All-in-one Sunblock/Lipbalm/lotion

Necessity calls for ingenuity. There's no harm in mixing some mild (perhaps organic) sunscreen to your lotion/lip balm. Put some eucalyptus in there as well and you'll have insect repellent.

I normally use an organic lotion/cream thing for my chapped lips.

Well, Dermatone is a sunblock, lip balm and chaffing lotion.

And Hydropel is also a chaffing lotion.

I haven't tried to set either on fire, though.

And then you just get some 100% Deet and put it in a micro-dropper bottle, and then put some Purell in another micro-dropper, and there you go.

I have successfully mixed sunblock (REI One) and bug repellant (3M Ultrathon). Some folks say not to do it and there's a theory behind that — however, in actual practice, the mixed solution is still effective at both functions. I will continue to mix both and apply as one application. Much simpler and saves some weight and time too.

But I carry my lip balm separately. Not sure I want to apply the above mix to my lips. I know it won't kill me, but the taste can be pretty awful.

Ive wondered about this. typically i spray repellent onto my hair, and clothing around my head to keep bugs off. i also spray around my lower pants, socks, shoes to keep the ticks off. with a dropper this is obviously not an option. do you then use the dropper to apply it on the face and rub it in or do you just mix it into your sunblock? what do you guys do for ticks?

Adan:

If you use 100% DEET — believe it or not — all you need are about 6 drops — something like this:

o 1-2 drops for face, neck and ears
o 1 drop for each arm/hand and leg (if wearing short sleeves and shorts)

A little goes a very long way. And no, you do not need to cover every square inch of your skin. Just spreading around one drop will cover a large skin area.

It's a heck of a lot lighter and more compact than any bug repellant lotion.

However, because I carry sunblock lotion anyway, I switched from 100% DEET to Ultrathon lotion (30%) and mixed the two lotions into one — as posted above.

Vaseline doesn't burn? It should burn WONDERFULLY. Many people use cotton balls soaked in Vaseline as a fire starter.

I did not try soaking a material in it. I just put a glob on the table and put a flame to it. it just melted.

I like the idea of mixing deet into the sunscreen. however, seems like you'll waste either sunscreen or deet each time you use it. So deet in a dropper, dermatone for sunscreen and lip balm, hydropel in a mini-jar for water protection on my feet and for chaffing. for firestarter i'll just carry dryer lint and hopefully i'll have a little alcohol left over if emergency fire is needed.

"I like the idea of mixing deet into the sunscreen. however, seems like you'll waste either sunscreen or deet each time you use it. "

Not to my experience. I actually save a lot of lotion because after mixing, I apply the combo lotion as normal — I do not double the quantity of lotion I use. I think this regular saving serves to compensate for the times when there was sun and no bugs — or bugs and no sun. Saves on packing space and weight too.

Also the times when there are bugs and sun, applying deet under the sunblock is probably not as effective as having it mixed in. do you think?

Adan:

There's theory, and then there's experimentation. Warning: I am no expert in chemistry or skin care.

In theory, one is supposed to apply sun block first, wait a while, then apply bug repellant. But here's my experience over the last two years:

1. When mixed and applied as one application as normal, I am essentially halving the quantity usage of each.

2. I apply once in the morning — approx. half an hour or so before beginning a hike. I apply a second application sometime around early/mid afternoon.

I have had the same excellent results with the combo lotion as I did when applying each product separately and in sequence!

Now, I am not saying that the theory against mixing isn't correct. It may well be correct in theory. But I am saying that there is no practical, perceptible negative effect in actual use.

so how much deet/repellent do you put into your sunblock? do you have a ratio/mix that works for you? or do you just put a few drops in and call it good enough?

No, Adan. As I wrote up above, I used to use 100% DEET drops — but switched to Ultrathon lotion to mix with my REI One sunblock lotion.

Mixing lotion with lotion, the ratio is about 50:50. And they keep pretty well too.