Want Lotion to Smell Exactly How You Like? Make Your Own!

Things You Will Need:
-Jar or bottle
-Blender
-basket style coffee filter
-water
-Shea Butter (organic, if you'd like)
-Coconut oil (again, with the organic)
-100% pure aloe vera gel (this, is going to be organic, because otherwise it's not 100%)
-the essential oil scent(s) of your choice
-grapefruit seed extract (optional)
-spatula

So you've got dry skin. You slather on lotion like it's going out of style. And with each bottle, you fall in love with a new scent--only to fall out of love a third of the way through the bottle. It's a spendy, frustrating process. And sure, you could buy lotion with no scent, but where's the fun in that? So here are some easy peasy instructions to help you make your very own lotion, in your very own scent, in less than 30 minutes. Consider it the Rachel Ray lotion. Yummo.

Okay. To get started, gather your materials. Into the blender, spoon three or four big chunks of Shea butter. Add 2 big tablespoons of coconut oil, and about 2 tablespoons of aloe vera gel. Then, fill the container with water to cover. Shake in your chosen essential oil, until it smells just a little stronger than you'd want it to.

Blend for about 2 minutes. Remove pitcher, and cover the top with the coffee filter to strain out the water. At this point, if you'd like to add in the grapefruit seed extract to ensure shelf stability past 3 months, add about 15 drops of the concentrate, 45 drops of regular strength. Smell the lotion. If the scent isn't strong enough, add just a few more drops in. Blend until fluffy.

Open the pitcher, and use spatula to stir the lotion around a bit. Blend one last time, (on the whipped setting, if you have one) for about a minute and a half.
Spoon your fluffy smell good lotion into the jar, and cap it tightly. Over time, the lotion may harden a bit. You can use it in this state, or, if you prefer the consistency of a softer lotion, you can let the jar stand in a bowl of HOT water for 5-10 minutes, to soften the lotion.

These instructions make about 4 oz, give or take, but play with the amounts, to get more or less. Try to keep the ratio the same (2:1:1), and you'll get the same consistency no matter the size of the batch. Stay tuned for more on how to choose the right essential oil for you.