Help with lotion recipe from DIY Bath & Body

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I’ve been using my cream and lotion for a couple weeks now and I looooooorve them! The body lotion is in a pump. The body lotion takes a lot longer to rub in than store bought lotion. Lots of time being white on the skin. Is this the amount of water, emulsifying wax, or other ingredients?
 
That white-on-the-skin is called the “soaping effect.” It is usually the result of certain additives. My experience is that aloe vera powder causes the soaping effect in this recipe. When I don’t use AVP, the lotion doesn’t “soap up” and is absorbed much more quickly.

You can probably search for that term and see if anyone else mentions other ingredients. Or ask Angie and Sandra on the FB group if you are a member there. I’ve heard they are super helpful!
 
Wow! I wasn’t even sure if what I was asking would make sense. How cool that you knew what I meant!! I‘ll look in the group. @Misschief is the IPM part of your %25 ingredients extra additives? The distillate is a liquid, correct?
 
After going through this thread again, I HAD TO make an other sample just to test a cream with Dimethicone. I made 250 grams with the DIY Lotion Concentrate and added the following additives: 1% each of Jojoba Oil, Safflower Oil, Dimethicone, Squalane, and Emu oil. I subbed Aloe Distillate and 1% Hyaluronic Acid for part of the water and scented it all with Coco Mademoiselle dupe from Candora. Zero soaping, and it smells and feels amazing.

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If you love the DIY Bath & Body Lotion Concentrate but aren't sure what to do with it, how to work with it, or questions in general, welcome. This is where you can ask your questions and look for inspiration. If you've made it, what's your favourite final product?

I'll start. I think I can honestly say that the DIY Lotion Concentrate recipe is my absolute favourite DIY Bath & Body recipe. I'm constantly experimenting with it, adding all sorts of interesting additives. I had a pop-up market at a yarn shop last weekend and made a knitter's hand cream that incorporated ingredients like Lanolin (knitters, after all), Aloe Vera Juice, Hyaluronic Acid, Silk Amino Acids, Argan oil, and Colloidal Oatmeal. It's absolutely amazing! After a week, I've already received positive comments about it.

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Hello, I am just about to delve into the DIY world (following on FB)… can you please clarify, in the Basic Lotion recipe, by adding “up to 5%” of varied additives: some oil, some dry (colloidal oats), some water based (honey etc), does this change or affect any of the other ingredients, such as the preservative? I’m used to plugging everything into the soap calculator, and this lotion world is so very different…
Thank you!
 
Hello, I am just about to delve into the DIY world (following on FB)… can you please clarify, in the Basic Lotion recipe, by adding “up to 5%” of varied additives: some oil, some dry (colloidal oats), some water based (honey etc), does this change or affect any of the other ingredients, such as the preservative? I’m used to plugging everything into the soap calculator, and this lotion world is so very different…
Thank you!
The 5% additives are already covered in the recipe. As long as you're staying within the 5%, you're fine. You can add more liquid if you want the lotion thinner but, if you do, you may need to adjust the preservative slightly.
 
Hello, I am just about to delve into the DIY world (following on FB)… can you please clarify, in the Basic Lotion recipe, by adding “up to 5%” of varied additives: some oil, some dry (colloidal oats), some water based (honey etc), does this change or affect any of the other ingredients, such as the preservative? I’m used to plugging everything into the soap calculator, and this lotion world is so very different…
Thank you!
I know many folks think it is fine to add in honey, oats, and other botanicals and proteins safely but be aware it may not be as safe as you think unless you are actually having your final lotion tested. At the bare minimum test with dip slides as a preliminary test, but use with caution because they are not 100% reliable. It is always best to send them to a lab for challenge testing (PET) before selling or sharing handmade lotions. I found Arnica impossible to preserve with our available preservatives including PhenoNip, or I just could not hit the correct combination. Additives such as Allantoin, niacinamide, peptides, etc were fine. I even stayed away from most botanical extracts, better to save them for the big boys with full testing labs.

Don't mind me, aside from using soap as shampoo this is my next biggest red flag...
Folks die of Sepsis daily which can come from bacteria, fungi, and viral. So it is really my new red flag.:eek::eek:
 
@Georgeandstella, the only thing I do different is go to the max safe usage percentage with whatever broad spectrum preservative I am using. So although the recipe calls for 1% (if I am remembering correctly), with (eg) Optiphen I use 1.5% and take the .5 percent off of some water based/soluble ingredient.

Regarding the additives, Carolyn's caveat regarding safety is a good one, but I do use various additives - colloidal oats, hydrolyzed proteins, honey, etc. - in the lotions I make for myself and others. I tell my giftees that it is impossible to make home made creams with the kind of sterile procedures that the big companies use (and that they are likely to mold if their hands are not clean when they dip them in the jar), so to throw them out if they see signs of mold. I don't ever remember having a lotion mold, but I am careful when I use them and don't have them sitting around for months and months. No reports of mold from giftees, although who knows there.
 
@Georgeandstella, the only thing I do different is go to the max safe usage percentage with whatever broad spectrum preservative I am using. So although the recipe calls for 1% (if I am remembering correctly), with (eg) Optiphen I use 1.5% and take the .5 percent off of some water based/soluble ingredient.

Regarding the additives, Carolyn's caveat regarding safety is a good one, but I do use various additives - colloidal oats, hydrolyzed proteins, honey, etc. - in the lotions I make for myself and others. I tell my giftees that it is impossible to make home made creams with the kind of sterile procedures that the big companies use (and that they are likely to mold if their hands are not clean when they dip them in the jar), so to throw them out if they see signs of mold. I don't ever remember having a lotion mold, but I am careful when I use them and don't have them sitting around for months and months. No reports of mold from giftees, although who knows there.
This is very helpful, thank you!
 
I know many folks think it is fine to add in honey, oats, and other botanicals and proteins safely but be aware it may not be as safe as you think unless you are actually having your final lotion tested. At the bare minimum test with dip slides as a preliminary test, but use with caution because they are not 100% reliable. It is always best to send them to a lab for challenge testing (PET) before selling or sharing handmade lotions. I found Arnica impossible to preserve with our available preservatives including PhenoNip, or I just could not hit the correct combination. Additives such as Allantoin, niacinamide, peptides, etc were fine. I even stayed away from most botanical extracts, better to save them for the big boys with full testing labs.

Don't mind me, aside from using soap as shampoo this is my next biggest red flag...
Folks die of Sepsis daily which can come from bacteria, fungi, and viral. So it is really my new red flag.:eek::eek:
Thank you for the information! 😊
 

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