Body lotion and lipbalm

I had a lot of beeswax and essential oils left over from my candlemaking experiment, which prompted me to wonder what else I could do with it which created a desirable homemade gift for Christmas. Which is how I developed the body lotion and lipbalm.

Personally, I love natural products that don't have added chemicals. I also suffer with dry skin and chapped lips in winter. The recipes below created something that was not only a good gift for friends, but meant I could test it first (and keep it if it didn't work!).

Lipbalm

The lipbalm was experimental, and I wasn't happy with the consistency the first time around (too hard) and the second time around it wasn't right either (too gloopy). Like recipes, consistency can be a matter of personal preference and how you tend to 'contain' your end product. I've noticed online that you can buy 'tubes' for handmade lipbalms/lipstick, so if you want a stick balm then a harder consistency will be better than a 'pot' balm, which is what I desired. The tweaking of the ingredients meant I had to scoop out the 'set' pot and reheat the mixture, adding a bit more oil or wax in small amounts until I'd found my perfect recipe. This means giving a definitive recipe is impossible, but a rough guide is as follows:

For about 10 small pots of lipbalm, you will need (all of which I sourced from eBay)

• Beeswax
• Coconut oil
• Sweet almond oil
• Essential oil (I used cinnamon bark oil as cinnamon is a natural 'lip plumper', not to mention smelling delicious)
• Optional: extra virgin olive oil, or other organic/extra virgin oil of your choice
• Some small pots (or tubes if you prefer). I used about 10 x 3g/6ml pots
• Bain-marie for melting the ingredients

 Method:

1. Heat water in a saucepan ready for the bain-marie.
2. In the heatproof mixing bowl, add one 1oz (28g) stick of beeswax (chopped or grated, to fasten the melting process), 1oz of coconut oil, 1oz of sweet almond oil.[Note: so long as there is a ratio of 1:2 on wax to oil, you can mix the oils to your preference, adding any other oil you may wish]. Melt, but don't boil, in the bain-marie.
3. Turn the heat off once melted, stir in several drops (2-3) of your chosen essential oil and stir.
4. When the mixture is cooler, but still runny, pour into your chosen containers and leave to cool. [Note: you may wish to do one first to check the consistency once cooled and either add more beeswax (if too runny) or more oil (if too solid)].
5. Leave to cool overnight and then put the lids on and package for friends/put in your handbag. Your lipbalm is ready to go!

Body lotion

This is basically like a large version of the lipbalm, but a little oiler, and with a different essential oil. I usually use body butter or plain coconut oil as a moisturiser as I suffer from very dry skin, with a touch of eczema and psoriasis. I also love swimming and chlorinated pools really add to the process of drying the skin out. A really absorbant moisturiser is therefore really important for me.

The ingredient list for the body lotion is exactly the same as the lipbalm (above). However, I switched from cinnamon essential oil to tea tree for its antiseptic qualities. When making for a friend I added rose oil for that really fresh girly smell. The only difference between the balm and the lotion is the wax:oil ratio, as the end product is oily but still quite viscose.

I've also taken this product on holiday as a treat for my skin following a day in the sun/at the beach when your body is crying out for some moisture. A tub of it is also in my gym bag. However, one thing I would say is that it's quite oily so a little goes a long way. At home I tend to put it on before bed and slip into my pyjamas, leaving it on my skin overnight to really soak. However, if you're applying it in the morning, I'd leave it to soak in for a few minutes before you put your clothes on or you risk it absorbing into your clothes before it has the chance to do it's thing to your skin.

Method (for approx 3 x 150ml tins)

1. Heat water in a saucepan for the bain-marie.
2. In the heatproof mixing bowl, add one 3oz (85g) stick of beeswax (chopped or grated, to fasten the melting process) to 9 oz (250g) of oil. I used 5 oz of coconut oil, 1 oz sweet almond oil and 3 oz extra virgin olive oil. [Note: the wax to oil ration here is 1: 4] Melt, but don't boil, the oil/wax mixture in the bain-marie.
3. Turn the heat off once melted, stir in several drops (10-20) of your chosen essential oil(s) and stir.
4. When the mixture is cooler, but still runny, pour into your chosen containers and leave to cool. [Note: as with the lipbalm, you may wish to check the consistency of the lotion when cooled and add a bit more oil or wax to meet your desired consistency.
5. When cooled, put the lids on and you're done!

For ideas on base oils or essential oils to use in your product, see my page discussing oils here.