Homemade Skin Oil

I have come to the conclusion that I will try whenever possible to only put things on my skin that I would actually eat. I learned the hard way that those things that touch your skin in your water or lotion, etc. will go right through your skin (the body's largest organ) and affect your health. So I came up with this recipe, and I've been really pleased with how well it works.

Pretty much everything is available at the grocery store. More supplies are available at a health food store or online inexpensively. I have found that this worked so well that my husband was complimenting me on my skin (that never happened before!) and I actually got my legs to tan last summer. Usually they stay stubbornly white. I use it on my face, arms, legs, etc. and while it is oil, it soaks in quite quickly and isn't heavy or greasy.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup coconut oil (I find it at Walmart in the cooking oil section

• 1/8 cup olive oil

• 1/2 cup grapeseed oil

• 1 Tbsp. lanolin (the Now brand is not expensive, but if you happen to have it, the Lansinoh stuff for nursing moms works just fine, more expensive, though)

• 2 Tbsp. shea butter (if you happen to have it. Again, the Now brand is what I use, but you could leave it out entirely or use jojoba oil, also)

• Vitamin E oil, maybe 20 to 30 drops.

• Jasmine oil or another essential oil that you like the scent of; check out health food store.

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a glass container that is placed in a water bath in a saucepan on the stove top. I don't use the microwave for this because it basically destroys healthy items, but you can if you want to. Stir as the coconut oil melts, and when all the oils are well blended, remove from heat and add scent as you choose.

Now I put mine into a recycled Snapple bottle for quite a while, but my clumsiness inspired me to search for a more spill proof solution. I found these two bottles at a health food store and now just refill them.

I have been using this for over a year and am very happy with it. The coconut oil is wonderful for your skin, the lanolin gives it some body, and the grapeseed oil is very light and healthy and makes it liquid and manageable to apply. Olive oil is great, but too much and I smell like dinner in Tuscany, so I go easy on it!

By Gina from The Frozen North