Keep Cool, my Babies!

Brimstone and hellfire.  It is hot in Wisconsin right now.  Leaving my air-conditioned work sanctuary is like walking through and subsequently breathing a bowl of hot soup.  My husband says it feels like an armpit outside.  Well said, honey.
We have a wall AC unit in our little house.  It cools a couple of rooms, but due to the layout of our house, our bedroom is hotter than a whore in church all. The. Freaking. Time.  We lay in bed with our c-pap masks on in pools of sweat, trying not to touch each other.  Sexy, right?
In addition to the fiery temperatures this week, my husband scored himself a nice sunburn.  That's what he gets for going to the beach when I'm stuck at work.  (Just kidding Jeffer, I really do feel bad for you).

Seeing him wallow in crispy red, exhaused misery, and sweating my patootie off myself, I decided to take action.  I looked through my bathroom cabinets and began to experiment.  What I made turned out to be amazing.  Skin soothing Aloe and Witch Hazel, tingly peppermint and calming neroli.  It's the bees knees.

Keep Cool Spray:
*1 part Aloe Vera Gel (100%, don't get the crap with alcohol and dyes in it if you can help it)
*1 part Witch Hazel
        (this is not an exact science.  I used 4 ounce spray bottles and just filled them halfway with Witch Hazel and topped them off with Aloe Vera Gel)
*Approx 5 drops of Peppermint essential oil per ounce of finished product (4 oz bottle = 1 used 20 drops.  Start with a small amount and add if needed.  You can always add more later...you can't take it out.  My husband said it stung his sunburn a little so I made him a weaker version)
*1-2 drops of Neroli essential oil per ounce of finished product (I used 5 drops in 4 ounces of finished product)
*Optional: you can use Chamomile, Calendula, Yarrow, etc EO in your version instead of or in addition to the Neroli...anything calming or soothing would work.  I used Neroli with the peppermint because I had some on hand and I like the way it smells.!
*Empty spray containers
*A funnel.  For the love of God, use a funnel.

Chicago Cutlery not necessary to make this product.

 

Line up the ingredients and get a'mixin!  Experiment with the oil types and quantities.  Peppermint will make it cooling and tingly, so I like to leave that one in and experiment with the additional oils. 

Ok, the cost breakdown:

The essential oils are kind of expensive.  But as you'll notice, I use them in a lot of products and they last a long time.  I usually don't include them in the cost breakdowns, but for example, the Peppermint oil cost $8.75 and the Neroli was $14.79.  Both of them have a shelf life of about a decade (most EOs do, except citrus, just FYI).  Also, at 1-20 drops of oil per "recipe," they will be used in hundreds of items before the bottles are empty.  I've had my Peppermint oil for 2 years and the bottle is almost half full.  Anyway: The Aloe Vera Gel was $5.79 and I used about 25% of the bottle (if that).  The Witch Hazel was $1.00, and I used about 3/4 of the bottle.  To be honest though, next time I would get Dickinson's Witch Hazel which is usually $4.79 at my local Pharmacy for a larger bottle...but I'll base the cost breakdown on what I used/spent this time.

$5.79/4 = $1.44

$1.00 x 0.75 = $0.75

Two 4oz bottles of glorious, all natural, skin friendly, no crap additives allowed soothing spray cost $2.19. 

Look, Twins!

Happy Summer!