Luxurious Homemade Moisturiser

*

I love to make homemade gifts for Christmas presents for my friends and family. This year I thought I'd whip up a few body products in my Thermomix, with ingredients that are all natural and good enough to eat! (Well, I don't suppose you'd really want to eat this, but it's nice to know it wouldn't hurt you if you did.)

There's a lot of scary ingredients in the body products you buy in shops, so I always avoid those by buying mostly from MiEssence. I love that they are Australian and use good quality, organic, food grade ingredients. But now and then I make my own, just for fun.

I started making a few of my own body products before I ever got a Thermomix. Actually, I remember making lip sticks and lip glosses with my sister as teenagers, stirring concoctions on the stove... Some of those were pretty scary. Especially the one that stained my lips bright pink for 24 hours. Don't worry, this is nowhere near as scary.

This recipe is based on one by Jackie French (whose books I've always loved), which was in a Women's Weekly recipe magazine I had years ago. I've changed it around a little to use the ingredients I generally have in my cupboard, and have also made it Thermomix-friendly. To make this traditionally you need to warm and stir the oils and wax for 15 minutes in a double boiler, then whisk for a few minutes to beat air into the cream until it's thick and emulsified. But if you have a Thermomix it's much simpler - no standing and stirring, no double boiler necessary, and no hand-whisking. So this really is a very simple present, but I promise it will be well received! The cream is thick and luxurious, and smells amazing.

I know some of you will ask how long this cream lasts - I'm sorry, I really don't know. The ingredients are oils that will sit on your shelf for years and be fine, so I figure it should last for ages... but just to be on the safe side, store the cream in a cool, dark spot - like in a cupboard. A small pot of moisturiser will be fine at room temp for a long time. 

* UPDATE * Tracey has sent a message to say that it is the bacteria in the water which reduces shelf-life. She uses distilled water or boils tap water for 10 mins. You can also add a teaspoon of vitamin E oil which will inhibit bacteria growth. ( Squeeze out a capsule if you like!). That in itself is moisturising as well. (Thanks Tracey!)

I've used rose water and lavender essential oil in this batch. You could use all rose water, or orange flower water, or a mixture of water and essential oils of choice. Add the oils sparingly, mix in, then check to see if it's enough. You don't want an overpowering smell - it's better to have too little than too much. You can always add more if you need to. You can also change the base oils around a little - there's some suggested variations under the recipe.

Enjoy!

 

 

Luxurious Homemade Moisturiser

     Use as a body moisturiser for silky soft skin. Also lovely as a night cream for your face.

Makes approx. 500g

1. Weigh oils and beeswax into the Thermomix bowl and cook for 15 minutes at 60C, speed 2, or until all the beeswax is melted:
- 130g apricot oil
- 260g macadamia oil
- 50g beeswax pellets or a block of beeswax chopped up in small pieces

[Note: You can buy beeswax as pellets, blocks, sheets or candles - just chop it up roughly if you don't have pellets, then chop it finer in the Thermomix before adding the oils. The good thing about using a block of beeswax is it's usually more pure. Do not subsititute paraffin wax.]

2. Add and mix on speed 6 for 3 minutes, scraping down halfway through:
- 2 Tbspns rosewater or orange flower water (available from Chemists - although grocery store rose water essence will work too)
- 4 Tbspns distilled or boiled water
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp lavender or rose essential oil; or orange essential oil if using orange water
- 1 Vitamin E capsule (squeezed out)

3. Pour into clean pots or jars straight away, while still warm.

Variations:
~ use any mixture of macadamia, apricot, avocado and almond oil for the base oils
~ use orange flower water instead of rose water, with orange or bergamot essential oil
~ omit essential oil and filtered water, and use 6 Tbspns rose water or orange flower water instead
~ omit flower waters, use 6 Tbspns filtered water and 1/2 tsp essential oil of choice (or a little more if needed)