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!