# Lotion bars, that simple?



## ItsForrest (Apr 22, 2018)

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?


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## Lin19687 (Apr 22, 2018)

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.


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## DeeAnna (Apr 22, 2018)

_


ItsForrest said:



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

_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.


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## earlene (Apr 22, 2018)

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_.


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## lenarenee (Apr 22, 2018)

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.


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## Zany_in_CO (Apr 22, 2018)

ItsForrest said:


> ...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.


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## Eepa (Apr 23, 2018)

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


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## SoaperForLife (Apr 23, 2018)

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.


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## Eepa (Apr 23, 2018)

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


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## ItsForrest (Apr 23, 2018)

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.


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## dixiedragon (Apr 23, 2018)

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!


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## BrewerGeorge (Apr 23, 2018)

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.


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## spiraleyesoap (Apr 24, 2018)

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.


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## amd (Apr 24, 2018)

spiraleyesoap said:


> 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.


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## Lin19687 (Oct 7, 2018)

@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.


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## shunt2011 (Oct 7, 2018)

Lin19687 said:


> @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.


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## Lin19687 (Oct 7, 2018)

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.


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## Zany_in_CO (Oct 7, 2018)

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


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## KimT2au (Oct 8, 2018)

dixiedragon said:


> 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


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## steffamarie (Oct 8, 2018)

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


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## Lin19687 (Oct 8, 2018)

steffamarie said:


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


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## SideDoorSoaps (Oct 8, 2018)

I made that exact recipe and I found it to be a bit draggy on my skin from the beeswax. So I ended up adding some avocado oil, everything at equal parts and made the bar a bit softer to handle. I poured mine into the little dollar store containers. I had some tins as well that people loved but I didn’t like I couldn’t pop the bar out and had to dip my fingers in. The push-up tubes worked great as well but I found a bit big to stick in my pocket and purse.


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## MKLonestar (Oct 9, 2018)

I add 2 Tbsp non-nano Zinc Oxide to mine to make sunscreen bars. The Zinc Oxide is not added until after the butters and oils are melted and removed from the heat and then it is stirred in with the fragrance making sure to get it's all well incorporated. I then pour it all into individual silicone molds until hardened and then put in individual 3 oz containers. This sunscreen lotion bar also works great in the lotion bar tubes.


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## shunt2011 (Oct 9, 2018)

MKLonestar said:


> I add 2 Tbsp non-nano Zinc Oxide to mine to make sunscreen bars. The Zinc Oxide is not added until after the butters and oils are melted and removed from the heat and then it is stirred in with the fragrance making sure to get it's all well incorporated. I then pour it all into individual silicone molds until hardened and then put in individual 3 oz containers. This sunscreen lotion bar also works great in the lotion bar tubes.


That's great but I would never sell anything as sunscreen.  My insurance would probably void my policy. I don't think I'd trust it for personal use even.  Not worth the risk since I can't test how much sun it will screen.


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## MKLonestar (Oct 9, 2018)

shunt2011 said:


> That's great but I would never sell anything as sunscreen. My insurance would probably void my policy. I don't think I'd trust it for personal use even. Not worth the risk since I can't test how much sun it will screen.



No, I would NEVER sell as sunscreen. My husband uses it as sunscreen since he burns so easily and has had no burning since he started using it. I started making it specifically for him because we spent so much time at the coast and I didn't want him to continue to use the commercial sunscreens due to all the ingredients I knew nothing about. Now that we live at the coast, these bars get a lot of use and I feel more confident about what is going on his skin and soaking into his pores.

Honestly, it would be nice if the FDA and our insurance companies would let us sell these as sunscreen, but I fully understand their points, so I would never put myself in a position to be in violation of either one. I haven't even shared them with family or friends.


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## Fargood (Oct 10, 2018)

I live in North Dakota in a very rural area; thusly, I have access to about a bazillion pounds of beeswax. I started making lotion bars just to try to get rid of the 50+ pounds of beeswax I have on hand.  I have tested three different recipes and I've found the hard part is getting the ratio right for consistency.  And, I also *hate* the smell of cocoa butter, so the first two batches I had to give away because of the smell.  I'm still trying to get it right and still haven't gotten it perfect.  If I perfect the recipe, I'll definitely share it.


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## amd (Oct 10, 2018)

Lin19687 said:


> @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.



I've never gotten around to making them. It's on my to do list when my lotion stash gets low. (I need an intervention. I hoard soap and lotion. Seriously, I have a enough of both for the next decade...) I didn't have any regular customers interested in them, so they will be a personal use item only.

Hey @Fargood where in ND are you? I'm in NE South Dakota.


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## MKLonestar (Oct 10, 2018)

amd said:


> I need an intervention. I hoard soap and lotion. Seriously, I have a enough of both for the next decade...



amd,  how many of us do this?, probably a ton! I not only hoard my own soaps and lotions, but I buy from others and hoard theirs! My husband was laughing at me when we packed to move and made a wise crack that between what I have kept of what I have made and what I have bought from others, I have enough to stock a couple homeless shelters for a couple of months. This doesn't even include all those soaps, lotions, and shampoos from hotels that I have collected over the years! I am seriously glad to know that I am not the only one who hoards this stuff. Oh, and I have a 5lb loaf of soap waiting to be cut!


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## Fargood (Oct 10, 2018)

amd said:


> I've never gotten around to making them. It's on my to do list when my lotion stash gets low. (I need an intervention. I hoard soap and lotion. Seriously, I have a enough of both for the next decade...) I didn't have any regular customers interested in them, so they will be a personal use item only.
> 
> Hey @Fargood where in ND are you? I'm in NE South Dakota.


I live waaaaay up in the hinterlands in Bottineau, ND.  No body lives by us. Lol.  My kids and husband are heading down to the Black Hills next week for a quick trip.  We travel quite a bit because our kids ski race all over the country and Canada.


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## amd (Oct 10, 2018)

@MKLonestar glad I'm not alone! My husband thinks there's something wrong with me. Two of my soaper friends think that I've lost my mind. I know there are a few members who complain that family or friends will buy them other people's soap for gifts, but I get excited when people give me soap. "What's different about this soap? What's in it? Will I like it? Will my customers like it?" Or just to get fragrances that I love but my customers wouldn't buy. I sorted out my stoap stash, there were several that had gone bad, including some of my own that I had been saving for the day that I would finally get my own blog so that I could post pictures of what bad soap looks like. Right now I have two boxes, one with my soaps and the other with other people's soaps, and one plastic bin (not pictured) that I've moved to the bathroom as the "next in line".

@Fargood Oh yes! you are up north aways! I'm in Watertown, SD but my husband and I go to Fargo quite a few times a year (I was kind of hoping your username was representative of where you live Fargo-od, lol). I have one soaping friend in Fargo, so it would be fun to add to our little group.


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## Lin19687 (Oct 10, 2018)

Thanks @amd  I think I will skip it and just do Whipped Shea.  I already have the jars


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