Make your own moisturizer

• Tweet
• Pin It

Dry skin is a common annoyance during winter. There are plenty of expensive products available, but you can manage your dry skin on the cheap. I recommend you see a doctor if your dry skin is more than a minor problem, but for skin that simply needs a bit of lotion as a moisturizer, whip up a batch at home using a combination of ingredients that can be found at your local dollar store.

Homemade lotion mix:

You can use baby lotion, vitamin E cream and Vaseline to make a homemade lotion that’s MUCH cheaper than store-bought bath and body products. Use an electric mixer and combine 30 ounces of baby lotion, 16 ounces of collagen and elastin skin cream, 16 ounces of vitamin E skin cream and 3.75 ounces of Vaseline. I really love it. This nice and fluffy lotion feels good and seems to retain the moisturized feeling longer than lots of store-bought lotions. For a smaller recipe, use 15 ounces of baby lotion, 2 ounces of Vaseline and 8 ounces of vitamin E. — Lisa, Texas

Mock Malt-o-Meal:

Bring two cups water, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup chocolate syrup to a boil. Stir constantly while adding 1/2 cup white cornmeal (no flour added), then bring to a boil again. Remove from heat until it thickens. Add sugar to taste. Makes enough for about two servings. — Kim, Nebraska

Banana Pecan Butter:

3 cups mashed ripe bananas (6 to 7 medium-sized bananas)
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/4 cup lemon juice
6 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon butter or margarine
6 ounces liquid fruit pectin
1 cup pecans, finely chopped

Combine bananas, lemon peel, lemon juice, sugar and butter in large, heavy saucepan; blend thoroughly. Boil two minutes, stirring constantly to prevent sticking. Remove from heat; stir in pectin and chopped pecans. Ladle into clean, hot jars and seal. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Makes one quart. — Fanny, Washington

Homemade butter spread:

I make homemade margarine using equal parts butter and olive oil. I whip the butter at high speed, adding the olive oil bit-by-bit by drizzling. Pour the liquid mixture into a plastic tub and refrigerate to harden. It will stay hard in the fridge, but will revert back to a liquid state if you leave it out too long, so be sure to put it back in the fridge as soon as you’re done with it. Some don’t like the taste of olive oil margarine, so if you have picky eaters, try canola oil first, then the olive oil if you like more flavor. — Jean, Canada

photo by WePhotographer