A few specific questions on lotion bars

[foalan2]

Hello everyone. I'm new to this and to this forum, so I apologize if I come off the wrong way or if this is the wrong category. I want to make lotion bars and I've done a good amount of research, but I'm coming up short on a few specific things.

I have an idea for what oils to use (grapeseed or sunflower oil) and wax (probably beeswax or lanolin possibly) but unsure what all options I have for solid fats. If there's a list somewhere of my options out there, I can't find one. I've seen tallow (! sounds cool), coconut oil, shea butter... and that's all I can remember. Is there a list somewhere of skin-safe fats I can use?

Also, do you need a humectant in these recipes? Most of the fat recommendations aren't humectants, but if they work fine then they work fine and I won't be stressed.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Hope Ann]

Hello everyone. I'm new to this and to this forum, so I apologize if I come off the wrong way or if this is the wrong category. I want to make lotion bars and I've done a good amount of research, but I'm coming up short on a few specific things.

I have an idea for what oils to use (grapeseed or sunflower oil) and wax (probably beeswax or lanolin possibly) but unsure what all options I have for solid fats. If there's a list somewhere of my options out there, I can't find one. I've seen tallow (! sounds cool), coconut oil, shea butter... and that's all I can remember. Is there a list somewhere of skin-safe fats I can use?

Also, do you need a humectant in these recipes? Most of the fat recommendations aren't humectants, but if they work fine then they work fine and I won't be stressed.

Thank you in advance!

Respectfully, I would suggest searching the forum for "lotion bar". There is already a wealth of information here including info you'll find useful but didn't know to ask yet. Do that first and then see what questions you still have. This will help you not waste ingredients.

FYI you cannot mix anhydrous and hydrous ingredients without an emulsifier. Most humectants are water based so you can't add to a lotion bar with only lipids and waxes. Also, lanolin is super sticky. While you might add a smidge, you'll want to use a different wax for the majority of it. Again, searching the forum will give you a ton of information on the different waxes as they're not made equal.

Hope

 

[foalan2]

FYI you cannot mix anhydrous and hydrous ingredients without an emulsifier. Most humectants are water based so you can't add to a lotion bar with only lipids and waxes. Also, lanolin is super sticky. While you might add a smidge, you'll want to use a different wax for the majority of it. Again, searching the forum will give you a ton of information on the different waxes as they're not made equal.

Hope

Thank you! I wondered why most recipes didn't seem to include a humectant. Didn't know they were mostly water-based. I meant to say "white or yellow beeswax," no idea why I put lanolin. I use that for my yarn, lol.

As for the search: I have searched the forums already, and I'll certainly continue. I was just wondering about more primary sources, so to speak. Not that I don't trust people here - I do - it's just easier for me to remember that way.

 

[Hope Ann]

Thank you! I wondered why most recipes didn't seem to include a humectant. Didn't know they were mostly water-based. I meant to say "white or yellow beeswax," no idea why I put lanolin. I use that for my yarn, lol.

As for the search: I have searched the forums already, and I'll certainly continue. I was just wondering about more primary sources, so to speak. Not that I don't trust people here - I do - it's just easier for me to remember that way.

Lanolin really is lovely though as it's so healing. If you use a smidge it will incorporate in. There is water based and oil based.

You can use anything you want, really. Two sources not on this forum:

Swift Crafty Monkey is an excellent blog. It's paid but the fee is nominal and she has a wealth of info on various ingredients as well as tons of recipes to get you started. In particular, she often has charts showing absorbancy and glide which are key to a great lotion bar.

The Power of the Seed is a great book ALL about carrier oils (liquid and butters). There is a FB group by the same name. She also offers a paid course if you want to geek out or get super serious about it.

One last thought. "Best" will depend on how sensitive you are to cost, what ingredients you have access to, ambient temperature (in summer you may need more wax or butters high in stearic), how oily/dry you want it, desired shelf life, etc.

If you want occlusiveness look at capucau butter, cocoa butter, jojoba wax, and Meadowfoam seed oils. There are also esters that help with that.

I'd suggest making TINY batches of no more than 30g and let them set a few days as they do change over time. You'll need a scale that weighs to tenths of grams - jewelers scale on Amazon is good. Use weight only for consistency, write everything down and label each batch, and keep notes. Don't rely on memory.

Is this what you were looking for?

Hope

 

[AliOop]

Hi @foalan2 and welcome! @Hope Ann has given you some great info there. I love making lotion bars with ⅓ wax, ⅓ soft oil, and ⅓ hard oil. My favorite hard oils are mango butter, cocoa butter, tucuma butter, and tallow. My favorite soft oils are jojoba, meadowfoam seed, argan, and grapeseed. I often mix a few different hard oils and soft oils to use up dribs and drabs of what I have around. Sometimes I add a bit of arrowroot starch to cut down on greasiness.

 

[Zing]

I use the same recipe as @AliOop . Also check out Soap Queen,

 

[foalan2]

Lanolin really is lovely though as it's so healing. If you use a smidge it will incorporate in. There is water based and oil based.
____
Is this what you were looking for?

Hope

That's perfect, thank you! That book seems to have good reviews, thank you. Thanks for the advice on the lanolin and measurements as well. I'm glad that lanolin incorperates well in small amounts, and I believe I own a scale like that already. Thanks!

 

[AliOop]

I use the same recipe as @AliOop . Also check out Soap Queen,

@Zing ACTUALLY means that I use the same recipe as HE does... because my recipe was different before, and I like his better.