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I remember when I first heard of hard lotion. “Lotion’s not hard. What is this stuff? It sounds ridiculous!” But then I tried it.
 
No mess, no goop and nothing your toddler can smear all over your bedroom wall. No one’s had that happen, right? All in a convenient little bar.  
 
These are perfect to throw in your purse or the diaper bag to whip out whenever you get that itchy, dry skin feeling. I also like keeping one by the sink next to my semi-handmade hand soap to moisturize my hands after I do the dishes or get some cleaning done. I hate using cleaning gloves, and I feel safe not doing so since I make my own cleaners, but it can make my hands dry.
 
Use a mold and these bars look so elegant and chic in a guest bathroom. You can even include it with some diy whipped body butter and this room and linen spray in a little basket left in the guest room. Perfect for welcoming any overnight guests. They’re really so simple to put together, but the results are impressive.  
 
I’ve recently discovered the world of essential oils (Sarah’s note: I get mine here) and they’re super useful, especially with homemade body care products. If you prefer to use herbs though, this is a great way to use an infused oil. Calendula is my go to herb for skin care since it’s great for a plethora of skin issues. I use it along with lavender and plantain to make a salve to help with diaper rashes and eczema.
 
Below are some herbs and essential oils you can use in your lotion bars. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but it’s enough to get you started. Even though some of these are good for rashes and broken skin, I can’t recommend rubbing a hard lotion bar on broken skin as it will most likely irritate the area more.  

 Essential Oils For Skin 

• Tea Tree – good for acne, dermatitis, eczema, rashes, sunburn
• Lavender – useful for dry skin, itchy skin, stretch marks, wrinkles
• Frankincense – helps prevent scarring, wrinkles
• Geranium – useful for dry skin, diaper rash, wrinkles
• Helichrysum – reduces scarring, wrinkles
• Myrrh – good for chapped dry skin, stretch marks, wrinkles
• Roman chamomile– useful for dry skin
• Sandalwood – useful for dry skin, wrinkles

Herbs for Skin

• Calendula – useful for eczema, psoriasis, sunburns, burns, inflamed skin
• Plantain – useful for eczema, psoriasis, rashes, damaged skin
• Comfrey– useful for eczema, psoriasis, diaper rash, burns, and sores. 

​If you’re infusing the coconut oil with herbs, see how I do it here.
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Instructions:
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1. Add all ingredients, except for essential oils, into a double boiler (I use a glass bowl on top of a sauce pan).
2. Stir occasionally with a metal spoon until everything has melted.
3. Remove from the heat and add your essential oils. I like adding 10 drops per 1 oz.
4. Give this a quick stir and immediately pour into your molds. Let cool at room temperature until solid.
5. For easy removal put them in the freezer for about 10 minutes before popping them out. Don’t leave them in for long though otherwise they’ll split.

​​I like putting these into little organza gift bags to giveaway. These tins are a great way to store the bars as well, especially when toting them around in your purse.
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All of these herbs are also available at Mountain Rose Herbs or the Bulk Herb Store.
Resources:

Practical Herbalism
Modern Essentials
 

About Jamie:   
Jamie writes about diy projects, healthy recipes and natural living on her blog, How To Just About Anything. She attended Grace College for journalism and is currently enrolled in natural health courses. She runs her own bodycare business and is the development director for A’amarna Toothpaste. Come say hi on her Facebook page, follow her on Pinterest, or check out her blog! 

These Molasses Spice Breakfast bars recipe is a guest post from Renee of Raising Generation Nourished! I am thrilled to have one of Renee’s amazing recipes featured here! Be sure to read more about her after the post.

I have a household of big breakfast fans.I know some people are light breakfast eaters…our household is not. It is typically our biggest meal of the day, and I especially look forward to it on the weekends.

On the weekends my husband get to be home for breakfast, and we love making big breakfasts together. During the work week he has to take all 3 meals of the day along with him to work, so we really love our weekend breakfasts!
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I usually take advantage of weekend breakfast making to plan myself ahead for the upcoming work and school week. My husband usually likes to take grab and go breakfast cookies, or a thermos of soaked oatmeal on the way out the door with him so I make those a lot on the weekend.

I have been looking for some other ways to change things up though, so he isn’t eating the same thing day in and day out. I created this breakfast bar with him in mind as I know he loves the flavor of molasses.

These breakfast bars are definitely hitting my breakfast making rotation. It was delicious with a cup of tea, and since we are bigger breakfast eaters we also had sides of fried eggs and hash, and raw milk.
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One of my goals in recipes like this is no fuss. I want it to be something everyone has time for. This is literally everything into the blender, onto the baking sheet, and bake it off. The recipe can be doubled or tripled, and the bars frozen individually for quick grab and go. The leftovers were great for school morning breakfast on Monday, and my daughter loved having it in her lunchbox later that week. My toddlers were big fans of them too.

 

Instructions:
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1. Put the bananas, molasses, and coconut oil in your food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend to combine.
3. Spread the batter on a Silpat lined (or parchment paper lined) large baking sheet or jelly roll pan, and use a butter knife to make your bar shapes however big you want. Once they bake, they will pull off into bars super easy.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Check them at the 30 minute mark in case our ovens run differently.

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