# Why does handmade lotion feel dry.?



## silhouette (Mar 10, 2016)

Hi friends, 
Am still a newbie in lotion making,  I have made 3-4batches of lotion. My skin feels dry after an hour or so of applying  my lotion. 
My recipe is quite basic
Water,  oils,  small%of butter,  ewax,  preservative.  
What more should I add? Will adding glycerin or sodium lactate help??


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## cmzaha (Mar 10, 2016)

No one can help with a generic recipe. Different oils and butters will give a different feel to lotions. I am no expert, but I have a shelf full of trial batches. Emulsifiers also make a big difference in feel. Be sure you are using the proper percentage of preservative, I have known people to forget where the decimal goes when figuring out the preservative rate.


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## shunt2011 (Mar 10, 2016)

If you post your recipe and process we would be more able to help you out.  As Carolyn said it will depend on oils/butters/wax etc. used


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## silhouette (Mar 10, 2016)

Thanks for replying
My recipe
Water 80%
Ewax 3%
Cocoa butter 3%
Sesame oil 12%
Fragrance oil 1%
Preservative 1%


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## Arimara (Mar 10, 2016)

I think shea butter may help you or you could take away a little from the sesame oil and add olive oil for a little greasier feel. I would not be quick to suggest glycerin if you live in an area with dry air.


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## lenarenee (Mar 10, 2016)

I have the opposite view of glycerin use in dry environments. I make my own glycerin water spray because the humidity here can be in the single digits. It's the glycerin spray - even if used alone (with no lotion or body butter "holding" it in) that is the most effective for me. 

Supposedly the concern is the glycerin pulls the moisture from your body, causing a level of dehydration. But that's where a majority of the moisture for living skin cells comes from anyway.


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## Misschief (Mar 11, 2016)

The WSP website has an excellent pdf that has properties of oils and butters, including absorption rates. Using oils that absorb into the skin quickly will give you a lotion that feels drier sooner; using oils that take a long time to absorb will make a greasier lotion. Using a combination, you should be able to design a lotion that begins to absorb quickly but lasts longer on the skin. 

http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/education/calculators-charts.aspx

Scroll down to Fixed Oils & Butters Properties


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## dixiedragon (Mar 11, 2016)

I think a lot of homemade lotion recipes shoot for that "drier" feel because we want our lotion to absorb, rather than just sitting on the skin. Have you ever put on lotion, then washed your hands an hour later and all the lotion seems to come to the surface and wash away? Personally, I hate that. So I do go for a lotion that absorbs more quickly.


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## Dahila (Mar 11, 2016)

Hi 
YOu should have 4 % of ewax, add cetyl alcohol so you will get the glide. Humectant is required.  I do not like glycerin, it feel sticky to me.  I use Sodium lactate, and also in cool phase I use Honeyquat.  I use cocoa butter in lotion so it does occlude a bit, with the combination of Cetyl alcohol you could have a decent body lotion. It would be nice if you use combination of two oils. 
I sell a lot of facial creams due fast absorption 
adding olive oil makes it greasy,  oils do not moisturize, they create a barrier that will help with epidermal water loss.  You have 80% of water and that  should be good to go.  When you add cetyl, I like it 2% when I have butters in lotion.  3 % when just oil and water.  Cetyl will stabilize the lotion and change the feel of it) Good luck with your new passion


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## paillo (Mar 11, 2016)

My recipe is kinda crazy complicated but everyone who's tried it raves about it. I don't sell it, just for friends and family.

Yarrow tea, Aloe vera,  Mango
 & Shea butters, Olive Squalane, Oils 
of Apricot kernel, Abyssinian, 
Meadowfoam. Honeyquat, Panthenol, 
Wheat protein,  BTMS (plant-based emulsifier), 
Cetyl alcohol,  Stearic acic, Silk amino acids, 
Sodium lactate, Allantoin, Buckthorn extract, 
Vitamin E,  Sweet Orange essential oil, 
Neodefend  (organics-certified
 preservative )

Still using a 2-oz jar that's months old with no signs of mold, discoloration, separation, still great on my skin. Refrigerated the rest but don't want it to sit much longer, need to chuck and make new and give it away much faster.


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## Arimara (Mar 11, 2016)

lenarenee said:


> I have the opposite view of glycerin use in dry environments. I make my own glycerin water spray because the humidity here can be in the single digits. It's the glycerin spray - even if used alone (with no lotion or body butter "holding" it in) that is the most effective for me.
> 
> Supposedly the concern is the glycerin pulls the moisture from your body, causing a level of dehydration. But that's where a majority of the moisture for living skin cells comes from anyway.



Point taken but my experience has been the opposite. I just simply don't use it.


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## lenarenee (Mar 11, 2016)

Arimara said:


> Point taken but my experience has been the opposite. I just simply don't use it.



I sincerely hope you didn't think that was a criticism.  It was an incomplete way of saying: try glycerin and see if you like it.


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## IrishLass (Mar 11, 2016)

lenarenee said:


> I have the opposite view of glycerin use in dry environments. I make my own glycerin water spray because the humidity here can be in the single digits. It's the glycerin spray - even if used alone (with no lotion or body butter "holding" it in) that is the most effective for me.


 
It's the same for me, too. We often have long stretches of single-digit humidity throughout the year, and glycerin really helps my skin to feel hydrated.

