Can anyone recommend a safe (edible?) facial lotion that is not harmful if ingested or gets into the eyes?

As cwille suggested, pure coconut oil is a great moisturizer, it's safe/good/healthy to eat (spread in a thin layer and refrigerate... and tastes like a Mounds bar without the chocolate! LOL), and won't harm eyes.

I thought so too Pam, but I did a quick search and apparently neem oil can be taken internally, as can all the other ingredients. The only essentials to the recipe are some type of oil/oils of your choice, beeswax and water, so the neem can be left out. Besides, I doubt Cathy will be letting her eat it by the spoonful.

Cathy, the ingredients are not all digestible in that. Especially neem oil.

Thanks for all the ideas. A gardener friend recommended making this hopefully "Simple 3 Ingredient Non-Greasy Homemade Lotion," so will see how it works

Mica, my mom too. Had to replace pump style soap with old fashioned bar soap. More than once she used the soap as lotion. Second time, the pumps were replaced.

Mica, I know it must have been awful but I just had to chuckle about that!

Oh another thing my mom would do- she thought the pump-style liquid soap was hand lotion, had to get that out of bathroom and kitchen. My worst experience was when she put the dish liquid into the refrigerator and then poured herself a glassfull.

Olive oil is safe unless she eats a lot of it, which would probably give her diarrhea.

I just remembered; I've seen facial lotions made from food - strawberries I believe. The recipes were in the Herb Quarterly. Google "Herb quarterly facial lotion recipes" and you'll get a lot of hits.

Generally a facial lotion will contain some specific herbs as well as a carrier oil, such as almond oil. I haven't tried making my own b/c the carrier oils are generally very expensive and I'm not ready to experiment yet as I don't have the consistent herbal supplies I'll need from my garden.

Over the last several months I've seen a magazine with herbal remedies in the grocery store magazine section. If you're near a good book store, check it out. Barnes and Noble might have some good books on herbal facial lotions as well. Just make sure that the ingredients are in fact edible.

aw, I had to go through this with my mom.
I had to hide ALL bathroom, kitchen,toothpaste, cleaning supplies- everything.Even the soap. Please put everything in a locked cabinet or VERY high and not let her see you get it.
I switched to baby shampoo and soap because she would get it into her eyes. Childrens toothpaste because it would get swallowed. I would apply the lotion all over everyday.

Coconut oil, the new trendy thing.... seems like it is good for everything.

Shea butter, cocoa butter? I wouldn't think those wouod harm the eyes. There are actually many edible hand and massage lotions/creams available, just not intended for the use of our drying up elderly that are safe for the most sensitive areas, so would be ok around eyes I imagine. Google edible creams and lotions.

I once dated a man that used the inside of a banana peel as a moistuizer. Wonder is there may be home made lotion recipes you could find with a google search. How does aloe work as a moisturizer?

Cathy, I would either put the lotion on your MIL myself or switch to natural products which don't have chemical contaminants in them. There are herbalists who make and sell these safer products. However, none of them are designed to be used even accidentally close to the eyes. I think I'd spend some time giving her a facial and do it myself so that no lotions get in her eyes.

Some of the natural products (such as the ones I buy) have wonderful fragrances, so they also provide a relaxing experience as they're applied. The lotions with mint in them are extraordinary.

Before you consider using any of Johnson's baby products, read this:

I don't know if J&J has actually removed any of the toxins in products for sale in the US, as it apparently did in Europe, but I would most certainly do some research to find out how toxic baby products still might be.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has provided good information on toxins in cosmetics and baby products.

I'm really taken by your question, because it is so kind to want to give MIL the pleasure of lotion. I think what I would do is call customer service of a baby lotion manufacturers (Johnson, perhaps) and explain the situation. Would it be fairly harmless if MIL got their baby lotion into her eyes, or in her mouth?

How sad. Have you talked to her doctor about this? Perhaps the doctor would ask around to dermatologist friends or even pediatricians. My husband's doctor was great in asking colleagues when a question stumped him.

I wonder if there is anything equivalent to "baby shampoo" for young children who are always at risk for putting things in their mouths?