Recently, I’ve found some great directions on making your own lotions at WabiSabi Baby.com.  I’ve had the how-to  information for years but never ventured out to try it until I read the clear directions from WabiSabi Baby.  Packaged lotions are convenient and you don’t have to worry about shelf life, but if you’d like to try making your own lotion, I recommend this recipe.  When you add your pure essential oils from Young Living you’ll have the purest lotion customized to your skin’s needs.  I mixed together this batch of simple ingredients and had a very emollient lotion in 15 minutes.  I used Young Living’s V-6 oil one time and coconut oil the 2^nd.  The coconut oil version was amazingly emollient.  I have used Young Living’s lavender lip balm (made with coconut oil) for dry patches and the coconut oil  version was very similar.   If you can heat up a can of soup, you can make this recipe.  The first time I did this, the water separated a little.  I reheated the mixture in the double boiler and it turned out much better.  I look forward to trying this recipe with glycerin (making sure it’s vegetable glycerin) for even more moisture.   Mountain Rose Herbs carries a large selection of lotion making supplies including beeswax pastilles and glycerin.   Let me know if you’ve made your own lotions and what has or has not worked for you!

I mixed up ½ this amount the first couple times just to get comfortable with the technique:

¼ C vegetable oil (Young Living’s V-6 oil blend, coconut, jojoba)

¼ C emulsifying wax (I used local, organic beeswax. You can also get an emulsifying wax specifically for cosmetics)

1 ¼ C hot water (almost boiling)

Melt vegetable oil and emulsifying wax in a small sauce pan.   Pour in hot water (this step is critical to avoiding a mess!) and stir until well incorporated, the consistency should be like milk.  Pour the entire mixture into a glass canning jar or other glass bottle with a tight lid.   Make sure you temper the glass first by running  it under hot water to warm the glass slightly.  I found it convenient to sterilize the bottle first, filling it with lotion once it has cooled a little, taking care to use hot pads for hot surfaces.  Pour the lotion mixture in slowly as a dramatic temperature change will break the glass.  Gently shake the bottle about every 10 minutes until the mixture sets.

Add 8-10 drops of essential oils when the lotion cools to customize to your needs:

Calming lotion: Roman chamomile, lavender & frankincense

Acne prone: Melaleuca alternifolia

Eczema: Myrrh

Cooling Foot Lotion: Peppermint

Sunscreen: Add 1 T non-nano zinc oxide plus lavender to protect and support skin health (I ordered mine from WabiSabi baby.com)

Insect Repelling Lotion: Purification, Peppermint, Cedarwood, Thieves, Citronella (make sure it is not a chemical citronella oil, but pure plant extract).  Add non-nano zinc oxide to make a bug repellent sunscreen

I made half this version for a couple days use and keep it in the fridge since there are no preservatives.  You could also add some Vitamin E oil or essential oils that would act as natural preservatives.  Make sure you don’t use citrus oils in lotion you will be putting on before sun exposure.

Watch for an upcoming post on (making your own facials at home) with pure ingredients and essential oils customized for your skin type.

Aloes/sandalwood  John 19:39

Cassia  Exodus 30:24 (part of the Holy Anointing Oil)

Cedarwood – Known as the “Oil of gladness”  Psalm 45:7

Cypress -Isaiah 41:19

Frankincense – One of the gifts to baby Jesus

Galbanum -Exodus 30:34

Hyssop – Psalm 51:7

Myrrh – Mentioned over 150 times in the bible!  Esther 2:12

Myrtle – Isaiah 55:13

Onycha – Exodus 30:34

Rose of Sharon/Cistus -Song of Solomon 2:1

Spikenard – John 12:3