Now that it is well and truly winter here, this lotion is helping me remember that there are places in this world where the warmth of the sun still reaches the ground. Made from tropical Monoi de Tahiti and mango butter (USA / Canada)s, it smells of palm trees and sunshine, and leaves me dreaming of sandy beaches and ocean breezes.

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Monoi de Tahiti is a luxurious and highly fragrant oil. Originating in Tahiti, it’s coconut oil that’s been macerated with the petals of the tiare flower, or the Tahitian gardenia. After the flower petals have been strained out you’re left with a fine, floral scented coconut oil. Take care to ensure you’re getting the real stuff, though—it’s very easy to end up with coconut oil that’s just had artificial fragrances added to it. I got mine from Saffire Blue but I’ve also found it on Amazon.

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Mango butter is a thick, creamy butter derived from the seed of the mango fruit. Sadly the stuff I have is refined and doesn’t smell at all of mangoes, but it’s still a wonderful moisturizer, rich in antioxidants.

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For essential oils I’ve selected C02 extracted ginger. The CO2 extracted stuff smells far better than the steam distilled, and is worth the added cost. The spiciness of the ginger helps cut the floral sweetness of the Monoi de Tahiti, and the two smell wonderful together.

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The final lotion is light and creamy, reminiscent of days spent in the sun. I wouldn’t blame you at all if you wanted to pair it with a pina colada 😉

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Ginger, Monoi, and Mango Lotion

7g | 0.25oz complete emulsifying wax (not beeswax!)
5g | 0.17oz monoi de tahiti
13g | 0.45oz mango butter (USA / Canada)

70g | 2.5oz water
2g | 0.07oz raw honey
3g | 0.1oz vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada)
¼ tsp silk peptides (wondering about substitutions?) (optional)

25 drops CO2 extracted ginger essential oil (the CO2 stuff actually smells like ginger, where the steam distilled doesn’t)
0.5g | 0.017oz Liquid Germall Plus™ (USA / Canada) (or other broad spectrum preservative of choice at recommended usage rate [why?])

Prepare a water bath by bringing about 3cm/1″ of water to a bare simmer over low to medium-low heat in a wide, flat-bottomed sauté pan.

Weigh out the the emulsifying wax, Monoi de Tahiti, and mango butter (USA / Canada) into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Place the measuring cup in your prepared water bath to melt everything through.

Weigh the water, honey, vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada), and silk (if using) into a small glass measuring cup, cover it with a sheet of foil to prevent evaporation, and place that measuring cup into the hot water bath as well.

Leave the measuring cups in the water bath for half and hour to heat and hold.

Once 30 minutes have passed, add the water mixture to the oil mixture. Heat through to ensure everything is melted before removing the measuring cup from the heat.

Using an immersion blender, blend the lotion together. You’ll want to start with short bursts, working up to a constant blend. Blend for about three minutes, and then leave it for ten minutes before coming back to stir it with a flexible silicone spatula and blending it some more. You will notice some thickening at this point, but it’ll still be pretty thin.

Leave the lotion for another ten minutes, and then stir and blend it again—at this point, it should’ve thickened into a nice white cream and should be relatively cool to the touch.

Whisk in the essential oils and your preservative, and decant the mixture to a 120mL/4oz pump-top bottle. Enjoy!

New to lotion making? Watch my basic lotion how to video!

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