The tingling stopped for the moment.

Day 2 - Monday - I had forgotten to put more Frankincense on my lip the night before and I woke up to the all-familiar tingling sensation in my lip. I used another small amount of the oil. The tingling stopped.

Day 3 - Tuesday - Again, because I felt no tingling in my lip Monday night, I did not use any more oil. I did, however, feel a slight tingling Tuesday morning. I used another small amount of oil and the tingling, again, stopped.





A cold sore never did develop. It's now Thursday. I have not used the oil in more than 24 hours and I have not had even a hint of tingling.

Cold sore - 0
Frankincense - Score!!

Happy oiling!
~Tricia

Eczema Meets the King

Eczema is awful. My heart goes out to anyone who suffers the outbreaks, itch and unsightly look of eczema. This means my heart goes out to myself because I have occasional eczema outbreaks.

Recently, I've had a pretty bad eczema outbreak....actually the worst one I've ever had. While a couple spots on my arms and hands (and one on my leg) responded well to an oil blend, the eczema on my scalp did not. After treating it with a blend of tea tree oil (melaleuca), lavender and myrrh oils, I was not seeing any progress. Don't get me wrong, tea tree, lavender and myrrh are all great oils to blend for eczema. Like I said, it worked on my arms and on one spot on my leg. But it did not work on my scalp.

In fact, it was getting worse every day. Although it started at my hairline, it began spreading down my forehead, leaving it red and painfully raw. I would press on it with the ball of my hand to relieve the itching. I was afraid it would spread to my eyes.

So, I introduced my eczema to the king. Yep, that's right, the king of oils, frankincense.


My formula was simple:

I put 10 drops of frankincense oil in a 10ml roller bottle and topped it off with fractionated coconut oil.

Overnight, the spreading had stopped and my forehead was clear. By the end of that first day using it, the frankincense had dried up the eczema at my hairline. Because it was still itching, I continued to use it for several days to ward off anything that was brewing below the surface where I could not see.




If you are struggling with eczema, introduce it to the king of oils. Click here to find out how you can get a FREE bottle of frankincense oil.....but hurry because this offer expires January 15.

Happy oiling!
~Tricia