Without fail, as soon as I decide it’s finally time to turn the heater back on (52* in the morning is a little cool even for me), we start going through tons of lotion. The dry mountain air and forced air heat dry out the skin even if we are eating tons of healthy fats to protect it from the inside out.
Rather than going through bottle after bottle of pricey natural lotion, or <gasp> switching to a less expensive less natural brand, I thought I’d try my hand at making lotion myself this year.
It turned out wonderfully, I made another double-batch so that I have enough to share. No, this lotion doesn’t contain preservatives, so it should be used quickly. I plan on making a batch every week or 10 days this winter, and it’s so simple that I don’t mind at all :)
Simple Immersion Blender Lotion
- 2 tablespoons grated beeswax (buy beeswax here, or do what I did and use the wax drippings from candles that are burning in my home this fall)
- 2 tablespoons shea butter (this is what I used this will make a LOT of lotion this winter)
- 1 cup sweet almond oil (find sweet almond oil here)
- 1-1/3 cup water, boiled and then cooled to be comfortable to the touch but still hot
- 2-3 ml vanilla essential oil (I approximated the amount to about 1/4 of the bottle. This is the essential oil that I used)
Equipment used:
- Immersion blender
- Double Boiler (or use a metal bowl in a pot of simmering water)
- Quart Mason Jar
- 1-cup mason jars to store lotion in
Directions:
In a double boiler, melt beeswax and shea butter. At the same time, bring about 4 cups of water to a boil on the stovetop, and then remove from heat once it boils. Add the almond oil to the beeswax and shea butter and heat until all mixed together and hot.
By now your boiled water should be cooling on the stove, when it is comfortable to touch, move to the next step.
Measure 1-1/3 cups warm water into a quart mason jar. Add in the shea butter/beeswax/almond oil mixture.
Use an immersion blender in the bottom of the jar to blend until emulsified, about 30 seconds, and then while continuing to blend, slowly bring the blender up through the rest of the lotion ingredients.
Add vanilla essential oil and then give it another whir.
Every 5-10 minutes after, continue to whir the immersion blender through the lotion for a few seconds to prevent the oil and water from separating as it cools. This process seems to be pretty forgiving, I walked to pick up my middle child from school during this process and then just gave it an extra long whir when I got back home.
Once the lotion is room temperature, it’s ready to put into jars and use.
Enjoy!
My kids really enjoyed the process of making this with me as well, and they’re happy to use this homemade lotion that they helped make.
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Thanks for making this feel simple! Do you know if we can replace almond oil with jojoba?
This recipe looks wonderful! Thank you. Do you know if you could substitute grapeseed oil for the almond oil if allergic to almond?