Homemade Hand Rub

One item that we learned to make at the herbal workshop I attended the other weekend, was a Rose Water and Glycerin Hand Rub.  We got to try some on our hands in the workshop and it felt and smelt beautiful.  I decided when I got home that I'd definitely give it a go, as it was the simplest of recipes.

50ml Glycerine
50ml Rose Water

Now I know that you can buy these two ingredients ready combined, but I don't know the proportions of each when in a bought preparation, so I endeavoured to make my own.

I already had a bottle of rose water lurking unused in the baking drawer and bought a bottle of glycerine from the chemist. Unfortunately, they didn't appear to have vegetable glycerine, which I would have preferred, so any vegans out there might like to substitute this.

It took me a week to get around to this simple make, because I needed the right bottle to put it in.  I assumed that as glycerine came in an amber bottle, it needed protection from daylight.  By the following weekend I'd finished using my Neal's Yard Witch Hazel Water, so I used the pretty blue bottle from that to make the hand rub.

The next difficulty I had was actually decanting the glycerine and rosewater into the bottle which had quite a narrow neck.  Don't do as I did and spill both ingredients over your worktops, but as I didn't have a narrow funnel, I just had to persevere and  mop up, until I managed to get the correct amount in the bottle.

Once combined the two ingredients need shaking together to mix them properly and then just a small amount on your hand is sufficient to leave them feeling smooth and smelling of roses. (Too much and they feel decidedly greasy).  I may decant this rub into a lotion bottle when I have a coloured one available or alternatively put a dropper in the neck of the bottle to enable me to control how much comes out.

A quick simple make that I will use instead of a hand cream, just as soon as my current ones run out.