I came upon this lotion when battling an eczema outbreak with my little boy who was an infant at the time. We discovered his eczema when he was seven months old. At first we had no idea that it was directly caused by food allergies and, ultimately, a gut/immune problem. All we knew was that his poor baby skin was being ravaged by incessant itching and it was driving his parents to any possible means to fix it.
In my mama gut I knew that any hydro-cortisone creams were not a good long-term or short-term answer. We finally settled on Eucerin to soothe immediate flareups but I felt like we needed something to sink in to his skin and repair some of the damage naturally. I began researching homemade lotions and eventually fell upon Wellness Mama's recipe.
This is adapted and based on what ingredients I have available or can easily find. The beeswax is such an important component and is what gives the lotion substance and keeps it from being liquidy and running off your skin. I have tried different oils but the two I settle on are tea tree oil and lavendar oil. Lavender naturally calms the skin while the small amount of tea tree oil keeps the oil antiseptic. I always keep the amount on the tea tree oil small because of the possibility of getting the lotion in your eyes. There have been a few times that my little boy rubbed it in his eyes and didn't complain so of course I tried it too and didn't experience any irritation.
My favorite thing about this lotion is that it is so useful. I use it as a daily facial lotion for myself but also continue to use it on my little boy's face and other dry or sensitive areas. A very small amount goes a long way and after it has absorbed into my skin I can easily apply makeup without having to wipe off any oily residue.
Homemade Lotion Recipe
1/2 cup olive oil (or any liquid oil such as almond, etc.)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup beeswax
1 teaspoon Vitamin E oil (optional but does act as a preservative)
2 Tablespoons Shea Butter or Cocoa Butter
6 drops Lavender oil
3 drops Tea Tree oil
Make a homemade double boiler by placing a small saucepan with a half of a cup of water over med-low heat. Find a pure glass bowl that is big enough to sit on top of the saucepan without falling in and without the bottom touching the water.
Finely chop up the beeswax (the finer, the shorter cooking time) and add it along with the olive and coconut oil. Let it melt together while stirring occasionally. Once the beeswax has melted turn off the heat and add in the Shea Butter, Vitamin E oil, and essential oils; stir well.
Let it cool then pour into shallow, wide-mouth glass jars. Seal and cool in fridge. You can either keep it there or keep it at room temp. I like to keep mine at room temp. so that I am not scraping off coconut oil with my thumbnail with each use (:
