Summer is here- which unfortunately means sunburns. If you have very pale skin like me, even if you are responsible with the sunscreen you can still get burnt. So you gotta find sunburn remedies when you do! Luckily I’ve come up with this amazing sunburn soother recipe to help lessen the pain and discomfort and help the sunburn heal. It’s all natural and easy to make too! Plus it makes a great healthy moisturizer, so you can use it even if you aren’t burnt.

I absolutely love aloe vera. It’s one of my favorite ingredients- and with good reason. Not only is it soothing and anti-inflammatory, it’s also a healthy and lightweight all natural moisturizer. It feels refreshing and wonderful- especially on sunburn! The problem is a lot of those aloe vera gels you buy in stores are less than 10% aloe, so you’re not really getting the benefits! Well this moisturizer is full of REAL aloe vera and other great ingredients that help soothe sunburns.

If you love aloe nearly as much as I do, you should also check out my other posts on aloe vera. I have a whole skincare system made with it: aloe vera face wash, aloe vera toner, AND aloe vera moisturizer. Aloe is so great for your skin!

All the ingredients in this recipe are designed to help with sunburn:

• Aloe vera gel: anti-inflammatory, soothing and cooling, lightweight moisture
• Coconut oil: serious moisture for damaged skin, anti-inflammatory
• Avocado oil: healthy hydration filled with fats, minerals, and antioxidants your skin loves
• Witch hazel extract: astringent to tighten and heal skin, anti-inflammatory (I’m very particular about where I get my witch hazel, because it’s hard to find one of good quality and purity. I absolutely love Mountain Rose Herbs Witch Hazel)
• Beeswax: used to emulsify the lotion but also provides a protective layer on the skin
• Peppermint essential oil (optional): cooling and soothing

You’ll notice the word anti-inflammatory in there a lot. That’s why this sunburn remedy is so effective- each of its ingredients helps reduce pain and inflammation from your sunburn to provide relief and promote healing. Together they are a great combination!

Ultimately the goal is not to get sunburnt, so you should check out my homemade sunscreen recipe to help you with that!

I mean, just look how creamy and amazing this stuff is! And it is so healthy.

I know I designed this as a sunburn remedy… but I just can’t help using it for more than just sunburn relief! The soothing cooling feeling is addictive. And the light coconut peppermint smell is so refreshing.

Your skin will really love this stuff. All the ingredients are amazingly healthy for your skin.

Let me know how this sunburn soother works for you!

supplies used in this post

The post Aloe Vera Soother for Sunburn Relief appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

This homemade mango moisturizer is my new favorite thing ever. It is healthy, lightweight, all natural, and my skin just can’t get enough.

I’ve just run out of my aloe vera moisturizer, so I figured it was time I whipped up a new one. I only recently have started using mango butter in my recipes, and it is a powerhouse ingredient. It is a natural emollient filled with lots of fatty acids that your skin loves- and even better, it is safe for acne prone skin!

I am so impressed with this powerhouse moisturizer! It is as luxurious as any expensive moisturizer I’ve ever tried- and it costs as little as $2.50 to make. It is so effective at moisturizing I need less than a pea sized amount to moisturize my whole face. Now that’s an amazing deal!

I like to explain the purpose of each ingredient in my recipes:

• Mango Butter: non-comedogenic moisturizer, natural emollient (attracts moisture to the skin), full of essential fatty acids (I used this one but I also like this one)
• Vegetable Glycerin: great natural moisturizer, makes the moisturizer feel more lightweight, acts as a natural preservative in high enough amounts (I used this one but this one is great if you don’t want such a large quantity)
• Beeswax: helps thicken and stabilize, while also being a great protective layer for the skin to keep moisture in (I used this one)
• Soy Lecithin: a natural emulsifier, which allows the mango butter and vegetable glycerin to mix and creates a nice texture (I used this one but I also like this liquid version)
• Acacia Powder (optional): makes the lotion feel a little thicker, natural emulsifier (I used this one but I also like this one)
• Essential oils (optional): for scent, and can also have different beneficial properties (I love lavender or orange for this recipe)

And the tools you’ll need are:

• a hand mixer, I like to use one with a whisk attachment
• an immersion blender, or lots of patience*
• a double boiler or makeshift double boiler (pot placed on top of pot of water)
• an airtight container to store your lotion

*If you can give this recipe a week, you don’t need the immersion blender. I’ll explain why in a minute.

This recipe can be made a few different ways. If you want to use liquid soy lecithin, you don’t need to use an immersion blender at all. But if you use soy lecithin granules (like I like to!), you either need an immersion blender or some patience.

