Lotion Recipe

[vedwards]

Okay, I'm looking for some help!

I've been trying to make a lotion that I like for the last three years. I've found things that work, but they are so heavy I can't wear them except at night. So, does anyone have a recipe they'd be willing to share for something light that is more the consistency of a bath and Body Works lotion? The body butters do great things for my skin, but I hate the way they take FOREVER to absorb. I'm just tired of wasting supplies on something I don't like.

I'd be very grateful for any help I can get!

Edited to add: I've got a recipe that whips shea butter with sw. Almond oil, and I'm going to try that, but I'm afraid it will still be really heavy. Anyone have opinions on that too?

 

[kchaystack]

Have you looked at http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/?

shea butter and almond oil is not a lotion. It is a body butter.

A lotion is an emulsified mix of oils and water. You have to use some kind of emulsifying agent and a preservative.

What kind of recipes have you tried? What emulsifiers?

 

[vedwards]

I guess I'm looking for a body butter that just isn't so greasy and absorbs relatively quickly. In my head, I clump them all in the same place. I'm trying to stay away from the emulsifiers and preservatives, as I've had a lot of skin issues and the stuff w/o that sort of thing is what helps most.

But I'll check out the website - thanks!!!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Do you use any grease-fighting ingredients, like corn starch?

 

[kchaystack]

She has all things bath and body.

But from what I have seen, all body butters are going to be fairly greasy. You can try adding some IMP to up absorption (I believe that is a oil soluble substance), and use oils that are not as heavy. Off the top of my head grapeseed and meadowfoam are what come to mind. But I might be wrong.

 

[vedwards]

I haven't tried cornstarch yet. Almost all the recipes have been playing with the oils and butters. I tried whipping the last one, but the recipe wasn't the best for it, and it didn't work. I'm hoping the shea butter recipe will whip better and possibly be lighter.

 

[vedwards]

She has all things bath and body.

But from what I have seen, all body butters are going to be fairly greasy. You can try adding some IMP to up absorption (I believe that is a oil soluble substance), and use oils that are not as heavy. Off the top of my head grapeseed and meadowfoam are what come to mind. But I might be wrong.

I will look them up and give it a try! Thanks.

 

[cmzaha]

You are not going to get a light feeling lotion with butters and oils. As kchaystack mentioned, lotion is emulsified and it is the only way to get a light feeling lotion. I am working on a nice spray lotion which is very light, but very tricky to make. Making a lotion with 75% water will help give a light lotion using no butters. One of my emulsified butters that is designed as a massage lotion absorbs very well and uses 2.5% cocobutter, 1% dimethicone, IPM and a dry feeling oil such as macadamia, or FCO with 71% water.

I was to slow with my answer, IPM is a synthetic very dry feeling oil that will help with absorption. Grapeseed oil is considered an astringent oil but has a very short shelf life, I would go with FCO that lasts a very long time. I am not a whipped butter person since I just do not like greasy feeling butters, even my emulsified is not my favorite. Love my spray lotion but it is tricky to make. Susan from swiftcraftymonkey does has an oil free moisturizing spray on her blog if I remember correctly

 

[vedwards]

You are not going to get a light feeling lotion with butters and oils. As kchaystack mentioned, lotion is emulsified and it is the only way to get a light feeling lotion. I am working on a nice spray lotion which is very light, but very tricky to make. Making a lotion with 75% water will help give a light lotion using no butters. One of my emulsified butters that is designed as a massage lotion absorbs very well and uses 2.5% cocobutter, 1% dimethicone, IPM and a dry feeling oil such as macadamia, or FCO with 71% water.

I was to slow with my answer, IPM is a synthetic very dry feeling oil that will help with absorption. Grapeseed oil is considered an astringent oil but has a very short shelf life, I would go with FCO that lasts a very long time. I am not a whipped butter person since I just do not like greasy feeling butters, even my emulsified is not my favorite. Love my spray lotion but it is tricky to make. Susan from swiftcraftymonkey does has an oil free moisturizing spray on her blog if I remember correctly

Okay. Thank you! I appreciate the information!!!

