Oatmeal Body Wash - Homemade

Every since I have started making my own Homemade items I have found that by Thurdsay I start taking an inventory of what I have on hand and making "mental notes" on what I will need to replenish. Since we are getting ready for our annual family getaway - 3 states of family members coming in and converging for a week of madness and laughs, I knew I needed to get a jump start on items to take AND items I can share with them and get them "hooked" on my madness ;) 

I love spending time in the kitchen, but I have noticed with age the goodies do not disappear off my waist as quickly as they used to! It just made sense to me that I needed to find something other than items to eat that could be made in my kitchen, Items I could share with my family and learning experiences to share with my granddaughters. After all we are to plant the seeds of homemaking and lead by example so the next generation can not only be good stewards with what they have, but they in turn can teach their young. I fondly remember these life lessons from my Grandma who always included me in all of her baking and homemaking activities. My prayer is my next generation will fondly remember these times with me as well, long after I am gone! She would  share with me how to recycle the soap bars when they got too small to leave in  the tub. 
  
I have been making my own body wash for some time now, and really can not wait until I need to make my next batch so I can try different scents with my essential oil stash :)

How To Make Your Own Oatmeal Body Wash:
3 cups water
1 bar of Dove grated (4 oz.)
1/3 Cup Oatmeal
1 Tbs Glycerin
5 - 10 drops Frankincense Essential Oil or any of your favorites - Lavender and Rose are also some of my favorites.

I used the frankincense oil is because of it's healing properties which is astounding to say the least. I may have to dedicate a blog on just the many "medically" recognized benefits of this miracle oil.  It also is a earthy / musky scent that your man will not refuse to use, it is manly enough for the men in your house ;)


Place the oatmeal in a blender or mixer and "pulse" it about 10-15 times until it is a course grain instead of the whole oats.



Grate the Soap - I just use one of my cheese graters, since dove is a soft bar it literally only takes a few minutes to do it by hand.







Put into a medium size pan on the stove the soap and water on medium heat, stirring occasionally until all the soap is dissolved.
This step does not take long and a word of Caution - do not walk away! Did I mention how bad the soap smells when it boils over onto your burner? My Husband thought his little mad scientist was burning down the house and I could NOT get the fan in the window fast enough lol.





Refocus :) 
Remove from heat mix in the Glycerin & Essential oil of your choice. Allow to cool, mix in the oatmeal then pour into a plastic bottle for shower use! (It will thicken as it cools and the oatmeal soaks in some of the water). I used a 30 oz repurposed suave bottle and it is 3/4 full from this batch.

By the next morning it is AMAZING, the perfect consistency, a rich lather and the softening / soothing affect of oatmeal... ahhhh what more could a girl want! This is a change we can all live with.... well except for the soap on the burner ;) But if you will notice the picture of the stove... the grunge (ewwww) that started my next day of recipe madness.

If you decide to use another soap other than Dove you will have to experiment with the amount of water that you use, It will require much more water than this recipe as dove is a moisturizing bar and more of a cream base. Other brands are a "soap" and harder / courser.