Homemade lotion bars have quickly become one of my favorite natural skin care products to make. This is because it’s really easy to make lotion bars, and the end result is an all-over moisturizer that is incredibly nourishing for the skin.
If you’re new to homemade lotion bars or haven’t personally tried them on your skin yet, you’re in for a treat. Lotions bars are similar to chapstick in that they are solid at room temperature, but soften up and become smooth once applied to skin.
To use, you’ll simply take the homemade lotion bar in your hand, and rub back and forth on your skin until enough moisturizer is applied. Afterwards, you can massage the moisturizer into your skin as needed.
Lotion bars are shelf-stable, so you can store them around the house in small tin containers. I typically keep one at my desk, in my nightstand, and I take one with me in my purse.
And the best part? Lotion bars are great for both dry skin during winter months, and sun-kissed skin during the summer. I find it most useful for problem areas like the elbows, feet, and hands.
Lavender Orange Lotion Bars
Ingredients
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup jojoba oil
1/2 cup shea butter or cocoa butter
1/2 cup beeswax pellets
20-30 drops sweet orange oil
20-30 drops lavender oil
Directions
Put 1-2 inches of water in a small pot, and place over medium-high heat. Put a glass bowl on top of the pan so that the water is just underneath the bowl, but not touching it. Put all the ingredients for the lotion bars except the essential oils in the glass bowl, and let the ingredients fully melt to combine. You’ll need to stir the mixture occasionally.
Once ingredients have melted, turn off the heat and remove the glass bowl from the pot. Let ingredients cool for about 5 minutes. Once ingredients have cooled, add essential oils, and pour mixture into silicone molds. I use these super cute “100% Handmade” silicone molds.
Let molds sit undisturbed for about 30-45 minutes for lotion bars to set. If you’re short on time, you can throw the lotion bars into fridge to speed up the process.
Remove lotion bars from molds by carefully pealing back the mold. The lotion bar will be hard, but will have a silky texture. This is why I prefer using individual silicone molds that are easy to remove.
Homemade lotion bars are shelf-stable, so you can store them in small tin containers around the house. I typically keep one at my desk, in my nightstand, and I take one with me in my purse.
Tips and Tricks
The basic recipe for homemade lotion bars is 33% oil of choice, 33% butter of choice, 33% beeswax, and 1% essential oil. This means, you can actually experiment with different oils or butters—especially if you know something works well for your skin. I personally love to include coconut oil because of its antimicrobial properties, and jojoba oil for its emollient effects. Sometimes, when I don’t have jojoba oil on hand, I simply use coconut oil for the oil in the recipe, or use olive oil or avocado oil instead.
Keep in mind, when you do try other oils or butters, it will affect the consistency of the bar, and the feeling it has as a moisturizer. I personally like a softer “silkiness,” which is why I use the homemade lotion bar recipe listed above.
Got any questions about making lotion bars, or this homemade lotion bar recipe? Ask in the comments below!
Live empowered,
This look great, Noelle – can’t wait to try it! And both of the oils you suggest are safe for the 6+ month crowd. I’m thinking this might be a much easier way to get lotion on the baby during the winter.
Ohhh I love that idea, Beth! Let me know how it goes. 🙂
You can always do 5 drops of each too to be safe for babies. I love these recipes , they’re great!!!
Oooooo lotion bars! I definitely have to give this a try! I have almost all of the ingredients too. Thanks Noelle!
I love this, and all your diy skin care ideas! I just made a batch and was wondering about using it on my dogs’ paws as a moisturizer… what do you think? Have you tried this?
I think it’s a great option! 🙂 Just be careful with what essential oils you use.
If you do this, DON’T use cocoa butter. Also research ALL your other ingredients first. For example, if your question had been about a cat, I’d have said *don’t* follow the suggestion to try avocado oil. Avo and cats don’t mix.
Thanks for this recipe! I made a lotion with just coconut oil, Shea butter, and essential oils. I found it a little greasy. Does adding the beeswax make it less greasy? Thanks!
