Home Made Skin Care

With my dry, itchy skin, I adore body butter. Winter makes the itching worse, so I’ve tried countless lotions, creams, and potions in search of something that keeps my thirsty skin hydrated.

Enter body butter. I’ve tried several brands and have made several versions of my own. What I settled on is a hybrid. I take a fabulous product and customize it for my personal taste.

The product I love is Trillium Organic’s Organic Shea Butter. It comes in several scents, but my favorite is Pink Grapefruit/Refreshing. I guess there’s no denying my Florida heritage and love for all things citrus

This product is a very firm butter with a delicious fragrance that requires warming in the hands to apply. Personally, I prefer a whipped butter that melts readily and glides effortlessly onto wet skin. Since Trillium does not offer a whipped butter, I transform their’s into my own creation.

Starting with an 8 ounce tub of shea butter, transfer the butter from the container into a ceramic bowl. First heat the bowl over a water bath and melt the butter. Once melted, let it cool until it starts to set up again. At this point add some vitamin E oil (available in your drug store) and organic coconut oil (I keep a jar in my pantry for cooking too). The last time I did this, I didnt’ measure, I just started adding a stream of vitamin E oil and then a stream of coconut oil until I got the consistency I wanted. Then I beat the mixture on high speed with a hand mixer and set it in the refrigerator to firm up.

When the butter began to take on a firm texture, I pulled it out of the refrigerator and whipped it some more with the hand mixer. After doing this two times and adding a bit more vitamin E oil, I ended up with a wonderful whipped body butter that glides on at the end of my shower - its just heavenly. For those of you out there looking to be a bit more frugal, this approach also doubled the quantity of body butter. By applying the body butter to dripping wet skin at the end of your shower or bath, it seals in a layer of moisture and gives you soft, fragrant skin that lasts all day. And no more winter itchies. With my whipped treatment, an 8 ounce tub of shea butter lasts me about 2 months.

Trillium also has a wonderful assortment of body polishes if you want to purchase rather than make your own handmade skin care product.

Here’s an easy hand cream from organic Body Care recipes. This recipe lends itself to just about any scent you like. I like citrus, especially grapefruit, so that is what I used. Lavender is very calming or you could use seasonal scents. How about cinnamon hearts for Valentine’s?

• 1 tablespoon cocoa butter
• 2 tablespoons beeswax
• 1/4 cup coconut base oil
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon almond or apricot kernel oil
• 10 – 30 drops essential oil (use more for a stronger aroma)

Using a double boiler, warm the cocoa butter, beeswax, coconut oil and almond or apricot kernel oil until melted. The beeswax will be the last to melt. I don’t have a double boiler, so I searched my cabinets for a solution. I used a ceramic bowl with a rim that fits so that the bowl sits just inside one of my cookware pots – instant double boiler.

Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool for five minutes,  then add the essential oil. Continue stirring until the mixture becomes opaque but can still be poured. Pour it into a container and allow it to cool overnight. This recipe makes about one cup of hand cream.

From Nature with Love has a great selection of containers for packaging your homemade items. They also stock all the ingredients you need to make your own skin care products. The links in this post are affiliate links to this wonderful company. I use and love their products.

Technorati Tags: hand cream, homemade

I’m always on the lookout for new resources to make homemade skincare products. I recently found Jane Church’s website and her book, The Handcrafter’s Companion.

She also has an ecourse that I signed up for and was sent this recipe from her book:

Peppermint and Blood Orange Invigorating Body Scrub

1 pound of sea salt (fine to medium grain)
1 oz sunflower oil
3 oz jojoba oil
2 oz liquid soap base
1/4 teaspoon peppermint essential oil
1/3 teaspoon blood orange essential oil
2 teaspoons dried raspberry seeds

Instructions:
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and transfer into desired packaging.  For “home” use, you can use Tupperware or similar packaging.   If you plan to gift or sell the scrub, obviously more elaborate packaging is called for. (See The Handcrafter’s Companion for a comprehensive list of packaging ideas and recommended suppliers.)

To use the scrub, add the desired amount to the palm of your hand or a scrub mitt.  Gently rub over skin to exfoliate and invigorate your skin.  Rinse well.

I tried this recipe but used vitamin E oil instead of jojoba and only grapefruit essential oil with no raspberry seeds. I used Dr. Bronner’s orange scent castile soap to give it a richer citrus aroma. It turned out really well and I made up little tubs with a nice picture of a juicy grapefruit on it for Christmas gifts.

This book is a great resource for anyone making their own homemade skincare products.

