First Lotion Bar Attempt

[roguehippo]

So I just did my first lotion bar experiment. I don't usually use lotion as my skin is pretty normal. I do have a couple of people who have requested that I make lotions, but I'm just now putting some serious thought into this. I think everything went well. I did my research and formulated a plan. My recipe was as follows:

2 oz each
cocoa butter
sweet almond oil
coconut oil
beeswax

I tried that and it felt to waxy so I remelted and added 2 oz shea butter. Now it seems to melt super easy. I don't want to add any more wax to the batch because I'd be back where I started. Any suggestions of what to do? Or are they supposed to feel greasy and melt easily. (by easy I mean I tried to pick one up and it immediately started slipping out of my fingers):???:

 

[Hazel]

How about adding a little more cocoa butter to raise the melt point?

 

[roguehippo]

How about adding a little more cocoa butter to raise the melt point?

Just added 4 oz of cocoa butter as well as 1/2 oz beeswax. I'll see how this effects it. Thanks for the advise. Wasn't sure if I needed to add something else I hadn't already.


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[Hazel]

I don't know. I've only used cocoa butter, shea butter, mango butter, a light oil and beeswax so I can't give you much advice. I didn't care for them myself and no one in my family were real thrilled, either. Everyone preferred lotion or cream. So, I stopped making them.

Please let me know how they turn out. :grin:

 

[DeeAnna]

It's a little late to make these comments, but I'll throw them into the discussion for future reference.

When tweaking a recipe, I'd suggest making only one small to moderate change at a time.

And I'd only make a total of 100 grams (about 4 ounces) or so when developing a recipe like this. So far you have 14.5 ounces into this experiment without knowing if your blend of ingredients is going to work. That's a lot of product for a first-time trial run.

Cocoa butter melts at 100 deg F, a bit higher than skin temp. A high cocoa-butter formula is going to feel fairly dry and draggy on the skin -- especially on cool winter-time hands, assuming you're making this for winter-time use. You added more cocoa butter to the tune of 40% of your original recipe, including the shea. That's a ~lot~ of cocoa butter, and that doesn't even count the effect of the added beeswax. I would have added just an ounce of cocoa butter only and evaluated the skin feel at that point. You can always add another ounce of cocoa butter or a bit of beeswax if it's needed, but you can't take it away once it's in there.

 

[roguehippo]

And I'd only make a total of 100 grams (about 4 ounces) or so when developing a recipe like this. So far you have 14.5 ounces into this experiment without knowing if your blend of ingredients is going to work. That's a lot of product for a first-time trial run.

I wasn't worried about the amount. I have plenty of these butters to spare. I bought in bulk and am looking for a new product to add. Plus I work at a salon and have lots of honest and willing testers to hand them out to. Can't have the ladies feeling left out .

As for adding a little extra beeswax.....I am under the assumption you'd want it to be about 1/3 of the recipe so I added more and now it's at 17% of the recipe. It turned out much better, much more structurally sound. Although it's still not perfected.

 

[cmzaha]

I add in butter ez and ipm in my solid lotion bars. The butter ez helps keep butters from becoming grainy and the ipm help with some of the greasy feel, but help it absorb faster. I sell a lot of these solid lotions. In fact will be making up a new 10 lb batch for the holidays tomorrow. PKO is also nice in the lotion bars

 

[roguehippo]

I add in butter ez and ipm in my solid lotion bars. The butter ez helps keep butters from becoming grainy and the ipm help with some of the greasy feel, but help it absorb faster. I sell a lot of these solid lotions. In fact will be making up a new 10 lb batch for the holidays tomorrow. PKO is also nice in the lotion bars

I knew they would be slightly greasy, that's fine. I might order and add the ipm though. Not sure yet. I work with quite a few people who are all natural and would like a better lotion, that is the direction I was headed with this. That's why I wanted to do a solid lotion as opposed to a regular lotion, because you don't have to use preservatives or anything. Thanks for the advice.