Hi there, I'm new to this forum however, i am pretty educate on bath butters ad lotions and can tell you honestly that spending money on body butter bases and lotion bases is incredibly expensive over a period of time and is just not worth it. Making lotions and body butters is easier than making melt and pour soap and sugar scrubs actually!
To make lotion simply combine an equal amount of water and oils of your choice in a bowl and warm them up. Then in a separate bowl warm up liquid licithin and e-wax. While the oil and water mixture is still warm combine the hot licithin, and e-wax mixture with the oil and water mixture and blend with a
stick blender. The end result will be a watery whitish looking combination. Allow the mixture to set for a few minutes (maybe 30 minutes or so) and voila! You've got lotion!
Here is a simple recipe to start you off.
Part A: 1/2 cup soybean oil
1/2 cup water
Part B: 1 tsp of liquid licithin
2 tbsp of e-wax
You can add vitamin E, and essential oils to preserve the lotion. Keep in mind that anything with water can spoil quite quickly, so what I usually do is invest in a TONER base (for the skin) as a replacement for water. That way I get the benefits of a pre-made toner without having to add a preservative. After you make your lotion, if you find your lotion not conditioning enough, you can add more oil to your lotion and then add polysorbate 20 (emulsifier aka: product life saver
) when the mixture separates.
As for body butters you can just warm mango butter, shea butter, and evening primrose oil in a bowl and allow it to set. Then whip it well and you have your own body butter! The only thing that is time consuming, IMO is cp soap. So if I were you I would simply invest in mp soap, a toner base for the skin and essential oils, liquid licithin, carrier oils, polysorbate 20, and e-wax. That's really all you need. Some people make lotion sound so difficult to make but it is actually VERY easy. You can send me a message if you need any further assistance I would be happy to help you out. Also, a good thickener is arrowroot and structure xL if you prefer your lotion to be thicker.
PS: I don't think people generally care whether you are using a lotion or body butter base to make their products, however, it's not something that you HAVE to tell them (and I personally wouldn't). People buy from you out of convenience and because they don't know that you can purchase a lotion base in bulk (if they did they would just buy the lotion in bulk instead of purchasing from you).
UPDATE: As I believe I've stated before, lotion making is not as nearly as difficult as it is made out to be. So please do not be discouraged. Just for clarification...my instructions were in reference to the actual
formulation of a lotion, which is why I didn't include hair net, gloves ect. As far as preserving a product is concerned vitamin E, rosemary, and grapefruit seed extract (for example) HAVE been found to prolong the shelf life of products (which was what my statement was in regard to) and many product lines that are sold in stores use these as preservatives as well as utilizing the antimicrobial benefits of essential oils, though I did mention that I personally use a toner base so I don't have to worry about water (though I do add phenoxethanol, which is just my own personal preference). In fact, I can list a plethora of organic product lines sold in Whole Food stores that refrain from using typical chemical preservatives in favor of a combination of natural antimicrobials and antioxidants. There has even been talk of these natural alternatives being used in food in replacement of chemical based preservatives. So to be clear I am not discouraging your use of a preservative or telling you NOT to use a preservative...I'm telling you what can be an alternative. There ARE alternatives, btw. So yes, you can actually use vitamin E and certain essential oils, but I suggest you use a toner base if you do not want to worry about water yourself.
I've been making lotions for years now and have never had an issue with bacteria growth, but I've noticed that no one else has offered step by step instructions, so by all means if anyone has better tips feel free to post instead of critiquing what has worked just fine for me.
AshleyR: You can use a preservative of your choice however, many people are skeptical of many preservatives used in products which is why it is best for you to find a natural alternative so you wont prevent certain people from purchasing from you..so yes, research is key...but making a product is not as difficult, tedious, or "scary" as some people may make it seem.
AshleyR said:
I'm thinking I may just order some lotion, body butter, and lip balm bases. I'm just getting into soapmaking and don't want to overwhelm myself too much by trying to make everything all at once, so I think bases would be easier for me to work with right now.
Does anyone else here use bath and body bases? Do you sell your products that are made from them?
I'm hoping by next year around this time I can maybe set up at my local craft show. I'm going to focus mainly on soap, but may have a little b&b stuff too. Do people care if you use bases when they're buying from you?
