Make Your Own Whipped Body Lotion | Eco Lifestyle

This body lotion was the first body product that I ever tried out at home. I had been researching for quite some time on how to be more resourceful and limit the waste I produced; at the same time, I was secretly sabotaging my good intention, by  not buying all the ingredients, procrastinating, or telling myself it would never be as good as the store-bought one.

Then, I came across a website called trash is for tossers, brainchild of Laura Singer, an american girl who lives a zero waste lifestyle.  The site is very inspiring and provides handy tips on how to lead a zero-waste life ; while browsing, I watched her tutorial on how to #makeyourown whipped body lotion and that was all I needed to break away from my can’t do attitude. My partner -in-crime Sara and I decided to try it out together, while sipping some Live a Little (Stellar Organics) wine.

The recipe is easy to follow and execute, and it feels awesome on your skin, especially because you know exactly what you’re putting on it! Since then, we have been making it all the time – it is a great idea for birthday and Christmas presents too.

The recipe, you might ask?

You need equal quantity of each ingredient, depending on how much you want to make.

For this batch, I used the following:

1/3 cup organic coconut oil (it is very moisturising);

1/3 cup organic shea butter (it stimulates the production of collagen against fine lines and wrinkles);

1/3 cup sweet almond oil (rich in vitamin A and E and helps repair sun damage);

1/3 cup cocoa butter (it is rich in antioxidants);

your favourite essential oil/combination of oils.

Tools: a spatula, a hand/stand mixer and a glass jar.

 

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, place the bowl on a pot full of water (double boiler) on the stove; let all the ingredients melt (roughly 10 minutes) and remove the bowl.

 

Once it cools down, put it in the fridge until it becomes solid, about an hour.

Once the mixture is solid, remove it from the fridge and it is time to whip it! Laura says you can use either a stand or hand mixer – I used a stand one – whip it for 5 to 10 minutes, until it reaches the consistency of whipped cream.

At this stage smell the whipped cream; it is so delicious you might be tempted to eat it. If you don’t enjoy the cocoa butter smell, you can use less cocoa butter and more shea butter.

Now, add your favourite essential oil, or your favourite combination. I really love the lavender oil, it smells so relaxing – add 5 drops  or more, according to your personal taste.

Pour it in a mason jar and Voila, you have your own eco body product!

I store it in the fridge in summertime, and out of the fridge in winter – I usually put it on after showering, I find that it absorbs better.

Here is the link to Laura’s video on how she lives a waste free life.

If you’re not up for making your own body cream, or can’t find all the ingredients, but would still like to go the natural route then have a look at Faithful to Nature, they really research their products well and they’ll deliver to you! Just make sure to reuse the jars : )

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