Refresh and Reuse: Custom Spring Lotion

Seasons change, and so should your skincare routine. Why not try this semi-homemade body lotion that you can customize to your preferences?

What You Need

What You Do

Preparing Your Ingredients

1. In a big bowl, empty out the baby lotion and vitamin E cream.
2. Using the microwave, melt the petroleum jelly until it's fully liquid. This make take a few minutes, so be patient. Take your time and heat it at 1 minute intervals, checking on it in between.
3. If you'll be adding 100% natural cocoa butter or shea butter (or both) – it'll look something like this – you'll need to melt those too. These two ingredients can be melted in the microwave together at 30 second intervals until fully liquid.

Mixing It Up

1. Once you've melted the petroleum jelly (and cocoa or shea butters, if using), empty all of your ingredients into a large mixing bowl – except for the olive oil. A metal mixing bowl is preferable, but a plastic or ceramic one will work too.
2. Using a hand-mixer – or a stand-mixer if you have one – blend your ingredients well. This may take up to ten minutes or more. You'll know you're done when the mixture has a smooth, uniform consistency.
3. Once all of the ingredients are well combined, you can start to add in the olive oil. Start with just 2 tablespoons of olive oil, mix well, and try a bit of the lotion to see if you like the shine it leaves on your skin. If you want more shine, repeat the process, testing each time, until you get the sheen you're happy with. (When using shea butter and cocoa butter, I find that about ¼ cup to a ½ cup of olive oil gets me to the moisture and shine level I like).

Fragrance

_{Note: If you'd like to add fragrance of your own, you should use a baby lotion with no added fragrance or a light scent. The classic baby lotion has a soft scent (this is usually the pink bottle, whether you're buying Johnson & Johnson brand or an off-brand). The bed-time lotion has a much stronger, muskier scent – (this is usually a purple-ish bottle) – and I wouldn't recommend using this kind if you'd like to add your own fragrance.}

If you'll be adding fragrance to your lotion, do this after adding all the other ingredients and mixing thoroughly.

Simply add a few drops or a couple of sprays to your lotion, mix, and test to see if you like the smell. If you'd like a stronger smell, add a little more perfume at a time until you're satisfied.

Since this makes such a big batch – about 40 oz of lotion – you can separate your lotion into small containers and then add fragrance individually.

Packaging

If you read and followed the first article in this series - Refresh and Reuse: Cleaning Out Your Candle Jar - you should have some glass candle jars handy that you can pour lotion into. If not, you can fit some of the lotion back into the vitamin E cream jars. Any excess can be poured into any plastic or glass container with a lid.

And that's that! Now you have a custom made lotion that will keep your skin well moisturized throughout the season.

Many thanks to isak valtersen and losing control. for editing.