Lotion making newbie. Probably shopped too early.

[Suzie]

Hello there!

So, I want to start making body lotions, and yesterday, I went to Hobby Lobby, and bought some things. Two of those things, are a Body Lotion Base, and Glycerin.
Now, I'm wondering..should I take these back to the store...or keep them?

I'm not sure if there are any Wiccans and/or Pagans on this board, but I'm looking to have my lotions used for magical purposes as well as moisturize. I have a recipe book for magical lotions, and some of them use 3 to 4 essential oils, I'm also wondering, how many do you use and where do you typically get any of your essential oils(magic or non-magic) and just...how is this whole thing done!? Help!!

TIA!

 

[pamielynn]

As a pagan and a human, I wouldn't use the base from Hobby Lobby - with study and experimentation you can make something much better than that stuff. If you really want to make lotions, I would suggest putting in some time here: http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/. Search down the right side of the page for her lotion tutorial.

 

[Obsidian]

There are a few different ways to make lotion. The easiest is to buy a pre made base and add your scents/additives to customize it. The stuff from hobby lobby isn't bad but you might like this one better.
http://www.brambleberry.com/Aloe-Lotion-Base-P5584.aspx . You can also find essential oils from the same website or any soap making supply website.

The other option is to buy all the ingredients to make your own base. This it a lot more complicated and time consuming then just buying the pre made base. The only reason I make my own lotion is because I want to control what oils I use and what type of preservative is in it.

 

[Suzie]

As a pagan and a human, I wouldn't use the base from Hobby Lobby - with study and experimentation you can make something much better than that stuff. If you really want to make lotions, I would suggest putting in some time here: http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/. Search down the right side of the page for her lotion tutorial.

Oh wow! Thank you for that blog! I just looked up the tutorial, it looks a little complicated, but it looks kind of fun! I love trying new things. Again, thank you.

Now the fun part of looking for supplies begins. :3

 

[Mellifera]

Rather than start with a lotion, maybe start with an anhydrous balm or whipped butter? They're really nice and don't require a preservative, and essential oils mix in nicely, with no worry an emulsion separating (and therefore wasting those expensive EOs...).

 

[Aline]

http://www.brambleberry.com/Aloe-Lotion-Base-P5584.aspx .

Obsidian, somehow you linked to www.aywas.com (even though the text says BrambleBerry.com).

How did that happen??!

 

[seven]

making your own lotion from scratch is not as complicated as one might think. you can start with a simple one that requires only oils, eo/fo, emulsifier (e-wax is pretty easy to get), and a preservative. swift's blog is a godsend, along with lotioncrafter which has some excellent recipes for free.

i personally dont like whipped body butter on its own. too heavy, too greasy for my taste. it's a great starting point to learn about lotion making tho. no preservative needed.

 

[dixiedragon]

Many places such as Brambleberry sell lotion kits that contain everything, as well as instructions. That is a good place to start. What essential oils do you want to use? If you are ordering ingredients, you should probably order your EOs from the same place, unless you already have them.

 

[Suzie]

making your own lotion from scratch is not as complicated as one might think. you can start with a simple one that requires only oils, eo/fo, emulsifier (e-wax is pretty easy to get), and a preservative. swift's blog is a godsend, along with lotioncrafter which has some excellent recipes for free.

i personally dont like whipped body butter on its own. too heavy, too greasy for my taste. it's a great starting point to learn about lotion making tho. no preservative needed.

Yeah, once I finally read over the instructions, it didn't look that complicated. I have most of the equipment, now I just need the ingredients.
I do love swift's blog, it's so easy to navigate and I found those tutorials easily.

 

[Suzie]

Many places such as Brambleberry sell lotion kits that contain everything, as well as instructions. That is a good place to start. What essential oils do you want to use? If you are ordering ingredients, you should probably order your EOs from the same place, unless you already have them.

I'm not really sure on the oils. Are there any that you recommend?
The recipes I have in the book that I bought, only list the oils.

Ex: Study Oil
4 drops rosemary oil
4 drops basil oil
2 drops grapefruit

Should I wait until I get better with making lotion before I delve into the recipes?
There's a shop on Etsy that I'm looking at that has really good reviews, and has a lot of essential oils, and good reviews.