Lotion Bars

[Sunny]

Will a lotion bar ever truly feel like a lotion, or will it always be a little bit oily and greasy?

Just wondering if I am doing something wrong - I made some with what I hand on hand:

coconut oil
mango butter
avocado oil
beeswax

(equal parts of each)

and then it was greasy so I added a little cornstarch, and it's still oily. Should I add more until it leaves a powdery feeling on my hands?

I've never used one made by anyone else

 

[sajupillo19]

Most of the lotions I used, were oily and I felt bad while applying them. At that moment I think creams are much better than lotions.

spammy link deleted - the mod team

 

[carebear]

since solid lotions are made only of oily things (oils & butters - with some beeswax to stiffen it), they are going to be oily. you can decrease this somewhat with your selection of oils (fractionated coconut oil absorbs quickly, so does jojoba, so those can help) or with some additives (I like a bit of isopropyl myristate, some use cornstarch) - but they aren't like lotions or creams.

 

[Sunny]

okay! I figured as much, thanks for answering.

 

[honor435]

I think lotion bars are awesome, they are kinda oily though, but great for dry areas! I use:
shea, beeswax, almond oil, equal amts.

 

[Sunny]

Yeah lotion bars aren't for me as a regular thing but I could see myself using them in the winter. I just can't stand that oily, heavy feeling. I do know people who would love them though.

 

[carebear]

mememememe

 

[AudreeCn]

I know this is coming back late, but I would halve the coconut oil and mango butter, so that the weight of the coconut oil and mango butter were equal to the weight of the beeswax and oil.

The recipe that I found to work the best is 1 part "hard" oil (that would be your coconut oil and mango butter) to 1 part "soft" oil (any oil that is liquid at room temp.) to 1 part beeswax or emulsifying wax.

 

[Sunny]

I think I needed to maybe use different oils I'm going to try again after I order some things.

 

[janex]

I don't know how to make Lotion Bars, but I do know that http://www.letsgetsoapy.co.uk does massage bars that are full of essential oils, cocoa and shea butter and bees wax

 

[OLPamPam]

Grapeseed oil is another oil that absorbs quickly. I've never tried with ewax, but that would make it less greasy than the beeswax. I like the coconut oil idea too, as it seems to be less greasy.

 

[Sunny]

Well I wanted to update this and say I made a successful lotion bar that I have been using for this dry fall air already... and I found cocoa butter to be very helpful in getting a good, hard bar that is similar in texture to Lush's massage bars. It does leave behind a chocolate smell if you don't get deodorized though!

 

[PrairieCraft]

I love the chocolate smell from the unrefined cocoa butter, it works with a complementary FO like almond or vanilla for a little extra oomph.

Big, big fan of lotion bars. I hate lotion, it feels yucky. Before discovering lotion bars I would just melt a little coconut oil in my hand to use. Lotion bars are waaay better than that mess.

 

[BakingNana]

I love the chocolate smell from the unrefined cocoa butter, it works with a complementary FO like almond or vanilla for a little extra oomph.

Big, big fan of lotion bars. I hate lotion, it feels yucky. Before discovering lotion bars I would just melt a little coconut oil in my hand to use. Lotion bars are waaay better than that mess.

You and me both. Regular lotion feels creepy to me. I love my lotion bars. I find with either almond or rice bran oil, the greasy feeling disappears completely in about a minute. Soaks right in. I use beeswax, cocoa butter, shea, and either almond or rice bran oil. I keep a lotion stick on my nightstand to slather on my heals after I'm in bed. Completely healed the nasty cracks I had earlier in the summer.