My 8-year-old son spends his summers polka-dotted. No joke. His olive skin easily tans, but patches on his arms, legs, neck and sometimes even his face get scaly, itchy and flaky, leaving him spotted.
We’ve treated this with a variety of eczema prescriptions and over-the-counter solutions since he was an iddy-biddy guy. At a recent dermatologist visit, I was told he has Tinea Versicolor. So we’ve started some more medications and treatments (results are still pending.)
I’ve been making this body cream for Lewis for a couple years, and it’s been great. Primarily because he doesn’t cry out in pain when I put it on his skin. (That’s a big deal.)
But I’ve been reading up and have gotten mixed results as to whether or not coconut oil is a good idea. It has anti-fungal properties but is highly comedogenic, which I think is a big word to say that it blocks your pores. So I decided give a recipe without coconut oil a try.
After doing a little online research, I came up with the following little concoction. (It may get tweaked for my second batch, or maybe I’ll decide to go back to my original recipe with coconut oil.)
Homemade Whipped Sensitive Skin Body Cream
1 Cup Shea Butter (I order this in bulk on amazon.)
5 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/8 Teaspoon Tea Tree Oil
Step-by-Step
1. Put the Shea butter in a double boiler for a few minutes just to get it a little mushy.
2. Take it off the heat and mash it a bit with a fork.
3. Dump into a mixing bowl along with the EVOO and Tea Tree Oil, and blend for 5 minutes. (I used my KitchenAid.)
4. Take the bowl of the stand and put it in the fridge for 5 minutes.
5. Put it back on the stand and mix 5 more minutes.
6. Now it should look like a fluffy, buttery frosting. Put it in a container with an airtight lid.
I’ve been making my own homemade “lotions” for almost 2 years, primarily because the main ingredient in most lotions is alcohol and it dries your skin. You may also try a mix of shea butter and cocoa butter. I use both of those plus coconut oil but if you are trying to get away from the coconut obviously you can leave that out. I hope you find something that works well for you!
Thanks Sherri. The homemade stuff is gentle on Lewis’s ultra-sensitive skin and is so much cheaper than buying natural premade products.