For those who read my earlier blog post: ' When is a coconut, not a coconut! I thought I'd show you how easy is to make 'real' coconut body butter, that feels and smells delicious. (It's even good enough to eat!)

I love pure virgin coconut oil. It is one of the best natural ingredients you can use on your skin and hair.

Coconut oil penetrates the skin's deeper layers helping strengthen the underlying tissue, leading to more youthful looking skin. It has amazing skin softening and moisturising properties, and is rich in natural antioxidants, (helping reduce skin-damaging free-radicals).

You can also use it as a pre-wash conditioner for softening dry and damaged hair.

Virgin coconut oil is semi solid at room temperature, but readily melts to a liquid when warmed (but don't heat in a microwave).

Here's my recipe. (It also makes a fabulous lip balm.)

To make 100g, all you will need is:

80g organic virgin coconut oil*.

20g organic cold-pressed vegetable oil (apricot kernel, grape seed or jojoba).

One natural vitamin E capsule.

100g sterilized jar or tin with air tight lid.

Method: Melt the coconut oil gently, by placing it in a container, into a bowl of hot water.

When melted, dry the container to make sure that no water droplets get into the oil.

Blend the melted coconut oil and the chosen vegetable oil together.

Squeeze the vitamin E into the liquid stirring well.

Pour the liquid oils into the jar and leave to set.

Enjoy!

* Organic virgin coconut oil can be bought at most good health food shops, but if you have difficulty sourcing it locally, you can also buy it online from the Botanicals shop.