4 Tablespoons shea butter

½ Tablespoon grape seed oil

10 drops lavender essential oil

10 drops of tea tree oil

The lotion recipe:

4 Tablespoons aloe vera gel

½ Tablespoon grape seed oil

1 Teaspoon Vitamin E oil

5 drops orange essential oil

2 Tablespoons Witch Hazel
2 drops lavendar essential oil
4 drops tea tree oil

I break out, that's why the tea tree oil is in it.  If you don't you could probably leave that out.  These don't prevent me from breaking out, so I still have to use over the counter stuff for that, but they do make my skin feel really nice, and don't cause any more breakouts.  As far as which essential oils are used, you could probably swap them out for any others you like the smell of.

I've only been using the lotion for a few days, so I can't speak for long term, but for now, I really love the way it smells and feels, its very light and soft, and it absorbs into the skin so it doesn't feel very greasy.  It's humid now, so I don't have too much of a dry skin problem, but wearing it in the winter will be the real test of how good it works.

The cream also stays very oily because of the shea butter, so I don't use it in the daytime, like you said.

SimplyAlex: Do you use the tea tree oil concentrated?  Does it prevent break outs?  It seems like it would if it helps in small amounts, but I didn't know if there were any dangers with using it concentrated.  The proactiv I've been using does prevent my breakouts entirely, but I'm lessening my usage of it to try to find something more natural.

Susan W wrote: I've just been given these recipes by someone I know for a natural lotion and a natural cream.  The cream recipe: 4 Tablespoons shea butter ½ Tablespoon grape seed oil 10 drops lavender essential oil 10 drops of tea tree oil The lotion recipe: 4 Tablespoons aloe vera gel ½ Tablespoon grape seed oil 1 Teaspoon Vitamin E oil 5 drops orange essential oil 2 Tablespoons Witch Hazel 2 drops lavendar essential oil 4 drops tea tree oil I break out, that's why the tea tree oil is in it.  If you don't you could probably leave that out.  These don't prevent me from breaking out, so I still have to use over the counter stuff for that, but they do make my skin feel really nice, and don't cause any more breakouts.  As far as which essential oils are used, you could probably swap them out for any others you like the smell of. I've only been using the lotion for a few days, so I can't speak for long term, but for now, I really love the way it smells and feels, its very light and soft, and it absorbs into the skin so it doesn't feel very greasy.  It's humid now, so I don't have too much of a dry skin problem, but wearing it in the winter will be the real test of how good it works. The cream also stays very oily because of the shea butter, so I don't use it in the daytime, like you said. SimplyAlex: Do you use the tea tree oil concentrated?  Does it prevent break outs?  It seems like it would if it helps in small amounts, but I didn't know if there were any dangers with using it concentrated.  The proactiv I've been using does prevent my breakouts entirely, but I'm lessening my usage of it to try to find something more natural.

Thanks for the recipes.  They seem really great. Where do you get your shea butter from and how does it smell?  I know that sounds weird but I recently got a sample online and it smells kinda bad.  I have a hard time using something that smells bad but I guess if it works I should get over it right?

Susan W wrote: Not weird at all!  I bought mine at http://www.essentialoil.net - essentialoil.net   ...and click on "butters" on the left.  I got the ultrarefined, which doesn't smell (I heard beforehand that unrefined smells bad so I never tried that kind).  Most recipes seem to be intended to use unrefined because it mixes better and makes a smoother cream, but I knew I wouldn't use it either if it didn't work out smelling nice.  So, the result is that the recipe for the cream is going to come out thick and pasty, but still useable.

Thanks susan.  I'm getting ready to visit that web site now.

Yeah, unrefined does smell bad...kinda like something burnt.