DIY Basic Lotion Bars

Before I begin with this recipe... I got some great news a couple days ago... My little sister will have a baby next september! I am ecstatic!! I will be an aunt for the first time! This is such good news! My 13 year old daughter will finally have a cousin! Babies have a great power... the power to bring smiles and happiness to families. That is what I believe! They are little rays of sunshine that escaped from the sky :-)

I thought of sending a little box of surprises to my sister... just little bits and pieces to make her smile. I will do a blog post later this week on the contents of this little box for expecting mothers. Of course this one is personalized to her tastes but most certainly it will give a general idea of little things to look for. The main components of the box are lotion bars I made yesterday. These bars are made from organic ingredients and I have not put any essential oils or perfume into them. They have a sweet scent due to the natural smell of the ingredients but nothing more. I wanted to keep them as natural as possible. My sister will be able to use these hydrating bars on her growing belly to prevent stretch marks.  They are very easy to make and know that this is a base recipe. You could add the essential oils of your choice depending on what purpose you want to give the bars. I will let you know in the directions when it would be appropriate to add the essential oils.

INGREDIENTS:

equal parts of *I used 1 cup of each*:
- coconut oil (provides deep moisture)
- cocoa butter, I grated mine (rich in antioxidants, hydrating, healing properties for sensitive skin)
- beeswax, I chopped it into flakes (anti-baterial properties, locks in moisture)

A couple tablespoons of sweet almond oil *I used 2* (rich in vitamins, hydrating, emollient qualities)

A couple capsules of vitamin E *I used 4* (protectant, healing, hydrating)

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare a bain marie. I used a tempered glass measuring cup in a pan containing 2 inches of simmering water.

Add your beeswax and let it melt away. As you can see I am using a chop stick to mix things around.

Once the beeswax has completely melted, turn of the heat but leave the pan on the stove. Add the coconut oil and the cocoa butter to the beeswax and melt them down. It happens on its own really but I like mixing with my chop stick.

Once melted down remove the measuring cup from the pan (be careful the handle will be hot, use a towel to pick it up) and add the sweet almond oil and the vitamin E to the mixture (punch a hole in the capsules with a knife and press the oil out, discard the capsules). This would be the time to add a couple drops of essential oils if you were using any. Mix well.

You can now fill your molds. Silicone molds work best I find but you could use regular muffin pans.

I found some pink and blues cupcake molds and thought it was funny to use both colours since we don't know if my sister is having a boy or a girl... or both! Leave them on the counter a couple minutes until they start to set then transfer to the fridge for at least a couple hours. After that they are ready to go! They melt nicely with the body's temperature and are very hydrating. They also smell divine! The scent reminds me of the Bounty Chocolate Bars I eat from time to time; a mix of chocolate and coconut... heaven for the sense of smell! I wrapped them up in waxed paper and found and old candle tin to store the bar that will be used every day. I hope my sister likes them!