Love those garden hands

Now that it’s June, I’m anxious to get outside and tackle the weeds that have laid claim to our garden. My husband had a bad case of pancreatitis in May, so I’ve been taking care of him, and the garden has been on the back burner for now. While I’m itching to get started working in the dirt, I’m going to make a batch of this homemade hand lotion up so it will be readily available for those chapped, cracked hands.

While certain oils and butters on their own will do a good job of moisturizing, I like to infuse my homemade lotion with different skin soothing, and healing herbs. I make and sell an herbal infused, skin healing salve in my shop, which you can find here that’s perfect for skin irritations like bites, burns and rashes. However, the healing salve can be a little heavy for daily, all over hand use, which is why I like this hand lotion.

Healing herbs

Calendula

This bright orange flower is good for soothing itchy, irritated skin. I use it in this salve recipe to help with eczema and psoriasis. Calendula is also good at calming inflamed and red skin, and is my number one herb for general skin healing.

Comfrey

This herb is nicknamed “bone set” because it works so quickly to help the body heal from fractures, sprains and broken bones. It’s also a quick skin healer and helps skin cells regenerate faster from damage.

Dandelion

Yes, that loathed “weed” in yards across the country is a great for soothing worn skin. It’s also great for dozens, if not hundreds of other herbal preparations and delicious edibles. So please, be kind to your dandelions!

Skin healing butters and oils

You can’t have an herbal hand lotion without something to infuse your herbs in. There are tons of good options out there, but I wanted to use something that was both deeply nourishing, but not too greasy. I’ve included mango butter, which is similar in consistency to shea, but faster absorbing.

Mango butter

Mango butter is also good for dry, itching, damaged or blemished skin. Not only does mango butter nourish damaged skin, but it helps to prevent the damage from happening in the first place. (soapers choice)

Tamanu oil

Tamanu oil is a potent smelling oil, but it’s also a potent skin healer. It’s most commonly used for acne and stretch marks, but it’s great for scrapes, burns, rashes, chapped skin and other irritations. On its own it’s very thick, but it works well and absorbs beautifully when mixed with other oils.

Beeswax helps to naturally thicken everything thing up, and the sweet almond oil gives this homemade lotion a light base. Since we aren’t using any chemical stabilizers or preservatives, this lotion should be kept out of extreme heat or cold and will only keep for a few months. If some oil floats to the top, simply stir it back in. However, if the lotion begins to smell rancid or “off” in any way, then pitch it and make a fresh batch. Vitamin E will help the oils from going rancid, but the lotion won’t last as long as a salve since it has water in it.

Herb infused homemade hand lotion

• 1/4 cup Calendula flowers – what I use
• 2 T. Comfrey leaves – what I use
• 1/4 cup Dandelion leaves and/or flower tops – what I use when I don’t have any in the yard
• 1 tsp Tamanu oil – what I use
• 2 T. Mango butter – what I use
• 1/2 tsp Vitamin E – what I use
• ½ cup and 2 T.  Sweet almond oil – what I use
• ½ cup filtered, boiled, then cooled water (or use a flower hydrosol like these)
• 6 grams Beeswax – what I use
• Glass bowl – the ones I have
• Saucepan
• scale – what I use

*all of the herbs used should be dried.

1. If you’re using whole herbs, give them a few pulses through a coffee grinder, or grind with a mortar and pestle until coarsely cut. This is the coffee grinder I have, and this is the mortar and pestle we use.
2. Combine the sweet almond oil and herbs together in a glass bowl. Fill the saucepan about halfway with water and place over medium heat. Perch the glass bowl with the oil on top to make a sort of double boiler. Keep the water at a low boil while the herbs infuse into the oil.
3. After an hour, turn the heat off and strain the herbs out with a cheesecloth, or clean, old t-shirt. I like to run it through a coffee filter too to make sure all of the small herb bits are out.
4. Put the infused oil back in a clean, glass bowl on top of the saucepan over medium heat. Add the beeswax and mango butter, stirring occasionally until melted.
5. Pour the oil mixture into your blender, add the tamanu and vitamin E oil, and let it cool for about 10 minutes in the fridge. You want the mixture to be creamy, but not cool so much that it gets hard. You can also use a stand mixer or hand mixer for this, but the emulsion won’t be as effective.
6. Turn the blender on, and slooooowly drizzle in the water through the top. The mixture will get creamy and thick. Stop the blender when it starts to sputter. If you’re using a mixer, then slowly pour the water in as you’re mixing on medium/high speed.
   Store your lotion in an impeccably clean glass jar, out of heat, sunlight or freezing temperatures. Slather generously onto skin damaged hands as needed.

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