New Year's Resolution

January is the famous time of year when people make New Year's Resolutions. Typically, it has something to do with health, like starting to exercise or lose weight. This year I joined the bandwagon and made a healthy resolution, but it has nothing to do with exercise or weight loss. My resolution for 2013 is to switch out all my chemically laden cleaning and personal care products for ones that are more natural.

As you all know, I have lots of food allergies (gluten, wheat and dairy) so I avoid ingesting all of these substances. However, until this year I never really considered that these ingredients might also be lingering in my personal care items, such as in my shampoo, makeup etc. I have always read food labels, but recently started reading the labels of all the products I use. It is ridiculous how many chemicals, most of which I cannot even pronounce, are in items such as shampoo, face soap, and household cleaners. I decided there is no way using all these chemicals can be healthy for me, especially my liver since it has to detoxify everything. I would love to say I threw all these items out right away and purchased new items, but the truth is I can afford to do that this month. Instead, I am slowly switching out products throughout the year as I attempt to achieve my resolution. I will be posting new products that I either purchase or make throughout the year that are made with harmless ingredients. Please check back often to see what is new.

My first replacement this year is my body lotion because it goes on the largest organ of my body, my skin. It feels fabulous and has even made one of my cooking burn scars disappear! I hope you love it as much as I do!

Whipped Butter Lotion

1 jar of shea butter
1/2 coconut oil
1/2 cup of jojoba oil
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
1-2 teaspoons of essential oil of your choice
2 teaspoons of vitamin E oil

Directions

1. Melt shea butter in a double broiler.
2. Add coconut oil and melt until a complete liquid.
3. Remove oils from heat.
4. While the oils are cooling, add the cornstarch to a small bowl. Gradually add several tablespoons of jojoba oil to the cornstarch and thoroughly mix. Once mixed, add cornstarch mixture to the shea butter/coconut oil mixture, along with the rest of the jojoba oil.
5. Place mixture in freezer for about 20-30 minutes.
6. Once the mixture has cooled, remove from freezer and add essential oils and vitamin E. Whip on medium/high with beaters until the mixture thickens to the desired consistency.
7. Store in an airtight jar and keep out of direct sunlight.

 This is how the mixture looked after it was whipped.


                                                                 
 I reused the shea butter jar to store the lotion. It made 2 full jars.

                                                                                   

Recipe adapted from www.mommypotamus.com