Does your skin need a tall drink of water or oil for that matter? Mine sure does so I decided to go off the rails of my normal DIY Firming Oil and whip up a DIY Winter Lotion to rejuvenate my pale, ashy and thirsty skin!
It’s so important to take care of our skin and one of the most important practices you can do for your skin is moisturize it all year long, everyday. It’s a practice that makes a massive difference in the appearance and health of your skin. Did you know that as skin ages, it loses moisture? This causes crepey, wrinkly skin. Smoother, younger looking skin is as simple as consistent moisturizing.
Drinking water and upping your nutrition is also a fantastic way to keep your skin looking healthy but a homemade lotion is what we’re focusing on now so let’s jump right in!
More Creamy Lotion Recipes:
- Almond Cocoa Body Lotion
- Rosehip Cypress Facial Cream
- Firming Eye Cream
- Hyaluronic Acid Anti Aging Cream
- Dry Skin Moisturizer
DIY Winter Lotion
- 1/4 cup Pumpkin Seed Oil (find it HERE)
- 1 TBSP. Jojoba Oil (find it HERE)
- 1 TBSP. Emulsifying Wax (find it HERE)
- 1 TBSP. Cetyl Alcohol (find it HERE) *optional*
- 2 TBSP. Shea Butter (find it HERE)
- 1/2 cup distilled water
- 1/4 tsp. Neodefend (find it HERE)
- 3 drops Cypress Essential Oil (find it HERE)
- 2 drops Ylang Ylang Essential Oil (find it HERE)
- 2 drops Roman Chamomile Essential Oil (find it HERE)
- 2 drops Rosemary Essential Oil (find it HERE)
- 2 drops Geranium Essential Oil (find it HERE)
- 2 drops Lavender Essential Oil (find it HERE)
*Cetyl alcohol helps to thicken up creams. It can also help soften and condition the skin but it is not an absolute must to make a great lotion. The place I got mine from is sold out so I had to link an Amazon brand that I’ve never used.
**I added a bunch of different essential oils just because I like playing with scents. None of these I added for a specific reason other than smell so feel free to use what you have. Lavender and Chamomile are excellent for calming and rosemary is great to rev up blood flow. Cypress has tightening capabilities. Get creative!
Directions:
- Fill 2 medium sized pots half way full with water and place on the stove top.
- Add water and neodefend to a glass pyrex measuring cup and place in one of the pots.
- Add emulsifying wax, cetyl alcohol, shea butter, jojoba oil and pumpkin seed oil to a separate glass pyrex measuring cup and place in the other pot.
- Turn heat on both burners to medium.
- Allow both the “water phase” and the “oil phase” to heat to 170F. You will need to constantly monitor both phases. Remember, water heats slower then the oils, butters and waxes.
- Once both of your phases are around 170F, remove both glass cups from the stove and pour the water phase into the oil phase.
- Immediately begin to mix the combined phases with an immersion blender. DO NOT USE THE WHIP ATTACHMENT.
- Blend for at least 1 minute straight, then periodically continue to blend for the next 30 minutes to 1 hour or until you notice the lotion thickening.
- Mix in essential oils.
- Transfer to a jar or pump bottle. If you are transferring to a pump, I recommend using a funnel and a chopstick to force lotion into the bottle. A pump bottle is always going to be more sanitary since you aren’t scooping lotion out of a jar with possibly dirty hands.
DIY Winter Lotion for Ashy, Thirsty Skin
Yield: 8 ouncesThis recipe is creamy and thick and will rejuvenate dry, thirsty skin instantly!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Pumpkin Seed Oil
- 1 TBSP. Jojoba Oil
- 1 TBSP. Emulsifying Wax
- 1 TBSP. Cetyl Alcohol *optional*
- 2 TBSP. Shea Butter
- 1/2 cup distilled water
- 1/4 tsp. Neodefend
- 3 drops Cypress Essential Oil
- 2 drops Ylang Ylang Essential Oil
- 2 drops Roman Chamomile Essential Oil
- 2 drops Rosemary Essential Oil
- 2 drops Geranium Essential Oil
- 2 drops Lavender Essential Oil
Instructions
- Fill 2 medium sized pots half way full with water and place on the stove top.
- Add water and neodefend to a glass pyrex measuring cup and place in one of the pots.
- Add emulsifying wax, cetyl alcohol, shea butter, jojoba oil and pumpkin seed oil to a separate glass pyrex measuring cup and place in the other pot.
- Turn heat on both burners to medium.
- Allow both the “water phase” and the “oil phase” to heat to 170F. You will need to constantly monitor both phases. Remember, water heats slower then the oils, butters and waxes.
- Once both of your phases are around 170F, remove both glass cups from the stove and pour the water phase into the oil phase.
