My toddler is thrilled when a package arrives in the mail. Upon recognizing a box he will delightedly declare “maiyo”. Then comes the dance of excitement with squeals of “open, open, open.” Each command with increasing urgency and volume than the subsequent. The dance does not subside until the tape is peeled back and objects are removed from their packaging.

The day my first assortment of essential oils arrived this very scene occurred with my son. I take delight in his reactions to life. They are such present and extroverted expressions of emotions at this stage of his development. My more reserved self, with the personality function of introverted feeling, gets satisfaction in his raw emotional assertions.

Making a batch of shaving cream was the first green living recipe on my list. Below is the full recipe I created. The first time around I used fewer drops of essential oils and combined sweet orange with lavender. A few days in the cream smelled a bit garlic like. Sticking with just the lavender and increasing the drops in the mix rendered a pleasant, relaxing aroma.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Yield: 46 uses
Ingredients

• 1 cupcoconut oil
• 1 Tbolive oil
• 1 Tbavocado oil
• 2 Tb Castle soap
• 9 dropslavender essential oil (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Melt the coconut oil. Mix the coconut oil with olive oil and avocado oil in a jar. Chill jar of oils in refrigerator until they solidify.
2. Remove from refrigerator and whip mix. Can whip with a mixer or by hand with a fork. Once the solid is mostly broken up, add in the Castile soap, optional essential oils and continue mixing. The paste should begin to resemble whipped cream in appearance. Continue whipping until the cream is glossy and smooth.

To use:

Your silky shave cream will spoil faster if exposed to moisture. Keep in a sealed jar. Use about 1/2 teaspoon per use. 1/4 teaspoon under each arm and 1/2 teaspoon each leg has worked well for me. I like to scoop 1 1/2 teaspoons on to a fork to bring in the shower rather than bring the whole jar.