• Easy Lotion Bars Recipe – via Wellness Mama
Here’s the base for my homemade natural lotion bars; feel free to experiment and change it up!
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup shea butter, cocoa butter, or mango butter (or a mix of all three)
- 1 cup beeswax
- optional: essential oils of choice
- optional: 1 teaspoon vitamin E oil
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients (except essential oils if using) in a double boiler or a glass bowl over a smaller saucepan with 1 inch of water in it. UPDATE: Low maintenance approach: Combine ingredients in a quart-size glass mason jar and place jar in a small saucepan of water until melted. This will save your bowl and you can just designate this jar for these type of projects and not even need to wash it out!
- Turn the burner on and bring water to a boil. Stir ingredients constantly until they are melted and smooth.
- Remove from heat, let cool a bit, and add any desired essential oils and/or vitamin E.
- Gently stir by hand until essential oils are incorporated.
- Carefully pour into molds or whatever you will be allowing the lotion bars to harden in (ideas below). I used silicone baking cups for easy removal, though any mold would work.
- Allow the lotion bars to cool completely before attempting to pop out of molds. These could be made in different shaped molds for different holiday gifts (hearts for Valentine’s Day, flowers for Mother’s Day, etc.) or made in a square baking pan and then cut into actual bars.
Note: This recipe can be adjusted to make any quantity that you’d like. I use equal 1 cup measurements as specified in the recipe which makes 12 lotion bars with my molds. For a small batch, this recipe could be cut in half or even one fourth.
• Lotion Bar Recipe from Mommypotamus
This recipe makes eight of the 1.5 fluid ounce square lotion bars pictured or ten of the round lotion bars in the video.
Ingredients (By Weight)
- 4 ounces coconut oil (where to buy coconut oil)
- 6 ounces cocoa butter (where to buy cocoa butter)
- 4 ounces beeswax (where to buy organic beeswax)
- up to 1½ teaspoons essential oil (optional)
- 1⁄2 teaspoon Vitamin E (optional, I use this one both as a supplement and in my skincare products)
If no scale is available, try:
- 1⁄2 cup melted coconut oil (where to buy coconut oil)
- 2½ cups grated cocoa butter, loosely packed(where to buy cocoa butter)
- ½ cup grated beeswax, tightly packed (where to buy organic beeswax)
- up to 1½ teaspoons essential oil (optional)
- 1⁄2 teaspoon Vitamin E essential oil (optional, I use this one both as a supplement and in my skincare products)
Special Equipment
Silicone mold, muffin tin or other mold (I used this square soap mold that says “100% Handmade”)
How To Make Lotion Bars
Fill a medium pot with about two inches of water and bring to a boil. Place a smaller pot or heat-proof stainless steel bowl inside the larger pot to create a double boiler. Add coconut oil, beeswax and cocoa butter to the bowl/pot. Stir occasionally until it is fully melted, then remove from heat. If you are adding essential oils or vitamin E, allow the mixture to cool a little before mixing them in and pouring the liquid in to your molds. If you are not adding essential oils or vitamin E, pour the liquid directly into your molds. Allow lotion bars to cool fully before unmolding them. If you want to speed things up, pop them into the fridge or freezer for ten to twenty minutes.
How To Use Lotion Bars
Rub lotion bars between your hands or on the desired area (elbows, feet, knees, etc.), then massage into skin as needed.
Shelf Life
Because there is no water in this formula, it is shelf stable for up to a year without the use of preservatives. Store out of direct sunlight and away from heat – it will melt!
