Premade lotion base for lotion bars?

[evamccapra]

Hello,
I was curious and cannot find elsewhere if I could use a premade lotion base to create lotion bars. I purchased 32oz of Stephenson Natural Unscented lotion base and have appx. 1lb of beeswax. If this is not the case, I was wondering if adding a percentage of beeswax to help thicken the base would work as well? I am hesitant to test as I do not want to order anything else for the time being.

The ingredients for the base are:
-Water
-Coconut oil
-Sunflower oil
-Cetearyl Alchohol
-Coco-glucoside
-Shea Butter
-Xantham Gum
-Apricot Kernel Oil
-Phenoxyethanol
-Citric Acid
-Lactic Acid
-Aloe Leaf
-Tocopherol
-Benzoic Acid
-Dehydroacetic Acid

 

[KiwiMoose]

It seems to me that it would kind of undermine the purpose of lotion bars - which is that you don't need all those extra ingredients - emulsifiers, stabilisers etc, and lotion bars are usually a simple three or four oil mix of natural butters, oils and waxes.
whether it would actually work or not, I guess it probably could. Is the base liquid or solid?

 

[SSC Oregon]

When I visited Shay and company's store they had pre made bases of all kinds.
Maybe check there?
As for the rest, I'm with Kiwi.
I have a lotion bar recipe I will share with you if interested.

 

[dibbles]

I don't think this would work. A pre-made lotion base is made with water and usually only a very small amount of additives can be used, if any. Beeswax returns to a solid state very quickly when added to something cool, and I think you would end up with solid bits or chunks of beeswax in a lotion.

Lotion bars are very easy to make. @Zing often shares his recipe - do a search and you will find it. Or he may be along and share it again here.

 

[Zing]

Hi there! Reporting to the front desk! Your idea will not work. Apples and oranges. It's unfortunate that we use the term "lotion" for lotion bars. Instead, we should use the words "salve" or "balm."

I will, ahem, take this opportunity to share my recipe. Super simple:
1/3 beeswax
1/3 butter
1/3 oil
I like light oils like jojoba, meadowfoam seed oil, sweet almond. For butter I like mango.

God be with you if you have one solid chunk of beeswax. I once had a brick to shred. My newly purchased cheese grater lasted all of one time.

 

[DeeAnna]

I second (third?) the advice being given. Lotion bars are anhydrous (don't contain water) so any base that contains water won't be suitable. @Zing has provided the super-secret recipe for lotion bars that can be tweaked to suit your preferences.

Here's one of my favorite lotion bar threads where people including Zing contribute their thoughts and ideas. Well worth the read -- Lotion bar recipe question

 

[GGMA0317]

Hi there! Reporting to the front desk! Your idea will not work. Apples and oranges. It's unfortunate that we use the term "lotion" for lotion bars. Instead, we should use the words "salve" or "balm."

I will, ahem, take this opportunity to share my recipe. Super simple:
1/3 beeswax
1/3 butter
1/3 oil
I like light oils like jojoba, meadowfoam seed oil, sweet almond. For butter I like mango.

God be with you if you have one solid chunk of beeswax. I once had a brick to shred. My newly purchased cheese grater lasted all of one time.

The term lotion bar has never made sense. Someone had too much time on their hands when they tried to re-invent or rename salves and balms.

 

[Shelley D]

Hi there! Reporting to the front desk! Your idea will not work. Apples and oranges. It's unfortunate that we use the term "lotion" for lotion bars. Instead, we should use the words "salve" or "balm."

I will, ahem, take this opportunity to share my recipe. Super simple:
1/3 beeswax
1/3 butter
1/3 oil
I like light oils like jojoba, meadowfoam seed oil, sweet almond. For butter I like mango.

God be with you if you have one solid chunk of beeswax. I once had a brick to shred. My newly purchased cheese grater lasted all of one time.

I have found this ratio to be wonderful as well! I love using cocoa butter ~ when combined with the beeswax the scent is lovely without having to add any fragrance to enhance it

The term lotion bar has never made sense. Someone had too much time on their hands when they tried to re-invent or rename salves and balms.

