Homemade Hand Lotion Recipe

Recipes

by hannah | on December 12th, 2011 | 7 comments

Somtimes my hands get dry. Chapped and cracking. They can occasionally be so dry they feel like they’re on fire.

At last I have found a lotion that works!

photo by me

It’s a Homemade Hand Lotion Recipe I found over at A Sonoma Garden. I’m so glad that Kendra posted this recipe – it’s been a skin saver.

Some of the best things about this recipe are:

It doesn’t need water so it can last for a really long time.
You can choose what essential oils to put in it to easily change the scent.
You can mix and match your favorite oils.
You can easily 1/2 or 1/4 the recipe for smaller recipes.

Best of all it would be the perfect Christmas gift in an adorable mason jar, tied with the bow.

This is my recipe (based on Kendra’s):

1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp shea butter
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp beeswax
1/8 tsp Vitamin E
10 drops of sweet orange essential oil

I put it in a double boiler and warmed it until all the oil and beeswax were melted. Then I let it cool on the counter and poured it in a jar once lukewarm.

It works great, but there are two things I want to change. I would add more essential oil. The sweet orange I put in it was too soft a scent. And I think next time I might try doing 2 tbsp of shea butter rather then coconut oil or adding just a little bit more beeswax.

This is the best lotion recipe I’ve ever made and I love the fact that it has so few ingredients and I can pronounce all of them.

This post is linked to Fat Tuesdays.

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Comments (7)

Laura @ Gluten Free Pantry Tuesday - 13 / 12 / 2011 Reply

Perfect timing-my dry hands need a dose of this stuff! I am excited to make my own lotion.
- hannah Tuesday - 13 / 12 / 2011 Reply
  
  It's fun to make. I hope it helps.
Jill Tuesday - 13 / 12 / 2011 Reply

I don't have any shea butter, but I have all the other ingredients here. I wonder how this would work if I substituted more coconut oil for the shea butter?
- hannah Tuesday - 13 / 12 / 2011 Reply
  
  I think it would work just fine Jill. It just might not firm up as much, but it would definitely work. Let me know what you think once you've tried it!
Jill@RealFoodForager.com Sunday - 18 / 12 / 2011 Reply

This great post is featured at Sunday Snippets this week! Thanks for sharing! Come and check it out! http://realfoodforager.com/2011/12/sunday-snippets-december-18-2011/
Angela Thursday - 05 / 01 / 2012 Reply

I can't wait to make this, my hands are parched! Do you think you can substitute cocoa butter for the Shea butter?
- hannah Thursday - 05 / 01 / 2012 Reply
  
  Replacing the shea butter with cocoa butter should work just fine Angela.