Lotion bar for my 2 year old....

[Paintguru]

So as I continue to poke around this world of homemade soaps and lotions, I noticed that lotion bars appear to be pretty easy to make. I was thinking of trying to make one for my 2 year old whose face breaks out pretty frequently in what I would call a mild case of eczema/inflammation. Usually it is a reaction to hommous or just due to dry conditions and her sensitive skin. We use Aquaphor now, but I figured a nice standard recipe for a lotion bar would do the trick, probably with beeswax, shea butter, and some mixture of avocado/coconut/apricot kernel/jojoba oil. I also thought of adding some EO to it to help reduce the inflammation. From what I've read online (still need to read up in my EO book that I have at home), tea tree and lavender oils are supposed to be good for eczema/inflammation. Any thoughts on how much to add of these? I think I saw a comment somewhere that EOs for kids should be halved, so I'm guessing that puts me at ~1.5% oil/wax weight, but I wanted to check. Any other thoughts on this whole process would be appreciated as well.

 

[houseofwool]

I would skip any sort of scent at all for her if her skin is that sensitive.

 

[Ancel]

For a child's lotion I'd skip the EOs and do an oil infusion with calendula, chamomile or lavender. Nettle and turmeric both work well for inflammation. I'd do a calendula nettle, it would be a pretty color too. She could even help you prepare the oil! Comfrey is another option, very healing.

 

[ahutchins9]

For a child's lotion I'd skip the EOs and do an oil infusion with calendula, chamomile or lavender. Nettle and turmeric both work well for inflammation. I'd do a calendula nettle, it would be a pretty color too. She could even help you prepare the oil! Comfrey is another option, very healing.

I agree skip the EO's. An oil infusion would be the best

 

[Paintguru]

For a child's lotion I'd skip the EOs and do an oil infusion with calendula, chamomile or lavender. Nettle and turmeric both work well for inflammation. I'd do a calendula nettle, it would be a pretty color too. She could even help you prepare the oil! Comfrey is another option, very healing.

Sounds good, I will try that. Any tips on how to prep the oil? Do you just steep the oil with the canlendula and nettle for a while to extract the yummy goodness? Any suggestions on amounts? Thanks for the help!

 

[Ancel]

The easiest way is to simply put herbs in a glass jar, cover with an oil - sunflower, sweet almond are both easily taken up by the skin, olive is very moisturizing, and cap. Leave on a sunny windowsill for 3 weeks. Shake or invert daily to make sure the herbs remain covered (or they might mold, especially if fresh), and to extract as much of the goodness as possible. There's a wonderful little video by Susun Weed that is both delightful and informative, and she makes it with a young 2 year old:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRenHn7Krz0[/ame]

 

[DeeAnna]

I'm chiming in on the side of avoiding the EOs. If this is to be used on her face, tea tree can be irritating to the eyes and is pretty strong to smell. Lavender might be a titch more tolerable, but I'd still be wary. I like the infused oil suggestion instead. Another option to consider is using a hydrosol of lavender or other appropriate botanical, if you ever go to a water-based product. Much more gentle than EOs.