Make Your Own Melt & Pour Body Balm

Parents and Caregivers, it's time for YOU to play! I'm veering a bit off course from children's play activities this week to offer some playtime posts for you, the grown-ups. We all know that as parents and/or caregivers, self-care is important--vital, even. And yet, we often put our own interests and projects on the back burner as we tend to necessities of everyday life. So I'm devoting some space in my day and here on my blog to some adult-friendly fun. Of course, we all have different interests and hobbies. If my hobbies of choice don't happen to be yours, I encourage you to pursue your own creative interests. If you don't know what those are yet, try some of the activities here or, better yet, get lost perusing Pinterest boards! There's a hobby waiting just for you! Some of these activities will yield gifts for you. Some will yield gifts for children! Some will be able to be adapted so children can help if you wish and some are even great beginner projects for older kids to try.

Let's kick off with a great one for your winter dry skin:

DIY Melt & Pour Body Balm

This project idea was actually born out of a recurring and stubborn patch of eczema S keeps getting on his leg. While on a visit to family up north, I had my stepmom, a pediatrician take a peek at it and Nana offered S some beeswax balm to put on it. S is very particular about lotions for some reason. He never minds sunscreen but never wants any type of lotion or ointment on. I think this feeling increases when a "boo-boo" is involved. I peeked at the ingredients on Nana's special balm and realized I could probably make it at home. In fact, maybe if I did make it at home and let S decide on a scent he liked, he might even want to try some. (He also might not, and that's OK, too.)

I searched Pinterest and subsequently a few blogs for simple recipes and combined/adapted a few to create my own. I decided to test it out on my own before getting S involved. I got out our crafting crock pot (remember our melt and pour beeswax candles?) and plunked in the first few ingredients. I turned the heat to low and went about my day. Parent Playtime Projects are best when they can easily be ignored or quickly put down! After picking up S from school and getting both boys ready for their afternoon nap, I returned to my now melted ingredients and set out to pouring a bit into empty metal tins. To each individual tin, I added a combination of essential oils I liked. I carefully transferred them to the refrigerator for faster cooling (this gets very hot so be careful!) and within 15 minutes it was set and ready to use, store or gift away!

So, if you'd like to try your hand at your own Melt & Pour Body Balm or some variations thereof, here's what you'll need to know:

Ingredients and Materials:

• 3 oz beeswax 
• You can sometimes find this in craft supply stores or Whole Foods type places locally. If you happen to know a beekeeper, even better! If not, you can rely on Amazon and purchase bricks (as I did) or pellets, which melt faster.
• 4 oz coconut oil
• You can buy coconut oil now in almost all grocery stores.
• 4 oz shea butter
• This can also be ordered from Amazon or purchased locally if you find it.
• essential oils
• I really prefer the "real" stuff here to artificial scents. Essential oils can be pricey, so I'd recommend sticking with one or two you really love if you're just starting out.
• crock pot or double boiler or microwave safe dish
• I use a "crafting crock pot," a small crock pot I devote solely to crafts like this. Keeping a kosher kitchen means that anything I cook in my dishes and appliances must be kosher as well. Since cosmetic grade items don't always fit this bill, I reserve a crock pot for my cooking and some secondhand or inexpensive cookware for the process involved. I'd also add that beeswax and other ingredients can be hard to get off of your cookware, so I do recommend having a separate pot for this if you are using the double boiler or microwave method as well. I have a comparable sized metal mixing bowl that I found at a thrift store. It fits right inside the crock pot so that I don't have to use the ceramic insert itself. 
• measuring cup, spoon, potholders, thick place-mat or towel to cover your workspace
• Don't use your favorite potholders and place-mats here in case of spills!
• empty metal tins and/or silicone molds
• You can order or purchase silicone lotion/soap molds or empty metal tins. I've seen molds and tins even at places like Dollar Tree or Walmart. You can also use a loaf pan lined with parchment paper in a pinch!

Instructions:

Melting Your Ingredients:

Crock-pot Method: Create a water bath by filling the ceramic insert about 3/4 full with water and placing a comparable sized metal mixing bowl inside. Measure and add your beeswax, coconut oil and shea butter into your metal bowl. Cover and turn heat on low. Let your ingredients melt completely but be careful not to overheat beyond that as it will smell a bit burnt. (Yes, I learned this the hard way and also, not to use the high setting to speed things along!)

Double boiler Method: Measure out and combine your beeswax, coconut oil and shea butter. Melt your ingredients in a double boiler on stovetop.

Microwave Method: Disclaimer: I haven't tried the microwave method as I don't have a microwave, but presumably you should be able to create a water bath using microwave safe glass dishes and melt your ingredients that way. I'd recommend using a lower heat setting and short runs of time in there just to be sure you don't overheat them and burn it.

*If you keep a strictly kosher kitchen, please consult with a knowledgeable rabbi or source on Kashrut before using your stovetop or microwave!

Pour Time! Here's where the fun starts. Carefully handle your melted ingredients (they are HOT!) and pour into your mold of choice. If you are using tins as I did, you'll pour directly into the tin and add your scent. Warning: The container will be very hot once you pour in the mixture! Add a generous number of drops of your favorite essential oil or combination thereof into each tin. Similarly to that method, using a silicone mold you will also pour in your mixture to each compartment and then add your scent. You can make each bar the same scent or change it up! With this method, once completely cooled, you will pop your set mixture out of each mold and have your very own body balm bars. You can store these in tins from there.

To cool and set you can either leave the filled tins/molds out at room temperature until solid or pop them in the fridge/freezer to speed things along.

Now you're ready to use, store or give away your body balm! Since there is no water in this recipe, it stores well long-term. It can melt, though, so do keep it out of direct sunlight and extreme heat. If you've used the direct-pour method into tins, you'll use the warmth of your fingers to soften the body balm and scrape a bit out for use. It can be used on hands, body and even chapped lips. If you have used a silicone mold, you'll be able to warm the bar in your hands and then rub it in. Now here are some suggested scent variations:

Some of my favorite scent combinations are lavender & rosemary, lavender, lemon & peppermint, lemon-peppermint and...

Vapor-Rub Body Balm: Combine eucalyptus, peppermint and rosemary essential oils for an all natural alternative to commercial vapor rubs.

Kid-Friendly Boo-Boo Balm Bar: While this is a project definitely more geared toward adults and older children, you can get little ones involved in selecting a scent for their own boo-boo balm bar. Maybe if he creates his own signature scent, S will want to try it out on his boo-boo! (And maybe not...)

Happy Playing!