Who would have thought making your own hand cream was this easy? Turn your kitchen into a lab and get carried away making this silky smooth, nourishing balm for hands and body. Our balm is preservative free and has no ‘nasties’, just the amazing skin nourishing qualities of macadamia oil.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup macadamia oil
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp emulsifying wax*
- 1/4 tsp citrus seed oil** optional
- 10 drops bergamot oil or other essential oil of your choice
Instructions
- You will need 2 metal bowls that will sit over a small saucepan of water, 1 small jug, a spatula, an electric hand-held blender and a 300ml capacity jar for storing. Wash all these items in hot, soapy water and then rinse in hot water. Allow to dry before using. Clean equipment will help prevent the cream from being exposed to bacteria.
- Place the oil and water in one metal bowl and the emulsifying wax in another. Place 2 small saucepans filled with 2cm of water on the stove over medium heat and bring the water to a simmer. Place each of the metal bowls over a simmering saucepan of water and leave until the wax has melted in one and the water and oil are warm in the other. They will take approximately the same amount of time.
- As soon as the wax has melted, remove from the heat and set aside. When the water and oil mixture is warm to touch, remove from the heat.
- Pour both mixtures into the jug and allow to cool slightly for about 5 minutes. At this stage it will look similar to skim milk. When slightly cool, blend the mixture with the hand blender until it begins to thicken, for 2-3 minutes. As the mixture cools, it will thicken more. When completely cool, stir in the citrus seed oil and the essential oil. Spoon into the clean jar and screw on the lid.
- This cream will last for up to 28 days if refrigerated.
Notes
*Emulsifying wax is available from some health food stores or online.
**An optional citrus seed oil helps as a natural preservative but the rule of thumb is, without preservatives, the balm should be kept under 8C and used within 28 days.
