Homemade Lotion – The First Attempt

OK, I’m finally getting around to posting about the homemade lotion recipe that I told you all about! I made it over a week ago and am FINALLY sitting down to sharing. It’s been a bit of a long week with a VERY long to-do list 🙂

I’ve been on this kick lately, trying to use more natural products around the house which has led me to attempting some homemade versions. I’ve been using homemade laundry detergent, fabric softener, shampoo & conditioner and an all-purpose spray cleaner for a while now and really like the ones I use. They work just as well or better than store bought versions and they are WAY cheaper. And the added benefit of using these homemade products is that I know every ingredient that goes into what I am using and I know that they are all safe for my family.

So my latest effort lead me to trying homemade lotion. If you have every looked into what actually goes into personal care products, you know that many of the ingredients, if you can even pronounce them, really aren’t great for you. I’m not too crazy about all the micro-chemicals and the supposed harm they can do in the long-term, but if there are options that are easy for me to use that are safer for myself and family, then I figure why not try it. I looked online at various recipes and finally found one that used simple ingredients that I could easily get from my local stores. The recipe comes from Wellness Mama and can be found on her website here.

The recipe uses three basic ingredients and has a variety of options you can add in to make different types. For my lotion I used (for exact measurements view the Wellness Mama recipe):

  • – Olive Oil (basic ingredient)
  • – Coconut Oil (basic ingredient)
  • – Beeswax (basic ingredient)
  • -Shea Butter
  • -Vitamin E Oil
  • – Rose Essential OilIMG_1756

Using a mason jar set in a pan of water, I combined all ingredients and heated the water over medium heat. I stirred the ingredients pretty frequently until everything was melted down with no remaining granules. After the ingredients are melted, then carefully pour into a wide-mouth container. It will be too thick to put into a squeeze type container and is more like a body butter when it cools. My first attempt at this resulted in a pretty hard lotion that once stirred was spreadable but I think next time I will try less of the beeswax to get a smoother consistency. The lotion itself is great and very moisturizing, but I want something that is more of a whipped consistency.

The lotion will firm up and turn a white color when it cools.
After I make the first batch of lotion, I found a recipe on the Wellness Mama website that is for lotion bars (recipe here). I had never seen lotion in a bar form, but it is thicker so that you just rub it on versus scooping it out of a jar. I liked this option too because they are simple, fun and could be used to make great gifts for the holidays. The lotion bars again use three ingredients – coconut oil, beeswax, and Shea butter. I also added lavender essential oil for a light scent. The melting method is exactly the same as for the other lotion, melting it in a mason jar in a pan of water over medium heat until completely melted. Once it is melted, I poured the liquid into paper lined muffin tins (you could also use other molds for make cute bars or use a regular pan with wax paper). Once the lotion cooled, they easily popped out of the paper liners and are easy to use. Just simply rub the bar over skin like you do a bar of soap. The bars are solid but once in contact with warm skin, a small amount melts and rubs onto skin.

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Somehow I managed to not take any photos of the finished products! And I’ve either used all of what I made or given them away so I’ll have to take photos of the next batch. To see what the finished products look like (and probably nicer looking ones than mine!), check out the Wellness Mama Website.

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I really like the lotion bars, and will probably continue to make this kind int he future. They are very moisturizing and my skin is VERY dry during the winter months so I have a feeling this will be perfect for me! I’ve also been using the lotion bars with the kids and they love that they can put it on themselves. Normally they hate to put on lotion so this is a big plus for me! Little Man has very sensitive skin on his face and frequently has a bit of contact dermatitis around his mouth and on his cheeks. We’ve been using the lotion bars on those areas as well and they have pretty much disappeared after using it.

One note about these bars though – they do feel greasy when you first put it on your skin but it does dry fairly quickly. I certainly have not felt like a big grease ball all day after using it! My skin has felt softer and definitely more moisturized int he days that I have been using the lotion bars! I may adjust the amount of beeswax that I use to make the bars a bit softer even, but other than that I will definitely be making these again! Super easy and all natural – sounds like a good combo to me!
Next up to try – homemade lip gloss 🙂

If you have other lotion recipes that you have tried before and liked, please share! I’d love to hear what has worked for you!

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