Sunmaxxing Guide (+ Natural Sunscreen Recipe)
Get tan without getting burnt (or wrinkly)
Gm Gents. I want to share how I manage to get copious amounts of sun without getting burnt.
This guide will show you:
How to build your solar callus
UV protective diet & supplementation
Homemade sunscreen (that won’t make you infertile)
But first, let me explain why you should listen to me
I was never meant to be tan
For context, I come from mountain dwellers (German & Persian), my ancestors were fair-skinned and probably lived in caves until the Industrial Revolution.
I am by far the tannest member my bloodline has ever seen
To add insult to injury, I took Accutane when I was 18. This destroyed any chance I had of being able to get sunlight without atrocious burning
Accutane:
Thins the outermost layer of your skin (which protects against UV radiation)
Impairs the skin’s natural antioxidant system
Alters lipid profile of the skin & halts sebum production (natural skin barrier)
Not to mention demolishing your mitochondria and liver
But through sheer persistence and curiosity, I overcame my dermatologist-appointed poisoning and Indo-European genetics to live out my lifelong dream of surfing, spearfishing, and napping at the beach.
If I can go from getting sunburnt by my laptop screen to getting more sun than a solar panel, so can you.
Is the Sun Dangerous?
Like most health topics, the sun exposure debate is pushed to the extremes. You’ve got the longevity Bryan Johnson-types wearing sunscreen on one side and Jack Kruse fanboys looking like leatherbacks
The answer lies in the middle.
Sunlight is good. There’s a reason we’ve been worshiping it since we gained sentience
Lack of sun a major contributor to mental illness and metabolic disease. Seasonal Affective Depression (SAD) = Sunlight deficiency
BUT you can have too much of a good thing. You should NEVER get sunburnt. UV damage is real.
“But Noah, our ancestors were in the sunlight all day”
Yes, but your ancestors also woke up with the sun, had a non-inflammatory diet, and weren’t exposing themselves to blue light 24/7. Cavemen weren’t known for their skin complexion either
Our ancestors understood the importance of avoiding midday sun exposure. They took naps in the shade. Look at the animal kingdom. This is hardwired in mammalian DNA
Not enough sun = Bad
Too much sun = Also Bad
Avoid binary thinking . Entertain nuance. The answer lies in the middle.
So Sunscreen Good?
No. Store-bought sunscreen is toxic.
Benzophenone-3 & 4-MBC are the two main UV protective compounds in sunscreen. They’re both banned in the EU
These chemicals mimic estrogen in the body, but worse
The UV light “fuses” them to your estrogen receptors, creating "constitutively active receptors". These estrogen receptors then stay “on” longer than they normally would, sending estrogenic signals to every cell in your body
These molecules bioaccumulate too. They’re bleaching coral reefs, accumulating in our food and water supply, and accumulating in us.
“4-MBC was detected in 96.8% of urine samples tested.”
You use sunscreen → You pee sunscreen out → Sunscreen gets into municipal water → We drink sunscreen
4-MBC also causes pituitary defects just like fluoride. So if you’re looking to mentally handicap yourself, do everything “health experts” tell you to do:
Use fluoride toothpaste
Drink tap water
Lather yourself in Banana Boat
The entire cosmetic industry is making you sick, stupid, and infertile. Watch out for these additives:
So no Sunscreen?
No Store bought sunscreen
You can have too much sun. Especially if your skin barrier is compromised like mine.
I still use sunscreen when I’m surfing or out on the ocean. But only on my face. That’s why I make my own Tallow Zinc sunscreen
Tallow Zinc Sunscreen Recipe:
This is the exact recipe I use for my high-spf, non-toxic sunscreen:
Beef Tallow: 2/3 cup
beeswax: 1/4 cup
Non-nano Zinc Oxide: 2 TBSP
Optional: Jojoba oil: 2 oz
This works just as well as store-bought sunscreen, without the carcinogenic and estrogenic effects. Zinc Oxide acts a photo-stable physical sun block to UVA and UVB rays
If you don’t want to make your own, you can also get pre-made zinc and tallow sunscreen from Health Y Sol
My UV Protection Stack
Remember, melanin is UV protective. That’s one of the reasons we produce it abundantly in our skin. So work on your tan slowly.
Get out during low UV hours