Is that a jar of face cream or an expensive concoction of chemicals?

Over the past years I have enjoyed a vast array of hair products, make up, lotions, etc. but recently I have been making a change. I am realizing I don't need all of that stuff. Yes, make up can be fun and some women enjoy it. That's cool. But for me, all of that combined looks like a laboratory of chemicals that I would like to do without.

So I eliminated hair products and make up from my life … besides the recent addition of red lipstick, but that can be another blog post. Luckily I have manageable hair so no hair products is easy for me. But then it came time to evaluate my face cream and I realized I can't do without that, especially in wintertime. My face gets dry.

My solution? Research on the internet. I came upon the blog The Elliot Homestead and the writer had a great recipe for homemade face cream. Now THIS is right up my alley. I love cooking and why not expand that to "cooking" up beauty products?!

It is seriously the most simple thing ever. Three ingredients listed below and directions at the bottom of this post.

• 1 Tablespoon Organic Coconut Oil
• 3 Tablespoons Unrefined Shea butter
• 3-5 drops Essential Oil (Examples: Tea Tree & Lavender are both good for blemish prone skin. Leave the EO out if you want to make eye cream. The eye area is more sensitive and EO could irritate that skin).

The cream is, well, a cream. It's not a light lotion. This is best used at night after you wash your face and are ready for bed as the Shea butter and coconut oil take about 10 minutes to soak into your skin. That means don't apply this and walk into work because your face will be all shiny!

Now you are thinking … what does this all cost? There is definitely an up front investment. I purchased 30 oz of Coconut oil (you can cook with this as well) and 16 oz of Shea butter. After doing the math, the homemade natural cream costs $1.40 per ounce. To put that in perspective let's compare it to Burt's Bees Sensitive Night Cream which uses mostly natural ingredients, including Shea butter. This cream costs $10 per ounce! 

Homemade cream is 86% cheaper!

You can probably find most of the ingredients at your local natural/whole foods store or you can order it online. I purchased the Coconut oil on sale at our local whole foods store and the essential oils as well. I ordered the Shea butter from Amazon to get a better deal.

I have been using this all natural cream for over 2 months now and absolutely love it. I will never buy store bought face cream again. I put it on every night and go to bed and when I wake up my face is soft and moisturized. I don't have  a need to put more cream on or use some sort of "morning/day lotion". It also doubles as a make up remover for those occasions of fanciness!

My next challenge will be to figure out how to make this homemade cream have SPF for the summertime! 

Directions:

Spoon out the coconut oil and Shea butter in a microwaveable safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds then whisk together until completely smooth. You may need to heat again for 10-20 seconds and whisk again. Then add the essential oil of your choosing. Store the cream in a clean container with a tight fitting lid such as an old face cream container, small plastic or glass jar (like a baby food jar). The mixture will become solid once it cools to room temperature (place it in the fridge to rapidly cool it).