When I had my first son, infant massage was on its way back as a method to calm and soothe babies (and I think their parents as well). Jacob and I would always end our evening with a bath, and he loved to float with his ears immersed in the water (they say it replicates the sound of the womb). Before we would get into the tub, I would plug my heating pad in and place it under two towels to warm them up. As soon as we were out we would dry him off, and then place him on one towel, with the other over top. My husband and I took a class right after he was born, and we had our nightly list of massage techniques to use for different issues that might be going on at the time.

Jacob loved it, and to this day he will not go to bed without his massage (“Mama, don’t forget the chocolate oil”). Obviously as children get older, the way that we massage them becomes very different, but some warm oil on the boys backs before bed, or on their tummies when they are not feeling well, or a good head massage when the day has been a bit overwhelming always seems to work.

Colorado, for all of its beauty and fun and adventure, has the disadvantage of being extremely dry. Oils, lotions, and heavy moisturizers are a daily part of life, and a few years back I was trying to find an oil that would really work for the winter months. I experimented with different types of heavy moisture protectors like shea and cocoa butter. What resulted was a very simple, but delicious oil that makes our skin feel so yummy in those dry months.

I really like having home made oil in the house, mainly because I think that the cost of bath products is excessive, and also because I want to know where something is coming from that I am putting on our skin. I am sure that there are hundreds of recipes that can be googled for making your own, but I thought that I would share one from our family that always seems to make everyone smile.

Chocolate Lavender Healing Oil

Equal parts of avocado, jojoba, apricot and grapeseed oil

4-8 oz of cocoa butter

3 oz of shea butter

1 large scoop of dried lavender, chamomile, and calendula

Vitamin E

Using a mason jar size of choice, add your oils and shea butter. Cocoa butter can be hard to extract, so if needed, use a double broiler method to soften the container, then cut the cocoa butter into small pieces and add to oil.

Add the herbs, stir to combine, and either place the jar in a crock pot of hot water on high over night, or in a pot of simmering water for 2 hours. If using the stove method, please do not allow to boil.

Once the jar is cooled, strain the oil through cheese cloth, bottle it your desired way, and top with 6 drops of Vitamin E.

My dear friends and family are always in search of more oil every once in a while, so we make up a big jar a few times a year and then give them away as birthday party favors, or stocking stuffers. Having said that, your oil will only last around three months, so using the size jar that works for you is best.

Infant skin is so delicate, and their little pores can become clogged very easily. For our little ones, we used a combo of apricot, olive oil, and the herbs above, and then steeped it the same way. We did not introduce the heavy chocolate oil until they were over a year.

Using massage has become a great transition tool for us in the evenings, and it just feels cool to know that they love their “chocolate oil” so much. I have to say, it makes the room smell amazing, and I use it as much as they do.

I hope you enjoy!

Heather Fontenot lives with her family on the Front Range of Northern Colorado. She has a passion for natural and creative living, and spends as much of her time outdoors as possible. She loves to knit, sew, garden, photograph, read and home school her two sweet little ones. She writes the blog, Shivaya Naturals, where she chronicles her life as a mother, artist, and gluten free baker.