From the Makemille: Winter Body Butter and Face Oil

As much as the idea of curling up with a good book and a steaming cup of hot chocolate while lounging on a couch in our warmest pajamas and fuzziest slippers on a frosty evening sounds endearing and warm, the fact remains that winter can be harsh on our skin. It is common to get dry hands and fissures on the fingers and the key is to moisturize, moisturize, moisturize to combat these.

I have tried many lotions and hand creams but I found that using shea butter helps a lot in healing dry hands. In fact, I even use shea butter after a pottery session (pottery clay can cause dry hands too) with my students in art class.

I have been making my own cold processed soaps and bath and body products for a while now and today, I thought I’d share an easy recipe to put together a soothing body butter and face oil for the winter months.

No heavy equipment required and the supplies can be bought from herbal, aromatherapy, or soapmaking supply stores.

Winter Body Butter (makes around 40 gms)

½ cup shea butter

½ cup cocoa butter (grated)

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon jojoba oil

2 ml essential oil/s blend of choice (I used a very winter-y blend of orange, cedarwood, and ylang-ylang)

Mix everything in a bowl. Make sure the butters are well-blended with the oils. Transfer body butter in a jar with a screw top lid.

Winter Face Oil (makes 20 ml)

10 ml argan oil

10 ml jojoba oil

8 drops of essential oil/s of choice

Small glass dropper bottle

Mix everything in a small bowl (or even a small beaker because it has a spout). When everything has been well mixed, transfer to a small glass dropper bottle (use a funnel if not using a beaker). Give the bottle a good shake. I love using this in the evening before going to bed. I also put some on my neck and my hands. It’s that good!

Recipes like these are good because it makes us aware of what we really put on our skin to keep it not only nourished but safe as well. Another wonderful thing is that it makes us notice the difference between pure and natural ingredients and commercially produced face and body products with ingredients we struggle to pronounce. The difference is remarkable and impressive and the only way to understand it is to give these recipes a try!