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You are here: Home arrow Articles arrow Make your own arrow Home Made Natural Skin Cream

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Home Made Natural Skin Cream

Written by Nettie

Here is a pictorial step-by-step guide to making skin cream. Based on an ancient recipe, it contains nothing but natural ingredients. I find this cream as good as any on the market for softening the skin, and it has a multitude of uses, including cleansing, eye make-up removing, hair wax, pre-wash hair conditioning, shaving balm and body lotion/face cream. In fact it is the most effective cleanser I have ever used. It helps if you make it in large batches, then you can use it as liberally as you like! Try a more masculine version with scents such as sandalwood, lemongrass or patchouli for a lovely shaving balm. The cream makes a good base for herbal remedies too: substitute the almond oil for an infused oil of your choice.

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You will need:

  • 10 heaped dessertspoons of grated virgin beeswax (cheap from local beekeepers}

  • 10 dessertspoons almond oil (you can use olive oil if you need a heavy cream)

  • 10 dessertspoons melted Coconut oil

  • 50 drops essential oils of your choice (I like a mixture of neroli, geranium, lavender and ylang ylang)

  • 5 dessertspoons water (you could use rosewater)

  • A saucepan and mixing bowl

1.Grate the beeswax. Trial and error has proved that a razor-style potato peeler is the least strenuous, messy and stressful way of doing this.

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2.Put the beeswax, almond and coconut oils into the mixing bowl, and set it in a saucepan of water at a gentle simmer, stirring the oils all the time with a fork.

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3.When the beeswax has dissolved completely, remove the pan from the heat, and put the base of the mixing bowl in a larger pan of cold water.

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4.Stir the mixture continuously as it cools, adding the water as it starts to thicken, and beat in. More water will produce a thicker cream, but you may have difficulty emulsifying it with the oils. When the cream is thickened, remove the bowl from the pan and beat the mixture vigorously to remove any lumps.

5.Allow the mixture to stand for a few minutes. You may find a little of the water seeps to the surface – simply pour this away.

6.When the mixture is completely cool, thoroughly stir in the essential oils.

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Place the mixture into sterilised jars (you can get small quantities of them at www.baldwins.co.uk ) or, like me, you might just like to fill old Chinese take-away boxes full of it and use it as a body lotion after bathing. It is quite a rich mixture, so use sparingly. Use it within 3-4 months, as, without any preservatives, it doesn’t keep.

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