How to add honey to a lotion bar?

I've been experimenting with lotion bars for a friend. I'd like to add manuka honey for it's healing properties but the honey seems to congeal in the bottom of the bar. Is there a way to get honey to incorporate into the mix better?

The short answer is you can't. You're trying to mix a water-based liquid with fats and waxes, and they absolutely do not want to cooperate.

The only way to solve this problem is to use an emulsifier which makes fats and water-based liquids able to blend together and stay blended. And when you mix fats/waxes with water-based liquids, you then need a preservative. And by the time you get that far, you are essentially making a true water-and-oil based lotion, not an anhydrous lotion bar.

You will need to add an emulsifier such as e-wax or Polawax since honey is a water-based ingredient......and also a preservative since the water content from the honey will attract undesireable bacteria to your finished product. Although honey is great at preserving itself, its preservation effects are not strong enough to preserve the whole lotion bar.

IrishLass

, DeeAnna and I were posting at the same time!

PrimDawg said:

Is there a way to get honey to incorporate into the mix better?

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I use local honey in Honey lip balms at a rate of 1%. To keep it incorporated, I stir the batch every 15 minutes for an hour (4 times in all) while it's cooling down. I like to fridge it for an hour or overnight, reheat in the microwave at half-power until liquid, then pour. MMS has the best honey flavor oil... spot on!

I tried honey several times when I fist started and no matter what I did it seeped out. Wasn't pleasant.

I don't think I would like honey in a lotion bar. Wouldn't I end up with sticky honey on my hands after using the bar?

I know I read somewhere that if you keep the honey below a certain % It would not make the product sticky, though I can't remember exactly how much, maybe 5% or less?

I used to use honey in an o/w lotion and never found it sticky. I think I used it at 5%. These days I use glycerin as the honey proved to be too much of a challenge for my preservative. My family still reminds me about my "carbonated lotion" that self-propelled out of the bottle. Never again!

I did happen to see this in a window display last night. It's not a lotion bar, but it looked interesting though. Rather than trying to keep honey in a bar, I would be inclined to try something more like a loose balm.

Saranac said:

I used to use honey in an o/w lotion and never found it sticky. I think I used it at 5%. These days I use glycerin as the honey proved to be too much of a challenge for my preservative. My family still reminds me about my "carbonated lotion" that self-propelled out of the bottle. Never again!

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Oh that's a classic story, Saranac! I'm sorry it happened to you. My experience is quite different. I agree... I use honey @ 2% in lotion and it isn't sticky at all. And I do just the opposite... if I see 'glycerin' in a recipe, I sub honey! LOL I've been making this same recipe for more years than I can remember without a problem. It's a family favorite.

Glycerin is a bad choice for those of us who live in a dry climate. As a humectant, glycerin draws water from the air and brings it to the skin. If there is no water in the air, it draws it from the skin. YIKES! I once tested this early in my lotion-making journey. I chose a rainy day to rub a bit of glycerin on my hands. It felt good. A few days later, when the humidity was low, I tried it again and it stung me like a bee! I couldn't wash it off fast enough!

Sorry for the hijack, PrimDawg.

To get back to your question, I used the technique mentioned above to make Honey Lip Balms for a wholesale customer in NYC. She did a lot of events for quilters and she had a line of honey-based products. I shipped 4 dozen Honey Lip Balms to her every two weeks or so for every event and they sold well. I always hold one back for longevity testing and never had a problem.

With all due respect, and while I understand the others' concern about water in honey, as I understand it, after processing, the water content is 20% or less. Using honey at 1% means the amount of water introduced into the balm is something like 1/5 of 1% -- and may not even survive the heat used to make the balm or lotion bar. I don't know, but I think it's worth a try.

As a matter of fact, I would encourage everyone who doesn't believe it works to at least give it a go -- nothing ventured; nothing gained. It truly is one of those tips that has been well received on other groups and forums I've participated on over the years.