Serious DIY Series – One Way to Prevent Infections

There are so many types of infections!  There are ear infections, urinary tract infections. How about eye infections and skin infections.  Infections can be a real problem now.  I’ve read about one mom who lived more than an hour from a hospital.  In the middle of an ice storm, her child came down with a serious infection.  There was no way to get him to the hospital.

What about those calls you have to make.  Should we go to the ER?  Should we not? Let’s give it another hour or two.  Those are tough calls.

I’ve been hospitalized at one point because of a skin that I didn’t get treated soon enough.  Five days later, they decided that it was really an abscess and drained it.  If it had not been for strong antibiotics, I wouldn’t have made it.

Infections can’t always be prevented, but we can take steps that will at least make the chances of getting infections much less.

As simple as it sounds, one of those steps we can take includes keeping our skin hydrated.  According to Medicinenet.com, “Dry skin is a very common condition…. Repeat itch-scratch cycles [can cause] possible complications include rashes, eczema, and bacterial infections.”

Drinking enough water is one very important way to keep our skin hydrated or hydrate from the inside.  We can also hydrate from the outside with lotion.  The problem with the majority of lotions on the market today is that they are full of questionable substances including PHA, parabens, fragrances, and so much more.

The easiest way to make sure that your lotion is safe is to make it yourself.  The HUGE upside is that it takes less time to make than it does to go to the store to buy!

Making Your Own Lotion

There are two types of lotions – though you’ve probably only heard about one.  There are hard lotions and soft or liquid lotions.

Hard lotions are just that, they are hard or a solid.  If you’ve ever seen a lotion bar, it was a hard lotion.  Soft lotions are the kinds that you squirt out of bottles.  They aren’t exactly liquids but are more creamy.

Today, I’m going to walk you through making hard lotion, and it’s SO EASY!  You can make these as bars if you have molds.  You can use candy molds or muffin liners as molds.  I’m using purchased new containers that look like deodorant containers.

Making your own lotion requires just a couple of ingredients:  Coconut oil, Shea Butter, Beeswax pellets/pastilles, and essential oils (though they are optional).

Hard Lotion Recipe

2.5 oz of each

Coconut oil

Shea Butter

beeswax

15 drops of essential oil – I chose lavender since it’s so good for your skin.

Directions:

1.)  Measure out the ingredients by weight.  You can do 2.5 oz like I did – or you can change the amounts.  As long as the weight is the same for each of the three main ingredients, you will be fine.

2.)  Place your measured ingredients into a double boiler.  I don’t have a real double boiler, so I put a glass bowl on top of a metal saucepan filled with water.

3.)  Whisk the ingredients until they are dissolved.

4.)  I poured my ingredients into a 2 C liquid measuring cup because it is easier to pour because of the spout.

5.)  Add your essential oil(s) if you so choose.

6.)  Pour into your container(s).  Feel free to get fancy with your containers.  I used cleaned deodorant tubes because that’s what I had on hand.  You can use muffin liners, candy molds, even boxes if you line them with parchment paper.  Anything you can pour into and still remove the hardened bar you can use.  Even if all you have is an 8×8 pyrex dish, you can use it.  Just like it so you can pull it out.

In the picture above, you’ll see one tube on the right that’s golden brown and still translucent. I poured this one first.  I poured the one to the left of it second.  The one on the far left I poured last.  You’ll notice the middle and left are more of a yellow golden color.  What happened is that the mixture starts to harden quickly as I was pouring.  I ended using a knife to scrape the portion out of the measuring cup that hardened before I could pour it all out.  I used the knife to insert the partially hardened part into the tubes.

So that’s it!  It took me all of about 15 minutes to make the lotion.  It smells amazing, and it’s super good for you!  If your fingertips or heels tend to crack in the winter, this will be a HUGE help, and because you are hydrating your body, you are promoting the integrity of your skin lessening chances for skin infections.

Where I Get My Ingredients

I buy my coconut oil from Costco.  It’s the best price I can find.

I buy my beeswax pastilles from Mountain Rose Herbs – but as a disclaimer, I have NOT scoured the internet for finding the best price on those.

I got my shea butter from the Soap Dish.

My latest batch of deodorant tubes I got from Amazon.

What About You?

Have you found better prices on any of the products that you want to share with us all?  I’d love to hear!  Have you ever made your own lotion?  Have you ever made any of your own personal care items?  I’d love to hear about your adventures if you have!  Leave a comment below and tell me all about it.

Reading the post is awesome. I love it when people read my posts, but doing what’s in the post is better!  Remember, knowledge isn’t just knowing something.  It’s living it!

There are links in this post.  Some of the links may be affiliate links.  Some of the links may not be.  My promise to you is that I will only recommend the most economical version of the best quality of items to serve you. These are the items that I buy for my own family.  You can feel free to use my affiliate links, of which I will get a small amount in compensation, or you can choose to search out your products on your own.