Why to make your own?
- to avoid endocrine toxins in form of synthetic chemicals such as parabens, synthetic fragrance, sunscreens and their mixture
- to avoid endocrine toxins leaching from the plastic jars
- to make sure well known endocrine disruptors are not replaced with less-known chemicals in "paraben-free" products (read the labels - if its something you do not recognise, do not buy it)
- to save money (at least from time to time :-) on quality but expensive natural-brand products
- to keep the good advise: "Do not put anything on your skin you would not put in your mouth."
- to add own personal mix of essential oils
- there are also claims that avocado, cacao and coconut butters have natural sunscreens (tried and tested: we never got burned during 3 weeks in Croatia in August... but also: strictly avoided mid-day sun between 11am - 14pm, applied liters of oils twice daily, had high anti-oxidant diet many months before and during the holiday)
EXAMPLE OF INGREDIENTS:
Raw or virgin coconut oil (food quality)
Raw cacao butter (food quality)
Virgin olive oil (food)
Essential oils (pure - food quality)
I never use water and emulsifiers - this requires a more sophisticated way of preparation and needs to be done correctly - introduction of water brings the danger of mold and need of preserving the product. Good quality butters can last couple of years without going off.
PHOTO RECIPE:
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| Sterilize some glass jars using boiling water. |
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| Estimate required amount of butters and oils. |
More olive oil will make the product softer and oily - probably better for dry skin.
More coconut oil will make it lighter and is more suitable for normal skin.
More cacao butter makes it more suitable for lips and hands but also as a whole body "lotion".
For oily skin try to use essential oils such as tea tree or grapefruit seed oil (avoid putting these near the eyes!).
Sterilize the heat-proof jar and put it into water-bath. If you want raw quality (more nutrients preserved), do not use water over 50C. Cover up with the lid or with plastic to keep the heat in. It can take over an hour to melt, depending on amount, type and ratio of butters.
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| Melt the butters - stir occasionally to speed up the process. |
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| When well melted, add olive oil and few drops of chosen essential oils. |
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| Pour into prepared jars. |
This time I have underestimated required amount and with the ingredients shown on the photos above I only filled up just over a half of the old jam jar :)
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| I forgot the jar out for too long- it solidified very slowly and formed the crystals. |
Its probably better to place the jar with warm liquid to the fridge straight away, to achieve smooth consistency. I had to re-melt it again, I also used cappuccino mixer and added few more drops of essential oil for stronger fragrance. My latest favourite essential oil mix is mellisa with citronella!
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| Before re-melting. |
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| Second time it solidified into perfectly smooth consistency. |
If you are using this type of moisturizer for the first time, its good to know that it takes some time for butter to get into the skin layer - be patient - if you cannot wait, dry-off the excess oil with your palms, forearms (too good to waste!) or use some tissue paper.
If your experiment won't work as expected, you can always melt it again or use your home-made product on body rather than face.
