Tool Thursday: Lotion Bar Tutorial/Recipe

Hello all. Decided to cheat a bit this week and share with you a short tutorial about making lotion bars and the recipe that I’ve been making this past week in anticipation of all the upcoming shows!

First off, what is a lotion bar and why lotion bars instead of liquid/gel? Lotion bars are a mixture of oils and waxes that you apply to your skin basically the same as you would use regular lotion. They are semi-solid, because at temperatures above 80 degrees or so (depending on the composition of the bar), they will begin to melt. The oils soak into the skin and hydrate, while waxes seal and act as humectants.

I choose to make lotion bars instead of liquids/gels because any time you introduce water into an oil-based environment you need to add an emulsifying agent– and you increase the chance of mold. There are various arguments out there for and against borax (the most common emulsifying agent used in homemade lotions) and I would rather just avoid the whole thing.

The mixture that I have created and tested uses ingredients that are relatively easy to get a hold of. Substitutions can be made whenever you are using oils– as I mentioned back in February with my massage oils tutorial. If you don’t have a particular oil, you can ask the internet what a good substitute might be, or that tutorial also mentions a few.

Now, onto the recipe and making!

All “parts” should be done by WEIGHT not volume! My usual “part” is 8 grams when I am mixing this recipe, as it makes the perfect amount to fill my molds.

1 part vitamin E oil (optional)
2 parts sweet almond oil (if you do not use vitamin E oil, 3 parts)
3 parts coconut oil (or other semi-solid oil)
6 parts beeswax
60 drops essential or skin safe fragrance oil (optional)

As you can see, we are making bars that are half beeswax and half oil, though the coconut oil is semi-solid. This creates a bar that is generally solid up to 80 degrees and will start to melt after that point. That is not usually a problem in Minnesota, you may want to find another recipe or substitute more semi-solid oils in a warmer climate.

Here, if I use more wax or use less oil, I tend to end up with a bar that won’t work in the wintertime. Of course, you can do as several customers have done- shave some off and microwave it for a short time. But portability is one of the best things about lotion bars, and you might not have a microwave when you want some lotion…

Moving on, to make the bars, we need to melt all the ingredients together (leave the essential or fragrance oils out) and pour them into something– a mold or a container. Beeswax has a relatively low melting point of about 144 degrees F (62C), and a flash point of 400 (204.4C). This can make it very dangerous if trying to use a microwave, as some might do with melt and pour soaps. A double boiler or crock pot, however, works very nicely.

Once the ingredients are melted and your molds or containers are set up, remove your wax from the heat. Essential oils have very low flash points (I found one chart here) which means waiting until this point to add them to your mixture. Mix a bit, pour, and wait. Soon you will have lovely lotion bars to use or gift!

See you on Monday with notes about how the Oakdale Art Discovery Fair went, or see you on Saturday if you are attending!

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