DIY: BODY LOTION

Photos by Morgan Brinlee

Ingredients:

2 cups of an oil/butter mix of your choice -- I used 1/2 cup of coconut oil, 1/2 cup of sweet almond oil, 1/2 shea butter and 1/2 cocoa butter. Be sure to use at least 1/2 cup of shea or cocoa butter or else the lotion will not set properly.

1 tsp Vitamin E Oil

5 - 10 drops of essential oil of your choice -- you can add more depending on your preference, but start with 5 drops. I used Lemon and Lemongrass essential oil for this recipe.

To make:

Simply stir the oils in a metal or glass pot or bowl over a double broiler. To make a double broiler, boil about an inch or two of water in a larger pot, then place your glass or metal bowl on top, making sure the water barely grazes the bottom of the bowl, and add your oil/butter mixture. We do not want to heat the mixture directly over a flame because it contains raw ingredients. With raw ingredients, too much heat can destroy their beneficial properties. After the mixture slowly melts, and you can't see any lumps of butter, take it off the flame. Let it sit for a few minutes to cool that slowly stir in the vitamin E oil and essential oils. Place in a glass jar and put in the fridge to set -- it usually takes an hour or two. After the mixture is completely set, you can keep it on your nightstand or in the bathroom. This is a thicker, but still soft, lotion. If you want a whipped/lighter texture, you can use a hand mixer to whip the body lotion for five minutes or so after it has hardened. If you do this, again, just place in a glass jar for use.

Almost melted!

Done!

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