*Edited to add*, I use glycerin in my favorite lotion @ 3%.


IrishLass


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## kumudini (Mar 11, 2016)

My first thought upon seeing your question, was the lotion designed for your skin? Meaning if your skin is dry like mine and we are barely coming out of winter, a 20% oil preparation probably won't be sufficient. Especially if there are no humectants in the recipe. I absolutely need glycerine for winter skin, which is why I put it even in my body butter. When I look at labels on lotions/ creams that worked for me, glycerine is the second ingredient which tells me there must be atleast some 5% of it in there, I might be wrong about the number but it's there and it is the reason why those lotions worked for me. So yeah, go ahead and use some glycerine and/or sodium lactate/ Honeyquat or what have you. May be increase your total oils percentage in the recipe. Sesame oil is good for the skin when you massage it in but I have no idea what it brings to a lotion. But I like Shea and cocoa butters and olive oil in mine. I'm planning to do a batch with lighter oils for warm weather, oils like rice bran, sunflower and sweet almond oil. I will post it on the forum when I do make it.


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## Dahila (Mar 11, 2016)

Paillo your lotion is awesome, but do you really need so many the most expensive oils in it, on the top of silk? I make a facial with abyssinian and a lot of other things mostly botanical and it is extremely good.  The one with silk i combined with hazelnut oil, Young people prefer it, I like it under the make up.  Sunflower is an awesome oil, so is Gmo free Soy oil; the last one absorbs beautifully


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## kcladi (Mar 11, 2016)

*Grape seed oil my go to*

I love using grape seed oil in body products... absorbs and softens my skin & not greasy.   I will use it in whipped butters, salt & sugar scrubs and just alone with a couple drops of eo.


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## Arimara (Mar 11, 2016)

lenarenee said:


> I sincerely hope you didn't think that was a criticism.  It was an incomplete way of saying: try glycerin and see if you like it.



On the contrary; it reminded me that some people fair better with glycerin regardless of region. I didn't mean to offend.


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## lenarenee (Mar 11, 2016)

Arimara said:


> On the contrary; it reminded me that some people fair better with glycerin regardless of region. I didn't mean to offend.



Oh no , no offense at all! Someone else greatly misinterpreted a comment I made, so I wanted to make sure you knew I wasn't criticizing.


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## Arimara (Mar 11, 2016)

lenarenee said:


> Oh no , no offense at all! Someone else greatly misinterpreted a comment I made, so I wanted to make sure you knew I wasn't criticizing.



When that happens, I usually back away, come back to the comment and reread it again before breaking the comment down to what it could have meant if the wording is ambiguous enough. We may be talking to one another but we're still not in a way- we can't read tones and the rises and falls of our voices as we're speaking.


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## lenarenee (Mar 11, 2016)

Arimara said:


> When that happens, I usually back away, come back to the comment and reread it again before breaking the comment down to what it could have meant if the wording is ambiguous enough. We may be talking to one another but we're still not in a way- we can't read tones and the rises and falls of our voices as we're speaking.


 
I know! There's more information in our voice tones and cadences than in the vocabulary!


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## WalterG (Mar 11, 2016)

I use glycerin at about 5%.  My house is so dry in the winter and it seems to help.  But i have learned not to use it before going to work.  I heat up too much and the glycerin and sweat don't play nice.
On a side note, I was selling at a fair last fall and had tester bottles.  A woman used one pump (2 cc) and needed a towel to wipe off all the excess... Goes to show that we're all different!


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## paillo (Mar 11, 2016)

Dahila said:


> Paillo your lotion is awesome, but do you really need so many the most expensive oils in it, on the top of silk? I make a facial with abyssinian and a lot of other things mostly botanical and it is extremely good.  The one with silk i combined with hazelnut oil, Young people prefer it, I like it under the make up.  Sunflower is an awesome oil, so is Gmo free Soy oil; the last one absorbs beautifully



Yeah, I need to pare that recipe way down, there are ingredients that are redundant and it's way too complicated, I get the heebeejeebies for days before planning a batch. I love hazelnut oil and sunflower as well, but have an unsubstantiated dislike of soy.  Wish I were a lotion person, if so I would have spent more time refining it.

My best feedback has been from a spinner friend. She loves my lotion bars and has tried numerous potions good for spinners, but says my lotion is the only thing she's tried that keeps her fingers from turning to sticky sandpaper.

Thanks for the feedback, I love that! I don't mind the spendy, not really in the biz for the money, mostly just the love of doing it


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## SplendorSoaps (Mar 11, 2016)

Misschief said:


> The WSP website has an excellent pdf that has properties of oils and butters, including absorption rates. Using oils that absorb into the skin quickly will give you a lotion that feels drier sooner; using oils that take a long time to absorb will make a greasier lotion. Using a combination, you should be able to design a lotion that begins to absorb quickly but lasts longer on the skin.
> 
> http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/education/calculators-charts.aspx
> 
> Scroll down to Fixed Oils & Butters Properties



This is so helpful! I order from WSP all the time and can't believe that I've never explored all of their charts before. I guess I got blinded by all of those FOs.  Thanks for sharing this!


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## silhouette (Mar 12, 2016)

Thank you all you wonderful people for replying


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