Homemade Hand Lotion

A good friend of ours gave us the lovely book: The Rhythm of the Family  by Amanda and Stephen Soule. It's a beautiful book full of gorgeous pictures and lots of projects. The one that caught our eye right away was the DIY flower essence lotion. We love fragrances of all kinds, and have a collection of perfumes, bath bombs, lotions etc.When summer comes around, Leah walks in the garden and collects lots of lavender and roses and fills tiny vases throughout the house. The result is a gentle soft fragrance wafts throughout our home all day long. Lavender is one of our favorite scents, and so we thought this would be a perfect opportunity to use the last of the lavender from the garden.

DIY Homemade Lotion
(From The Rhythm of the Family)

You will need:

a kitchen scale
a double boiler ( a heatproof bowl over saucepan of water will work too)
15 ounces of distilled water
a small strainer
2 1/2 ounces of beeswax
6 ounces of solid oil (coconut, shea butter, and so on)
12 ounces of liquid oil (olive oil, refined, cold pressed oils make the best lotions)
2 tbsp of fresh herbs/ flowers for infusing (lavender, chamomile, rosemary, mint etc
40 drops of essential oil of your choice to complement herb/flower you are using
glass jars or containers for storing lotion
a funnel
a spatula or wooden spoon
a hand mixer

What to do:

1. Make a herbal infusion by bruising the leaves of your flower/herb a bit by rubbing them together in your hands or working them with a mortar and pestle. Place the bruised leaves in a mug. Bring the distilled water to a boil and pour it over the herb. Allow it to steep (yes, just like making tea)  until it reaches room temperature. Strain the herb from the water, retainign the water to use in the next step. Discard the flower/ herb.

2. Using the double broiler bring tap water to a gentle simmer. Put the beeswax, solid oil, and liquid oil in the top of the double broiler. Heat the mixture (with the water at a gentle simmer) until everything has melted.

3. Remove the top bowl from the heat and water. Set it aside until the mixture reaches room tempertature. (If you have a candy thermomter, feel free to use that. But a finger test works too-it doesn't need to be preciese)

4. Slowly pour the infused water from step 1 into the oil mixture until it is combined evenly.

5. Add the drops of essential oil. Mix again.

6. Spoon the lotion out into containers. Label them well, and store the lotion for up to 6 months.


























































Enjoy! Check out the book below for more great ideas!