The best part of living an eco-friendly life isn’t the fame or the glory, nor the never-ending parades and accolades — no, it’s the chance to actually create things for yourself instead of buying them. One of my favorite creations of the past few years has been this body lotion.

I started looking at making my own lotion after getting exhausted at reading labels, trying to wade through paragraph-long ingredient lists in an attempt to decipher if the lotion was safe to put on my skin. What’s the big deal? Well, much of what we put on our skin is absorbed into our bodies — doesn’t it make sense that we should know what these ingredients are? In many commercially produced lotions, you’ll find harmful ingredients like diethyl phthalate, propylene glycol, synthetic colors and fragrances, and parabens.

Instead of slathering yourself in all of that, how about whipping up a batch of your own creamy, rich, luxurious lotion with just three simple ingredients?

Ready?

Homemade Lotion

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup water
  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons grated beeswax

1. Gently warm the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat….