# Need help with body lotion recipe



## alexia11 (Jul 28, 2010)

Hi Everyone, I hope someone can help, I am new and very eager to make my first boby lotion!
I used the following ingredients:
- Beewax
- aloe vera
- coconut oil
- Jojoba oil
- rosehip oil
- glycerin
- essential oil of jasmin and bergamot.

I melted all those ingredients in a double pan, then whipped it with a whipper but he problem is that I cannot make all those ingredients turn into a cream, (white like a body cream), the ingredients when cooling down do not have the texture of a cream but more of a wax...

What am i missing here?!
Do I NEED to add borax or lanolin? 
Is there anything I am not doing correctly.

Please help!!!
Thx you !


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## Lindy (Jul 28, 2010)

You need an emulsifying wax.  Your water/liquid should be about 75% of your recipe ~ E-Wax - 5% ~ Preservative - recommended rate (Optiphen is 1.5% and Germall Plus is .5%) ~ Oils about 15 - 20% - you can use Stearic Acid at up to 5% as well.  The rest is playing but if you use milk or goat's milk it should not be over 12% of the recipe or your preservative will not hold.  When making something for a baby keep in mind that babies under 3 months should not have essential oils as their system has a hard time dealing with it......

HTH


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## alexia11 (Jul 28, 2010)

Thank you very much Lindy for your reply. do you know where I can buy emusifying wax? Is beewax not the same? 
Regarding the liquid rate of 75%, do you mean liquid by water or aloe vera?(or both)
Once all the ingredient are melted, do I need whip it by hand or with a whipper.
Sorry for the dumb questions...


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## Lindy (Jul 28, 2010)

Not a dumb question at all.  Beeswax is not an emulsifier but rather a thickener.  You can buy EWax from any of the soap supply houses and they do have it listed as ewax.  When I say liquid I am referring to water/aloe vera extract/milk although milk should never, ever be used at more than 12% since your preservative won't be able to hold it at a higher percentage.

An emulsifier is what gets water and oil to come together and there are different types of emulsification.  Oil in water (which is what a lotion is) is where oil becomes suspended in water and water in oil (think of an emulsified sugar scrub - thick) where the water is suspended in the oil.  Beeswax is great if you want to make something like an ointment or salve which would be just oils and beeswax with perhaps some essential oils.

When I have everything combined I use my stickblender on it to get it to come together nicely.  Be aware that you will need to stir it again 24 hours later as it will separate a little bit as it settles so don't' panic if you see that happen.  I tend to bottle mine right away because it's easier to pour then so I just shake it for the next couple of days.  Also it will take 24 hours to come to it's full "body" (thickness) so again don't panic because it's not thick right away.....

I'm glad to help and I hope this helps you...


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## alexia11 (Jul 28, 2010)

thanks so much for the reply, very very helpful!
I am going to need to use that beewax I bought, do you have any recipe of salve then? 
Regarding the ewax, ill try to find it but I was wondering if this is all natural? I do not want to add any chemical crap in my lotion...;-)


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## Lindy (Jul 28, 2010)

Here's the info on E-Wax

_*Emulsifying Wax (E-Wax)   

INCI: Emulsifying Wax NF. Polawax Equivalent. Vegetable Derived. An economical emulsifying wax which produces very stable emulsions in creams & lotions. E-Wax enables oils and butters to be easily emulsified with water to create a wide variety of personal care products. Can be used in any recipe that calls for an emulsifying wax.*_

You are going to have to use some chemicals because you must use a preservative.

As for a salve use 95% oils/butters and 5% beeswax.  I also use Beeswax in my lip balms which are 1/3 wax - 1/3 butters - 1/3 soft oils....

Glad to have been able to help....


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## AZ Soaper (Jul 28, 2010)

Look at Snow Drift Farms web site- www.snowdriftfarm.com. They have a GREAT Lotionmaking 101.


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## PrairieCraft (Jul 29, 2010)

I just made some lotion bars with beeswax and love them.  They would definitely use up a lot of your beeswax.  I just made one of shea, grapeseed oil and beeswax in equal parts and a different one with cocoa butter, almond oil, and beeswax.  Also, threw in some FO.  The recipes I have seen are  1:1:1 hard oil, soft oil, beeswax.


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## alexia11 (Sep 30, 2010)

*thanks for your help*

I have come a long since I posted this. The reason why it was not working is because i was whipping (with an electric whip) while the double boiler was still in the heat..then the liquid could not cool...doh!! so simpel thing, once the ingredients have melted, take it off the heat and start mixing...
Since then, I have made many body lotion, face cream with beeswax and totally love it. I'm addicted... thanks again!


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## justjen (Oct 1, 2010)

Did  you ever end up using an Ewax?

I have a ton of bee's wax and coconut oil and olive oil and was wanting to try a basic lotion with the ingredients I have

What would you suggest I do?


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## Mayren (Oct 2, 2010)

Quick Tip from a beginner Lotion crafter (Me)

Optiphen is a great preservative in general but 
can be difficult to deal with when making your
first lotions.  I would highly reccommend liquid Germall plus.
It's very stable and very low usage % and available
in tons of the online supply stores.

Optiphen tends to break down your emulsions and
that's heartbreaking when first starting out...
don't ask how i know... lol


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## dubnica (Oct 2, 2010)

Mayren said:
			
		

> Quick Tip from a beginner Lotion crafter (Me)
> 
> Optiphen is a great preservative in general but
> can be difficult to deal with when making your
> ...



This is exactly what happened to me tonight. I was making my first sugar scrab and it looked so nice till I added the Optiphen....grrr......I think I better order Germal Plus..darn  :evil:


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