Easy Aloe & Chamomile Hand Lotion

 

One thing that I’m sure everyone is struggling with now that we are all washing hands vigorously and sanitising multiple times a day, is dry hands. I’ve found myself moisturising nightly with a very thick and rich body cream that I had, but it did leave my hands feeling quite oily. While this may be fine for while you are sleeping, if you want to moisturise during the day and then still function without getting greasy prints everywhere, you need a non-greasy, easily absorbed hand lotion.

 

This lotion formula employs the basic 75/25 rule (well more like 80/20 in this case but that’s fine) of liquid to oils, and contains a number of key ingredients that really make it work. I wanted it to contain soothing ingredients such as aloe vera, allantoin and hydrolyzed proteins to help take away any irritation from all the soap and alcohol. It also needed moisturisers so I used my favourite, avocado butter, as well as vegetable glycerine and grapeseed oil. Olive M is another star moisturiser. Our emulsifier, Eco E wax, brings everything together.

 

The result is a simple, lovely moisturising hand cream that everyone can make, that is non greasy and super absorbent. It is delicately scented with soothing chamomile, plus a little goes a really long way!

 

Soothing Aloe & Chamomile Hand Lotion

50ml  aloe vera gel

25ml freshly boiled and slightly cooled water

5ml  vegetable glycerine

6ml/1 heaped tsp  Eco E wax or you can use  polawax

5ml/1 heaped tsp  avocado butter or another butter of choice

5 ml  grapeseed oil or another oil of choice, I just used what I had on hand

4ml  Olive M 300

Optional: 5ml  cetyl alcohol will really thicken this lotion up beautifully. Just leave out if you don’t have - the end result will be slightly less thick but still perfectly usable.

1 tsp  allantoin

10 drops  hydrolyzed keratin

10 drops  hydrolyzed wheat protein

If you have  panthenol, use this instead of the keratin and wheat protein (I just used what I had on hand)

2ml  Geogard 221 preservative

5 drops  chamomile essential oil

 

Tip: use a  250ml beaker! It’s ideal to measure quantities in and my hand blender fits perfectly inside so this eliminates any mess or spray up when blending.

 

If you’re using a 250ml beaker, simply add the avo butter, grapeseed oil and Eco E wax, then melt in a hot water bath or pop in the microwave for a few seconds (the beaker is microwave safe). If you are using the cetyl alcohol, add this here too. Once melted, add the freshly boiled water and mix with a spoon. It will immediately start emulsifying with the oil mixture. Add the aloe vera gel, vegetable glycerine and Olive M, and stir well. I like to add in the preservative here to ensure that it incorporates well. Stick your hand blender in the beaker and gently blend with a few short bursts, pumping up and down as needed. Add the allantoin,hydrolyzed proteins (or panthenol if using) and the essential oil, and blend for another few seconds. Then place your beaker of lotion in the fridge for 10 minutes to cool, or simply leave it to cool at room temperature. Once cooled, you may want to blend a little bit more to really thicken it up. Decant into a pump bottle or a jar and use as needed.

 

SHOP THE TOP INGREDIENTS:  allantoin,  hydrolyzed wheat protein,  hydrolyzed keratin,  aloe vera gel,  250ml beaker