Homemade Hand Creams

If you’re in the kitchen a lot, you’re probably washing your hands a lot, and your hands  probably feel dry from time to time.  You could buy expensive hand creams to alleviate that, of course…or you can use the oils and minerals you already have to make your own products.

Not only is making your own far less expensive, you get a very high-quality product without a bunch of fragrances and preservatives.  (I began making lotions years ago, when I got frustrated with the scarcity and expense of unscented products.)  The only two caveats with homemade creams are that because they are made without preservatives, you cannot leave them in a hot place (they will melt) and you should make sure your hands are clean before poking a finger into your lotions so that you don’t contaminate them (they are not made with antibacterial chemicals the way commercial lotions are).

To make hand cream, you’ll need a large glass bowl, a small glass bowl (or a small glass measuring cup), a whisk, and a way to heat your oils and boil your water (I use my stovetop, but you could also use a microwave).  Have a clean container ready so that you can transfer your lotion to it once it’s emulsified.

These three lotions are: (top) Lanolin Cream, (middle) Cocoa Butter Cream, and (bottom) Coconut Cream.  The Cocoa Butter Cream is a mix of oils and waxes — it’s thick rather than fluffy — but the other two are water/oil emulsions and are consequently lighter in texture.  I’ll give you the recipe for making the Coconut Cream since it’s the easiest one to make and has the nicest texture.  Home-beauty author Janice Cox has written several books on how to make body, bath, and hair products at home, so if this lotion intrigues you, check out her Natural Beauty at Home!

Coconut Cream
Makes 8 ounces — you may wish to cut this in half depending on the size of your jar/container.

2 T. stearic acid powder*
1/4 cup coconut oil, preferably unrefined
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Melt stearic acid and coconut oil at a low temperature on the stove (or in a water bath) inside of a glass container. Alternatively, you can put the mixture in a large glass bowl, put it in the microwave, and use short bursts of microwave power. The goal is to melt it slowly — do NOT make it so hot that it bubbles. Swirl/stir often to help the stearic acid flakes melt into the oil. The mixture will have to end up in a large glass bowl, so if you don’t heat it in that to begin with, know that you’ll have to pour the oil mixture into the glass bowl when it’s hot and still very pour-able — stearic acid goes solid at room temperature.

While you’re melting the oil, boil some water. Add 1/2 tsp. baking soda to a heatproof measuring cup (i.e., Pyrex glass) or a small glass bowl. When the water is boiling and the oil/stearic acid is melted, pour 1/2 cup of water into the container with the baking soda and slightly swirl to dissolve soda (it’s easiest to use a heatproof measuring cup so that you can measure it as you’re pouring it). Slooooowly trickle water mixture into oil mixture (oil mixture must be in large bowl at this point!) and whisk briskly. This is the fun part: the clear oil and the water will turn into a beautifully rich, fluffy white cream! It’ll look like whipped cream, actually.

Transfer lotion to final container (one with a screwtop) and let sit uncovered until the cream is completely cool. Wipe out large bowl with a paper towel before attempting to use soap to clean it — soap won’t remove the waxy stearic acid.

If you’ve used unrefined coconut oil, your lotion will have wonderful scent of fresh coconuts…heavenly. This is by far my favorite cream!

* Stearic acid is actually a fat (fats are technically known as fatty acids). Plants contain it, animals contain it, our bodies contain it, we eat it in whole foods all the time — it’s nothing weird or unnatural. You can find stearic acid at candle-making shops or online at shops like www.mountainroseherbs.com (which sells an astonishing array of herbs and raw ingredients for making personal-care products).

Enjoy!