Homemade Lotion Bars Recipe – The Perfect Gift For Your Skin

| February 27, 2012 | 7 Comments

homemade lotion bars recipeI used to use conventional non-organic and 100% unnatural body lotion on a daily basis till I got pregnant. This was when I asked: How this thing that I am putting every single day on my belly can affect my baby? Back then I still didn’t know anything about the harsh chemicals in cosmetics and their effects, but just felt that in order to stay on the safe side, I had to stop using body lotion completely. Then I understood I had to find an alternative as there was no turning back to commercial body creams. And I finally did – 100% natural and organic homemade lotion bars recipe. Hooray!

At first, as a complete newbie in DIY skin care products I was a bit discouraged by my lack of competence and experience. But completely in vain. The lotion bars recipe below is simple and easy. Not yet convinced to give it a try? Here are some more incentives:

  • the solid lotion bars are more economical than the conventional body lotions,
  • you have full control over the ingredients, the shapes and the hardness,
  • they are a great gift even if only for yourself and
  • they effectively heal dry and cracked skin (which I had in abundance after the long pause).

Homemade Lotion Bars Recipe

Ingredients:

  • beeswax (it “seals” the below ingredients for longer lasting absorption)
  • sweet almond oil or any other carrier oil that you wish e.g. coconut oil
  • shea butter (it soothes and calms skin irritations)
  • essential oil. For the lotion bar on the picture I chose tea tree (antibacterial, antiviral, immune system booster, but you may not like the smell).

Directions:

1. Don’t forget to clean very well the place where you are going to prepare your homemade lotion bars. Also, tt’s not a bad idea to sterilize your utensils and pots. Wash your hands.

2. Prepare equal parts of beeswax, sweet almond oil (or other carrier oil) and shea butter. If you want a large lotion bar, may be 2oz is a good starting point. If you don’t have kitchen scales, you can grate the beeswax and according to its quantity to measure the rest of the ingredients. Note that if you want a bit harder lotion bars, you need to add about 15 – 20% more beeswax. Harder lotion bars are very suitable for warmer temperatures.  If you want it softer, add more sweet almond oil (or another oil). Softer lotion bars are good for application on baby skin.

3. Use the double – boiler method to melt the beeswax. Once done add the oil you have chosen and the shea butter. Start stirring. Remember to not overdo with heating the shea butter or the other oil as they need much less time to melt. This will minimize oxidation and will prevent the shea butter (or cocoa butter, if you use) from going grainy.

4. Add the essential oil, about 10 drops per 2 oz. and stir again.

5. Pour the mixture in a mold (s) and wait to cool and harden well.

Tip: Don’t be in a hurry! If you try to get your hard lotion bars from the mold(s) too early, your masterpiece will crack or even break. If you want to see it ready ASAP, just put it in the freezer for ~ 10 min.

6. Wrap in wax paper if you plan to use your homemade lotion bars as gifts or just enjoy them yourself. Your skin will start to look and feel soft and healthy in just a few hours from your first application.

For the lotion bar you see in the picture above I got this rosy color by adding a bit of powder of raspberry extract that has strong anti-aging properties.

This hard lotion bars recipe was easy, right? Do you want to share yours?

Comments (7)

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  1. Belinda Cress says:

    Where did you get the powder Rasberry extract at? I have been trying to color my bars too but the powder I am using just settles at the bottom making the tope darker. I want a solid light color thru the entire bar. I tried beet powder for pin, carrot powder for orange and barley grass fo green but they all settled. Can you advise how yours turned out so pretty. Thank you

  2. Karen says:

    I am going to make your recipe but cook medical marijuana in the oil. I have rheumatoid arthritis (hands are especially bad)and have a MM license (Colorado). I purchased some lotion from a dispensary and like how it works, tho I think I can make a better and stronger batch. Thank you for posting the recipe.

  3. zeliasgrand says:

    I do melt and pour soapcrafting and have colorants available that I use in the soaps. Could those be used to color these lotion bars? I am making favors for a baby shower and would like to include small lotion bars as part of the gift. I would love to color them to match the soaps I am making but do not want to leave a color residue on the user. What do you all think? Thank you for any advice!

    • Nadia says:

      Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about these colorants. The idea of the homemade lotion bars is to prepare them with all-natural products. If there are no synthetic chemicals in the colorants, I would experiment and make a small lotion bar tester to see how these colorants mix with the rest of the ingredients and if there are any color residue left on the skin. I am really sorry I can’t help you more!

  4. Anon says:

    Hi,
    Just wondering about diluting the essential oils…I noticed charts that cover diluting in carrier oil – when diluting for the lotion bars, do you include the amount of beeswax in the dilution or just oils?
    Thx!

    • Nadia says:

      Hi Anon!
      First I melt the beeswax, then I add the carrier oil and the Shea butter. When all is well melted and mixed (trying not to overdo with heating), I take the mixture away from the stove and just before putting it into a mold(s) I add the essential oil(s).
      I hope I answered your question.
      Thank you for stopping by!

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