Whipped Shea Butter Lotion

This past winter I had terribly dry skin mixed with an allergic reaction to chemicals I use at work. It was bad. My hands hurt, they were red and itchy. It got so bad that it was spreading up my arms and chest. My knuckles bled. It was not pretty at all.

I tried all kinds of lotions and creams. Nothing seemed to help. So I resorted to the Internet and my "natural" resources. I tried Coconut Oil first and that seemed to help. Then I tried a sample of Shea Butter and I fell in love!

So here is the my recipe. I gathered ideas from a bunch of sources including websites, blogs and books. This recipe contains both coconut oil and shea butter and is the best lotion you will ever use.

Note: Coconut oil can be found at most grocery stores. I bought my last jar of oil from Walmart. Most natural or organic stores will have a larger selection. The shea butter, I found at Everything Natural in Clarks Summit, but other stores like Whole Foods will have a selection.


This recipe will yield about 8 oz. of lotion

1/4 c. Shea Butter
2 Tbsp. Coconut oil
20 drops of your preference of essential oil (I used 10 peppermint, 10 lemon)

Step 1:
Melt the butter and oil in a double boiler or (as I do) in a glass dish in a pot of boiling water.

Step 2:
After it is completely liquefied, remove from heat and cool slightly. I put the bowl in the freezer for about five minutes. I just wanted it to start hardening but not to the point it became solid again.

Step 3:
With a hand mixer and whisk attachment. Whisk the mixture until it becomes fluffy and lotion type consistency. This will probably take about 5-10 minutes. If it isn't fluffing up after 10 minutes, the liquid needs to be cooler.

Step 4:
Transfer to a jar or container. My mixture fit perfectly in a 8 oz. mason jar. Enjoy!

On the Go Cleaning Wipes

So yesterday, Jason and I went out to lunch with some friends for BBQ. Boy, I sure miss Southern BBQ! One great thing about BBQ restaurants is the little moist towelettes they give you at the end of the meal to wipe the barbecue sauce off your fingers and face. We happened to have an extra one on our table so I slipped it in my purse thinking it could come in handy later on. Well sure enough, it did. We happened to be somewhere that needed a little wiping down. . . Jason said to me I should carry these things more often. Since going to BBQ restaurants isn't very common up here, I decided to try and make my own. What you need: Select a size Paper towels. Regular paper towels would work if that is what you have. 1/2 c. Water 1/2 c. Vinegar (if you are using them to clean surfaces and not faces or fingers) 10 drops Lemon Essential Oil 10 drops Lavender Essential Oil 10 drops Sweet Orange Essential Oil (You could use whichever oils you prefer or a combination I used all three of these)

1. I tore off 20 sheets of the Paper towels and folded each in half 2. In a small container I mixed the water, vinegar and oils 3. I soaked the paper towels in the water mixture

4. I wrung out the paper towels individually 5. I put 10 paper towels in 2 small freezer bags.

Now, both Jason and I have cleaning wipes in the glove compartments of our car to clean up spills, tables at restaurants, toilets at rest stops or just whatever. If you are planning to use them for your face and hands I would suggest leaving out the vinegar and just use 1 c. water. The essential oils will have enough antibacterial qualities to leave you feeling clean. Enjoy!

Moisturizing Face Wash

So I've made some of my own cleaning products and hygiene products. Most of my recipes come from books, google searches, blogs I follow or pinterest. However, this face wash recipe I've created on my own. Now, I've researched the products going into them to make sure they are beneficial and safe to use on your face. I've been using this recipe for five months and over time have added and changed the recipe. Here is the final product and why I love it.



Ingredients:
1 cup of Baking Soda
3 tablespoons of coconut oil
1 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon of Honey
5 tablespoons of cold water
1 teaspoon of citric acid
15 drops of Tea Tree Essential Oil

The baking soda is the base of this facewash, but it also works as a cleanser and scrub. The two oils work as a moisturizer. This will not leave your face feeling oily or cause it to break out. However, if you are uncomfortable with this much oil or have very oily skin, you can cut down the oil and just add more water. The honey helps with skin elasticity and might help with wrinkles and anti-aging. The citric acid is a perservative. I've made it without this before, but the acid will just insure that it prevents bacterial growth. The tea tree oil is antibacterial and will help kill bacteria on the skin that causes acne.

First I mix the baking soda and citric acid in bowl. I just mixed in the jar I would be keeping it in. This does make it harder to stir though.


In my homemade double boiler I melted the coconut, olive oil and essential oil. After it was melted I mixed the baking soda mixture, the oil mixture, honey and water together.


There you have it!


You can always add more baking soda or more water to make you wash the consistency you would prefer. Let me know how you like it.