Tuesday, June 26, 2012

DIY Lotion Bars are Easy Beesy

I am shocked yet tickled at how easy it was making these lotion bars.  I followed my usual MO - researched it to death then kind of just did my own thing.  This was one of those times it pretty much turned out perfect.  Gotta love those times.




Here's what my research looked like:

Hard Lotion Bars by Simple.  Healthy.  Tasty.

How do you make lotion? None of your beeswax! by Frugal by Choice, Cheap by Necessity

Ditch the Jar...Pick up the Bar! by OneGoodThing by Jillee

Homemade Sunscreen Bars by Wellness Mama

How to Make Lotion Bars by Crunchy Betty






Here's what I did:

I melted equal parts beeswax, coconut oil, and a combination of shea and cocoa butter in a double boiler.



Then I poured that mixture into mini muffin pans.  I don't have any of those new fangled, fancy molds.  I had a little bit extra, so I made one big muffin bar.



I got it everywhere!



Seriously, how do people do this without spilling? All those links above show perfectly filled molds.



What I lack in cleanliness, I make up for in craziness frugality.   I scraped all that excess off with the knife I used to pop the bars out.  (They easily came right out, by the way.)



And rolled it into a little ball.  See?



I made this as simple as I could, and it turned out great! Many of the recipes I have linked to use a few other ingredients, like almond oil, essential oils, or vitamin E.




I also didn't worry about preservation - I just popped my extras into a plastic storage container, surrounded by wax paper, and put them in the freezer.  We use a lot of lotion here in the desert.  If you're worried about preserving your lotion, you can use rosemary extract, cinnamon, potassium sorbate, or citric acid.  Read this wiki article for more information.



My lotion bars melt at just the right temperature - the minute they touch the skin, the soothing ingredients take effect.  I'm keeping one by both the kitchen and bathroom sinks.




I may never buy lotion again!



6 comments:

  1. So, you really just rub that on your hands and it's lotion? It's not like a soap that has to be washed off? So cool!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nope, no washing it off. It melts right as it touches the body, and just seeps into your skin like buttah! The beeswax then makes a water resistant barrier on top of your skin, sealing in moisture.

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  2. Do the lotion bars smell good? I want to make them but don't know if I want to add essential oils or not.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, it depends on whether or not you think chocolate smells good. These particular bars definitely smell like cocoa butter, which I love. But some found it a little over-powering. If you made them just using shea butter, they would have a more nutty smell. I don't think the shea scent is as powerful as the cocoa butter scent, personally. If you don't want to smell nutty or chocolate-y, then definitely add some of your favorite EO! :)

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    2. You could always pour out half the batch, then add some eo to the rest, and then see which ones you like better.

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