Citrus body butter bars
A part of the collection of products Steenbergs Organic sent me to play with, I received dried lemon peel and their orange blossom water extract. I often use essential oils in body products but figured this would be a good opportunity to use a little bit of the orange blossom water instead.
I loved the idea of using the lemon peel to create a pretty looking body bar, as well as create a little texture as a slightly rough surface for the skin. It is of course optional and you could create a similar effect with other products of simply omit completely. One other idea I'd had was to use dried aduki beans... like this Lush bar, to give a smoother massage surface and funky appearance. I'll try that another time!
I made mini bars this time using mini silicone muffin cups. The great thing about the mini versions is that they make great 'single shots' for a bath. Since I am trying to dedicate my Sunday's as my pampering self care day, these are perfect and I find that they give my skin a totally moisturised feel once out of the bath and also create the leg perfect shaving conditions whilst in ...just saying' :-)
You can of of course using other extracts/essential oils and textures but the citrus vibe worked really well here and was a great non-food use for some of the beautiful Steenbergs products.
Don't forget to enter the Steenbergs Organic giveaway here!
Recipe: Citrus body butter bars
Makes approx. 6 larger bars or 12 mini ones
Ingredients
2 cups cocoa butter
½ cup sweet almond oil
1-2 tsp Steenbergs orange blossom extract
2-3 tbs Steenbergs lemon peel
Method
Blitz the cocoa butter in to small pieces (for a faster melting process). Add the cocoa butter, almond oil and orange extract to a bowl set over boiling water until fully melted.
Sprinkle an equal amount of the dried lemon peel into the bottom of silicone muffins cups (either mini cups or larger sized) and slowly pour the melted cocoa butter mixture over the top.
Allow the bars to set overnight (or speed the process up in the fridge. The bars will be fine stored at room temperature unless it is a very hot day when they may risk getting a little soft.
I actually used a little more cocoa butter and a little less sweet almond oil than shown in this photo!
Some in and some out of the cups!
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