Whip up a batch of homemade hand cream with basic ingredients and just a few minutes of time, for the gardeners on your list or anyone with dry hands. For more homemade gifts, check out the homemade gifts page!
Welcome the bi-monthly Tuesdays In the Garden! Our theme this week is Garden Gifts – either gifts from the garden, for gardeners, or about gardening. After checking out my homemade hand cream, be sure to visit the links below to the other bloggers where you’ll get lots more ideas for gift-giving from the garden.
Being a gardener, it’s probably not surprising to you that I battle dry hands during the gardening season from the rough scrubbing needed to remove all the dirt. But I actually have fairly dry hands all the time – it just gets worse in the months the garden is growing. It seems I constantly deal with chapped hands, especially around the cuticles.
I’ve tried many different brands of hand creams, but I have never found one that I liked both the scent and that had the power to keep my hands moistened. Plus, the ingredient lists on these creams were SO long…surely a hand cream could be simpler, couldn’t it?
Yes, it can. When you make your own homemade hand cream, scented with the essential oil of your choice, you’ll get simpler ingredients with a wonderful light scent. This cream is rich enough to not only keep your hands and cuticles looking good, but also work wonders on your elbows and dry heels as well.
Some methods for making homemade hand cream call for blending or processing and run the risk of separating, but the method I’m sharing with you is practically foolproof, resulting in a smooth product every time.
Since it’s made with real oils and beeswax, it is, well…oily, so I wouldn’t apply it right before working on the computer or reading a book. It’s perfect, however, for applying before putting on gardening gloves and before going to bed at night, where it has a chance to soak in – protecting and replenishing the skin we can be so rough on during the day.
For my hand cream, I used lavender essential oil and left it thicker to be scooped out of a jar. It can be adapted to use whatever scent you like best and can be thinned to use with a pump. Any way, I think this would make a lovely, thoughtful gift. (Some links in this article are affiliate links and if you click on them I will receive a small commission at no cost to you – thanks for your support!)
Homemade Hand Cream Tutorial
Supplies (to make 2/3-3/4 cup or 6 oz.)
- 1/3 cup Sweet Almond Oil
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons grated beeswax (about 1-1/2 oz.)
- 30-35 drops lavender essential oil (or other fragrant oil, see variations for suggestions)
- small vintage jars or 4-oz mason jars
Instructions:
1. Combine the oils in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat just until warm, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the grated beeswax, stirring until the was is completely melted.
2. Refrigerate for 5 to 10 minutes to start the oils cooling, then stir in the essential oil (30 drops for less scent, 35 for more). At this point, the cream can be poured into a glass container (or two containers, if desired) to cool completely.
Since this method doesn’t use water, there is no need to use a blender or processor and you won’t have to worry about the cream separating (it really is easy!). It will be softer in warmer weather and harder in cooler, but still be spreadable either way. It can be stored at room temperature (storing in the refrigerator will result in a stiffer cream).
Storage: This hand cream keeps 6-8 months in a covered jar, so the smaller the container, the better for gifts.
Variations:
- For a thinner consistency to use with a pump, use only 2 Tablespoons beeswax.
- For a thicker, salve-like consistency, use up to 4 Tablespoons beeswax.
- Replace lavender with the essential oil of your choice like lemon, orange, pine, rose, or another floral scent.
- Since a little goes a long way, the hand cream can also be packaged in small salve tins like these to give as gifts.
Packaged with a new pair of gardening gloves, this would be a sweet gift for gardeners.
And if you’re needing more DIY gift ideas, be sure to check out all AOC’s Crafts & Handmade Gift ideas for a TON of easy and useful things you can create that everyone will love.
And here’s more garden-themed gift ideas for you from our Tuesdays in The Garden group:
Mason jar herb garden at Frugal Family Home
Gift ideas for mom’s who garden at Simplify Live Love
DIY herb garden in burlap sack at Hearth & Vine
Gifts for gardeners at The Freckled Rose
Create beautiful containers to gift with these tips at Homemade Food Junkie
Disclosure: I received product and/or compensation for this post. As always, the opinions, thoughts, and projects are all mine and I will NEVER promote something I don’t love and think you will find helpful – promise! For more info, you can read our entire disclosure page here.
