Update on my lotion bars

UPDATE!

 So I've discovered that these lotion bars aren't quite as magical as I thought. They are amazing. Everyone LOVES them that uses them. A few of my friends have actually made their own. However, despite all the reviews that I read online, my skin condition wasn't quite healed by them. They did, however, drastically reduce the reactions that I have at work. As long as the lotion was accessible to me at work my hands would fair moderately well. It would take days of not working to get better. If I accidentally left my lotion bar at home (sadly this happens more often than I'd like to admit!) then the results are disastrous. For some reason, last July I became highly allergic to my work, and I still refuse to go see a doctor about it. 

 These pictures are of my sad hands while I was on break at work on evening.  It was a couple months ago, they got worse. And worse. And worse. Almost took over my entire hands. Then I made my lotion bars and I was able to slightly contain it, however it slowly worsens a little as the months go by. As I'm writing this the nurse in me is kicking in and I realize that whatever I'm sensitized to at work is clearly not removed from me, which could lead to a serious reaction one day. I refuse to have to change professions because of an allergy. So my option is to figure a way around it.

  While I love the lotion bars, they are not magical, maybe just magical-ish. Something had to be improved. Recently I walked into my local health food store on their fabulous 20% off customer appreciation day (the only day I shop, leads to an expensive trip) and there was a rep offering samples of Dr. Lorna Vanderheghe's Borage Oil. Something I had never heard of before, so I was clearly intrigued. The rep said that it was tasteless (false. I can definitely taste it. It has a subtle oil taste, much more subtle than Udo's Oil. It isn't disgusting, but it isn't delicious either) and had added it to greek vanilla yogurt. I personally would rather just take a teaspoon of it straight up. The rep said that it would help your skin from the inside out. It could be taken internally as well as applied externally. I've done research on Lorna Vanderhaeghe before, and so I decided to try it out. Admission: I suck at following a regimen. I am terrible at remembering to take medications, vitamins, supplements, healthy stuff. Almost daily I made smoothies, so once the smoothie was in my cup I ended up dumping the oil in and mixing it up with my straw (the vitamix is far too powerful for delicate oils such as borage and Udo's 3-6-9. It would tear them up and destroy the beneficial parts of the oil) and drinking it down that way. Didn't alter the taste too much as my smoothies consisted of flax, psyllium, spinach, chia, and a few berries. I noticed a slight change for the better, especially as I would apply what was left in the teaspoon to my hands directly. I probably would have noticed more if I did it consistently. I was impressed, so I decided to research this oil a little further. See if it was all in my mind. Turns out borage oil has an impressive level of GLA's (Gamma-linoleic-acid) which is an important fatty acid that has inflammatory properties. The borage oil helps with inflammatory conditions, such as eczema. Huzah! Done. Clearly there are more benefits, other research, I read a lot. I liked what I read, so I decided to add it to my lotion. 

 I found a new site that actually had a little bit cheaper products than Mountain Rose Herbs. Saffire Blue. Best of all its Canadian, so I didn't have to worry about exchange rates and duty. I ordered a ton of fun stuff, including more tins to store the lotion in, push up tubes to test out, cocoa butter (don't know what I was thinking. I HATE chocolate, and it smells just like chocolate), mango butter, almond oil and borage oil. Rather than put the certified edible borage into my lotion I decided to use one from Saffire that was half the price. I placed the order and began the wait for my package. 

I made a tiny batch, just enough to make 1.5 oz. This time, I added 15g of beeswax, 15g of shea, and 14g of coconut oil. Once they had all melted and cooled slightly, not to the point of hardening, I added 1g of borage oil, mixed it all up, poured it into a push up tube, then poured the rest into a small mould. I had to make sure that the push up tubes worked well, as well as adding borage oil to the mixture. It all turned out beautifully!

The tubes held exactly 1 oz of lotion. They push up with ease, however you do have to keep your finger underneath to ensure it doesn't slip back down as you apply to your skin. This is not a hindrance to me in the slightest. I feel as though you waste less lotion this way, as you do not push too hard, applying less lotion to your hands. This is fantastic at work as it absorbs quicker. I will probably continue to make both the tubes as well as in the moulds, this way when my hands need more I can easily warm up the circle of lotion and slather all over my hands. 

 I am amazed. Using the sans borage oil lotion bars, my hands would heal slowly, but the protection was there. I've had the borage oil bars for 2 days now and my hands are much much happier. It took me days and days before to get where they are today. I'm impressed. And I would say that it is worth the price for the expensive oil. 

They are still a little swollen, a little rough, but its almost unnoticeable to other people, which makes me happy. I wish I had taken a before picture from a couple days ago, because my hands were a little worse than the pictures above, but it gives you a good idea of just how bad it is. The best part? The borage oil soaks into the skin and then does its magic all over the body, not just where you applied it. So my skin is slowly healing. Healing and happy.