BeStrixed

Orange Blossoms with Bee

Photo by Clownfish, published by attribution through CC

** ETA: If you cannot access vids, let me know in the comments!***

Okay, I won’t go on (too much ) because this is a portion of a more thorough post I have in the works on handmade lotions.

This is the bare bones basic hand and body moisturizer. It is rich and luxurious, but not cloying, too thick, or heavy-scented. It is extremely easy and cost efficient, utilizing only three ingredients, and quite deceptive in its simplicity!

Once you try this you will never want to spend the ridiculous amounts of money required for lotions! You’ll be making your own versions, hence. AND, these make fantastic gifts for men, women, and children — what Mom wouldn’t appreciate handmade lotion for Mother’s Day? I think any Mom-to-be would appreciate a handmade lotion, made especially for her and baby?!

You can add your special touch, of course to these with various additions for what you want, such as some aloe vera; glycerine, maybe; hydrosols; ptisans; herbs; and, of course, essential oils.

I modified the basic recipe slightly for Carrie, a fellow ETLer over at Dr. Fuhrman.com. She’s an orange-head (if I recall correctly!) loves ‘em. So I thought immediately of one of my favorite scented waters, orange blossom water. I have used it often in my products so know it’s lovely.

To follow the recipe without the orange blossom water, simply use 1 1/4 C pure distilled water. Three ingredients, one of which is water is pretty darned good, don’t you think?! Best thing — you know what’s in it! And there’s no unnecessary junk.

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Carrie’s Orange Blossoms Lotion

3/4 C Orange Blossom Water,*warm-hot

1/2 C Pure Water, boiled hot

1/4 C Emulsifying Wax

1/4 C  Olive Oil,** organic

* The orange blossom water, is, again, optional; so for a basic, unscented lotion, use 1 1/4 C pure water. You can try using all Orange Blossom water. You must heat it, however so that it is at least slightly hot — it does not need to be boiling hot. I find that using boiling water with the orange blossom water works fine.

Orange Blossom water is different from Orange Blossom hydrosol. You can use whichever you wish, the hydrosol being more expensive, of course, as it is distilled professionally for cosmetic purposes. It (hydrosol) actually has less orange blossom scent than the water. You can find Orange Blossom Water at many markets in the specialty foods sections. Every Whole Foods I’ve been in has it, as well as many supermarkets. Indo European brand is the one I find most often. I have used it for years in my recipes and cooking! It smells gorgeous. As well, you may substitute Rose Flower water which will most likely be right next to the Orange Blossom water. Whichever brand you find, it should smell really nice.

**Any plant oil will do, but good-quality olive oil is easy to find nowadays. It also makes a great buttery lotion. It’s used in a lot of effective and quality products; so don’t think it’s lesser than any fancy-sounding oil. If you want to substitute another vegetable oil you find, feel free, but take into consideration its texture may effect a different lotion texture — usually not a big deal, though; and you may want that  . Almond is good, as well as an organic grapeseed oil. Avocado oil, I’ve seen in markets also makes a good lotion. Carrie, if you decide to buy an oil, calendula oil would be great for a baby lotion Oh, and it’s wonderful for Moms and adults too! You’ll find it is often olive oil as its base

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You can add essential oils to further fragrance or specialize your lotion, if you like. The above is a very light orange blossom scent. It comes through because there are so few ingredients. Luckily, the olive fragrance doesn’t muddle it. If you use a non-fragrance oil, such as grapeseed, it will be a stronger scent, but still not overpowering (or obnoxious!) I personally prefer light scents. Nothing worse than having to breathe in someone’s body perfume odor or cologne — especially the cheapy chemical stuff! Simple, is often the most beautiful.

If you want to intensify the orange blossom scent, then the essential oil, Neroli is what you would use.

The first demo video is using olive oil and water; and, to further demonstrate how simple this is to do –  no fancy equipment needed –  I even used just a fork to stir the lotion! You can use whisk  or anything you have, really.

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Okay, enough! On to the instructions and pictures.

What You Need:

A Double Boiler: (Picture here)You can makeshift one as I have in the picture below — last thing I need is MORE pots and pans added to my overload of “stuffs” I no longer use! It’s just a pot placed within a pot of water. If you need more on this, see this blog entry on a makeshift double boiler — super easy, anyone can do it with what they have at home). This is to gently melt your wax in the oil. (I’ve read that some people microwave  ~cRiNgE~ so that may be an option — ack! if you must!)

A Jar: Or other suitable container (glass is best if using essential oils) with a tight-fitting lid to store your lotion. This lotion has the texture suited for a jar or a squeeze-type bottle. I save a lot of jars, especially the unique shaped ones. Even old lotion jars or squeeze bottles — save ‘em! Just wash them out. The worst that can happen is the scent of the previous cream will remain on it; but it won’t really affect the lotion once you put it on you. Just wash it well, using vinegar helps a bit. Although, I do recommend glass for creams and lotions. Mason jars are excellent!

This is an old salt jar! It is a nice, thick glass.

Utencils:, fork , or whisk, measuring cup, blender, optional (see “Below”)

Okay, don’t make me take a picture of a fork!

Orange Blossom Water, warmed to just hot;

OR boiled, or hot Pure, distilled Water:

Emulsifying Wax: Other waxes do not work (for this recipe); I tried. This is a vegetable-based wax.

Olive Oil:

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Instructions (finally! I know, I know…:P )

1. Combine the emulsifying wax and olive oil in a receptacle in a double boiler. Remove from heat when just melted.

2. Pour hot water/liquid into the hot wax emulsion. You see, it immediately emulsifies on contact — not even requiring stirring! But do mix a bit.

That’s it!

Here’s a demo: First a little set up so you know where it’s starting — you see here the Pyrex which contains the wax-oil emulsion, just taken off the heat …

then just add water!

Done!!

All you do now is just let it sit to cool, stirring occasionally.

Add essential oils when cooled to warm, if using; do not add to hot mixture, it will “cook” the oils and diminish, not only its benefits, but also its fragrance.

Here is a video of the just mixed emulsion and its texture right after combining, just like above:

So don’t worry, it’s supposed to be watery It will thicken as it sits.

Here it is after sitting a bit; it’s a more pourable texture:

Later, getting thicker…

And here it is, final texture:

Place lotion in your clean, sanitized, if desired receptacle and label with name, ingredients, if you wish, and date. Then…enjoy!

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“Below”

This is totally optional:You can use a blender on the mixture and it will create a thicker, richer “cream.” It will be more voluminous as well.

Blend it after it has cooled to warm. I used my little Personal Blender; so no power blender needed:

Here is a pic of how rich and thick it gets:

Here is how it finishes:

As you see, it’s much thicker and it got lighter in color.

I know the vids aren’t the best, but it’s hard to hold the cam and stir at the same time Lol. It’s so incredibly easy, though, I wanted to show it: You simply heat then mix!

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Once you make this basic recipe, as I said, the possibilities are limitless! As well, you can adjust the texture quite simply without any additional ingredients, by using more or less liquid.
Have fun! Pick up an essential oil every now and then when you can, and let the creative juices flow

Enjoy!

Strix