Making Natural Body Products

Back in January, I placed a post on a community Facebook page (see prev post).  Shortly afterward, I received a message from Laurie; she offered to show me how to make some natural products.  I was so excited! I have always wanted to try making natural body products, but I have never had all of the supplies necessary to do so.  Laurie is also someone I had never met before, so I was looking forward to meeting another member of my community. (The suburb in which I live is small enough that you feel as though you know a decent number of people but realize that there are many you have never met.)  After trying to find a date that worked for us both, we were finally successful in getting together! The timing worked well–due to the weather and the frequent hand washing involved with my job, I was DESPERATE for some great products!

When we got together in her kitchen, she had her supplies set out, and together we prepared body butter and lip balm.  (We/she also made deodorant, but that part happened so quickly while we were talking that she ended up putting it all together, and before we realized it, she was done!)

I admit that I did not take photos of the actual process but for good reason.  I am not afraid to get messy, and when using oils, either you get messy or you just watch and take photos.  I opted for “messy” (and then rubbing the ingredients into my dry hands). Thus, I did not touch my camera during most of the preparation.

The steps were simple.  (I am a believer that simple can be good!)

For the body butter, we combined ½ cup shea butter, ½ cup cocoa butter, ½ cup coconut oil, and ½ cup olive oil.   We could have also added essential oils, but I really liked the smell from the cocoa butter and did not have any reason to change it.   These were melted in a Pyrex measuring cup placed inside a pot of boiling water. Once the ingredients were melted together, the measuring cup was placed into the freezer for a while so that it would start to solidify.  After it reached a semi-solid phase, it was whipped with a hand blender. Last, it was just spooned into small containers. I have been enjoying it multiple times a day! I love it, and my hands are grateful for it!

We also made lip balm.  It was impressive how many tubes of lip balm could be made from what did not seem like a large quantity of ingredients!  The recipe we used included 5 tablespoons of beeswax, 4 tablespoons of cocoa butter, 4 tablespoons of coconut oil, and 60+ drops of essential oil (we used peppermint–I figured that using peppermint lip balm might not only make my lips feel great but help me get past any cravings for sweets!)  As before, this was all melted in a Pyrex measuring cup in a pot of boiling water. The beeswax pellets did not melt quickly, so we needed to have some patience. No problem. This just gave us more time to talk and learn about each other. During that time, we also put labels onto the tubes used for the lip balm.  It is funny how just adding a sticker label makes a blank tube look so much more “real” or “official.” Psychology at its best I presume. Once it was melted, we simply poured the mixture into the multiple tubes. As the concoction started to solidify in the tubes, we did some “topping off,” too. We filled approximately 30 tubes.  That is A LOT of lip balm! (Since my daughter loves this kind of stuff as well, we know that our lips will be well taken care of– we can have tubes everywhere!) I will also be passing some out. As I tested the final product, it really felt nice on my lips. It was hydrating and soothing without being too oily or waxy.

For completeness, here is the recipe for the deodorant:  combine 3 tablespoons coconut oil, 2 tablespoons shea butter, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, and 3 tablespoons baking soda.  You can also add essential oils if desired. Voilà!

Laurie and I had a nice evening chatting and making natural body products!  I look forward to doing both again!