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A Nice Thing to Hear
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<blockquote data-quote="susiestar" data-source="post: 634543" data-attributes="member: 1233"><p>Those cortisone creams can be the worst! While they can reduce some symptoms, you need to be super careful because they actually thin out the skin, leaving it vulnerable to all sorts of things. Plus they can burn, at least they can feel that way to me. Did you know that many, if not most of the OTC creams for eczema and psoriasis have camphor in them? Yes, that stuff from mothballs is supposed to be the 'medicine' in many so-called 'medicated' creams. I don't know if it is toxic to people, but I know it is super harsh on the skin and it makes me tons worse rather than better.</p><p></p><p>My recipe is easy to make. The last batch took about 10 min, but only because I needed a bathroom break and Jess left a good book in there (sad, but true - my kids used to call the bathroom "mommy's reading room", lol!) </p><p></p><p>One of the things you need to do before you can make the cream is choose your ingredients. I always use refined shea butter and illipe butter. I get them from ebay, usually from 1 of 2 specific sellers. The ingredients that I change are the type of oil and essential oils. Shea and illipe butters are great for your skin and are very healing and soothing. Oils all have different properties, and some people prefer different ones. </p><p></p><p>It is super easy to find grapeseed oil, olive oil, and rice bran oil. For skin issues I generally use rice bran oil because it is not as heavy and it is one of the least likely oils to cause problems. It also feels wonderful on the skin. Grapeseed oil has a greenish color but that isn't a problem. It is also very healing and has other beneficial properties. Olive oil is also great for the skin, though I find it a bit heavy for my taste. There are more exotic oils, but I generally use one of these or a mixture of these for the cream. I have had good results from any of these oils, though rice bran is my favorite.</p><p></p><p>You can get these oils in the grocery and may have them in the kitchen. I got my rice bran oil from Big Lots of all places - a big bottle was only $6. </p><p></p><p>The basic recipe is 1 part shea butter, 1 part illipe butter, and 1 part oil. I use a scale to measure them by weight, but you can use a measuring spoon or cup if you want. I have done it that way many times before I got my scale. </p><p></p><p>Put the shea and illipe butters in a dish to melt. You can use a double boiler or put the dish into a larger dish of hot water if you want. Just don't get the water too hot to put yuor finger in - you don't want the butters to get too hot, just hot enough to melt. You can also melt them in the microwave using short intervals at 30%-50% power. Start iwth 30 seconds, then stir and add time in 10 second intervals until almost totally melted. Then stir until it is totally melted. </p><p></p><p>Add the oil to the melted butter and stir well. Then add a few drops of essential oil and stir well. I like to use lemon ess oil because I love the smell and it has antiseptic, antibacterial and antifungal properties. I sometimes use lavender ess oil, or rose absolute ess oil - they each have beneficial properties for the skin. If you have a hard time finding lemon essential oil, check the baking section of Michael's or Hobby Lobby type stores for LorAnn natural lemon oil. It works very well, just make sure it is natural and has no artificial ingredients. </p><p></p><p>At this point you can add a few drops of Vit E oil to help preserve the cream. I usually don't do this because I make very small batches and don't keep it around for months and months. You can either buy pure vit E oil or get the gelcaps in the vitamin section and pop open a few of them to squeeze the oil into the mixture.</p><p></p><p>Stir well and let the oil sit until it firms up. You can put it in the fridge if you want, but it should solidify on the counter. If you need it to set up fast, put the container into an ice water bath and stir until the mixture is opaque and firm. It won't be really hard but should not be runny either (if it is runny when fully cooled, melt a bit more of the butters and stir in, then let cool again). </p><p></p><p>You are ready to use it. If you want to give it a super luxurious feel, take a small whisk and whip it up like mousse or whipped cream. It will feel wonderful going on. If you do this and then the oil gets to hot, it will lose the air that was whipped into it. This won't hurt it, and you can leave it alone or whip it up again.</p><p></p><p>The description sounds way more involve than it is. You basically measure out equal amts of shea butter, illipe butter and 'of oil. melt the butters, stir in the oil, add essential oils as desired (or leave them out entirely if you want), and then let it cool.