Cocoa butter (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Although it’s Foodie Friday, today’s entry is not really food (although most ingredients are edible). It’s more like a recipe for great winter hands. I love when my hands are hydrated. Dry hands, especially in the winter, are not my fave thing. For years, I have made various concoctions of creams to help keep my skin soft. I even came up with a belly cream for my daughter to use to prevent stretch marks when she was pregnant with my grandson. It worked~she doesn’t have a single striae there. She doesn’t even look like she had a baby! 😥 (I really should start writing some of this stuff down, as people always comment on how well my creams work.) And since I’m on more of a health-kick since my surgery, today’s feature was right up my alley.
I was really happy when I found this hard lotion recipe. I added more coconut oil and cocoa butter because brown hands can handle~and often need~more “grease”. Fiddle around with the recipe. Make 1 little bar, stick it in the freezer and test it out. If you don’t like it, melt it down and keep working until you like it. Everyone has different tolerance levels for moisture & oil on their hands.
The original recipe was from one of my fave sites, Made On.
In a double boiler, melt equal amounts of beeswax, shea butter and coconut oil. Stir until fully melted. Pour into moulds and enjoy! I used paper muffin cups for larger ones (1/4 full) and plastic ice cube trays for ones that I put in my purse. For different fragrances, add a few drops of essential oils, such as vanilla, to smell your preference. (I made ylang ylang and lemon.)
Like I said, I added more oils, about 2 tbs of coconut oil and cocoa butter, but my hands can handle it! You can mix and match oils quite easily. Oh, and these are all natural butters, not processed! For those allergic to beeswax, a hard lotion can be made with soya. I’ve experimented with one, but have not had success as yet. Will post when I do.
May Your Cup Always Be Full,
Stephanie, Emerging Princess
emergingprincess 