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Easy recipe and instructions for making natural lavender body balm. The recipe includes shea butter, beeswax, and pure lavender essential oil
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Although I sell it, lavender body balm is a natural skin care product that you can easily make yourself. It’s a rich oil-based product scented with soothing lavender essential oil that you melt and mix together then pour into tins to harden. You can use it to soften and moisturize your skin but also to calm nerves and tension. Rub a little on your temples at night and it can also help ease you into a peaceful slumber. It will take you less than half an hour to make this recipe and once poured and cooled you can use the balm immediately.
Lavender Body Balm Recipe
I’ve never shared one of my Lovely Greens Handmade product recipes before but now a handful of people (and now you!) know how to make Natural Lavender Body Balm. The reason and audience seemed fitting for the share — it was to remember my friend Leo by showing her friends and family how to make her favourite product. Leo passed away after her second battle with cancer and I think she’d have loved to be remembered in this way.
Saying Goodbye to a Friend
The last time I saw Leo was in the hospital. It was shortly before she passed and though Cancer really had taken its toll she was still as feisty as ever. I remember bringing a pot of the body balm as a gift and asking if she’d be able to get help to put it on later.
Even though she was tiny and weak she defiantly pulled back the blanket to show that she could reach her own toes. Leo loved to use the balm on her feet, especially after she went through chemotherapy and the skin on her hands and feet became dry and irritated.
Lavender Recipes & Ideas
- How to Make Lavender Oil
- Lavender Bath Fizzies Recipe
Lavender Body Balm Workshop
She was gone within days of that last visit. I think about her often — every time I drive past her house, see handmade cards (her favourite hobby) or make a batch of lavender body balm. That got me thinking. Maybe others would find comfort and a bit of fun in making the balm.
I got in touch with Manx Cancer Help, a drop-in centre for anyone affected by Cancer. Leo was a huge fan of the aromatherapy, reflexology, and other services the centre provides and I asked to host a remembrance workshop. They were more than happy to host me and I had the honor of showing Leo’s closest friends how to make Lavender Body Balm.
How to Make Lavender Body Balm
The lesson was lively and chatty and everyone seemed amazed at how easy it is to make body balm. All it’s really made of is solid and liquid oils that work together to moisturise and protect. They are gently melted together, the essential oil is stirred in, and then it’s poured into containers. I enjoy teaching people how to make handmade skincare but this was even better because it’s so easy to do.
Throughout the lesson, we all spoke of Leo and remembered things she said and did. Everyone there knew her as a friend and her husband David was able to join us for the day. Even after I’d packed up and headed out the door I could hear the sound of laughter and chit-chat and know that most of all that’s what would make Leo smile. For her, I’d like to share the recipe and instructions for making Natural Lavender Balm with you as well.
Natural Lavender Body Balm
Ingredients for two 125ml (4.23oz) pots
- 18g (0.63oz)Beeswax
- 40g (1.4oz)Shea butter
- 110g (3.88oz)Sweet almond oil*
- 1/4 tsp Lavender essential oil
- 1/2 tsp Vitamin E oil (optional)
* The sweet almond oil may be plain, or you could infuse it with lavender flowers first, making homemade lavender oil.
1. Over very low heat, or better yet, a double boiler, melt the beeswax and shea butter until liquid. Add the sweet almond oil and then wait for it to liquefy again. Keep stirring it during that time to help speed things up.
2. Take the oils off the heat and allow them to rest until the temperature is about 130F/ 54C. Stir in the Vitamin E and essential oil and then pour into containers. Allow to harden and cool, which can take two to three hours. Don’t put a lid on the container until the balm is hardened and at room temperature.
Shelf-life of up to two years and/or the closest use-by date of any of your ingredients. You should use the balm within these two years or within six months of opening.
