Homemade hand lotion

Homemade Hand Lotion  

The parts to making lotion include:  

a water (i.e. pure distilled water, floral hydrosols, or herbal infusions)

an oil (i.e. olive, grapeseed, jojoba, sweet almond, apricot, avocado, coconut, cocoa butter, shea butter)

an emulsifier (I’ve always just used beeswax)

natural preservatives (i.e. benzoin essential oils, vitamin E oil, grapefruit seed extract or rosemary oil extract),optional 

natural additives (color, fragrances, essential oils), optional

Ingredients

-4 ounces oil, 2 oz coconut oil, 1 oz jojoba oil, .5 oz shea butter, .5 oz olive oil
-2-4 ounces distilled water
-0.5 ounces beeswax
-0.5 ounces vegetable glycerin
-o.5 ounces witch hazel
-1/4 teaspoon vitamin E oil
-15 drops essential oils of lavender or deep blue, optional, I used doTerra Deep Blue

Measure out the oils and beeswax by weighing them on a kitchen scale. Add them to a wide-mouth pint sized glass mason jar. Using a makeshift double boiler method, place a washcloth on the bottom of a pot filled with water, then place the jar in the pot. Melt oils and beeswax over low heat, stirring occasionally.

Remove the jar of melted oils and beeswax from the pot and allow them to cool on the counter. Note: This is the most important step! It is important that  the oils, beeswax, water, vegetable glycerin and witch hazel all becoming room temperature prior to mixing. This must happen in order for the lotion to bind.    

Throughout the cooling process, blend the oil mixture with a food processor in order to produce a smooth texture. Once room temperature, begin slowing adding vegetable glycerin, witch hazel, and herbal infused water (and essential oils if using) in a slow steady stream while blending. Note: Add infused water, between 2-4 ounces, until you have reached desired thickness. As the lotion cools further, it will thicken.

 Pour into storage containers. This recipe will produce approximately 6-8 ounces of high-quality lotion. 

Recipe from: 

http://frugallysustainable.com/2012/03/a-recipe-for-calendula-lotion/

I wanted to make a rub for soar muscles by adding the Deep Blue essential oil. It turned out pretty weak. I wish I had divided up the lotion into portions and then just put the Deep Blue in one portion. Oh well.  :)