Homemade Lotion

I wanted to post this before Christmas but it would've ruined the surprise to my friends and family who read my blog.  I try to make Christmas gifts every year.  I can't afford to spend $20+ per friend/relative these days so making gifts makes it all the more special.  Last year I made laundry soap, but it didn't turn out so great.  After a month of using this homemade soap, my towels started to smell funny.  Needless to say, there's nothing like good ol' store-bought laundry detergent.  I can't remember all what I've made in the past years but nothing turned out quite as good as my homemade lotion that I made this year.

These beauties were so easy to make and they didn't cost very much at all.  I found the little containers at JoAnn Fabrics and used a 20% off coupon, too.  They were .75 cents a piece.  I used ribbon, labels and bows that I already had.  I suppose I could've printed the labels to make them prettier but I don't ever have colored ink so I hand-wrote them with glitter gel pens.  The coconut oil was around $6.50 and I got three containers out of each jar of oil.  The essential oils were anywhere from $9-$15, depending on the oil.  I'm never very good at figuring out how much each cost to make but it's roughly around $6-$9 each, depending on the essential oil(s) you choose.

All you do is put some coconut oil in a mixing bowl, beat it with a hand mixer until smooth and then add your favorite essential oil and mix.  I used lavender, bergamot, sage, peppermint and lemon.  I mixed and matched different flavors.  That's it!  After a day or two, the body butter will solidify more in the container but it can be used right away.

I've heard raves over these lotions.  There are 100 uses for coconut oil, which I plan to blog about soon.  In the meantime, these lotions are fantastic for dry, cracked feet, legs after shaving and dry, scaly skin and hands.

Maybe I'll open my own shop one of these days!