Homemade hand cream – the Keto approach

Homemade hand cream is the only thing that saves my dry skin these days. Since all of us are in the same waters, or better say, the same soap, we get the typical hand dryness effect! Your skin is the largest and best-protecting organ you have. Imagine, it even protects you from viruses if you don’t touch your mouth, nose or eyes.

So, why should we take better care of hands? Because they are on the front line these days and they are your most important tools for just about anything in life! They say wash your hands and wear gloves, but they don’t say keep them moist! It’s actually vital and it will prevent the skin-breaks, injuries and irritation.

Industrial food is questionable, so are hand moisturisers!

You are a Ketonian and you already know how it’s difficult to find that industrially packed ingredient that will be clean, healthy and good for you. When it comes to skin, things are even more difficult. The industry loves to use pure petroleum jelly which is a blend of mineral oils and waxes.

Would you use the same thing your car uses for fuel on your skin?

I hope your answer would be – of course not! And if we dig just a bit into our history, and see what the soap and skin-protecting ointments were originally made of, we would realise how beneficial the animal fat is! Those oldfashioned soaps made with animal fats and some sorts of soda salt or ashes do not dry out the skin. Homemade balms work miracles in micro-amounts. On the other side, industrial products usually don’t work unless you apply a lot of them!

Tallow – Form ancient queens of the East and people of the West

Tallow is a potent moisturiser packed with an abundance of skin-friendly nutrients, essential fatty acids and those very much needed antioxidants. Ruminant animal tallow has been used for skin ointments and cosmetics in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and by the native people of North America.

Almighty tallow, but purified!

Tallow is a kind of refined and purified ruminant animal fat. Fats, along with protein, is a fundamental building block of every cell membrane, and this includes the skin. Fats replenish energy, help us absorb minerals, and provide us with fat-soluble vitamins. Tallow is the product of a delicate and slow process of rendering ruminant animal suet. This is a nutrient-dense fat surrounding the organs of some ruminant animals, most prominently their kidneys.

Tallow includes the same type of lipids found in healthy, elastic human skin. Lipids are present in the membrane of every healthy cell in our body. They are responsible for the proper exchange of liquids between the cells. 

Lipids are advantageous because they form a protective wall that blocks infections, manages moisture, elasticity and construction of our cells

Tallow can prevent dryness at the cellular level without choking the skin’s barrier as those industrial petroleum-based products. 

We all know that our skin has its natural sebum (the natural grease in our skin). Well, it shares exactly the same lipids with tallow. What’s most important, tallow has it in similar concentration as our sebum.

A simple Tallow test – this is why you’ll love this homemade hand cream

Homemade hand cream is one of the best inventions I’ll never stop making. To show you why it’s soo good, let’s perform a simple test. Apply a small amount of pure tallow, and at the same time, apply any plant-based oil on your skin. Then expose this part of the skin to light and watch what happens. In a minute, tallow will be absorbed, while the plant-based oil will still leave a greasy stain. You’ll have to rub it in to force this oil into your skin. With tallow, it just naturally “sinks in” and leaves the skin so moist and soft.

Making homemade hand cream – ideal for Coronavirus lock-down days

I cannot stress it enough why it’s beneficial to learn some grandma’s tricks these days! First, homemade products are always healthier and more affordable. Also, you don’t have to go out to buy them every week, cause they last much longer since you need far less of the product. Also, it’s fun and exciting, like those school chemistry experiments – only totally safe, not harmful and even edible!

An old lady (I learned a lot from) often says:

“If your skin product is not edible, it most probably is not that good for your skin!”

Shall we make the ultimate homemade skin cream?

Homemade hand cream – the Keto approach

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Recipe by Roberta Kapsalis Course: homemade skin productCuisine: KetoDifficulty: Easy

n/a

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

5

minutes

n/a

kcal

Ingredients

Metric US

• 40g (1,4 oz) tallow

• 10 drops Propolis

• 4 drops orange or lemon peel essential oil

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

• Place tallow in a saucepan and melt it over very low temperature.
• Remove from heat and stir with a wooden spoon to cool down a bit.
• Add propolis drops and essential oil of your choice. (make sure it’s skin-friendly type of oil) and vanilla extract that you usually use for cooking. mix well while the tallow is still warm.
• Transfer the mixture in a mixing bowl and mix it using an electric mixer (high speed) till you get a fluffy and creamy consistency. The tallow needs to be warm in order to turn into a creamy form.
• Place your homemade hand cream in a clean glass jar and seal well. Use a small amount after each washing or when you feel your hands dry.

Notes

• Use ground cinnamon or coffee to make face and body peeling with this base.

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