PROTECCION DEL SOL

Decent sunscreen here costs between $15 and $20.  That's dollars, not pesos.  Why it's so expensive, I don't know.  What comes to mind first is that many Mexicans have darker skin than anglos, so the price reflects the practice of gouging the anglos (as in the price of pickles, sauerkraut, and cheese with flavor).  Second, and less pigment-related, the brands are the same as in the US and thus the prices reflect the shipping and handling costs.  But, just as there are many tall Mexicans here (thwarting the stereotype) so there are many light-skinned ones who would be in the market for sunscreen, one would think.  A lot of Mexican women here carry parasols or umbrellas to ward off the sun.  I don't know if the rest can afford sunscreen, but I can't.

The tube on the left that I brought from the US is almost empty.  I bought the one on the right from a departing American for 10 pesos.  So what to do when that tube is empty?  I looked on the internet, and, sure enough, there are many do-it-yourself recipes for homemade sunscreen.  One woman in CA said she likes to make her own toothpaste, sunscreen, deodorant and shampoo so she can "stick it to the man."  I hadn't heard that phrase for a long time and it made me smile.  I want to "stick it to the man," too.

Basically, what you need is a cream, like cocoa butter, beeswax, or Shea butter.  Our friend Grace gave me the Shea butter on the right.  She has a friend in the States who goes to Africa for it, although I think you can get it more easily than that.  On the left is zinc oxide, which lifeguards at the beach/shore put on their noses.  You can use either zinc oxide or titanium dioxide for the screening function.  Titanium dioxide (carcinogenic in mice) is used in toothpaste and skim milk (yuck) to make them whiter.  I opted for the zinc oxide, which I bought in a pharmacy for 8 pesos.

Then I needed some kind of essential oil.  I looked all over, but to no avail.  Then we discovered a new walkable-to mall.  The store named on the bag below was in this mall.  There I found the mint oil above and I also bought, on impulse, the brown stuff, which is bee glue or propóleo.  I'm a sucker for bee products.

This is the final product.  Smells good.  Let's hope it works.  Now I'm off to make toothpaste and deodorant.  I may even make my own glue so I can stick it to the man.