Lotion bars, that simple?

[ItsForrest]

So, my girlfriend found a simple recipe for lotion bars and suggested I make a batch.
It's a pretty simple recipe; equal parts Coconut oil, Shea butter & beeswax and add fragrance to taste.

For those of you who have made these things, I have a couple questions.

First, if I make these in one of my loaf molds, am I going to be able to cut it with my wire cutter?

Second, are these bars going to melt or get gooey in hot weather?

Third, is it really as simple as melt, mix & mold?

What else do I really need to keep in mind making lotion bars?

 

[Lin19687]

I am watching this thread as I thought there was some odd thing added to these and that is why I had never made them.
Or maybe I am thinking about the shower lotion bar, there is a name for it but I can't remember right now.

 

[DeeAnna]

First, if I make these in one of my loaf molds, am I going to be able to cut it with my wire cutter?

You probably could, but you'd want to cut them at the right temperature. Most people pour the mixture into small individual molds, however. I wouldn't want a lotion bar to be as big as a bar of soap.

Second, are these bars going to melt or get gooey in hot weather?

Yes, they certainly can. Most people use lotion bars in cold weather, and the recipe has to be soft enough when cool to leave a film when rubbed onto the skin. Otherwise, there's no point to using them. In warmer weather, that may mean your lotion bar will be softer and even melty.

Third, is it really as simple as melt, mix & mold?

More or less. Lotion bars are basically in the same family as lip balm or salve. Just adjust the amount of wax to get the consistency you want.

What else do I really need to keep in mind making lotion bars?

That the basic 1/3 - 1/3 - 1/3 recipe is a starting point, not necessarily a final recipe. Expect to tweak the recipe to suit your preferences and climate. You can even omit the oil or the butter and just have a 2 ingredient lotion bar. Or you can use other waxes rather than beeswax, but again the proportions will have to be adjusted.

A "lotion bar" isn't exactly a lotion, because it doesn't contain an emulsifier. I think you're thinking of an emulsifying shower scrub or an emulsifying conditioner bar for hair or skin, Lin. They contain fats and an emulsifier. They turn into a lotion when you rub the bar on wet skin or wet hair.

 

[earlene]

My niece pours her lotion bars into their permanent containers. She has used up-cycled materials (with lids), such as the plastic containers dressmaker pins come in, and plastic condiment cups such as what restaurants give with take-out orders.

You can purchase very tiny plastic containers with lids at Dollar stores in multiples of 8-10 per package, that would work very well for this project. I have found them at Dollar General and other Dollar stores with an assortment of different colored lids, similar to the ones at this link.

 

[lenarenee]

I suggest making as small a test batch as possible to see how she likes this recipe, then she can tweak it from there - even do a crude test of what temperature it takes to melt it during summer temps.

I don't like beeswax and use kokum butter or stearic acid for mine.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

...It's a pretty simple recipe; equal parts Coconut oil, Shea butter & beeswax and add fragrance to taste.

It really is as simple as that. However, you can add something like almond & avocado oil, cocoa and mango butters, use candelilla wax instead of beeswax for a vegan bar and if you're concerned about melting in heat. Some people use Ewax NF for better slip or BTMS (Conditioning E Wax) for a dryer feel. LOL Not so simple, eh?!

Pouring into a container is the best way to go to make a lotion bar portable. I've used tins but my favorite container is a 3 oz. round plastic from WSP. To give you a better idea of why that's necessary, here's a bit from my brochure:

A “Lotion Bar” is solid at room temperature. Throw it in your purse, pocket, drawer, glove box, or tool box to keep handy when needed. When applied to skin, your body temperature melts the bar and it’s ready to use wherever needed. Apply a light layer and let it sit. It may feel a bit "greasy" at first, but the natural ingredients will quickly absorb. Good for dry, cracked areas like heels, elbows, knees, cuticles, finger tips, and even your lips and hair. A little goes a long way!

Advice: Make a 100 gram batch of the Coconut Oil, Shea Butter & Beeswax and go from there. Or not. Sounds like a good combo to me.

 

[Eepa]

My try with lotion bar ended up little too soft but I do remember reading some where that you could put it into stick deodorant container. I have actually bought those for this but never did a second batch... I'll keep an eye on this thread and see what happens.

