Aromatherapy & Do-It-Yourself Recipes — Do it yourself

How would you like to make your own sunscreen at home with natural ingredients and avoid the chemicals found in most commercial brands? Check out the notes at the end of the recipe for some helpful tips.

 Prep Time: 5 minutes
 Cook Time: 10 minutes
 Cooling time: 1 hour
 Servings: 1.25 cups
 Author: Katie Wells

Ingredients

• ½ cup almond or olive oil (can infuse with herbs first if desired)
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• ¼ cup beeswax
• 2 TBSP zinc oxide
• 1 tsp red raspberry seed oil (or less, optional)
• 1 tsp carrot seed oil (or less, optional)
• 2 TBSP shea butter(optional)

Optional Ingredients

• essential oils
• natural fragrance oils
• other natural extracts (not citrus)

Instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients, except zinc oxide, in a 16 oz glass measuring cup or jar.
2. Fill a medium saucepan with a couple of inches of water and place on the stove over medium heat. Place the glass mixing vessel into the saucepan.
3. Stir the contents of the jar occasionally to mix the ingredients as they melt.
4. When all the ingredients are completely melted, remove from heat and stir in the zinc oxide and essential oils. Stir well then pour into suitable container(s) to cool. (yields 10-12 ounces)
5. Once poured, continue to stir the contents as the mixture cools to make sure zinc oxide is evenly distributed throughout.
6. Store at room temperature or in the refrigerator to increase shelf life.

Notes

• This sunscreen is not waterproof and will need to be reapplied after sweating or swimming.
• Make sure not to inhale the zinc oxide when adding. Use a mask if necessary.
• Add more beeswax to make thicker sunscreen, less to make smoother sunscreen.

Original recipe found on WellnessMama.com

This is a wonderfully simple recipe to create your own, luxurious and moisturizing whipped body butter for almost all skin types. We have tried this recipe and loved it from the first batch. Now, many of our customers have tried this recipe and we’re all hooked on this fun to create, all natural, four ingredient body butter. The final product has a natural cocoa scent from the cocoa butter wafers so if you decide to add essential oils or high quality fragrance oils, anything that goes good with chocolate is a go.

Whipped Body Butter

Shea Butter – 1/2 cup

Coconut Oil – 1/2 cup

Olive Oil – 1/2 cup

Cocoa Butter Wafers – 1/2 cup

Essential Oils or Fragrance Oils if desired - 10-30 drops

2 – 8 oz jars & 1 - 4 oz jar or any combination for 20 oz

Body Butter Instructions

1. In a double boiler or glass bowl, combine all ingredients except essential oils.
2. Bring to medium heat and stir constantly until all ingredients are melted.
3. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Add essential oils if using.
4. Move to fridge and let cool another hour or until starting to harden around the edges but still somewhat soft.
5. Use a hand mixer to whip for 10 minutes until fluffy.
6. Return to the fridge for 10-15 minutes to set.
7. Store in a jar with a lid and use as you would regular lotion or body butter. If your home stays above 75 degrees, it may soften and need to be kept at the fridge, but it will stay whipped at a temperature lower than that.
8. Keep for yourself, or give away! Enjoy!

This body butter is definitely more emollient and has a heavier texture than lotion does, but after a few minutes it will penetrate the skin and lose any greasy feel.

Stored away from moisture and light this homemade body butter should last 6-8 months. Using a spoon or spatula to dip rather than your fingers will extend the life of the body butter.

Source: wellnessmama.com

Read more

When creating an essential oil blend, the oils are chosen first for their therapeutic effect and then consideration is given to creating the best aroma. This can be done using top, middle, and base notes.

When you create a blend it is called synergy. This means that when certain oils are blended together they have a mutually enhancing effect upon one another so that the effect of the whole is greater than the sum of its individual parts.

BLENDING 

You can use up to 5 essential oils in a blend. Research has shown that you get better results using more than one essential oil at a time. 

You can use up to 5% essential oil, but usually 3% is quite effective. Never use more than 2.5% on the face. Use only 1% in children and elderly. 

When you are treating a localized area for a specific condition it may require a stronger formula. You can experiment with this, gradually increasing the strength until you get the desired response. Another alternative to increasing concentration is choosing alternative forms of absorption (topical and inhalation). 

Once oils are blended they keep for 3-6 months, longer if using fractionated coconut oil or jojoba oil. As long as they have their odour they are good. Oils will start to crystallize around the cap when they have expired and will go "flat". Always keep bottles covered and closed.

BLENDING FORMULA

This formula can be used to determine how many drops of essential oils are required to create any concentration of solution, based on the size of the bottle being used (in mls). 

20 drops = 1 ml of essential oil

Take 20 (drops) X size of bottle (example: 30mls)

20 X 30 = 600

To find 2.5% of 30mls: 2.5 X 600 divided by 100 = 15 drops

RECIPES FOR ROLLER BOTTLES

The recipes below are basic blends that have been tested and are safe for most people. Add the requested number of drops to each roller bottle then fill with a carrier oil of your choice (fractionated Coconut, Jojoba, Sweet Almond etc.), install the roller ball assembly, seal with the cap and shake to mix.