It’s getting to be summer! And I have a sunburn! Which I doubt my skin appreciates, but I enjoy how I got it (sitting on a beautiful outdoor patio having thin-crust pizza with a friend). Anyhow, now that it’s summer (knock on wood), it’s time to make up a batch of my soothing skin lotion. It’s loaded with all kinds of good-for-skin things. And it smells pretty.

This lotion comes together just like any other. I made it last year using the beeswax/borax method, but this year I re-jigged it to use emulsifying wax so it’s less greasy.

Everyone knows aloe vera is great for sunburns, so it’s the base. Bee propolis is what bees use to keep their hives clean, so it’s a natural antibacterial. Pollen is full of vitamins, and honey is moisturizing and gentle.

Camphor powder feels cool, so it will soothe the burn. The emu oil is great for burns and has been used by Australian aboriginals to treat sunburns for centuries (and they should know a thing or two about sunburns!). Vitamin E is great for the skin all around, and kuikui nut oil has been used by Hawaiian natives to protect their skin and hair from the Hawaiian sun and sea for ages.

Soothing Sunburn Lotion

Water Parts
70g | 2.5oz aloe vera juice
3g | 0.1oz bee propolis
2g | 0.07oz vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada)
5g | 0.17oz bee pollen
3g | 0.1oz honey powder
5g | 0.17oz camphor powder (optional)

Oil Parts
7g | 0.25oz complete emulsifying wax (not beeswax!)
3g | 0.1oz capuacu butter
10g | 0.35oz emu oil
2g | 0.07oz Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)
3g | 0.1oz kuikui nut oil

Essential oils of lavender, tea tree, and lemongrass

Broad spectrum preservative of choice (why?)

Combine the water parts in one small saucepan and the oil parts in another. Heat both parts independently until each mixture is all uniform and all melted/dissolved together.

Let cool. Stir the oils as they cool. Gradually whisk the waters into the oils until you have a lotion. Add the essential oils and preservative. The lotion will thicken as it cools. Decant into a bottle and shake occasionally as it cools.

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

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