Hi Annelies! Yes, the beeswax adds a bit of hardness to it. Without it, you’ll just have the oil and butter. You can also use mango butter, which is slightly more “smooth” feeling. As for your second question about the mason jar—No. A 4 oz mason jar is only 1/2 cup. These ingredients add up to more than that (1.5 cups).
Sorry one more question 🙂 Would the lotion bars made in the silicon round and square molds that you use fit into a 4oz round mason jar?
Does anyone no how many you get out of one recipe
Hi Carol! All depends on your molds. You’ll get 1.5 cups of liquid total. For me, this ended up being about 7-8 bars.
This is so cool! I will definitely make the same for me and for My daughter! But how can i make
the printed logo or label on top? Thanks!
Hi Lulu! That was made using these soap molds. Good luck!
Can? you use sweet almond oil instead of jojoba oil?
Absolutely!
hey does the jojoba oil count as an essential oil?
Jojoba oil is not an essential oil. An essential oil is a liquid that is generally distilled (most frequently by steam or water) from the leaves, stems, flowers, bark, roots, or other elements of a plant. They are used for aromatherapy, scenting DIY skin care items, etc.
love this lotion bar recipe makes my winter skin smooth and healty, thank you for sharing it! I just made a batch with chamomile and vanilla oils.
great idea. where did you purchase the stamp 100% hand made
Hi Debbie! On amazon. It’s linked above in the blog post! 🙂
I don’t really like Coconut Oil as it seems to dry out my skin. Do you think the consistency of the bar would be stable if I substitute sunflower oil, apricot oil or almond oil?
Hi Val! Unfortunately, I haven’t tried using any of those oils, but I would bet that it would change the consistency. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature, which is what helps these set.
where do you get the ingredients?
Linked above! Amazon is great.
Hi Noelle! I was wondering if it would be ok to store these in glass instead of tins? Would adding food coloring or maybe the powder to add color to these mess up the consistency? Also, do you have any other essential oil blend ideas for this? I’m so excited to make these for Christmas gifts!
Glass it totally fine! You can try Lavender and a small amount of Cedar… super relaxing! The powder might change the consistency, so I wouldn’t do that. Test a small batch and see how it goes! Good luck!
Hi Noelle,
I’m having an “oil party” to introduce some friends to the oil life. This would be a fun make and take. Can it be put directly into small tins to set?
Kate
No they’ll need to set in the molds. Have fun!
I made this recipe today as my first lotion bars, and I love them! Thank you dor the recipe. 🙂
for – ugh, my typo. 🙁
I’m a nurse I wash my hands at least 100 times a day any suggestions on how to make a bar big enough to use all day and if so can they be reused?
These bars last a long long time. You can pour the ingredients into any mold to make it any size.
Thanks for the recipe. I cannot wait to try it as I have all the ingredients. However, my ingredients are in block form, not liquid form. Would you just shave the beeswax and Shea butter to get the 1/2 cup? Thanks.
Yes you could do that! 🙂
Can something else be substituted for the jojoba oil?
Sure! You could do a different oil that’s liquid at room temperature. Avocado oil would be a great option!
hi,
wondering where you got the little stamp HANDMADE .
Linked above! 🙂
Hello, so far every lotion bar recipe I have seen uses coconut oil. Unfortunately I’m allergic to coconut oil. I have found Shea Olein oil, could I use this instead? Or Olive Oil Pomace. Found these on make your own. buzz
Hi Kim! I haven’t tried any substitutions personally. I use coconut oil because it is solid at room temperature, but melts on the skin, so substitutions may change the consistency of the bars. If you try it and it works, feel free to share!
I made this today, and I am a bit confused. Equal parts? I used 2/3 cups shea butter, 2/3 cups bees wax pellets and got less than 1 1/3 cups. So I was unsure
on how much oil to use. Beeswax melts down to less than when measured at room temperature. Please advise. Thanks
Hi Diane! What exactly is your question? I would follow the recipe above as directed if you’re looking for a guaranteed result. If you’re looking to experiment, you’ll likely have to tweak things here or there based on the oil/butter/beeswax you use. If you’re going to experiment, I recommend going by weight, not by measurement. I tweaked things and found oils that would be easy to display in measurements (as shown) and would provide a lotion bar consistency that I liked, but that’s my own personal recipe.