Soy lecithin granules need to dissolve in water to work as a good emulsifier. Since glycerin is the “water” ingredient in this recipe, you’ll want to dissolve them in the glycerin. Except they dissolve much more slowly in glycerin than in water. I did a test to see how long, and it took me a full week for my granules to dissolve.

So anyways, if you’re less patient, you can also use an immersion blender on the granules to make sure they get mixed properly. That’s what I did, and it worked wonderfully. But it does require extra tools.

All right- let’s get to the recipe!

I really love this mango moisturizer. It makes my skin feel super dewey and wonderful. Like I said before, you only need a tiny tiny bit to moisturize with. If you slather it on it will feel sticky and take a long time to absorb. It’s so effective at moisturizing you really only need a little.

I like to use this for my face but you can use it as a body lotion as well if you prefer. It feels great on my hands.

Well, I hope you love this mango moisturizer as much as I do! Let me know how making your own mango moisturizer goes for you!

Supplies used in this post:

The post Miracle Mango Moisturizer appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

I love coconut oil. I think it’s amazing. It smells great and it has so many benefits for hair, skin, and health. I’ve been using it straight as a face moisturizer for the past few weeks, but I’ve also been breaking out a little the past few weeks. Well, I read a few days ago that coconut oil can actually be comedogenic, despite being antibacterial. So, I decided to try making a new moisturizer to replace coconut oil.

I adapted this recipe from one by Say Not Sweet Anne. Her recipe had coconut oil in it, so I replaced it and changed some of the proportions to account for different oil textures. This is a more acne-friendly version of her Clean and Healthy DIY moisturizer.

I am so impressed with the results. This lotion is as luxurious and incredible smelling as any expensive moisturizer I’ve ever tried. And it only cost $5.25 to make. It is so wonderfully creamy and effective that I only need a tiny bit to cover my whole face, so this jar will probably last at least a few months. Definitely a good deal. 

You will need:

• Aloe Vera Gel: non-greasy, lightweight moisturizer, anti-inflammatory, nutrient rich
• Almond Oil: deep moisturizer, soothes irritation, reduces dark circles
• Jojoba Oil: anti-bacterial, natural antiseptic, non-greasy oil moisturizer
• Beeswax: locks in moisture, protects skin against damaging elements, antioxidant, anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory
• Essential oil of your choice: benefits depend on the oil you choose (I used lemon oil which is anti-bacterial and antiseptic, and orange oil which is soothing for the skin. Be careful choosing an oil because some may not work well with your skin type or may have other effects like increased photosensitivity)
• A makeshift or real double boiler (I use the makeshift version- boiling water in a larger pot with a smaller pot on top, here is a universal double boiler)
• A hand mixer (I like to use one with a whisk attachment, I find it works better)
• A large bowl

And here is the full recipe:

* You must use actual aloe vera gel, not aloe juice or fresh aloe from a plant. Without the gel consistency, the moisturizer will not whip and mix properly.

This moisturizer is absolutely fabulous. The texture is exactly like butter. Since I used lemon and orange essential oils, it has an incredible citrus scent. I couldn’t believe I actually made a facial moisturizer that actually feels so creamy and luxurious. Why buy lotion when it is so easy to make it at home?

Just look how beautiful:

Don’t you just want to put it on right now? I know I do. There’s just something about creamy fluffy lotion that is so appealing.

So, try making this lotion and let me know how it goes for you!

supplies used in this post

Do you love this aloe moisturizer? You should also check out my aloe vera face wash and toner!

UPDATE: If you are having trouble with your aloe vera face moisturizer, here are some common issues:

• Moisturizer is liquidy
  • Too much almond oil will throw off the ratio of oil to water and give you a liquidy consistency. Stick to exactly 2 tablespoons, or slightly less. If you accidentally add too much almond oil, increase the jojoba oil to the same amount
  • Too little beeswax will give the moisturizer a thinner consistency
  • Adding the aloe too quickly can cause you too add more than necessary
• Aloe isn’t blending
  • If you don’t let the oil mixture come to room temperature before you mix in the aloe, it simply won’t work. They need to be the same, or close to the same, temperature to mix
  • If you add the aloe too quickly, it may not blend. Remember to add gradually while mixing.
  • You might just need to keep mixing! It might take longer than you expect.
• Can I replace the almond oil in this recipe?
  • Yes! Just use 4 tablespoons jojoba oil instead of 2 almond and 2 jojoba
• Can I use fresh aloe from my plant?
  • No. You need aloe vera gel. There are plenty of tutorials online on how to make your own aloe vera gel. Wikihow has a straightforward tutorial. I can’t guarantee it will work because I haven’t tried it myself.

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