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Jami, this looks so easy! I’ve never made my own cream before, but I have made sugar scrubs and they’re always fun. Thanks for sharing this lovely tutorial!!
I was told a while back to use grape seed oil. I will try this over the weekend and let you know how it worked. Now, if you could please tell me what to do with 3 gallon jars of lavender flowers, that would help me out!
Dried lavender flowers? That’s a treasure! How about making sachets? Adding some to flax pillow? They are super popular with my whole family – even kids to keep their toes warm in winter! Here’s the how-to: How to make Flax-filled warming pillows
Oh my gosh!!! Thank you for the fantastic idea! Will do this over the summer to be ready for Christmas. I always make sure my gifts are either homemade/handmade or made in Idaho.
Yay for you starting so early!!
sweet, though i wonder….lavender oil and others are costly. are you able to find a better
price somewhere? the lavender oil i use is very strong in scent, however costly. though a little goes
a long ways, a project like this makes one think of the $$ factor and the comparison of other hand
remedies that may out weigh this? your thoughts?
Did you click on the link for the oils, Sel? The majority of them (all except the rose oil, which is harder to find) are made by Plant Therapy and are good quality, inexpensive oils. I think you will be pleasantly surprised!
Lavender is one of my very favorite scents! I’ll be giving this one a try most definitely — thanks, Jamie!
Mine, too, Beth – I know it would be good with the other scents, but I always gravitate to lavender. 🙂 I hope you enjoy it.
I am totally making this! Thanks Jami for a great recipe for hands…mine are so cracked all winter and in gardening season that I have tiny cuts on the tips of my fingers all the time -and my nails are so dry that they crack and break, too. I’m hopeful that this might help it a bit. I’ll probably use lemon essential oil- that’s my favorite!
Oh that sounds terrible, Michele – and painful. 🙁 This is so oily that I find it works best under gloves, which is great for gardening. I also use it under bedtime cotton gloves when my hands are really dry and also on my heals under socks when they start cracking in the summer. That would be wonderful if this helped you!
Jami, this looks like a great hand cream. My kids constantly suffer from dry skin on their hands. I make whipped shea butter that helps and lotion bars which work great but having a hand cream to use would be nice too. I’m going to give it a try. I love your idea of giving a jar of the hand cream with gardening gloves. You can never have too many gardening gloves.
That would be hard to deal with kids hands – the remembering to put on lotion and all that. Hopefully adding this to your arsenal will help!
I’ve always wanted to try to make my own hand cream. I was worried it would be difficult, but you definitely made it look easy and fun! I’ve been looking to purchase some beeswax. The granules look like they’d be easy to work with. I also need to put in an order for some essential oils. I know my mom would love this as a gift. Thanks for the great tips 🙂
Yes, the granules melt so easily, Angie! And the Plant Therapy oils I linked to are some of my favorite, cost-effective oils. 🙂
Gardening is really tough on hands. I love this recipe for homemade hand cream. I have a few homemade scrubs but not a true cream like this one. Looks soothing and moisturizing for dry skin and easy to make. Thanks for sharing!
I am going to try the hand cream. Thanks!
Great – let me know how you like it Lisa!
I made it yesterday and I love it. A little goes a long way.
Wonderful, Lisa! Yes, I realized the jar I show this in is too big since a little does go a long way, like you said. The small jars I link to are better- or even small tins. 🙂
Hi Jami,
I made a hand salve for gardeners a few years back and everyone loved it. I gave it to my sisters and girlfriends since my own mother has passed. It’s very similar to your recipe only I believe there is more beeswax so it is more of a salve than a cream. I’ll have to try one with more oil like you did. So easy and fun to make and such a treat for everyone who receives it.
It does make a great gift and you’re right is easy to vary by adding more or less beeswax.