| How to Make Your Own Sunscreen Posted: The 3 ingredients: oil, beeswax, zinc oxide Commercial sunscreen products often contain propyl compounds and other chemicals questionable for your health; [1] and many of the all-natural products are overly expensive due to the addition of exotic tropical oils for their scent. In addition, many commercial products may have been tested on animals. When all you really need is cheap, safe protection from the sun's rays, try the following sunscreen recipe. Steps - Heat the cup of olive oil over a low flame.
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One brick this size is about 4 ounces -
Keep stirring continuously - Put on a pair of gloves and a face mask. This is to protect you from direct contact with the zinc oxide powder. Add one to two tablespoons of USP grade zinc oxide powder. Add a little at a time, continuing to stir constantly. Ensure that it is blended in well.
- Remove the mixture from the stove. Pour it into a glass or ceramic pot that can be covered.
- If pouring into a narrow neck, use a pastry bag to squeeze the sunscreen through.
- Allow to cool to room temperature before use. Keep stored in a cool, dry environment. Label and date it.
Tips - If you cannot find the ingredients, buy zinc oxide cream from the drugstore and apply it in place of commercial sunscreen products.
- Try other edible, natural oils; just about anything that is safe to eat ought to be safe on your skin.
- If wished, add a few drops of essential oil for a pleasant scent. If so, check the properties of the oil to ensure it is suitable for wear in the sunshine and has no side effects.
- Titanium dioxide may work as well as, or better than, zinc oxide. Either oxide is what does the "work" of the sunscreen.
- The beeswax makes the resulting product viscous, like a skin cream, holding the oxide in suspension. You can try varying the ratio of oil to wax.
- The beeswax and oxide, if not available locally, can usually be found at auction websites.
Warnings - Zinc oxide itself may be a health risk, so avoid breathing the powder. A face mask should be worn until the product is all in suspension.
- It's better to dedicate a pan, stirring spoon, and any other necessary utensils for this purpose, never using them for food again. Mark them well so that you know that they're only for non-cooking use.
- It is possible that the oxide will settle while the product is cooling, or during transit in a hot environment. If, when you are applying it, it is translucent, you will need to stir the oxide up from the bottom. If you don't do this, you won't have an effective product; just a false sense of security! A viable product will be opaque.
- Keep out of direct heat or the wax risks melting. Place in the fridge to solidify if this occurs.
- Keep out of reach of curious children and pets. It should not be ingested.
Things You'll Need - 1 cup olive oil or another natural oil
- 1 oz / 28 g pure beeswax
- Pure (USP grade) zinc oxide or titanium dioxide
- Saucepan
- Spoon for stirring
- Gloves and face mask
- Stove, even a camp stove will work fine
- Glass or ceramic pot with lid for storage
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| Getting tired of the vuvuzela noise when watching the World Cup? Here are a few ways to filter it out Posted: When you're tired of the World Cup broadcast being a cacophony of vuvuzelas, it's a relief to know that you can tone it down. Here are some ways to drown out the drone. Steps Equalizer (EQ) option (TV or Stereo) The benefit of this option despite having to fiddle a bit more is that you don't need a computer. You can perform this fix straight on your TV or stereo. - Locate the equalizer. Either use equalizer on your stereo if you're using that to listen with, or the one on your TV, if it has one. If needed, read the manual accompanying the stereo or TV for instructions on how to adjust the equalizer settings.
- Adjust the hardware settings of your equalizer. It is recommended to turn the frequency down as low as your equipment can go; try lowering sound level of the the frequencies 235 Hz and 465 Hz with about 40 decibels.[1] The drone sound should be considerably reduced, or even removed.
- Continue to adjust the different frequencies until you are comfortable with the sound. Given that all TV sets differ, only you will be the ultimate judge of what works best here. Things to consider include:
- Level of sound of the commentators' voices;
- Ability to enjoy the rest of the atmosphere; and
- The level of comfort of all persons watching at home.
Adjust Treble or Speakers (TV or Stereo) - If you can't locate an equalizer on your TV or stereo, or just can't be bothered fiddling with it, try using your TV's treble sound control. Locate the treble control, and turn the treble sound down as far as is possible. Doing this should reduce the vuvuzela sound enough to be bearable.[2]
- Try adjusting your speakers if you have a surround sound system. Try lowering the volume of the speaker that brings out the crowd noise and raise the volume of the one with the commentator's voices.[3] Keep adjusting until you get the balance right.
Easy Free Software Option (Computer Assisted) With this option, you'll need to use the computer linked up to the audio of the TV. The benefit of this option is that the software will do all of the fiddling for you. The only adjustments that you'll need to make are dependent on the age and speed of your computer. - Go to the National Instruments site. Download the free software here: http://decibel.ni.com/content/blogs/Simon/2010/06/16/world-cup-2010--filtering-the-annoying-vuvuzela-noise. There is a Windows and a Mac version available, choose whichever one suits your needs.
- Install the software. If you don't have the LabView Run-Time engine, you'll need to install this also (it's free).
- Insert your computer into the audio signal flow of your TV.
- If the TV has an audio output, connect the sound card line in to this outlet. Connect the sound card's output to your usual listening devices (such as speakers or headphones).
- Listen and check if it sounds better. If still needed, adjust the frequency on your computer. How much and whether you need to adjust will depend on the speed of your computer.
Video Tips - Mute it. Watch in peace!
- The vuvuzelas can pump out as much a 131 decibels.[4]
- Apparently the horn "drones" (is at its most annoying) at 233Hz.[5]
Warnings - Not all TVs have a built-in equalizer. If you can't find one, try one of the other methods instead.
Things You'll Need - Computer for first option
- TV or stereo for both options
- Speakers or headphones
Related wikiHows Sources and Citations |
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