Peppermint: “An extremely good kind of mint which takes the depressing and uber-confusing world you are living in, and transforms it into happy swirls of red and white goodness. You can’t be sad eating one unless you choke.” – Urban Dictionary

Wise words indeed.

Friends, the festive season has come and gone, but it’s still winter, and that means there is still time for apple cider, fireplaces, steaming cups of cocoa, snow, and, of course,  peppermint. Peppermint smells like winter and it smells like happiness. That’s all the convincing I need to work it into my life.

And what better way to enjoy peppermint than with a self-care gift that’s good for the body AND good for the senses: peppermint body butter! Peppermint essential oil is wonderfully stimulating – it’s crisp, familiar, sharpens the mind, brings clarity, and yet it’s also kind of soothing and calming. When you are getting a deep whiff of peppermint, there isn’t room for anything else except you and the delicious refreshing smell. Like the Urban Dictionary says – peppermint makes you happy. And there’s no arguing with the Urban Dictionary (well, sometimes there is).

And there’s also no arguing with quality. This body butter is made with simple, straightforward ingredients that generally one might have at home (okay, you might have to order/purchase an item or two, but outside of that, the ingredients are straightforward from a healthy/quality perspective). Something we can all commit to, as a powerful act of self-love for 2016, is to choose beauty products that support our bodies and contribute to our health and well-being. Most commercial products contain questionable ingredients, are intended to last on the shelf for months and months, and are a source of toxins for your body (which is ordinarily trying to get all of the toxins OUT). If you can, supply your body with beauty care products that don’t compromise your overall health and vitality.

So get yourself some luxurious quality fats and craft up some body butter for your hardworking feet, hands, and other parts – you’ll make them happy. Add peppermint essential oil and you’ll make yourself happy, too.

Refresh and Relax Peppermint Body Butter

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cocoa butter
• 1/2 cup shea butter (or, more cocoa butter)
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup liquid oil (like grape seed, jojoba, sunflower, etc).
• 20-30 drops peppermint essential oil

*organic is best for all of these ingredients; even better, organic and fair-trade (particularly for the cocoa butter and shea butter).

Instructions:

1. Create a double boiler system. By this, I mean: heat water to boiling in a pot or saucepan, and then put another heat-proof bowl over top – the ingredients melt in the heat proof bowl from the heat of the boiling water, but without coming into contact WITH the water.
2. Next, into the heat proof bowl add your cocoa butter, shea butter, and coconut oil and stir occasionally until all are melted and mixed together.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the liquid oil.
4. Put the whole mix in the fridge and set your timer for 30 minute intervals – you want it to firm up but not become a rock. The 30 minute marker allows you to gauge how far along it is. If it’s really cold, I suppose you could put it outside.
5. Once firm, remove from fridge and grab your hand mixer/whatever mixer and start to whip it. Whip it good. Add your peppermint essential oil as you go. If you want to really fire up your nose, add more peppermint oil.
6. Whip until you’ve reached your desired state of whippiness, then scoop into jars and voila! Body butter a la peppermint. Ooh la la.

© Eat Well, Live Vibrantly