Introduction: DIY All Natural Cooling & Healing Summer Body Lotion

By 1st Indian Featured Author :).
About: An artist by birth, a software architect by choice, a lamp maker by passion, a learner forever. Featured Author here:)

Hello Lovely People,

This instructable was not planned but after seeing the end product I could not resist myself to share with all of you.

Recently I had been reading a lot about Natural Well Being and Ayurveda. Ayurveda says

"What you put inside your body is what should put on your body"

this powerful statement got me thinking about making careful choices about food we eat and things we use at our home & on our bodies. I had also learned how toxins are getting inside our bodies and how much unaware about it we are. Look at the second picture above (source Pinterest) which highlights some scary truth about commercially available cosmetics.

So I pledged myself to go Natural as much as possible as I can. To start with I decided to stop using any commercially availbable chemical based product on my body & in my family. I opted for naturual or herbal alternatives, later on I studied more and came up with couple of DIY stuff as well. This recipe is my own mix of things which are popurlaly known for good on our skins. And after using it I wondered why my grandparents chose coconut oil, ghee , musturd oil over any body lotion or cream for their bodies.

I guess because we can eat all these as well.

Winter is almost over in my City and its getting hotter every day. I made this body lotion especially for summers. Lets see how to make this All Natural Cooling & Healing Summer Body Lotion.

Step 1: Ingredients

I experimented with a lot of recipes and therefore made this one in larger quantity, you can proportionately increase or decrease quantities to suit your needs. This recipe is perfect for people having super dry skin and need continuous moisturizing.

Primary Recipe Ingredients:

  1. Organic Cold pressed coconut oil 500gms
  2. Organic Beeswax 60gms
  3. Organic Shea butter 100gms
  4. Natural Aloe Vera gel 150 ml
  5. OPTIONAL Organic Essential Oil 10-15 drops or your choice I had Lemongrass but Lemon, Jasmine smells great too and they have their own skin benefits
  6. A hand blender (not in the picture)

OPTIONAL READ:

Now why these ingredients, rather than listing every possible benefits of every ingredient here, I am posting some online resources

  1. Coconut oil is known for excellent healing and moisturizing properties since ages, not to mention it is easily available. Recently Jessy had posted an awesome instructable about coconut uses, read it here.
  2. Aloe Vera gel: Had been into existence since ages but caught our attention when our favorite body wash advertisement mentioned that it has it ;). See some benefits here. In this lotion , this is our cooling agent and will also help in reducing the summer heat & tan.
  3. Shea Butter: Well...now a days every other body lotion or cream or balm has it. this is our healing agents as well and it will introduce some some consistency in the lotion. Read benefits here. You will also learn why its important to choose organic.
  4. Natural Beeswax: Known for its healing properties. For a person like me exposing my skin a lot outside during hikes, this had to be in it.

Note:If you want a lighter version of this lotion. Increase quantity of Aloe Vera Gel and Reduce Quantity of Coconut oil, you can skip beeswax too.

Lets see how to make it

Step 2: Melting

I am sorry I do not have all the images but the process is so simple that you probably won't need them.

  1. Melt Beeswax and Shea butter in boiling water. You can do this by placing a small metal or glass bowl in boiling water over gas top.
  2. In a big bowl or steel container, melt coconut oil and mix melted beeswax & she butter. Heat this mixture for few seconds to ensure that there are no lumps of beeswax because it dries so quickly.
  3. Remove the mixture from the heat let it cool. To speed up process you can place this bowl in a small tub or bucket filled with cold (not from fridge) water.
  4. Wait till the mix is solidified a room temperature like butter or cream.

Coconut oil only gets solidified if the room temperature is below 24C otherwise it will retain its liquid state, one reason to add she butter and/or beeswax is to introduce consistency in the lotion.

One more step and you are done.

Step 3: Blending and Done

Once the mixture gets solid, grab your hand blender or beater and start blending till it forms a fluffy & creamy texture. Then add Aloe Vera gel and blend again.

And this point it is your choice to add some essential oil for fragrance (and some benefits too). I added 10/15 drops of Lemongrass essential oil though I would prefer Lemon.

Transfer the lotion to glass jars or jars of your choice or lotion dispenser. Your All Natural Cooling & Healing Summer Body Lotion is ready to use.

How to Apply:

This lotion is best applied after shower. Pat dry your skin and apply in small quantities all over your body. Don't wear anything for at least 5-10 minutes. you will start feeling the cool sensation on your hydrated body :). with daily use, you will learn how much is sufficient for your skin.

I am really happy to use it and I hope you will be too, if you choose to make it.

Preserving:

Temperature has reached 32C in my city and lotion is still able to maintain consistency, I will post an update if I need to put it in refrigerator.

I hope you enjoyed reading this instructable. Should you have questions or feedback, please do share in the comments below.

If this instructable appears in any contest (the vote button will be on top right side of this), please do vote.

Cheers!! to natural living.

You are awesome!!.

Stay Tuned :).

Home Remedies Challenge

First Prize in the
Home Remedies Challenge