Here are the photos and the recipes...okay there are no photos of the lip balm...see the post below. The one thing I would add is that if I didn't have distilled water on hand, I just boiled some tap water to get some of the bacteria out. And one thing to watch for is when you remove the melted oils from the double boiler, there will be beads of water and condensation on the bottom of your pan. Be sure to wipe it off before pouring into the blender or you will get water into your oil before you really meant to. Enjoy!Rosemary’s Perfect Cream
From Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health copyright 2001
Waters
2/3 cup distilled water (or rose water)
1/3 cup aloe vera gel
1 or 2 essential oil of choice
vitamins A and E as desired
Oils
3/4 cup apricot, almond, or grapeseed oil
1/3 cup coconut oil or cocoa butter
1/4 teaspoon lanolin
1/2 to 1 ounce grated beeswax
- Combine the waters in a glass measuring cup. (Tap water can be used instead of distilled water, but it will sometimes introduce bacteria and encourage the growth of mold.) Set Aside.
- In a double boiler over low heat, combine the oils. Heat them just enough to melt.
- Pour the oils into a blender and let them cool to room temperature. The mixture should become thick, creamy, semisolid, and cream colored. This cooling process can be hastened in the refrigerator, but keep an eye on it so it doesn’t become too hard.
- When the mixture has cooked, turn on the blender at its highest speed. In a slow, thin drizzle, pour the water mixture into the center vortex of the whirling oil mixture.
- When most of the water mixture has been added to the oils, listen to the blender and watch the cream. When the blender coughs and chokes and the cream looks thick and white, like buttercream frosting, turn off the blender. You can slowly add more water, beating it in by hand with a spoon, but don’t overbeat! The cream will thicken as it sets.
- Pour into cream or lotion jars. Store in a cool location.
Moirin’s Lip Balm
(Larger Batch- to make smaller batch, turn tablespoons to teaspoons!)
2 1/2 Tablespoons of Jojoba oil
2 Tablespoons of coconut oil
1/2 Tablespoon of lanolin
2 Tablespoons of beeswax
Melt the oils in a double boiler and pour into containers while still hot. If reusing old containers, be sure to clean and sterilize them first. As an added bonus, boiling them to sterilize removes any excess wax left in the container.
4 comments:
Good stuff! Do you have any suggestions for an alternative to lanolin?
I have not yet found an equivalent substitute. Because the lanolin that a sheep produces is meant to be a moisture-locking protective barrier, it's hard to find something like it that's not synthetic. I think it could be why petroleum jelly is used in lip treatments...it does not absorb into the skin, it sits on top, and in that way protects. I'm not advocating petroleum, but I do think they may have some similar properties.
The lotion has such a small amount of lanolin in it, it probably wouldn't change too much if you simply left it out. If there was too much of a change in the lip balm, you could probably just adjust the ratios to find a consistency you like...and it's possible you may have to reapply slightly more often. Hope that helps!
If you didn't want to use lanolin, you could substitute unrefined Shea Butter. I have been making my own body care products for 10 yrs now and I use them both... unrefined Shea Butter is easier to use than Lanolin because it is not super sticky like the lanolin is.
Thanks for the info Marie!
Post a Comment