Whipped Body Scrub with Coffee

Grounds from your morning cup won’t definitely be put to waste with this body scrub, adapted from two recipes posted on the Web. Coffee even reputedly rids your body of cellulite when rubbed on fatty areas. What’s more, scrubbing won’t now be an abrasive affair, thanks to the addition of cocoa butter. With Dead Sea salt and brown sugar brimming with minerals, this scrub will definitely perk you up come bath time! You’ll leave out of the shower room feeling energized – and sexier!

Ingredients:                                             Amount:

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) butter,                ½ cup
grade A

Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) oil             1/6 cup

Vegetable glycerin                                  1/6 cup

Vitamin E                                              1/8 tsp.

Cornstarch                                               1 tsp.

Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia)                          q.s.

essential oil
  

Optiphen™ Plus                                      1 tbsp.

Dead Sea salt                                         ½ cup

Brown sugar                                           ¼ cup

Coffee grounds, used                               ¼ cup

Procedure:

Place cocoa butter in a clean mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy. If butter is too hard, soften slightly in the microwave oven for approximately 15 seconds, but do not melt. Then add jojoba oil in brief intervals while beating continuously in moderate speed. Do the same with glycerin. Follow with vitamin E, vanilla, cornstarch, and Optiphen™ Plus. Continue beating until smooth. Mix salt, sugar, and coffee grounds and disperse evenly. Pour into sterilized jars.

To use: After soaping, rub a small amount onto the skin and gently massage in circular motion until sugar and salt have melted. Focus on rough areas. Rinse off and pat dry with a towel.

Natural Flea and Insect Spray for Pets

Insect bites and scratches can cause occasional gripes for us humans but can annoy our four-legged counterparts as well. Show your pets some love with this plant-based bug repellant! Your canine (and feline) domestics will surely delight in this all-natural insect spray, very obnoxious to mites and ticks but very friendly for your pet’s skin. Its herbaceous scent will make you hug and smooch your furry companion more! This recipe by Voyageur Soap and Candle Company Ltd. (http://www.voyageursoapandcandle.com/Recipes_Resources_s/109.htm) contains potent ingredients like pennyroyal, citronella, and lemongrass that shoo away parasites. Aloe vera provides moisture while vegetable glycerin serves as humectant. Recipe yields 500 grams.

Ingredients:

                                               Weight (in %)          For 500 gm.

Pennyroyal decoction                       93%                   465 gm.

Polysorbate 20                                 2%                     10 gm.

Aloe Vera                                        1%                       5 gm.

Vegetable glycerin                            3%                     15 gm.

Germall preservative                       0.4%                       2 gm.

Benzoin essential oil                      0.12%                    0.5 gm./13 drops

 

Cedarwood essential oil                  0.12%                    0.5 gm./13 drops

Citronella essential oil                    0.12%                    0.5 gm./13 drops

Lemongrass essential oil                 0.12%                    0.5 gm./13 drops

Pine essential oil                           0.12%                    0.5 gm./13 drops

Method:

Stir all the ingredients well in a disinfected beaker until everything is blended. Pour into bottle mists.

Body Butter Recipe

One of the great ways to relieve dry and chapped skin during the colder months is by applying body butter. Body butter is essentially a rich cream with minimum amount of water, and mainly composed of plant oils or waxes like shea butter, olive oil, coconut oil, and beeswax. In contrast, lotion is lighter and contains up to 70 to 90 percent water, making it more suitable for summer. What’s great about using body butter is it offers greater skin coverage, it’s richer, and it doesn’t wash off easily. There are lots of products available on the market, but it is better to make your own to suit your personal preferences. Glycerin is one of the crucial ingredients of body butters because it serves as humectant. Here is a winning recipe for beginners, courtesy of MakingCosmetics.com (http://www.makingcosmetics.com/). 

Body Butter with Shea and Cocoa Butters

Phase A                                            Weight %                  For 100 g /3.6 oz

Macadamia Nut Oil (emollient)           15%                   15 g. / 0.5 oz. / 1 tbsp.

Shea Butter (emollient)                       5%                   5 g. / 1& 1/2 tsp.

Cacao Butter (emollient)                      3%                   3 g. / 1& 1/2 tbsp.

Sorbitan Stearate (emulsifier)            1.5%                 1.5 g / 1/2 tsp

Polysorbate 60 (emulsifier)                   3%                   3 g / 3/4 tsp

Cetyl Alcohol (thickener)                      3%                    3 g / 1tsp

Vitamin E Acetate (antioxidant)             1%                   1 g / 22 drops

Phase B

Hot Distilled Water (diluent)               61%                 61 g. / 2.2 oz. / ¼ cup

Xanthan Gum (thickener)                    0.5%               0.5 g / ¼ tsp.

EDTA (stabilizer)                                0.2%              0.2 g. / 1/8 tsp.

Glycerin (humectant)                             4%                 4 g. / 1 tsp.

Phase C

Aloe Vera 10x Concentrate (botanical)    1%                  1 g. / 22 drops

Phenoxyethanol/SA (preservative)        1.5%               1.5 g. / 34 drops

Fragrance (optional)                             0.3%             0.3 g / 6 drops

Method

Mix all the ingredients of phase A on a sterilized, heat resistant glass beaker. Heat the mixture to 66°C (150°F) until it melts. Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients of phase B in a separate beaker and stir well until gum is dissolved. Then blend together both mixtures of phase A and B while heating in the same temperature. Remove the mixture from heat and stir it again until it is even. When the temperature drops below 40°C (100°F), add all ingredients of phase C and give it a final stir. Product is ready to be filled into jars.