 

[shunt2011]

I agree with the others who state that what you are making (butters/oil) will never be non greasy or sink in quickly. Only a true lotion will give you what your are looking for. I do use IPM in my Whipped Shea Body Butter and it does help with the greasy feeling quite a bit

 

[vedwards]

I agree with the others who state that what you are making (butters/oil) will never be non greasy or sink in quickly. Only a true lotion will give you what your are looking for. I do use IPM in my Whipped Shea Body Butter and it does help with the greasy feeling quite a bit

Okay. to go back through ft Monkey's blog and back to the drawing board!

 

[DeeAnna]

Here are some general guidelines that I used when first learning to make a lotion I liked:

... ... ... ... ... ... Water ... Liquid oil ... Oil texture ... Solid oil ... Consistency
Facial moisturizer ... ... 80-90% ... 5-15% ... light ... ... ... 0% ... Light lotion w premium ingred.
Light lotion ... ... ... ... 80% ... 5-15% ... light ... ... ... 0% ... ... Easily absorbed
Regular lotion ... ... ... 70% ... 15-20% ... light-med ... 0-5% ... ... Pourable. Texture varies
Butter ... ... ... ... ... 50-65% ... 10-15% ... med-heavy ... 5-10% ... Not pourable, glidy
Cream ... ... ... ... ... 50-65% ... 10-15% ... heavy ... 5-10% ... ... Not pourable, sticky

In the liquid oil category, I might also include fats that are often solid, but melt at or below warmish room temperatures, such as babassu and coconut oil, but I generally stick with the truly liquid oils.

If you want a lighter lotion, I'd be looking at the "light lotion" or "regular lotion" categories and I would choose oils that are dry feeling and/or absorb into the skin quickly. My personal favorite basic recipe for a "regular" lotion is this:

Meadowfoam oil 9% (subs would include rice bran oil, fractionated coconut oil)
Babassu oil 6% (subs: coconut oil, lard, tallow, cocoa butter, mango butter)
Emulsifying wax (e-wax) 3.5%
Cetyl alcohol 2%
Preservative at its recommended rate (I use Liquid Germall Plus at 0.5%)
Fragrance 1%
Distilled water sufficient to make 100% (water is about 80% of this basic recipe)

If I wanted the lotion to be similar in skin feel but lighter and faster absorbing, I'd reduce the ingredients in proportion to each other, until the water makes up about 85% of the recipe.

This recipe can be dressed up by adding one or more additives. Some ideas include a humectant such as glycerin or Honequat (2%), calendula extract (3%), panthenol (2%), allantoin (0.5%), etc. You would reduce the water by an appropriate amount if you include any additives.

edit: I see you're looking for an anhydrous product. I'll leave this post alone in case it's helpful to others (I worked on it too long, dang it, to delete!), but I now realize it's not on target to answer your question.

 

[Dahila]

Some people use natrasorb to make it less greasy, but maybe you should try the lotion, On swiftmonkey blog you have tons of lotions for beginners.

 

[dixiedragon]

If you have a lot of skin issues, you may find it worthwhile to make your lotion in very small batches and refrigerate it, rather than use a preservative.

 

[Arimara]

If you wanted to make body butters sans water, I'd suggest investing in mango butter unless you're allergic to it. Mango butter sort of cuts the greasiness of shea butter, especially if you use a little more mango than shea. I'd have to look for my Window's phone for the last recipe I used.

 

[doriettefarm]

Kokum butter is much less greasy feeling than shea to me. But it's also more brittle so I wouldn't attempt a straight substitution. I would also suggest using drier oils like FCO, hemp, hazelnut, babassu and adding some IPM if you don't want an emulsified product.

 

[vedwards]

Thanks! You guys have given me a lot of great info - I've printed out the thread and made notes to go and check things out. Hopefully I'll find something that will work!