I dislike wearing gloves when I garden. I prefer to feel the earth crumble in my hands and get soil underneath my fingernails. There's something utterly organic and romantic about having gardener's hands. But only while I'm gardening. When I'm done, I like nothing more then to freshen up and scrub every last particle of dirt away.
Of course, these actions are harsh on the skin and my hands end up requiring a little TLC. This hand cream recipe is hands down (pun intended) the most healing of all salves I've tried. Made with pure coconut oil, beeswax, lavender infused almond oil, a few essential oil drops, and enriched with Vitamin E, this balm is a treat for your hands. A few applications will have them soft and satiny in no time. A little goes a long way. This recipe will make a year's supply.
You'll need:
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil
- 4 tablespoons grated beeswax
- 8 tablespoons almond oil (I used lavender infused almond oil - recipe here)
- 4 capsules Vitamin E oil
- 25 drops lavender essential oil
- 10 drops tea tree oil
- 6 drops spearmint oil
Directions:
1. Add all ingredients except the essential oils into a glass measuring cup. Set measuring cup inside a larger bowl and pour boiling water between the dishes and stir until everything melts together. You may need to replace the boiling water a couple of times.
2. After the beeswax has melted completely, remove the measuring cup from the hot water and add the essential oils to your hand cream mixture.
3. Pour into an air-tight container and cool to harden. Refrigerate cream to speed up the process. I used an old Brie cheese tin to store mine:
Apply as needed to rough, dry, itchy, or sunburned skin. I also use it on my feet, rubbing it into my heals to keep them soft.
If you love this hand cream, you may enjoy making your this lip balm too.
Where do you get the coconut oil and beeswax? A long time ago I used to get these types of ingredients from a 200 year old grist mill...but it closed :-( or a food coop.
ReplyDeleteJudith, you should be able to find them at most health food stores. I buy our coconut oil at the Bulk Barn and the beeswax came from a local farmer. It's also available at S&H and Goodness Me.
DeleteI don't like gloves either..my soul craves contact with dirt and growing things:) This looks so easy and affordable..grateful for the share and hope to make it soon.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like something my mother-in-law would love to make! She makes her own soaps, lip balm, and lotions.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome, Jacinda!! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!! Can't wait to try it!
ReplyDeleteJust shared on my fan page, by the way. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, this is fantastic! I really want to try to see if I can make this.
ReplyDeleteSounds great! My hands are in terrible shape from the garden!
ReplyDeleteIs the lavender essential oil necessary or will any essential oil work? I don't like the smell of lavender!!
ReplyDeleteDoes the lavender essential oil have a special contribution to this recipe, or will any essential oil work? I don't particularly like the smell of lavender. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to pass it on - and hope one of my friends makes me some! LOL Love your blog.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know where I could snag some inexpensive but nice jars or containers for a recipe such as this? I would love to make this for christmas for my coworkers and haven't had much luck with finding containers. Thanks in advance! :)
ReplyDeleteI work in a day care center where I change a minimum of 40 diapers a day, not counting runny noses, etc., and so have to wash my hands almost constantly. This is going to save my skin - literally!
ReplyDeleteThank-you for posting this, Jacinda. I will have to try & make some also. Do you have a recipe for soap or washing powder?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know where I could snag some inexpensive, yet nice containers? I would like to make this balm for all of my coworkers (about 10 of us total) and haven't had any luck in finding them...thanks in advance! :)
ReplyDeleteCan I use Sweet Almond Oil? When looking up Almond Oil, my soap supplier only sells "Sweet Almond Oil".
ReplyDeleteSweet Almond Oil is what you want, Almond Oil is an essential oil.
ReplyDeleteYou may want to do this by weight because you don't want the essential oil to be more than 3% of the total weight of the balm.
You can make a nice salve/balm without using any of the essential oils.
In the winter time, you may want to replace all of the beeswax with coconut oil so it glides on smoother.
Beeswax has a melting point of 150*F (great in the summer) but for the winter, it may stick a bit.
You could also sub out the sweet almond with another light weight oil such as extra virgin olive oil.
I'm going to use some pretty (and practical) half pint canning jars (they come in packs of 4 for $4 here) but you can also buy tins at Michaels, as well as kraft containers (that you can decoupage, paint, or stamp to your hearts content that will work (and inexpensive too, some as low as $ .69 on sale in some stores. We keep our old baby food jars and use them for something similar (I also use them for packing sea salt and sugar scrubs in as Christmas gifts) HTH!
ReplyDeleteHI, I passed this link on to New Zealand gardeners, (not just the recipe) and the response today was that the results are "awesome". So, many thanks to you for sharing this :-) and one day maybe I'll have a chance try making it too!
ReplyDeleteWhat would the measurement be for beeswax pastilles as opposed to grated beeswax? I'm still pretty new to all of this and haven't gotten down this conversion just yet. Thank you!
ReplyDelete(so sorry for the double-post, my phone was being difficult!)
DeleteWhat would the measurement be for beeswax pastilles as opposed to grated? Acquired the last of my ingredients today and so very excited to finally make this salve! Florist's hands take a beating, especially with evergreen centerpieces just around the corner! :)
ReplyDelete@Imperfect Girl:
DeleteI haven't made it with beeswax pastilles before, but since they're a little more concentrated then grated beeswax, I'd start with 3 1/2 Tbsp.
I just made this! I feel so Martha Stewart-y! It was an easy recipe - took a bit for the beeswax to melt, but it does finally so hang in there! At first the scent seemed a little strong, but that fades into just a nice fresh scent after a bit of rubbing in. I used mint tins I brought back from Singapore and made one for each of my daughters and I used recycled small makeup tubs from the Clinique counter they give you to put your lotions and potions in when you travel for myself. Small enough to keep one in my purse and one in my knitting bag. It feels great on my heels also and I even put some on my lips as it is really dry here in Iowa in January. Great recipe, and thanks so much Jacinda for sharing this with us! PS I hope using this for a lip balm is okay! Any other suggestions for essential oil combintations would be awesome!
ReplyDeleteWhen it's organic, especially when it has coconut oil in it, I really believe that it's not just delicious but it's also healthy. This is the kind of recipes that I really love cooking/baking.
ReplyDeleteok so what could you use instead of lavender? Is there a significance to using the lavender? I am allergic to lavender. Just wondering
ReplyDelete