This was my recipe and like I said it was too soft to make a bar.
30 g jojoba wax (30%)
5 g cetyl alcohol (5%)
15 g mango butter (15%)
15 g shea butter (15%)
10 g apricot kernel oil (10%)
14 g macadamia oil (14%)
10 g wheat germ oil (10%)
1 g vitamin E (1%)
Essential oils

 

[SoaperForLife]

Is the jojoba wax scratchy? I had to google on that one because we commonly use jojoba oil (which is a liquid wax). Anyway, you need to incorporate a real wax into your recipe - beeswax, candelila, bayberry, carnauba, etc.

 

[Eepa]

It wasn't scratchy at all. It's good enough body salve and melts nicely when you put it on the skin. Just very very oily, even worse than my unhydrous body butters. =P

 

[ItsForrest]

Well, I made a 350g batch yesterday afternoon. For fragrance I used WSP's Tea Rose fo at 1%. The plan was to make a bar and package it in a 2.5 oz tin, the size and shape of an Altoids mint tin. I bought some unmarked tins from Amazon to experiment with. 350g filled 5 tins. I had assumed that it would make bars that are fairly solid but they came out a bit too gooey at room temp. A little too soft to handle as a bar. I ended up re-melting the bars into the tins, which seems to work ok. The consistency is more like lip balm than a hard bar, rub your fingers in it and rub hands together. You can imagine lip balm is to gooey to handle out of a container.

I think next time I plan something like this one I will go for the screw-top containers Zany posted a link to above. The tins don't seem secure enough for a potentially gooey product in a purse.

 

[dixiedragon]

It is that simple! I think you may find that much beeswax too much - I've learned that a lotion bar needs to be softer (lower melt temp) than lip balm. I guess your lips are just a tad warmer than your legs? It does need to be in some sort of container - even a wax paper envelope would do. I would also suggest making a small batch. Nice think about these if that it doesn't work, just melt and add more stuff!

ETA - if you have pets they will want to eat the lotion bar!

 

[BrewerGeorge]

I like 'em a little harder for hands only. I use 1/3 butter(s) 1/3 soft oil and 1/3 beeswax. I package in pushup containers that hold an ounce, and one of those will typically last one person about 3 months (hands only).

The most recent batch was 1/3 mango butter, 1/3 sweet almond oil and 1/3 wax, plus a bit of VitE and some evening primrose extract.

 

[spiraleyesoap]

A friend makes lotion bars and puts them in dial-up deodorant containers. It prevents them from being really messy, and allows me to only use what I want! Her bars are shea, cocoa butter, & beeswax, and hold up pretty well, but do get softer in the warmer weather.

 

[amd]

A friend makes lotion bars and puts them in dial-up deodorant containers. It prevents them from being really messy, and allows me to only use what I want! Her bars are shea, cocoa butter, & beeswax, and hold up pretty well, but do get softer in the warmer weather.

OMG! Genius! I have some deoderant containers taking up shelf space. I'm putting them to use.

 

[Lin19687]

@amd Did these work for you ?

I am thinking of make some of these for a X-mas show as an add on to my table.

 

[shunt2011]

@amd Did these work for you ?

I am thinking of make some of these for a X-mas show as an add on to my table.

Not amd bit a good lotion bar recipe works great in roll up tubes. I use round 2 oz tubes from Elements. Must have missed this post.

 

[Lin19687]

So I just spent the last 2 hours looking for the tubes. Found on WSP is cheaper then elements by over $12 for a bunch of lip balm tubes and 2.5 oz twist tubes for lotion bars.

I don't want to use plastic wrap so the lotion bars would have to be in the tubes... easiest I think.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I like WSP 2.5 oz Dial-Up Lotion Bar Tubes (also good for DIY deodorant):
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/products/lotion-bar-deodorant-tube-white.aspx

 

[KimT2au]

ETA - if you have pets they will want to eat the lotion bar!

HUH!, not just the lotion bars, they eat soap as well if given half the chance. I am told it is the fat in the soap that attracts them. Ask me how I know; no, on second thoughts, don't ask me

 

[steffamarie]

When my cat starts farting bubbles, I'll know what happened XD