Olive Oil Body Butter

Isn’t nature just incredible… that fact that you can take just 3 ingredients, blend them together at the right temperatures and create the most delicious body butter that’s chemical free and absorbs right into your skin! I have been wanting to try and make my own moisturiser for ages now as my skin has been ridiculously dry and super sensitive to the scorching hot Italian summers. I searched the internet and came across lots of amazing recipes that used shea butter, coconut oil and many other elaborate ingredients that would just be impossible to find around here (sigh). I wanted to utilise ingredients that were from Sant’Oliva so that it would be possible to make again and again without the hassle of having to order things online or travel to Rome…. So after much 'googleling' and searching 'Pinterest' like a mad women, I can across this recipe for an olive oil wip from a blog called ‘Root Simple’. Controversial name lol, but good stuff I assure you ;) So with the cold pressed olive oil Nonno Peppe produces and some bee’s wax from the town’s bee keeper down the road I was able to make my long dreamt moisturiser that’s absolutely priceless because I made it at home!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (125 ml) olive oil

• 2 tablespoons (.5 oz / 14 g) of beeswax,

• 1 cup (250 ml) of 90°F (32°C) water, distilled is best

• (Optional) Essential oil of your choice for scent, about 10-20 drops

Equipment

• A double boiler or a saucepan and heat proof bowel or glass measuring jug

• A kitchen thermometer (very handy!)

• A stick blender

• A sterilised glass jar with rubber seal

METHOD

Now the actual method of making your own moisturiser is quite simple… heat oil and beeswax until melted, add water and blend! However, timing is everything and temperatures need to be just right in order for this to go smoothly “literally”. Before you get started make sure you have everything you need at your fingertips. Measure out your ingredients and set yourself up so that you are able to work near the stove top and be close to your blending station also.

1. Melt the Wax - Put all the olive oil and the wax into your heatproof glass jug and place in a saucepan about half full of water or into your double boiler if you have one. Heat over gently simmering water, stirring occasionally until the wax melts and vanishes into the oil. Beeswax melts at about 160°F (71°C). This temperature is about right for when you need to blend so prepare your water earlier.

2. Prepare the water - While the wax is melting, get your water ready. The water needs to be at about 90°F (32°C). It doesn’t have to be exact, a couple of degrees off is still ok but try your best to be exact. You can do this by adding a dash of boiling water to room temperature water and add cold water if it’s too warm.

3. Blending - Now the tricky part is a balancing act between making sure the temperatures are within the correct range for blending and working quickly. If you would like to add essential oils, add them to the melted oil and wax before blending. Now take your stick blender and stat to blend the oil mixture. In one steady stream, pour your water into the oil mixture. You should notice straight away the mixture should ideally turn into a shiny mayonnaise-like substance. If the temperatures are not right, the water will not merge with the oil and you’ll end up with something looking along the lines of scrambled eggs. Now the time that I mad this (featured in the photo) I noticed that there was a bit of water not completely blended into the mixture… don’t stress to much or try to force it, just pour off as much excess water as possible and call it a day. This recipe only includes natural ingredients therefore it will be trickier to get that exact consistency that you get from store bought cosmetics because there are absolutely zero emulsifiers and nasty things that help to bind all the ingredients together. So try your best first time round and the more you make this, the more you will become a pro at making your own moisturiser.

4. Now simply scoop your mixture into your sterilised glass container and wait for it to cool before storing it in the fridge. The consistency will harden up a little in the fridge but it will melt like butter by just warming it up in your hands before rubbing it into your skin. If you find that there is still pockets of water in your mixture after you’ve used it a few times. Just try your best to pour off any excess and hope for a better result next time you make it ;)

NOTE - This moisturiser is lusciously creamy and has hands down made a huge difference to the texture and appearance of my skin (face and body) however… when I first started using it, I felt that it was too heavy and greasy for me to be using on a continuous basis. Not true at all!! After the third day I noticed my skin started to soak it up like water! It just needed time to adjust just like washing your hair every few days… So after you’ve moisturised yourself, chuck on a light dressing gown or clothes that you don’t mind getting a bit oily and try to wait around 15mins for it to soak in before crawling into bed… do something else like have a cup of tea or get the kids lunches ready for school tomorrow lol. Be inventive.

DISCLAIMER - Now because there are no nasty preservatives or emulsifiers in this product there is a higher chance of it going off! 4 simple rules to preserve this product for as long as possible would be to:

• Divide the mixture into smaller containers

• Always keep it in the fridge

• use a little spoon when applying the moisturizer to minimise contamination and

• Use common sense like smelling and looking for any signs of mold before you using it!

With all this in mind, I’d say that it would be safest to discard any leftover moisturiser after one month from making it to be on the safer side. Think of it as a food product because technically, you could eat it (not recommending that you do though… hmm bee’s wax, maybe not)

And that’s it! Before you begin, I would suggest to have a read of the blog post from 'Simple Root’s' recipe as its very well written and included more information on other ways to make it and more of her personal experiences from making this recipe for years. Hope it all goes well! Please feel free to leave a comment or any questions below as I’d love to know how it turns out. Happy making! Much love from St Oliva!

#DIY #OliveOil #Moisturiser