Using a ReadyMade tutorial we’ve had bookmarked for months, Danielle and I recently made a batch of homemade body moisturizer.  It required only the ingredients pictured above (minus the essential oil, since we decided to make ours unscented), and it works like a dream. Now I know you guys are entirely capable of reading the tutorial yourselves, but we learned a few things along the way that the tutorial didn’t exactly explain, so I’ll give you a rundown of the supplies we used, preparations we made, and things we learned.

Supplies:

• Olive Oil-I’ve had a full bottle of organic olive oil lying around for a while now, so we chose to use that as our oil (over coconut, avocado, and almond).
• Filtered Water- I wanted so badly to use orange blossom water or cold brewed tea instead, but I couldn’t find the former and was too impatient to wait for the preparation of the latter. Maybe next time.
• Beeswax- Fortunately, Danielle had several blocks of filtered beeswax that she purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs for just such occasions.
• Eucalyptus Essential Oil- I love the scent of eucalyptus, and my initial plan was to add a few drops to the moisturizer. Danielle preferred having the unscented version, so I left out the oil to simplify the process.
• Glass Containers (to hold the moisturizer)-Danielle and I doubled the proportions, so we used 2 glass jars instead of the recommended 1. We picked ours up at Hobby Lobby for a little over $2 each.

Preparation:

As I’ve already mentioned, this moisturizer is fairly easy to make…so it doesn’t require much preparation. However, if you’re using block of beeswax like we did, you’ll need to either grate it (as the tutorial suggests) or chop it into tiny, easy to melt pieces (what we did).  We decided to chop ours instead of grating it because a knife seemed like a much easier item to clean than a cheese grater. Fyi, melted beeswax is pretty hard to get rid of once it dries on an item. Since we used a knife, we simply dipped the knife in boiling water to remove the beeswax.

Lessons Learned:

• Picking up a hot jar full of olive oil and melted beeswax with a pair of tongs isn’t necessarily a smart move. Use potholders to avoid splashing hot liquid on yourself or a loved one.
• If at all possible, clean beeswax off of the dish/tool is has covered before it dries. This will make life easier for you.
• I expected this moisturizer to be slightly runny like a lotion, but it’s much firmer like a body butter. I was actually pleased with the outcome, but if your heart’s set on lotion then this moisturizer might not be for you.
• Applying the body butter just after a shower, waiting 5 minutes or so for it to dry, and then patting your skin with a towel yields best results (i.e. the softest skin imaginable).

Here are couple of pictures of the finished product. It might look like mashed potatoes, but the similarities stop there. I promise.

We’ll likely cover the lids with pretty fabric, since we’ll be using these jars to house our future homemade moisturizers as well.

Have you entered the Made From Earth giveaway yet? You should!

I finally got around to making and using the All-Natural Fabric Softener that I recently posted about wanting to try. Not only was it super easy to make, but it also might be a match made in heaven with my homemade lavender dryer sheets. The barely there scent of lemons combined with the rich lavender scent is near perfect!

Lemon Juice, Baking Soda, & Cold Water

Making this fabric softener is as simple as combining the above ingredients in something that has a lid, like a large jar, and shaking the covered container.  Proportion-wise, you’ll need the juice of four lemons (or around two tablespoons of bottled lemon juice, which was a complete guess on my part), one teaspoon of baking soda, and two cups of cold water. Pour the mixture in with your laundry when it begins its final rinse cycle, and get ready for some seriously soft clothes/sheets/towels!

I wish you could see how they smell and feel.

Below are a few pictures that were taken this past Saturday at a party/picnic in the park. My friend Allie organized a small get-together to celebrate her dog Zeus’ birthday, and fun times were had by all!

Here's Zeus, the birthday boy. Isn't he cute?

For the past two years or so, I had been passionately searching for a shampoo and condioner that satisfied, met, and maybe even exceeded all my expectations.  I was actually not asking for much. I just needed something free of parabens(a type of preservative) and sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates(a cleaning agent) that would also make my hair look fabulous. I learned very quickly that regardless of what the bottles tell you, most “natural” hair products will absolutely make your hair look like turds. The shampoos made my hair feel too clean, and the conditioners did far less than condition. I threw away an embarrassing amount of half-used Nature’s Gate, Burt’s Bees, Jason, and Kiss My Face shampoo/conditioner bottles until I read some great reviews and ordered John Masters Organics Lavender Rosemary Shampoo and Lavender & Avocado Conditioner about a month ago. Feast your eyes upon these simple and lovely bottles:

Hello, soft hair.

Basically, I am thrilled with the results. I am almost excited to finish off these bottles, because that means I can try the Honey & Hibiscus Hair Reconstructing Shampoo and the Citrus & Neroli Detangling Conditioner.