</p><p></p><p>This can be stored at room temp for several weeks or in the fridge for longer.</p><p></p><p>I hope this helps and that you enjoy it!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="susiestar, post: 634543, member: 1233"] Those cortisone creams can be the worst! While they can reduce some symptoms, you need to be super careful because they actually thin out the skin, leaving it vulnerable to all sorts of things. Plus they can burn, at least they can feel that way to me. Did you know that many, if not most of the OTC creams for eczema and psoriasis have camphor in them? Yes, that stuff from mothballs is supposed to be the 'medicine' in many so-called 'medicated' creams. I don't know if it is toxic to people, but I know it is super harsh on the skin and it makes me tons worse rather than better. My recipe is easy to make. The last batch took about 10 min, but only because I needed a bathroom break and Jess left a good book in there (sad, but true - my kids used to call the bathroom "mommy's reading room", lol!) One of the things you need to do before you can make the cream is choose your ingredients. I always use refined shea butter and illipe butter. I get them from ebay, usually from 1 of 2 specific sellers. The ingredients that I change are the type of oil and essential oils. Shea and illipe butters are great for your skin and are very healing and soothing. Oils all have different properties, and some people prefer different ones. It is super easy to find grapeseed oil, olive oil, and rice bran oil. For skin issues I generally use rice bran oil because it is not as heavy and it is one of the least likely oils to cause problems. It also feels wonderful on the skin. Grapeseed oil has a greenish color but that isn't a problem. It is also very healing and has other beneficial properties. Olive oil is also great for the skin, though I find it a bit heavy for my taste. There are more exotic oils, but I generally use one of these or a mixture of these for the cream. I have had good results from any of these oils, though rice bran is my favorite. You can get these oils in the grocery and may have them in the kitchen. I got my rice bran oil from Big Lots of all places - a big bottle was only $6. The basic recipe is 1 part shea butter, 1 part illipe butter, and 1 part oil. I use a scale to measure them by weight, but you can use a measuring spoon or cup if you want. I have done it that way many times before I got my scale. Put the shea and illipe butters in a dish to melt. You can use a double boiler or put the dish into a larger dish of hot water if you want. Just don't get the water too hot to put yuor finger in - you don't want the butters to get too hot, just hot enough to melt. You can also melt them in the microwave using short intervals at 30%-50% power. Start iwth 30 seconds, then stir and add time in 10 second intervals until almost totally melted. Then stir until it is totally melted. Add the oil to the melted butter and stir well. Then add a few drops of essential oil and stir well. I like to use lemon ess oil because I love the smell and it has antiseptic, antibacterial and antifungal properties. I sometimes use lavender ess oil, or rose absolute ess oil - they each have beneficial properties for the skin. If you have a hard time finding lemon essential oil, check the baking section of Michael's or Hobby Lobby type stores for LorAnn natural lemon oil. It works very well, just make sure it is natural and has no artificial ingredients. At this point you can add a few drops of Vit E oil to help preserve the cream. I usually don't do this because I make very small batches and don't keep it around for months and months. You can either buy pure vit E oil or get the gelcaps in the vitamin section and pop open a few of them to squeeze the oil into the mixture. Stir well and let the oil sit until it firms up. You can put it in the fridge if you want, but it should solidify on the counter. If you need it to set up fast, put the container into an ice water bath and stir until the mixture is opaque and firm. It won't be really hard but should not be runny either (if it is runny when fully cooled, melt a bit more of the butters and stir in, then let cool again). You are ready to use it. If you want to give it a super luxurious feel, take a small whisk and whip it up like mousse or whipped cream. It will feel wonderful going on. If you do this and then the oil gets to hot, it will lose the air that was whipped into it. This won't hurt it, and you can leave it alone or whip it up again. The description sounds way more involve than it is. You basically measure out equal amts of shea butter, illipe butter and 'of oil. melt the butters, stir in the oil, add essential oils as desired (or leave them out entirely if you want), and then let it cool. This can be stored at room temp for several weeks or in the fridge for longer. I hope this helps and that you enjoy it! [/QUOTE]
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