Shortly after I was married, I began taking a great interest in health. I remember becoming aware of all the hidden toxins in body products. It was hard to grasp that such awful things like “cancer causing substances” were in my body wash and lotions! I distinctly remember a certain body wash that I had gotten especially for our honeymoon and my hubby loved the smell! I hated so much to just throw it away! I think I used it a few more times before I trashed it. I know the sorrow of leaving beloved scents behind. But! Your sense of scents will change as you switch to natural products!

And now? I wouldn’t dream of shopping for body products at normal places like Walmart or even Bath and Body Works. Not only because of parabens and phlathates swimming in the stuff, but the scent!! Powerfully disturbing! I’ll just say my family and I are now very sensitive to chemical fragrances, and besides, synthetic fragrances are endocrine disruptors!

So. Let’s look at a few things we can make ourselves that are great to use and completely non toxic! They don’t take a lot of hard to find ingredients. A few basics and the rest you may have in your home already!

Bath Salts:

2 cups epsom salt, 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/4 cup sea salt, 6-10 drops essential oil of your choice. Stir together and pour into a pretty jar. Use about a 3/4 cup in a hot tub and soak until your wrinkly!

Sugar Body Scrub:

3/4 cup raw sugar. (I like to grind mine up so it’s not as coarse.) 1/4-1/2 cup sweet almond oil, or oils like grapeseed or jojoba. Stir these together. I guesstimate a bit as to how it looks. You want it rather a bit extra oily than too dry. Add in 5-8 drops essential oils of your choice. After you pour it into your jar, the oil will separate and that’s ok! Just stir before using. Rubbing this on your body exfoliates the dead skin. Rinse off and pat dry. Now, aren’t you starting to feel pretty good about yourself, coming out of that soak and scrub?! But we’re not done yet!

Hand And Body Lotion:

3/4 cup sweet almond oil. I’ve found this to work best so wouldn’t substitute. 2 Tablespoons beeswax pellets. *Using a white beeswax makes a whiter lotion. Melt these two on low heat until beeswax is completely melted. Cool 1-2 minutes.

In the blender pour 1 cup distilled water. *Using distilled ensures a longer shelf life because it’s pure water without contamination. Start running blender on high, then slowly drizzle in the oil/beeswax mixture and keep blending till emulsified. This happens pretty quick, but keep blending. Scrape the sides as it becomes more emulsified and there’s no water left. Add in your essential oils of choice- approx 30 drops. Blend again. Have your jars ready for pouring. As soon as it’s finished blending, pour the lotion into them. It does set up a little, so I like to scrape it out as soon as I can. And now finish off your spa night with this lotion! I bet you didn’t know lotion could be this easy to make! It also makes a unique little gift!

The worst part is the messy blender to clean. After scraping it out really good, I use paper towels to wipe it out as much as possible, before adding hot soap and water and blending. If you try washing it with greasy sides, it’ll be harder to wash because it won’t wash off as easy as food does!

Lip Balm:

Melt over low heat: 1/2 Tablespoon Shea butter, 1/2 Tablespoon sweet almond or coconut oil, 1 scant teaspoon beeswax pellets. I use a small stainless steel measuring cup or bowl on the stove because I don’t like to use the microwave and besides, it’s easier to watch the progression of melting. Remove from heat and add essential oils. I just drop in as I feel led! If it’s peppermint oil, you don’t want too much, so maybe like 2-3 drops. But for lavender you can do more like 4-6 drops. Have your lip tubes ready and pour in quickly. This sets up pretty fast as soon as it’s away from heat. Cool before capping the lip tubes. I buy my tubes at Hobby Lobby.

* I have had a lot of trial and error in getting these lip balms to the exact consistency I like. If it’s too hard, add less beeswax and if it’s too soft add a tad more. I used to add a half Tablespoon beeswax but kept experimenting and cutting back. The most recent time I made it I used coconut oil and the scant half teaspoon beeswax. I was really pleased with the lovely softness of it! I like it buttery smooth but sometimes I’ve had trouble with it being harder to rub on. Then I just “huff” on it before using. The warm breath softens the balm a tiny bit and it rubs on better. Keep playing around if it doesn’t suit your likes the first time! *If it gets pebbly after a few months, remelt it, and pour back in the tubes. I’ve had that trouble especially with some salves I’ve made and I believe it’s the beeswax. After its remelted it’s nice and smooth again! Remember, these products have no preservatives and chemicals so it won’t be quite like your ‘normal’ lip balm or lotion. But if you’re like me and enjoy natural body care, you won’t mind! And besides, this way you KNOW what’s in your products!!

And just for what it’s worth… My latest batch of lip balm I made, I actually prefer over the lip balm from a very popular brand of natural body products!! Sure, their’s have more flavor variety but are hard to rub on! Mine just glides over my lips so smooth and shiny, it makes me beam with accomplishment! And I don’t even have to “huff” over it! 😜

* You can buy Sweet Almond oil, Shea butter and beeswax pellets at most health food stores or Amazon. I mostly use the Now brand. My beeswax is Sky Organics.

Adding labels and corralling these items in a cute basket makes a special gift most any woman would enjoy! My labels are very basic and you could print some much prettier than these, I’m sure!

Do you make some of your own body products? I’d love to hear about it!