Hydrating Hand Lotion
If you’re anything like…well, the rest of the world right now, you’ve been washing your hands an awful lot. And for me that means extra dry hands. I already live in a super dry climate, but adding on all this hand washing and my poor hands are just a mess. I’ve been using up random bottles of hand lotions and creams I’ve found, but none of them have been hydrating my hands like I would have hoped.
Enter this homemade hand lotion! The original recipe came from The School of Natural Skincare which is where I’ve taken a few online courses on homemade skincare. I’ve learned so much from them! This recipe is one that is in their certificate in natural skincare course. It will now be a forever staple in my home. Now, if you are new to making your own skincare products I would recommend you start with a recipe that has a few less steps such as a lip balm. This recipes isn’t super hard, it just has a few more steps and contains a preservative which can be intimidating to use when you’re starting out. But hey—if being cooped up has you feeling up for a challenge—go for it!!
As I mentioned, this lotions uses a preservative which greatly extends the shelf life. I’d say for sure 6 months, possibly longer IF you are careful not to introduce any more water or dirty hands.
Feel free to sub out the chamomile infused oil for another of your choice. Chamomile was what I happened to already have on hand, and it is a nice soothing choice. Calendula or lavender would make great choices as well. All three of those options are all great for the skin. You can also choose whatever essential oils you wish to scent it with. And truly, if you do not have an infused oil ready to go, and your antsy to just make this, you can use a plain carrier oil.
If you do not know how to make an infused oil, check out my tutorial here.
If you’ve never used a double boiler or don’t own one, check out my hack here.
And finally, if you’re not sure why I weigh out these ingredients and why we’re using a preservative check out those articles as well.
Oh wait. One more. If you want to learn how to make your own hydrosols check out the tutorial here.
Here’s to happy looking hands!
Hydrating Hand Lotion
Ingredients
*Oil Phase*
5 grams emulsifying wax
7 grams shea butter
8 grams chamomile infused sunflower oil
*Water Phase*
75.1 grams lavender hydrosol (or distilled water)
2.5 grams vegetable glycerin
.3 grams xanthan gum
*Cooling Phase*
.1 grams vitamin e
.4 grams sweet orange essential oil
.3 grams benzoin essential oil
.3 grams lavender essential oil
1 gram preservative (or according to the specific manufacturer) I used Geogard ECT
Directions
We’ll take this step by step.
Weigh out all the ingredients in the oil phase and place them in your double boiler. Start melting them over medium heat stirring occasionally.
While the oils are melting together weight out the glycerin in a small glass jar. Sprinkle the xanthan gum over the top and whisk together. Pour in the hydrosol or water and stir till the mixture thickens and is smooth.
Now you will want to cover the water mixture with tin foil (so nothing evaporates) and place it in the double boiler with the oil mixture. (Or use a separate saucepan if yours isn’t big enough.) This is to bring the two mixtures to roughly the same temperature. I’m not super particular about this step, I just make sure the water mixture is at least a little warm. Otherwise when you go to emulsify them together, it tends to separate.
Once the oils are melted and the water mixture is warm it’s time to take everything off the heat.
You will need a stick blender, hand mixer, or milk frother, which is my personal preference for a small batch like this.
Start mixing the oil mixture and very slowly and carefully pour in the water mixture. It will become cloudy as the two come together. Keep mixing it until very well incorporated.
Unless you want a frothy whipped hand lotion, keep your immersion blender or frother under the surface of the lotion.
I then stick mine in the fridge for a few minutes to cool down. I then bring it back out, mix it a bit more and finally add in the remaining ingredients.
Pour into the containers of your choice, label, and enjoy!
WHERE TO PURCHASE
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If you’d like to take a course on botanical skincare, The Herbal Academy of New England has an excellent one. I’ve taken several of their courses and have never been disappointed. They also have a short course on just preservatives and emulsifiers.
If you are unable to grow your own herbs, or find ingredients locally, then here are two of my favorite places to buy bulk ingredients:
This company is where I purchase the majority of my seeds. Great selection of heirloom and/or organic seeds:
This company is where I like to purchase my preservatives. They were super great about replying to my live chats when I had questions about their preservatives:
This is a great place for bulk ingredients, preservatives, hydrosols, etc.
