Oatmeal lotion bars

I Who knew lotion can be a bar! I was very excited to try this. I work on computers all day and putting on lotion seems to never happen when I'm there but I have really dry hands so this looked like something to try. I've tried this recipe a few ways - so far with Shea and oatmeal is my favorite. I also get eczema on my fingers and this is very helpful in keeping it under control.

The Mix:

1/4 cup of beeswax (4tbs, 2oz same thing)

1/4 cup Shea butter or cocoa butter 

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 tsp vitamin E oil

* 1 tbsp of ground oats

* 10 or so drops of fragrance oil

*optional

I make this using a crockpot I picked up cheap on Black Friday. You can also use a double boiler or microwave. 

The directions:

Step 1:

Throw the beeswax in the crock  and let melt. This takes while depending on the wax - I hear pellets melt faster but mine came from a local bee keeper. Once this part is done, the rest goes fast.

Step 2:

Add coconut oil, Shea or cocoa butter, and vitamin E. Note: if using cocoa make sure you move when it's melted as it can overcook. 

Step 3:

If you are adding fragrance oil or oats now is the time. I have old fashion oats that I threw in a food processor to grind up as fine as I can get. I then mixed these in. When pouring the molds the larger pieces fell to the bottom and made it like an exfoliating lotion bar on one side.

Step 4:

Pour into molds. I use silicon ones for ease. When I'm impatient I put them in the freezer to set up ;)

 

Voila - lotion bars. I have also swapped in some almond oil and/or hazelnut oil for part of the coconut oil- these are great for eczema and sensitive skin. 

 

Brown Sugar Scrub

So about two years ago I was introduced to sugar scrub. Once I found out what it was and how to use it - I loved it and had to have more. So I did what I always do: read the basic recipes, did a few trial and errors and altered it to make it work well for eczema and sensitive skin. Voila! You have my recipe below! This makes a sugar cookie smell :) but you can always alter and make it work for you.

The Mix:

2 tsp almond oil

2 tsp hazelnut oil

2 tbs coconut oil

1/3 white sugar

2/3 brown sugar

1/4 tsp honey

10 drops vitamin E oil

7 drops vanilla oil 

Makes 8 oz of sugar scrub.

Note: I like mine with all brown sugar sometimes too!

How to mix:

Step 1: Melt the coconut oil.

Step 2: mix the oils together 

Step 3: put sugar mix in the container you want

Step 4: pour oils over the sugar

From here you can either let gravity make it happen or mix away. Voila you have sugar scrub ;)

How to use: 

If you are in a colder climate - warm before use or the coconut oil will be hard. I throw mine in the bottom of the tub during a shower and use at the end - it warms it up perfect. I like plastic lidded containers for this reason.

Then mix up if needed and rub on then rinse off and pat dry.

Enjoy

Making Spray Lotion

So my sensitive skin pushed me over the edge to go on a hunt for help. I'm too busy typically for lotion, I barely make time to fix my hair lol. When I stumbled upon a link for spray lotion I took the bate!

I ordered the ingredients from amazon and tried it out. So yea it was a bit pricey but so is eczema lotion...

It helped! It is great on kids! Better yet I could make it unscented and spray on faces, bums, you name it! But then I couldn't help but mess with the recipe and find what works best. Here is my recipe...now the trick is if you want to feel less greasy then less oil :) currently winter is killing my skin but this is helping... No arm red rashes I usually get!! 

The mix:

1.5 tsp vegitable glycerin

1 - 2 tsp almond oil

1 -2 tsp grapeseed oil

2-3 tsp coconut oil

5-10 drops vitamin e

4-8 drops of essential oil

Fill the rest with water (about 1oz)

Shake and go

Step 1: get little 2oz spritz spray bottles from Walmart or anywhere...I like these best cuz I can color coordinate the scents.

Step 2: get your main oils - you can add all or some of what I add:

Coconut oil, low heat - I melt this to use it and then you have to warm the spray on cold days...but my computer runs so hot it keeps it warm at work lol

Almond oil - thicker oil, good for eczema, can give the greasy feel

Grapeseed oil - light oil, silky, but it I do only this one it doesn't help much with eczema
I recommend 1-2 tsp a lot above.....do not make every one 2tsp or it'll be very oily)

Step 3: other oils you need - vitamin E and essential oil if you want (I do lavender and vanilla mixed)

Step 4: get vegetable glycerin 

Step 5: have filtered or distilled water - I use my fridge filter water lol

It lasts a few weeks so I make it in small doses and then remake, takes 20 min tops. The pink bottle is how it looks when full and settled.

Note if using essential oils with kids - do your homework first! Not all oils are good for kids!

Skin and the little sensitive girl

My oldest daughter has sensitive skin and it seems the twins may be following in her footsteps. The winter makes it dryer so I am already starting to see itchy kids and random rashes.
Several months back, we had a battle. Maddie's groin area was constantly red and it looked awful! Every time I went to the doc I got a different answer: rash from food, yeast, too much juice - you name it, we heard it and tried it! Nothing was helping, I was ready to cry along with her - I mean as a women - wow - it looked painful and all I could do was try to help!
Finally one night she itched it open and I freaked (blood and all down there ... Millions of bad thoughts ran through my head until I realized it was from scratches) - thankfully my own personal super nurse hubby assisted while I freaked, lol. The next day we headed back to the docs - and YAY - the best doc was finally off maternity leave. She diagnosed it in 10 min - we had the rash disappear in a week and we haven't had an issue since (except minor flare ups)! What was it, you ask? Eczema - simple hydrocortisone cream for a day and eczema cream when it looks like she's getting a flare up.

Eczema cream trials:

The doc recommended eucerin cream.

It wasn't bad, but was kinda runny and had a slight scent.

Then I found aveeno Eczema cream

I love aveeno products - it is all I use for washing on my kids. This product rocks for her - it's a thicker base, and no sent to bother her. 

I've also tried some of my own recipes for lotion for her - stay tuned on my trials!