Cold Weather+Dry Air=Time to Make Hand Cream!

Dear Readers,

This morning we had a fun time visiting with my good friend who lives down the street. I showed her how to make a simple, yet effective hand cream for dry skin, and I'd like to share the recipe with you (This is similar to the recipe given to Tasha Tudor by Rosemary Gladstar, in case you were interested!):

Winter Hand Cream

1/2 c. comfrey tea, rose water, or distilled water
1 Cup olive or coconut oil
2 TBS liquid lanolin
3 TBS lecithin
3 TBS beeswax (We used candelilla wax, so we "guestimated")
essential oils of choice
1/2 tsp. tincture of benzoin for preservative (You don't need this if you keep it refrigerated)

Our "oily" ingredients

Directions for making cream: Make a tea of comfrey root or leaf ahead of time (or just use distilled water or rosewater), straining and allowing to cool. Pour off your 1/2 cupful (Or even a bit more, there's a bit of leeway in the recipe) into a measuring cup.

In a double boiler (Or on VERY low heat), melt the following together: Olive oil, lecithin, lanolin, and wax (Beeswax takes quite a bit longer than candelilla), stirring constantly.

Once this has melted, go ahead and add the tea or water, stirring with a whisk or fork all the while (You CAN stick this in the blender, but it takes forever to clean out.) Once the ingredients have mixed well, I add any essential oils that are strong enough to mask that "sheepish" smell from the lanolin, and benzoin to retard mold growth.

I then stick it outside (You could use the refrigerator) till it sets up quite a bit. Once set, bring it back in, mix it again really well, and then scoop it into jars.

We used baby food jars this time, but little jelly jars are great, too. A little of this cream goes a long way, so this recipe makes enough to share with plenty of friends!

~~All cooled off and ready to scoop into jars~~

Add a nifty label and ribbon, and you have an easy, much-appreciated gift.

p.s. Most of our ingredients were purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs.


Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day.

Love,

Marqueta

"Dear Santa,
Could you please bring Tasha a doll for Christmas?

Love,

Spanky"

"Every occupation, plan, and work of man, to be truly successful, must be done under the direction of Christ, in union with His will, from love to him, and in dependence on his power." ~Muller

"Let all children rememer, if ever they are weary of laboring for their parents, that Christ labored for his; if impatient of their commands, that Christ cheerfully obeyed; if reluctant to provide for their parents, that Christ forgot himself and provided for his mother amid the agonies of the crucifixion. The affectionate language of this divine example to every child is, "Go thou and do likewise." ~~~Dwight