Be Water Wise & Skin Smart with Ocean Safe Screen

                                                          

Wants in your beach bag?
Toss in a few organic products from Mermaid Minerals
and you will be having fun in sun while protecting
the ocean and yourself!

We all love going to the beach, relaxing in the warm sand, flipping our fins in the water and watching the suffers go by! 

The sun blazing overhead, giving everyone that sun kissed glow but what if that sun kissed glow turns into a sun burn. We all know how bad that is for our skin and not everyone is lucky enough to be gifted with the melanin that has projected me from the sun my whole life. (in truth I have had one sun burn my whole life and that was from a tanning bed) I use sun block on the rare occasion that I am too tan and anymore expose to the sun could be bad for my skin at this point. My husband, on the other hand, NEEDS sun block, he doesn't have the melanin and he burns easily. He likes the spray on kind but it's so sticky and the lotion kind is just a mess but those aren't the only drawbacks to using sunscreen. Did you know that by projecting your skin you may be contributing to the rapid rate at which the coral reefs are dying?!

In 2015 Time Magazine published an article about this very problem. A group of researchers published their findings in the journal, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, stating that they found the chemical called, OXYBENZONE to have toxic effects on young coral! Therefore the sunscreen you are using to protect you and your family is the leading cause of * endocrine disruption, DNA damage and death of coral! Ever hear of coral bleaching? This is when the coral rejects symbiotic organisms and loses it's color. Bleaching has been particularly prevalent in recent years due to rising sea temperatures AND Oxybenzone. According to the U.S. National Park Service approximately 4,000 to 6,000 tons of sunscreen is introduced to the coral reefs around the world, making Oxybenzone one of the leading deadly chemicals unknowingly polluting our waters every day! 

Why Coppertone??

After learning about this I checked the labels on the three bottle of sunblock we had and use regularly. The first bottle was from a gift bag and Oxybenzone was third on the list of ingredients but I do not know the manufacturer. The second bottle I checked came from Coppertone....surely they won't let me down!? Coppertone has been around for a long time it's a trusted company known for its sun protection products, but sadly my chosen sunblock has 6% Oxybenzone.

Good choice, but it could be better...

Fortunately for my little fishy heart our bottle of Banana Boat Sport does NOT have oxybenzone but it is full of other unpronounceable chemicals, which kinda makes me cringe.  

So what is a mermaid to do? Well, Mermaid Minerals came up with the perfect answer, Ocean Safe Sunscreen with SPF 30! Using things like coconut oil, Vitamin E and Zinc oxide for sun protection this sunblock is better for you and the environment! Ocean Safe sunscreen goes on like a thin lotion working easily and quickly into the skin without leaving a sticky feeling. And sand wont to stick to your skin because it dries quickly with no greasy residue. 

The BEST sunscreen for you and the Coral!

And can we talk about the scent?! Forget about the nose clogging smell of most drugstore sunscreens Mermaid Minerals sunscreen is lightly scented from the Green Tea Tree oils, Safflower and other natural oils. like with all sunscreens it is recommended to reapply after several hours of swimming or sweating to make sure you are protecting your skin. In short, you can't just take away sunblock but you can be smart about the sunscreen you use! Especially, divers, snorkelers or anyone else swimming near coral reefs, be sunscreen smart and check the label! If Oxybenzone is on the list, leave it on the shelf!

Find all this and more at Mermaidminerals.com! 

Check out MermaidMinerals.com for their complete line of organic beauty products for Women and Men.

*Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that can interfere with endocrine (or hormone) systems at certain doses. These disruptions can cause cancerous tumors, birth defects, and other developmental disorders. Any system in the body controlled by hormones can be derailed by hormone disruptor's.

Bath Jello Tutorial with Vegan Substitute!

We are just going to jump right into the tutorial because there is nothing I hate more then finding an awesome blog or tutorial that goes on and on before you get to actual info you were looking for. So here we go....

Supplies List:

Decorative glass jars or Mason jars. (I used recycled jars from old candles.)

Body Wash (I prefer clear scentless body wash)

Knox Gelatin ~ Vegan Substitute: Agar or Konnyaku jelly powder

Essential oils or your favorite perfume

Food coloring

Plastic bowls or Tupperware for mixing

1/4 cup cold water

1/4 cup boiling water

I used the Knox Gelatin for my Bath Jello, I have not experimented the vegan substitutes. If you do, please share you experience with us in the comments! For vegan substitutes follow package directions, skip to step 2 of this tutorial.

Sprinkle the gelatin powder over 1/4 cup cold water and let stand for one minute. Add 1/4 cup boiling water and stir until all of the powder has dissolved and the water clear.

Now the fun part! I used one package of gelatin​ per bowl and added my color and fragrance to the separate bowls​. Add 2 - 6 drops of food coloring, the more drops the darker the color. Then add 2 - 4 drops of your favorite perfume or essential oil. Gently stir in 1 tablespoon of body wash, try not to make bubbles or foam while stirring.
*Footnote Glitter or Mica powder were also used in these test batches however it did not work out so I left it out of the tutorial. The glitter and Mica sunk to the bottom and stick to the bowls! Very little was left in the bath Jello.

Carefully place the bowls in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes, I leave my bath Jello to sit over night, uncovered, before bottling. Once your bath Jello has set up into a firm yet bouncy consistency it's ready! You can use right away or slice it up for bottling. I cut my bowls of bath Jello into cubes and scooped them into glass jars. They will last in the refrigerator for several weeks but it will get watery as it sits. You can either drain off the extra water or pour it into your​ bath for a hint of color and fragrance!

Now you have made this stuff, what do you do with it?!

The gelatin is really good for the skin and hair. Use it to wash your hair and body or let the Jello dissolve in a hot bath and soak in the sweet smelling colorful water. I take the Jello cubes crumble them in my hands and rub them through my hair. Not only does my hair smell lovely but it gives my hair more body and bounce!

Bath Jello is also fun for the kids, just don't let them eat it!!! Put a scoop or two into the bath and let the kids play with it until it's​ dissolved or just let them play with it in the sink or tub. Either way they will be clean and so will your sink! You could even let the kids help make the bath Jello and they can pick which "flavor" they want for bath time! Store it in Tupperware and let them take the whole bowl into the bath and help make bath time a fun new experience.

Thanks for checking out my process! If you try this at home please post pictures in the comments below or to

 https://www.facebook.com/TenTicklesArtPage

Love, Peace, & Mermaids,
Meridian Mer-Gyver

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