- Immediately begin to mix the combined phases with an immersion blender. DO NOT USE THE WHIP ATTACHMENT.
- Blend for at least 1 minute straight, then periodically continue to blend for the next 30 minutes to 1 hour or until you notice the lotion thickening.
- Mix in essential oils.
- Transfer to a jar or pump bottle. If you are transferring to a pump, I recommend using a funnel and a chopstick to force lotion into the bottle. A pump bottle is always going to be more sanitary since you aren't scooping lotion out of a jar with possibly dirty hands.
Notes
*Cetyl alcohol helps to thicken up creams. It can also help soften and condition the skin but it is not an absolute must to make a great lotion. The place I got mine from is sold out so I had to link an Amazon brand that I've never used.
**I added a bunch of different essential oils just because I like playing with scents. None of these I added for a specific reason other than smell so feel free to use what you have. Lavender and Chamomile are excellent for calming and rosemary is great to rev up blood flow. Cypress has tightening capabilities. Get creative!Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This recipe makes about 8 ounces.I whipped up this cream yesterday using the oils I had in my inventory. Honestly there just wasn’t a ton of thought going into which I chose. My skin just needed some extra moisture and I had an itch to make a cream. Avocado Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Macadamia Nut Oil would all be fantastic for dry skin.
Do you enjoy making creams? I sure do. It never ceases to amaze me how good I feel once I’ve made one! There’s something about how creamy and soft they turn out! My children always come in the kitchen hoping it’s whipped cream!
One key to making a successful cream/lotion is the emulsifying wax. I can not promise that any other brand other then Mountain Rose Herbs will bind water and oil quite as well as their’s does. It is very affordable and while shipping may take extra time-it’s worth it 100 percent.
xx, Jenni
Hi Jenni, I have a question about the macadamia nut oil. It’s not listed in the ingredients but is listed in step one. Would you please clarify?
Thanks!
Jennifer-It’s a typo-I am changing it now! Thanks for catching it!
Hi Jenni! I have never tried DIY skincare but your formulations look quite interesting, would love to try it. I have been using natural skincare products for my dry sensitive skin only and kiehl’s ultra facial cream is my got to facial cream. Would love to know your thoughts on it.
Nisha-Hi! I would recommend you try a facial oil-they are so easy to make and so much better then facial creams since creams contain at least 50% water. Kiehl’s isn’t very natural. They are a good example of a company that markets to a more natural community with their packaging and wording but the majority of the ingredients they use aren’t at all natural.
Facial oils are super easy to make and I have quite a few different recipes. I also sale my most popular one on Etsy-coQ10 Sea Buckthorn Facial Oil. It’s great for aging and dry skin!
Are cetyl alcohol and steryl alcohol interchangeable? The link above takes me to a steryl alcohol.
Melena-I believe they are similar but not the same-I don’t know why this company switched their product links. I just updated my link for actual cetyl alcohol-Thank you for telling me! Here is the link for cetyl alcohol https://rstyle.me/+M5SYH7G_jDbz2_DdIZ0LSQ
Looks like a great recipe! Making skin butters and lotions are also a favorite thing of mine to do as well.
scrub-me.com
Hi Jennifer,
Thank you for sharing this great piece of DIY idea recipe. I have some of the ingredients you use (such as jojoba oil and lavender oil) but I don’t have rest of the ingredients. Will need to shop for the rest of the ingredients. I saw you commented above that Kiehl’s facial cream isn’t very natural. May I know your opinion on their midnight recover oil? https://sowourplanet.com/kiehls-midnight-recovery-review/
I really like your DIY recipe but I don’t think I have the time to make my own. Do you sell or do you know where I can get a “all-in-one facial oil” that is already mixed with various multi-functioning natural oils ? I am looking for anti-aging + moisturizing effect.
Thank you so much for your advice 🙂
Rosy
Hi Rosy! I steer clear of Kiehl’s all together. They are one of those companies that brand themselves to be natural but are not at all.
I do have a line of skin care I sale on Etsy and highly recommend my facial oil. I use it all year and it is definitely a stand alone product if you didn’t want to use a serum or toner. It is aimed for dry skin types needing anti aging benefits. I also recommend my oil cleanser. Oil cleansing is fantastic for detoxing and moisturizing the skin. Go HERE to check out my shop!
You are so welcome-thank you for coming to my blog!!
I have heard great things about jojoba oil. Which of the essential oil scents do you recommend?
Shmuel-It is a great oil for all skin types! I always love lavender. Geranium, lavender and cypress is a great combination and fantastic for anti aging. I also love adding roman chamomile too. I really like to experiment and rarely make a blend that stinks. Essential oils just seem to all work together nicely.