Help with my massage bar recipe

This was originally a lip balm recipe, but after applying it to my arm found it lovely as a massage bar, it went on quite greasy, but rubbed in nicely soaking into my skin quickly with no stickiness. Only prob is is very very soft, also I'm running out of mango and avocado oil. Are there any other oil combinations I could use, that would work the same. Should I add more bees wax or cocoa butter for hardness.

1/2 Tbsp Bees wax (I added an extra tsp but still soft)
1/2 Tbsp mango Butter
1 Tbsp Avocado oil
3/4 tsp Jojoba oil
3/4 tsp Caster oil

Would really appreciate any help

Debbie:-?

I use 1/3 hard oils, 1/3 beeswax and 1/3 soft oils for lotion bars..

"...Are there any other oil combinations I could use..."

A good place to start is to look in your cupboards. What oils do you have on hand in your lotion-making stash and your kitchen that you could use in this recipe?

I will try the 1/3 of each

Would shea and mango come into hard oils, I know cocoa butter would, and where would coconut be would it be soft oils, I presume by soft oils you mean liquid.

I have Shea, cocoa butter, coconut oil, jojoba, almond, grape seed, wheat germ,

I found when I made a recipe wish cocoa, she, bees wax and jojoba, it left a bit sticky on my skin took ages to soak in

I used. 10g bees wax
10g jojoba
5g Shea
5g cocoa Butter

Thanks Debbie

Yes, shea, cocoa and mango I would consider hard oils, Coconut, avocado, almond, olive, argan, meadowfoam seed etx are all soft oils. You can always remelt it down once you make them to adjust the hardness/softness if you want. You just need to work with it until you are happy with how if performs.

You said you have mango, shea, cocoa, avocado, castor, coconut, jojoba, almond, grape seed, wheat germ...

Butters --
Greasy vs. dry: Mango butter is a dry feeling butter. Shea butter is definitely greasier. Cocoa butter is in the middle, in my opinion.
Firmness: Cocoa butter will give the firmest product. Mango will be medium, and shea the softest.

Liquid oils --
Lighter, more absorbent: Coconut, jojoba, grapeseed
Greasier, less absorbent: Almond, avocado, castor, wheatgerm

A lip balm needs to be firm and "dry" enough to be packaged in a twist-up tube, not melt in the pocket, and coat the lips with a long-lasting protective barrier. I'd say the typical lip balm would not work well as a massage bar -- it will be too firm and feel too sticky and draggy. You are going to have to find a balance between "firm enough" to remain in a bar form and "soft enough" to glide nicely over the skin, melting just enough with body heat. That will take some experimenting.

If you want a softer product that is not overly sticky or greasy, go lower on the beeswax and try increasing the butters. I would use mostly cocoa butter and maybe the last of your mango butter, if you have any left. I might not use any shea or I would keep it to a small percentage of the butters. With a cocoa butter base for your massage bar, you might find you won't need any beeswax at all.

To keep the product as light as possible, the main liquid oils should be one or two of the "lighter" oils listed above. I'm fond of coconut and jojoba -- grapeseed has too short of a shelf life for me. You could use a bit of the heavier oils to add some "glide" to your product. Of the heavier oils you have on hand, I would probably use a bit of almond or avocado. Castor is a humectant (attracts water) and can feel sticky. Wheatgerm does not have a long enough shelf life.

As always, there are a bazillion recipes that would make a nice massage bar. I'm just tossing out some ideas to spark your creativity. I'm sure there are other suggestions equally as good, so YMMV and all that. I hope this helps!

Thank you very much DeeAnna, that's very helpful, I will have a play around to see what I like

Debbie

Ok so had a play with recipes today

This went on quite oily, but soaked into my skin quickly, I liked this one


1/2 Tbsp bees wax
1/2 Tbsp Cocoa Butter
1/2 Tbsp mango butter
1/2 tsp Shea butter
1/2 tsp Jojoba oil
1/2 tsp Avocado oil

Next :-

5g bees wax
5g Cocoa Butter
5g Mango Butter
5g Jojoba oil
5g Avocado oil

This was a bit sticky

Next One:-

10 g Bees wax
10g cocoa butter
10g Shea Butter
15g sweet Almond oil
5g avocado oil

Didn't like this, was quite heavy and thick

Think I will try one more with cocoa butter, bees wax, mango coconut oil and jojoba, see how I like it.

I would have guessed the avocado/almond combo would be a little too heavy for my preference. Jojoba is always a nice choice for lightening up an oil blend when I make products like this.

Kudos to you for taking the time to experiment and learn about the skin feel of different oils. I think you are well on the road to creating a lovely massage bar!

Tweaking recipe

Ok so I've got a recipe that i love.. One problem its to soft i know that i need to increase the hard butter n bees wax n decrees the liquid oil, but not sure which to do as don't want it to be sticky n waxey.

My recipe

15g cocoa butter
5g Mango butter
3g Each Jojoba, coconut, avacado
2.5 bees wax

Thanks Debbie

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