Made my first lotion today and I am pretty darn pleased with myself. It turned out to be more of a cream than a lotion though. Luckily I still had some malibus I bought years ago because it never would have come out of the lotion bottles I have. But other than that it's very nice. Even my daughter, a lotion snob, likes it. :-D Now I can't wait to make more. Oh man what have I gotten myself into? Next time I would like to see if I could get it a bit thinner though. I guess more research is in order. For now I'm happy, happy, happy.
Made my first lotion today
- Thread starter Judee
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To make a thinner lotion just add more water or something like aloe liquid. Be careful not to overdo the liquid though. You can experiment with a very small batch. Remember to match the percent of preservative added with the total amount of your new recipe.
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Yep, just add a little more liquid/water to the next one and it will be thinner! Lotion is a whole new addiction lol... Luckily I can make really small batches and still get my fix 
I love making 100 gram batches to try new scents and new lotion formulations.
Congratulations!
I love making 100 gram batches to try new scents and new lotion formulations.Congratulations!
Also, the solid oils you use in your lotion will affect how stiff your lotion is. Cocoa butter is notorious for making a very stiff cream when combined with the same amount of beeswax that you use for a formula that uses just coconut oil or shea butter. I only use a half ounce of cocoa butter to one ounce of beeswax, personally. Borax is also able to be used as an emulsifying agent, so you can use more liquid that way. I like using hydrosols in my creams, gives it a lovely smell in it's "unscented" form.
I did remake my lotion recipe, using the same oils but cut back the stearic acid by half, adding that amount to the liquid. I used Aloe Vera juice. It came out nice as well, a bit thinner. Next time I might leave the stearic out all together just to see what happens. I have cocoa butter but used mango butter this time. My cocoa butter has a very strong cocoa scent nice in some cases but I didn't want that in this lotion.
Years ago I tried making lotion with beeswax/borax, the emulsion broke the next day. Put me off lotions for a long time. However, I can see how this could become a serious addiction. The only thing holding me back right now is a lack of bottles to put the stuff in once it's made.
I made a 100 gram batch as well, which is perfect for experimentation. I only had one problem, my scale measures in grams but it doesn't measure in 1/2 grams so I had difficulty measuring the preservative exactly since I needed 1.5 grams. I used 1 gram plus a couple of drops and hoped for the best. Thanks for your comments.
Years ago I tried making lotion with beeswax/borax, the emulsion broke the next day. Put me off lotions for a long time. However, I can see how this could become a serious addiction. The only thing holding me back right now is a lack of bottles to put the stuff in once it's made.
I made a 100 gram batch as well, which is perfect for experimentation. I only had one problem, my scale measures in grams but it doesn't measure in 1/2 grams so I had difficulty measuring the preservative exactly since I needed 1.5 grams. I used 1 gram plus a couple of drops and hoped for the best. Thanks for your comments.
judymoody
Well-Known Member
TKB trading (a great mica supplier) sells an awesome little scale that measures to the 100th of a gram. It is very inexpensive, maybe 10-15 dollars. Worth every penny.
