Gentle baby bum balm

This one's for the mammys and daddys who have suffered the pain of watching their baby's bum become raw and sore due to nappy rash. I have made a lot of bum creams, bum cleansing balms and baby oils. The most frustrating thing is that you need to be using something for days to see any results. You also need to tend to the affected area quite often to ensure it is being cleans on a regular basis.

This balm contains zinc oxide, coconut and essential oils, shea butter, and more, to keep your baby’s bottom dry and rash-free. Zinc oxide is a must have ingredient to heal nappy or diaper rash, it is found in a lot of store bought nappy rash creams and skin creams. If you or your family suffer from ittitaed skin it is worth adding to at home skincare and body creams. Zinc oxide is known to:

• Aid skin healing

• Help with acne in skin

• Give relief to inflamed and irritated skin

• Prevents bacterial infection

I'm also a big lover of shea butter. If you can find it I recommend an organic option. It is a great ingredient for lots of skincare creams and balms, so definitely worth the purchase. Shea butter benefits the skin by:

• Soothes irritated skin

• Aids cuts and broken skin

• Anti Inflammatory properties help soothe and heal the skin

• A great moisturiser for the skin

You Need:

• 1/2 cup of Coconut Oil

• 2-3 tbsp Beeswax

• 1/2 cup Shea Butter

• 1 tbsp Chamomile Flowers (dried)

• 2-4 tbsp Zinc Oxide (you can add more or less of this, depending on how bad the bum is)

• 1/2 cup Arrowroot Powder

• 1 tsp Vit E oil

• 2-3 tbsp bentonite clay or fuller earth

• 2 drops lavender essential oil (you can skip this is your baby's skin is very sensitive, but it has healing properties)

• 2 drops tea tree essential oil (you can skip this is your baby's skin is very sensitive, but it has antiseptic and healing properties)

Equipment

• Pan and Glass Bowl or Jug to create a double boiler

• Muslin or Strainer

• Wooden spoon

• Spatula

• Small Glass jars to keep cream in

To Make:

1. Heat the coconut oil in a double boiler. Once it’s melted, add the dried chamomile flowers.

2. Cover the mixture and infuse for as long as you can. I left it for 2 hours on this recipe.

3. Remove the infused oil from heat and carefully strain the mixture into a cup or bowl using a strainer, colander, or muslin cloth.

4. Wipe the bowl or jug you infused the coconut oil in to make sure there aren’t any chamomile flowers sticking around in there. Add the oil back to the container and place back on heat. Add the shea butter and beeswax and melt completely.

5. Remove the mixture from heat and pour into a clean bowl. Allow it to cool a little bit, then add the zinc oxide and arrowroot powder. Whisk until smooth.

6. Add the fullers earth / bentonite clay and mix with a wooden spoon.

7. Mix until completely smooth.

8. Mix in the lavender and tea tree essential oils, as well as the Vitamin E oil.

9. Store in containers where metal won’t come in contact with the cream, this is due to the fullers earth / bentonite clay being less effective if it comes into contact with metal.

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