sabinetzin | I could be writing a paper, or-

So because I'm on this kick of making my own natural body products (not because I'm afraid of chemicals, mind, but because I am cheap and because it satisfies my inner eight-year-old, craving to play with the soaps) and because my flist is, due to the holiday, deader than Heaven on a Saturday night, I present to you with some recipes.

Detangler

8 oz. filtered water
1 tsp. aloe vera gel
½ tsp. vitamin E
½ tsp. grapeseed oil
3-4 drops orange oil (optional)
3-4 drops perfume oil (optional; BPAL's The Apothecary is quite nice here)

Combine, shake, spray on hair, comb. Good for dry hair.

Tattoo balm

1 in x 1in x 1/2 inch piece of beeswax (chopped)
1 tsp carrier oil (I used sunflower, but something fattier would be good here)
½ tbsp shea butter
5 drops essential oil (something mild and skin-safe; I used sweet orange)
some vitamin E

In a double boiler (I just use a glass bowl that fits into a small pot of water), melt beeswax. Once beeswax is melted, add other ingredients. Allow shea butter to melt. Stir. Cool. Apply according to tattoo artist's instructions in place of lotion, or use on hands, lips, etc. Similar to NuTattoo.

Chocolate-orange lip balm (formula 2)

1 in x 1in x 1/2 inch piece of beeswax (chopped)
1 ½ tsp carrier oil
½ tsp cocoa butter
½ tsp shea butter
½ tsp dark chocolate
10 drops orange oil
some vitamin E (I just squirt it in there)

In a double boiler, add and melt, in this order: beeswax, cocoa butter, chocolate, shea butter. Add carrier oil, orange oil, and vitamin E. Cool. If too thick, re-melt and add more carrier oil. If too thin, re-melt and add more cocoa butter.

Hair rinse

12 oz. water
2-3 tbsp white vinegar
10-15 drops essential oil (orange, bay, and bergamot mint have all worked nicely)

After shampooing and conditioning, pour over hair. Rinse thoroughly. Apply weekly for soft, shiny hair. I usually get 4-5 applications out of a 16 oz. bottle. I hear tell some people use apple cider vinegar, but white seems to work just fine for me (and doesn't make my head smell like vinegar).

I get all my supplies from Mountain Rose Herbs, which I highly recommend. I also make my own body butter, but honestly, I couldn't tell you how to make it. I put shea butter and cocoa butter and carrier oil and perfume in a double boiler, melt it all together, and cool it. More cocoa butter makes it harder, more shea butter makes it creamier, more carrier oil makes it thinner, perfume makes it smell nice (this latest batch is BPAL/ThinkGeek's Cthulhu In Love, which smells delicious). It also smells nice unscented, because the cocoa butter has a nice smell.

So there. Go forth and be moisturized.