Today I started on the next set of Christmas gifts - lotions, balms, and other bath goodies for the ladies. I meant to take pictures of the process, but the processes are either time -sensitive, or I needed to keep a very close eye on my little helper, so I didn’t get as many pics as I intended.

First up was Natural Hair Rinse, an excellent alternative to commercial hair conditioners. Made from apple cider vinegar, water, and essential oils. Easy peasy. I’ve been using this for much longer than I’ve been doing anything else Granola-like.

Next, Sugar Scrub. Mmmmm. Also very easy. Brown sugar, oil, and vanilla. (Edible, too, as Wally discovered. “Mmmm. That’s Good!”)

Here’s my adorable helper, making his “smile” face. He helped dump ingredients into the bowl, stir, and spoon the scrub into the tubs while I labeled them. (look at how efficient I am - the crockpot in the background is actually cooking our dinner - leftover turkey mixed with BBQ sauce.)

And the completed sugar scrub.

The most involved item of the day was the lip balm. First we measured out the ingredients (Shea butter, olive oil, beeswax, avocado oil, EOs) using my digital postal scale (which is actually a kitchen scale), then we melted them in a glass measuring cup placed inside a hot water bath.

After everything was all melted together, I stirred in the essential oil and then quickly quickly filled up my little containers. This was my first time making lip balm, and I didn’t realize that the recipe I was following would make about a metric ton of balm, so I filled all my containers and had a LOT left over. I’m going to see if I can find more containers locally tomorrow, then remelt the leftover and put it into containers and store it in the fridge.

If you decide to make your own lip balm at home, you might think about covering the floor and work surfaces with old newspapers.

Just in case.

Just in case you somehow manage to knock over your glass measuring cup still half-full of melted lip balm.

I’m just sayin’.