Technorati Tags: homemade skin care

I came across this article at best syndication that surprised me.

Did you know that some skin care products can alter the structure of your skin? How can you know what is safe to use? As this article suggests, begin to read labels and look for natural products. Read the entire article here.

If you want to be absolutely sure that only natural ingredients touch your skin, then homemade skincare may be your answer. By choosing your own ingredients and making small batches, you can be assured of their purity and freshness. There are many resources on the web that include recipes and tips. Organic Body Care Recipes is a great resource for homemade skincare recipes.

Technorati Tags: homemade, natural skincare, skincare

Rather than getting caught up in the day-after-Thanksgiving shopping madness, join creative forces with other friends and family on Make Something Day and spend the day hand crafting simple gifts. Homemade skin care products are easy to make and won’t break your budget. Let’s see. Stay home and have fun with people you care about or spend the day fighting traffic, crowds and rude shoppers? I know what I’m going to do.

 Make it a party where everyone brings ingredients and containers along with food and wine to enjoy when the crafting is done. Or, spend the day with your children making homemade gifts. Even very young children can provide artwork for labels. One year I had friends that made wine for holiday gifts. The wine label was artwork by their then 3 year old daughter. I used that wine bottle for olive oil for many years until it was accidentally broken in a move. That was a sad day. Whenever I receive a handmade gift, I treasure the thoughtfulness and love that went into it. I’m sure that many of you do too. My favorite bookmark is the one my youngest daughter made me in 2^nd grade. She’s a freshman in college now and the bookmark still brings a smile when I settle in to read. I also still have a hand painted pencil holder that one of my friends gave me in high school. Trust me, that was a longggggg time ago! I keep it by the phone and each time I grab a pen out of it, I think about her.

 To get your creative juices flowing, here is an easy recipe to get you started. Salt scrub can also be used just for shaving. Apply to your legs, rinse, and shave – no soap or shaving cream needed. Your legs will be silky smooth, smell exotic and only pure natural ingredients touch your skin.

 GRAPEFRUIT SPA SALT GLOW

1/2 cup fine mineral salts

1/2 cup fine dead sea salts

8 oz Macadamia nut oil (or other carrier oil such as grapeseed, olive, almond)

40 drops grapefruit essential oil

20 drops lemon essential oil

10 drops ylang ylang essential oil

Stir essential oils into the oil.  Add the salts and mix well. Pour into a hinged tight sealing jar. You can substitute the Macadamia nut “carrier oil” with other carrier oils.  To obtain radiant skin with intense moisturizing, swirl  your salt glow with your fingertips or spoon to blend. Scoop out a generous amount and apply with hand, washcloth or loofah to entire body. Step into shower stream & watch your salt glow bead up and roll off your skin. For a comfortable shave, apply your salt glow prior to shaving, then rinse. Avoid any cuts or scrapes on your skin.

Recipe from www.SpaIndex.Com

Technorati Tags: gift, homemade, homemade skin care, Make Something Day, salt scrub

I found this article with a fabulous facial mask recipe. Read the entire article here:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Popular-Homemade-Skin-Care-Recipes-You-Can-Enjoy&id=1337191

Here’s the recipe:

Combine 1/3 cup cocoa (chocolate powder), ¼ cup of honey, 2 tablespoons of heavy or sour cream, and 3 teaspoons of oatmeal powder in a large bowl until consistent. Apply it to your face and gently massage it into your skin to exfoliate the dead cells from it. Leave the mixture on your face for about 20 minutes and then rinse off with warm water.

Thanks to Ray Rubio for this great recipe. Enjoy

After trying this recipe, check out Organic Body Care Recipes for more delicious, homemade skin care products.

With an ever-increasing awareness of the foods we eat, the way we treat our bodies, and the things we consume, many of us have taken to reading labels like the fine print of a contract. What in the world is that? Labels on our cosmetics and body lotions and potions are enough to scare the bejesus out of us. What’s an intelligent, responsible woman to do? Take matters into our own hands, that’s what. After trying several different natural and/or organic skin care products, you may have decided to try your hand at homemade skin care products. This blog is here to help.

With the right resources, we can know what we’re slathering on our bodies and faces. Know for sure that the ingredients are wholesome and good for us. Be assured that we are not exposing ourselves to harmful chemicals and carcinogens. Best of all, our homemade skin care products work better and cost less than our favorite department store variety. An added bonus is the satisfaction of crafting something luxurious with our own hands - of sharing this luxury with family and friends as gifts and knowing that we are taking control of our health and well-being.

Technorati Tags: homemade, natural, organic