beeswax substitute for lotion bars?

[SoapAddict415]

I got all of my ingredients ready to make a small batch of lotion bars and then discovered that I'm out of beeswax. Can I use palm kernel flakes or steric acid as a substitute?

 

[dixiedragon]

I haven't heard of anybody using that in lotion bars. Do you have cocoa butter?

If you are only making a small batch, it might be worth it to buy some beeswax at Whole Foods or a healthfood store. If you are making a large batch, it might be too expensive.

 

[green soap]

One of the things the bees wax does is raise the melting point, so your bars will stay solid even in hot weather. If it is not warm where you are, I would use a substitute. Never used stearic in a lotion bar but I don't see why you could not use either stearic or PKO. If you get hot summers and still have some of the non bees wax bars left, just store them in the fridge. With the cold you poor folks have been having, the thought of summer heat probably did not even enter your mind, right?

 

[SoapAddict415]

Thanks & lol @ green soap. The high for this entire week will be 24° F. I got impatient & experimented with .3 oz each of steric acid & pko, I'm hoping it was enough. I used 1.3 oz each of coconut & babassu oils which are hard plus aloe & mango butters and a 1 oz combination of apricot kernel & rice bran oils plus my favourite FO. They're cooling now on my drafty enclosed back porch.

 

[bjannr]

Do you have Kokum Butter? That just may be hard enough for lotion bars. I have to get it out of the jar by shabing it with a knife.

 

[SoapAddict415]

No kokum or cocoa butters but they came out ok. Maybe next time I have to substitute, use more stearic acid because they're a little soft & melting to the touch a little quicker than I'd like (or maybe they're not ready lol, I got impatient again) & no rice bran oil. They have a heavy oil feel & I think that's the rbo. I've got a pic but I'm having trouble uploading it.

 

[cmzaha]

do you happen to have any other waxes such as sunflower, rice bran, or carnuba? They will also work. You can always remelt what you made and try adding more stearic acid in them. I see no reason it would not work. In fact I am not crazy about beeswax in lotion bars or solid lotions in jars. To me after time it gets sticky and rubbery feeling. Jojoba esters is also nice in the lotion bars and adds in hardness.