During the winter months I get really dry skin. It’s a combo of the indoor heating, and the outside chill. So, my skin loves my DIY Vanilla Body Cream. What I love most is that it smells as if I am lying on a beach in the Caribbean, which is extremely pleasing because I am SO not!
I have chosen my favorite skin-loving butters, combined with sweet almond oil. Shea Butter is one of nature’s miracle butters – it is my absolute go-to for very dry skin. Raw virgin coconut oil contains a bunch of nutrients, (make sure you buy UNREFINED), and sweet almond oil is not only deeply hydrating for your body, but thins out your formula so make it more lotion-y.
During the cooler months your lotion will harden, so I recommend not keeping in the fridge. Also, a tip is to let it stand in a small bowl of very hot water before using – this will soften it up and make it more like a lotion than a balm, and also who doesn’t love slathering on a warm body lotion?
Try to make sure that your Shea butter is from a fair trade coop in Africa. Most of the Shea Butter in the world is produced by impoverished communities in West Africa, and I like to support other women across the globe as much as I can.
Make sure your coconut oil is unrefined so that it contains all the nutrients – this means it has not been heated during processing.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp Shea Butter
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 4 tbsp sweet almond oil
- 1/2tsp vanilla absolute essential oil
*Vanilla absolute can be found here. Don’t confuse it with Vanilla Extract! Or if you don’t love Vanilla, you could always purchase this awesome sampler oil kit from Mountain Rose Herbs, and play around to get the scent you love.
DIRECTIONS
- Melt all the butters and oils gently over a double-boiler (Bain Marie)
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla
- Store in an opaque glass jar.
