Homemade Body Lotion

6 to 12 months, kept dark and cool

Shelf life: there is no water in the lotion, so it needs no preservative. Kept dark and cool it lasts 6 to 12 months. All equipment must be clean and bone dry.

Use a clean spatula rather than your fingers if you want it to keep. That goes double for a jar living in a damp bathroom.

Summer heat: above about 25 degrees it starts to soften and may collapse. It takes no harm, but keep it somewhere cool in a heatwave.

Rosemary should be left out in pregnancy, and used with care if you have epilepsy or high blood pressure. Replace with 5 extra drops of lavender.

Peppermint is not for children under six. For a version for the whole family, drop the peppermint and rosemary and use 15 drops of lavender instead.

Patch test on the inside of your forearm for a day if you are sensitive.

This is experience passed from woman to woman and is not a substitute for advice from a doctor or dermatologist.

The ratio: roughly half butter and half oil, with the coconut counting on the butter side. More butter gives a firmer lotion, more oil a softer one.

Swap the butters: cupuaçu, murumuru or illipe all work. Avoid coconut butter as your only butter, it sets too hard.

Swap the oils: sunflower, sweet almond, jojoba, sesame, rosehip or your own calendula oil. I would keep the castor, it does more for the texture than you would think.

Swap the essential oils: orange and vanilla for a warm sweet version, eucalyptus and rosemary for a waking one, lavender and Roman chamomile for an evening lotion. Stay under about 35 drops for this batch.

To use it on your face too, drop the coconut oil and the peppermint and switch to jojoba. Then it is gentle enough.

Mango butter, 45 g (Mangifera indica)
The light one among the butters, and the reason the lotion does not feel heavy. High in oleic and stearic acid, it melts quickly at skin temperature and leaves no greasy film. It smells of essentially nothing, which makes it the perfect base when you want to decide the scent yourself.

Shea butter, 45 g (Butyrospermum parkii)
The classic, and with good reason. Shea contains 5 to 10 % unsaponifiables, which is unusually high, and those are what make it so soothing and restorative on dry, irritated skin. It is heavier than mango and settles as a layer that stays put. Unrefined shea smells nutty and smoky, refined smells of nothing at all.

Cocoa butter, alternative (Theobroma cacao)
Firmer and more occlusive than shea, meaning it seals from the outside more thoroughly. It gives a lotion that stays on the skin longer, and it smells faintly of chocolate. Traditionally what stretched skin and stretch marks have been rubbed with.

Avocado oil, 30 g (Persea americana)
One of the deepest-penetrating oils there is. Rich in oleic acid, sterols and vitamins A, D and E, and one of the best choices for mature, dry and tired skin. It is what makes elbows and shins actually go soft rather than just glossy.

Coconut oil, 30 g (Cocos nucifera)
High in lauric acid, which is naturally antimicrobial, and solid below about 24 degrees. It helps give the lotion its firm, whippable structure and that faintly silky glide as you apply it. If you are prone to congestion, keep it to the body and off the face.

Castor oil, 30 g (Ricinus communis)
The secret ingredient in a great many good creams. Thick, syrupy and humectant, meaning it draws moisture towards the skin rather than only sealing it in. It lays down a glossy, protective layer and is the reason the lotion stays put longer than most. More than 30 g turns it tacky, so hold back.

Vitamin E, 5 g (Tocopherol)
About 3 % of the weight. An antioxidant on the skin, and in the jar it protects all the oils from going rancid, which matters especially in a batch this size that has to stand for a while.

Rosemary, 5 drops (Rosmarinus officinalis)
The waking one. Rosemary gets the circulation going, strengthens vitality, and across the whole European tradition it is the herb of mental clarity and of remembering yourself. It makes this a morning lotion if you use it in the morning, and it is no accident that rosemary was tucked into bridal bouquets to bind memory and fidelity.

Peppermint, 5 drops (Mentha piperita)
The cooling. Unbeatable on tired legs and swollen feet after a day at work, and it makes the lotion noticeably refreshing in summer. Five drops is enough, peppermint fills a room quickly.

Lavender, 5 drops (Lavandula angustifolia)
The link. It calms both skin and nervous system, it ties the rosemary and the peppermint into a scent that makes sense, and it means the lotion can be used in the evening without waking you up.

Arrowroot, 1 tbsp (Maranta arundinacea)
Indispensable in a lotion this rich. The powder absorbs the outermost film of oil, so you can get dressed five minutes later instead of twenty-five, and it makes the whipped texture lighter and airier. One tablespoon is right for this batch.