It’s been so wild around here lately that I’ve barely had time to clean my house, much less do any fun projects. In fact, I take that back–I haven’t had time to clean my house.

Life has been oh-so-busy with all the “lasts” of my son’s senior year of high school and all of the piles of paperwork involved in college and scholarship applications, plus of course the regular busyness of running a business, sitting on boards, volunteering, and the like. For those of you with inquiring minds, he still hasn’t decided where he’s going, but the deadline isn’t until May 1st and I know that this kid will keep us wondering until the last minute!

Today I finally tried a quick little project, mostly to get my mind off of my overwhelming to do list. I’m really pleased with how it turned out, so of course I had to share.

How to make a DIY Face Cream

This recipe for organic face cream is so easy–only five ingredients–and obviously the ingredients are pure. One of our readers actually mentioned it to me when I wrote {this} post about combating alligator skin during the winter. While there are quite a few recipes on Pinterest, I used {this} one by RealFoodRN as a starting point.

The recipe is a snap:

1/2 c. cacao butter (this is a rough measurement since the chips are bulky)

2 T. sweet almond oil

2 T jojoba oil

1/4 c. coconut oil

Kate at RealFoodRN talks about why each of these ingredients is helpful for skin care; also, she uses frankincense oil in her cream, but I opted to use tea tree oil because of its anti-acne properties (I figured my teenagers might find it helpful).

All you do is melt the cacao chips in a double boiler and then mix in the rest of the ingredients minus the essential oil.

The pop the mixture into the fridge for an hour or so while it begins to harden, and then whip it up using a mixer. When it’s fluffy, your work is done.

Now it’s time to mix in the essential oils. I only used 20 drops of tea tree oil, but the smell is almost too strong for me, so I’d recommend 10 drops to start if you’re using the same recipe. Just mix it in and you’re done!

In addition to tea tree oil and frankincense, other essential oils that are considered good for skin care include: patchouli, rose, ylang-ylang, cypress, lavender, and sandalwood. I’m sure there are others, too (let me know if I missed any big ones).

The recipe makes about a cup and that should be plenty since it’s very moisturizing! For storage, I like these jars; I use the larger size for mustard and jam and the hexagonal shape is kind of different and fun.