Word around the family is that I used to make lotions and potions. True.
I was making herbal concoctions and lotions before they became the green thing to do. I dug out my old herbal books and scoured the Internet and found this delightful recipe from "A Sonoma Garden." I even had some coconut oil and beeswax in my stash of goods. Guess what? Beeswax has an incredibly long shelf life (25 years.)
So here is one of my first tries in this decade and it turned out to be so easy and so delectable. Can I say that about something you don't eat?
This is a thick body butter type of cream that feels oily when you first put it on your skin, but it quickly smooths into a nice fragrant softness. It is yummy. All the ingredients are natural, no mineral oil or emulsifying wax (I did use my synthetic rose oil.) I have already made a second batch with my daughter-in-law.
One of the best parts of this recipe is you make it right in the jar -- no mess. And it is quick. Use the light olive oil; it has a lighter smell (and price tag) than extra virgin olive oil.
Recipe
Beeswax Body Butter
Beeswax Body Butter
source: A Sonoma Garden
1 cup extra light olive oil
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup (2oz) beeswax
20 drops rose oil (I have the synthetic one, it's less money, smells just as good)
Things you need:
1 pint canning jar
Spoon and fork
Saucepan
1. Pour the olive oil, coconut oil (you may have to warm this to pour it out) and beeswax in a 1 pint canning jar.
2. Place the jar in a pan of water with the water level at about 3/4 of the jar.
4. Remove from heat and let it cool. Add the rose essential oil. You can put it in the refrigerator to speed up the process. Stir every 15 minutes with a fork. It begins to solidify as it cools.
5. That's it! You have a beeswax body butter or beeswax hand cream, whatever you want to call it.
This is a rose fragrance, or synthetic rose oil. The essential oils have really gone up in price.
Beeswax can also be purchased in pellets or pastilles
Oooh, looks decadent--would be fun to try.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this. I have been reading A Sonoma Garden too! Hope all is well!
ReplyDeleteBy they way Lese is Zanna.
ReplyDeleteI love it and I shared it on my FB!
ReplyDeleteclaudia
oooh! i can't wait to try this! one question though - is there anything i could replace the coconut oil with? i don't really like the smell of coconut...
ReplyDeleteyou can make it without the coconut oil, in fact you can use olive oil and beeswax only. It's funny, but the coconut oil does not have much of a coconut smell. You would be surprised. When you add a fragrance such as rose oil, it only smells like roses!
Deletegreat - thank you! :-)
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