Homemade Lotion

Contributed by Kathleen.
Original Source: The Whole New Mom

Do you know how many chemicals are in the lotion or body cream you are currently using? Just take a look at the looong ingredients list! Some culprits: anything that ends with "paraben", fragrances, colors, propylene glycol...just to name a few. It's hard to get away from all of the chemicals and toxins that bombard us everyday, and to purchase the brands that make pure products can get very expensive.

Here is a lotion that is effective both on the skin and on the wallet. It is so easy too!

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 c. coconut oil
1/8 c. shea butter
1/8 c. cocoa butter
1 T. aloe vera juice
1 T. jojoba, almond, or other oil
5-10 drops essential oil (noted as optional, but necessary in my book! :-)) (I used 7 drops Wild Orange, 2 drops Lavender, and 1 drop Frankincense)

DIRECTIONS:
Over low heat, melt the coconut oil, shea butter, and cocoa butter. Remove from heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir well. Then pour into jar. Will take some time for the concoction to "set" into a smooth lotion.

A few notes:
1. The ingredients are easier to find than you would expect. I got the coconut oil at my local grocery store. The shea butter, cocoa butter, aloe vera juice, and jojoba oil I used are all available on Amazon. You can purchase essential oils here.

2. A couple of the items might seem expensive to purchase up front, but when you consider that you use such a small amount to make a jar and 1/2 of lotion, it is a lot cheaper even than buying chemical-laden lotion off the shelf at Wally World.

3. The perfect jar for storing your lotion is the smallest canning jar. These are abundantly available at the moment since it is spring and canning season is coming up. But off season, some grocery stores will still carry, or you can find them on Amazon as well.

4. This lotion can take awhile to set, especially in warm temperatures. If you get frustrated waiting, just stick it in the fridge. It'll set pretty quickly. Better yet, just stick it in the fridge; then you don't have to wait until frustration sets in.

5. Don't make a quadruple batch thinking you'd like to stock your own shelves. Make a single batch and try to use it in a month or so. Since there are no chemicals in this cream, it will not keep for a hundred years like your last bottle of Jergens.

6. This lotion is a tad bit greasy when you first apply it, but the greasy feeling goes away in less than a minute.