How to Make a Kokum Butter Body Lotion
Kokum butter is great for creating healing skin lotions. The butter comes from the Garcinia tree in India, and is useful in regenerating skin cells and relieving chapped skin or lips. Kokum is a hard butter that is difficult to use without making a lotion. Here's a kokum lotion you can make at home to apply to your skin and lips. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- 2 Cups Water Saucepan Glass Canning Jar Tongs 2 Tablespoons Beeswax 1 Tablespoon Almond Oil 2 Tablespoons Kokum Butter 1/2 Teaspoon of Aloe Vera Gel 1/8 Teaspoon Coconut Milk 2 Vitamin E Gel Caps 2 Small Glass Jars for Cosmetics
Instructions
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The Steps
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1
Boil 2 cups of water in a pan over medium heat. Remove from the heat when it begins to boil.
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2
Measure out 2 tablespoons of beeswax and put it into your glass canning jar.
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3
Add the almond oil and kokum butter to the beeswax.
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4
Use your tongs to hold the canning jar in the hot water. Lower the jar into the water until everything melts.
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5
Stir the aloe vera and coconut milk into the kokum butter.
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6
Squeeze the contents of the Vitamin E gel caps into the lotion. This ingredient is added to nourish your skin.
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7
Heat and stir the mixture until it turns completely to liquid. While the mixture is hot, pour it quickly into your 2 small cosmetic jars. Let the body lotion cool before covering with the lid.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Add less beeswax if you want a thinner body lotion.
References
- Photo Credit photos by Robin Coe
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Comments
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Laura Dexter Lance
Feb 06, 2011
The proportions in the above recipe are off. A good ratio for lip balms and solid lotions (which you can use with any oils and butters) is 1 part beeswax + 3 parts carrier (liquid) oil + 1 part solid butter. This would correct the above recipe to 1 TBSP beeswax + 3 TBSP almond oil + 1 TBSP kokum butter. The addition of the teaspoon or less of the other ingredients will not markedly affect the consistency. Even with this standard ratio, you'll still likely need to experiment a little to get the desired consistency, according to your particular climate and to the variabilities in hardness between different butters. The above ratios are good for "average" temps of, say, 60 to 75 degrees, but you may find that you want a slightly softer formula in cold weather and a slightly harder one during hot weather. You can make it harder by adding just a touch more beeswax, perhaps up to a...
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dazzlind
Aug 20, 2009
I made this recipe exactly and the product came out hard and dry. Any suggestions for making it softer and usable?
