What\’s creme de la creme?

These cream puffs? They look delicious, despite the goodies overload of the holiday just past.

Then there\’s the kind of \”creme\” that keeps your hands from getting chapped. As soon as the weather begins to turn cool in Fall, I turn to Better Basics for the Home.

On page 76 is a recipe for Basic Waterless Wax Formula. It\’s actually meant for wood furniture; but the first time I whipped up a batch of this stuff and use it on a bookcase, I noticed how good the polish felt on my hands. It was far better than any commercial hand cream or lotion I had ever tried. Besides that, it didn\’t have either an overpowering \”fragrance\”; or the weird odor of \”unscented\” hand lotions that I had used.

I make very small batches. Measured by weight (not volume): 2 oz olive oil; 1 oz jojoba oil; 1 oz natural beeswax beads; 1/4 oz bleached carnauba wax.

I put it all in an 8 oz Pyrex® cup; and put the cup in a small pot with water up to about the 4 oz line on the cup. I set the pot over medium heat, stirring with a wooden chopstick until the wax is melted.

Then I pour the hot mix into another container* and beat with a fork until it\’s cooled and emulsified. You can vary proportions of oils to wax, depending on how stiff a product you want.

This makes enough for one Winter season, for one person. It\’s my creme de la creme!

*If I don\’t do this, that Pyrex cup retains heat and it takes a wrist-exhausting eternity for the mix to cool down!