This homemade citrus mint hand salve smells amazing, and it is super moisturizing for dry skin, cuticles and even cracked heels.
I’ve said this before, but I really wish my blog was scratch and sniff.
Because this stuff is amazing. The combination of spearmint, lemon and lime essential oils is pretty heavenly. (It smells so good, in fact, that I didn’t mind when I spilled some of the ingredients in the kitchen while I was making a batch of this hand salve.)
And don’t even get me started on how good this homemade hand salve feels on your dry skin. Parched hands, cracked heels, dry cuticles, scratchy elbows, ashy legs — any patch of moisture-starved skin can benefit from a good coating of this soothing all-natural balm.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, but I only recommend companies and products I love. Read my full disclosure policy here.
This recipe was inspired by the Savannah Bee Company Beeswax Hand and Nail Salve. I bought a tin of it while on vacation and realized I could make my own for a fraction of the price.
It couldn’t be easier to whip up a batch.
I like to fill a short, wide-mouth mason jar with the hand salve and keep it beside my bed.
And I also like to make travel-size tins to carry in my purse. These travel sizes make great gifts, especially when you add a cute, free printable label, which you can download at the end of this post.)
Supplies
- 3 ounces olive oil
- 3 ounces sunflower oil
- 2.5 Tablespoons beeswax pastilles
- 1/2 teaspoon Vitamin E oil
- 40 drops spearmint essential oil
- 20 drops lime essential oil
- 20 drops lemon essential oil
- short, wide mouth mason jars
- 2-ounce round tins
- glass measuring cup
- liquid droppers
- spatula or spoon
Instructions:
Combine the olive oil and sunflower oil with the beeswax pastilles in a medium-sized glass measuring cup or bowl.
Microwave on high, in 30-second increments, until the beeswax pellets have melted. Stir well after each 30 seconds, as this will help melt the beeswax. It should take more than a minute or two to melt the pellets.
Once the beeswax is melted, add the Vitamin E oil and stir to combine.
Add in the essential oils, stirring well to incorporate the fragrance throughout the mixture.
While mixture is still liquified, pour into mason jars and tins.
Allow to cool and set completely for several hours, before putting the tops on the containers. The hand salve will remain soft to the touch when it is set.
Because lime and lemon essential oils can increase sensitivity to sunlight, do not use this product on your lips. Avoid use if you’re going to be out in the sun.
The homemade hand salve is a great gift for women and men. My husband and son love this stuff as much as I do. Hubby likes to use it on the dry skin on this legs, and my son loves to grease up his feet and then put on socks to seal in the moisture.
I like to do that, too, before a pedicure. And I love using the salve on my hands and cuticles, which can get really dry and rough because of all hand washing I have to do because of cooking and painting.
I created some free printable labels to use on the round tins and on mason jars. Use 2-inch round labels for the tins and 2.5-inch round labels for the mason jar lids.
Just click the links below to download the printable labels.
Citrus Mint Hand Salve Labels – Small
Citrus Mint Hand Salve Labels – Medium
If you liked this post, you may also enjoy these other homemade bath and body products:
Angie
Are the measurements for the oils in milliliters? That seems like an awful lot of essential oil. I would have to use 2 small bottles of spearmint in order to get 10 milliliters. Is this accurate?
Atta Girl Amy
Thanks for pointing that out. At some point, I used an online calculator to convert the recipe from drops to a more formal unit of measure, and clearly something went way wrong. I really appreciate you pointing out the mistake to me so I could correct it. I’ve updated things back to drops measure for this recipe, which makes 8 ounces of salve.
Kristen
Can another oil be used to replace the sunflower oil? I don’t have that one. Thanks a bunch!
Atta Girl Amy
Yes, you can use the carrier oil of your choice.
Cat
Oh I just saw the label now you can print hehe
Cat
Looks so yummy but how did you make the packaging look so pretty . You’re a genius .
Laurel
Found this on Pinterest and am so excited to try it! Thank you for making everything so easy; links for purchase, labels to use, lots of pictures, etc.
Greg
Thanks for posting this! I get these lovely ‘pucks’ of hand balm f friend and they are the best thing for my hands after punishing my hands at the gym. This salve appears to be a bit more ‘soft’ in texture however. Any idea how to make the mixture a little more solid? More bees wax? Less olive oil?
Thanks for your advise.
Atta Girl Amy
Yes, this is definitely a soft balm. But you could make it into a bar or “puck” by adding more beeswax. I can’t say exactly how much, since I haven’t made lotion bars — yet. But I would do something in similar proportion to these lotion bars from Soap Queen. You may also want to add another solid butter, like shea or cocoa butter. It looks like the Soap Queen recipe is 4 parts liquid oil to 5 parts solid butter or wax. (I wouldn’t count any fragrance or essential oils in these proportions.). Let me know how it turns out for you.
Greg
Thanks for the tips! I’m ordering the things now. Wish this newb luck!
Yana
Hi I was wondering if I could use extra virgin olive oil instead of just olive oil?
Thank you
Atta Girl Amy
Defiitely!
Rebekah@naturallyblessedmama
I love this recipe!! It looks like I everything to make it too. Every time I find a recipe for hand cream, I seem to be missing one or two ingredients to even begin making it. I will be sharing this post.
Frugal Hausfrau
How fun is this – I love the packaging, too! Thanks for sharing on Throwback Thursday!
Mollie
Michele
how many tins does this recipe quantity fill?
Atta Girl Amy
This will make four or five 2-ounce tins of hand salve.
Jennifer Dawn
Wow! I bet that smells amazing! And what a great gift these would make! I’d love for you to share this at our weekly link party! http://www.thelifeofjenniferdawn.com/2016/05/fun-birthday-party-ideas-little-bird.html Hope to see you there!
Dana
This looks like so much fun! I have never made salve before and definitely want to try some this summer. We have ‘wild’ lemon balm in our backyard and I may try to incorporate some of that even.
I like this combination because even people with a sensitivity to scent can probably handle this.
Atta Girl Amy
Dana, you’ll have to tell me how your experiment with using the wild lemon balm turns out! Are you thinking of making an infusion from the lemon balm? I’d be really interested in hearing how you do it.
I’m taking a class this weekend on how to make more butters and balms, and I think I’ll ask the instructor how he recommends using fresh herbs. If he has any good ideas, I’ll be sure to let you know.
And you’re so right about this combination being mild enough for people with sensitivity to scent. My mother-in-law is really sensitive and it didn’t bother her at all. My 9-year-old son uses it, too.
And you can always tone down the amount out essential oils you use if you’re worried about the scent being overwhelming.