This rich salve, originally posted here on the Soap Queen blog, is perfect for curing those winter elbows, knees, or any other rough patches. It’s easy to whip up, and has a great non-greasy texture. It’s one of my favorite recipes, and I always keep a small tin of it in my purse. Remember, you can add any essential or fragrance oil you like, but my preference is just a tiny drop of Jasmine. -Elizabeth
Ingredients
6 oz. Cocoa Butter
7 oz. Avocado Butter
7 oz. Mango Butter
3 oz. Jojoba Oil
2 oz. Tamanu Oil
2 Tablespoons Tapioca Powder
Other great skin-loving essential oils that would be incredible in this recipe too: Helischyrum, Frankincense, Jasmine, Rose, Neroli
ONE: This recipe is designed by weight so have your handy dandy scale ready to weigh. Weigh out the Cocoa Butter and Avocado Butter. Melt in the microwave on 30 second bursts and stir in between bursts. Remember to choose a glass container that is almost all the way full with solid materials because empty glass containers are prone to cracking or exploding in the microwave.
TWO: In a separate, smaller container, weigh out the Tamanu Oil and Jojoba Oil. Heat this oil up in the microwave for 30 seconds. Are the Tamanu Oil grains melted? Stir well. If they’re not fully melted, put the mixture in the microwave for another 30 seconds. And don’t forget the little waxy-like grains at the bottom of your Tamanu Oil bottle. I like to rinse my bottle out with the hot oil to get all the components of the Tamanu Oil.
Tamanu Oil has a very earthy smell and slightly grainy texture. It smells sort of like a nutty, musky dirt. It’s not unpleasant but it is surprising if you’ve never smelled it before.
THREE: Weigh out the Mango Butter. Put this directly into your mixer. Drizzle the melted oils and butters over the solid oil. Immediately turn the mixer onto low (much higher than that and you’ll find yourself with oil splatters all over your kitchen and yourself!). Let the warm oils slowly and gently melt the Mango Butter. This helps with the ‘Mango Butter chunks’ that you sometimes see with balms.
FOUR (optional): I really like a balm that soaks in quickly and doesn’t feel massively oily on my skin. Tapioca Powder is a modified tapioca starch that has been designed to be free-flowing and non-clumping. It is unique because it is aluminum free and because it has been modified with a silicone. It is velvety smooth and imparts a soft after-feel to the skin. Add 2 Tablespoons of Tapioca Powder to your heated warm oils a bit at a time. If you add it too quickly, POOF! Tapioca Powder everywhere!
FIVE: Whip, whip, whip until the butter is turning slightly cloudy (signifying that it is starting to set up). Add the essential oil mixture of your choice. I’ve chosen the ones in this recipe specifically to help me in bouncing back from my labor and stretched-out belly. They are extra skin-loving but you can use any essential oil or fragrance oil you’d like. Just keep the mixture to 3 grams or else it turns into a strong smelling perfume balm!
SIX: Pour into clean containers of your choice. I used Bramble Berry’s Candle Tins and tried a few lotion bar containers (woot! woot! they worked great!). Allow to sit overnight. Mixture takes several hours to harden so don’t panic if it doesn’t seem to be setting up quickly.
I want some! Do you sell the ingredients in a kit? I would buy that if you did.
Hi Marjorie!
We don’t usually carry the kit in the store, but it is available! If you’d like to pick one up, just shoot us an email and we’ll special order one from Bramble Berry for the next day. Here’s a link to what’s included in the kit: http://www.brambleberry.com/Mango-Avocado-Balmy-Salve-Kit-P5337.aspx
We can always adjust the items if you’d like as well to fit what you already have at home or would like to substitute out.
-Elizabeth