Hand Lotion (Herb Infused)

Ingredients

  • 1/4 C Calendula flowers
  • 2 T. Comfrey leaves
  • 1/4 C Dandelion leaves and/or flower tops
  • 1 t Tamanu oil
  • 2 T. Mango butter
  • 1/2 t Vitamin E
  • ½ C + 2 T.  Sweet almond oil
  • ½ C filtered, boiled, then cooled water
  • 6 grams Beeswax
  • Glass bowl
  • Saucepan
  • scale

*All of the herbs used should be dried.

 

Directions

  1. If you’re using whole herbs, give them a few pulses through a coffee grinder, or grind with a mortar and pestle until coarsely cut. This is the coffee grinder I have, and this is the mortar and pestle we use. 
  2. Combine the sweet almond oil and herbs together in a glass bowl. Fill the saucepan about halfway with water and place over medium heat. Perch the glass bowl with the oil on top to make a sort of double boiler. Keep the water at a low boil while the herbs infuse into the oil. 
  3. After an hour, turn the heat off and strain the herbs out with a cheesecloth, or clean, old t-shirt. I like to run it through a coffee filter too to make sure all of the small herb bits are out. 
  4. Put the infused oil back in a clean, glass bowl on top of the saucepan over medium heat. Add the beeswax and mango butter, stirring occasionally until melted. 
  5. Pour the oil mixture into your blender, add the tamanu and vitamin E oil, and let it cool for about 10 minutes in the fridge. You want the mixture to be creamy, but not cool so much that it gets hard. You can also use a stand mixer or hand mixer for this, but the emulsion won’t be as effective. 
  6. Turn the blender on, and slowly drizzle in the water through the top. The mixture will get creamy and thick. Stop the blender when it starts to sputter. If you’re using a mixer, then slowly pour the water in as you’re mixing on medium/high speed.

Store your lotion in an impeccably clean glass jar, out of heat, sunlight or freezing temperatures. Slather generously onto skin damaged hands as needed.