My 2 cents would be that someone somewhere decided to make a balm/salve without additives so it could be more widely marketed, instead of saying "wound salve" or "skin balm", which sounds use specific. Most people don't realize you can smear just about any salve/ balm all over your body, they want to know what it's specific use is.
So, by marketing it as a hard lotion bar people translate that to mean it's OK to use it all over the body. I made a hard lotion recipe and when I melted the oil/butter/wax I cut open a few vanilla beans and let the flavors meld. Then I poured some into deodorant tubes and some into lip balm tins ~ same product, different packaging. And even after explaining it to my friends and family, some could only accept it a lip balm even though they love the scent, go figure

 

[GGMA0317]

My 2 cents would be that someone somewhere decided to make a balm/salve without additives so it could be more widely marketed, instead of saying "wound salve" or "skin balm", which sounds use specific. Most people don't realize you can smear just about any salve/ balm all over your body, they want to know what it's specific use is.
So, by marketing it as a hard lotion bar people translate that to mean it's OK to use it all over the body. I made a hard lotion recipe and when I melted the oil/butter/wax I cut open a few vanilla beans and let the flavors meld. Then I poured some into deodorant tubes and some into lip balm tins ~ same product, different packaging. And even after explaining it to my friends and family, some could only accept it a lip balm even though they love the scent, go figure

Outside of these forums I have never seen a so called lotion bar in ANY store. And I've never seen "wound salve" anywhere. There are tons of Ointments and balms. I actually only heard two people use the term salve in my entire life, I used it because op is familiar with it. Idk and idc why people mixed beeswax with oil and called it lotion ijs it's annoying.

 

[Shelley D]

Outside of these forums I have never seen a so called lotion bar in ANY store. And I've never seen "wound salve" anywhere. There are tons of Ointments and balms. I actually only heard two people use the term salve in my entire life, I used it because op is familiar with it. Idk and idc why people mixed beeswax with oil and called it lotion ijs it's annoying.

My mom grew up in the mountains of PA so salves & balms were part of my life growing up. I hadn't seen Amish black drawing salve since moving south (except when searching for it), and in the south I saw more pine tar salve. If I remember correctly, the salves were for more specific treatments (wound healing and drawing out infections, burns) and the balms were for more broad use, like rub a little on your aching joints or muscles, rub it on extremely dry skin areas, etc. But basically it's what it's infused with and how thick/hard/soft is it that determines the best use.
And you're right, I don't think you will find "hard lotion" in stores since it's unique to the homemade communities but it's an awesome product!

 

[GGMA0317]

My mom grew up in the mountains of PA so salves & balms were part of my life growing up. I hadn't seen Amish black drawing salve since moving south (except when searching for it), and in the south I saw more pine tar salve. If I remember correctly, the salves were for more specific treatments (wound healing and drawing out infections, burns) and the balms were for more broad use, like rub a little on your aching joints or muscles, rub it on extremely dry skin areas, etc. But basically it's what it's infused with and how thick/hard/soft is it that determines the best use.
And you're right, I don't think you will find "hard lotion" in stores since it's unique to the homemade communities but it's an awesome product!

I'm more familiar with the term "Ointment" which is basically the same as a salve. I'd been making Lotion for awhile when the term lotion bar popped up in the soap making forums and it caught on like whipped body butters. I don't make either-But if I did I wouldn't call it Lotion. it's a huge lip balm.

 

[Shelley D]

I'm more familiar with the term "Ointment" which is basically the same as a salve. I'd been making Lotion for awhile when the term lotion bar popped up in the soap making forums and it caught on like whipped body butters. I don't make either-But if I did I wouldn't call it Lotion. it's a huge lip balm.

Yes it is a huge lip balm! But it looks really strange putting a deodorant tube to your lips!

 

[Savage Daughter]

God be with you if you have one solid chunk of beeswax. I once had a brick to shred. My newly purchased cheese grater lasted all of one time.

I always buy my unrefined beeswax from a local raw honey producer, in very large blocks. Shredding beeswax is a nightmare in more ways than one, which I will never willingly repeat.

My way around the shredding is: crack the honker into rough chunks - or buy rough chunks if you can - melt the entire thing down in a double boiler, then pour into ice cube trays or silicone molds with small cavities. Allow to harden & throw all the little cubes into a paper bag or jar. It doesn't take that long & I only have to do this once every year & a half or so.

This also means that each 'cube' is very close to the same weight, which also adds to the ease of working with natural, unrefined beeswax that has been portioned in honking bricks. The small cubes are also much easier to split into smaller chunks when need be for more precise weighing.

Idk and idc why people mixed beeswax with oil and called it lotion ijs it's annoying.

THIS....I swore I would never call my 'lotion bars' lotion bars and don't.

Mine are uniquely referred to, which I will keep to myself as it differentiates my products from all of the others stuff I see sold as 'lotion bars'. That ain't no lotion, son!

It seems to me that it would kind of undermine the purpose of lotion bars - which is that you don't need all those extra ingredients - emulsifiers, stabilisers etc, and lotion bars are usually a simple three or four oil mix of natural butters, oils and waxes.

Oh you would love my 'lotion bars'....mine contain butters, oils & waxes, but they also have at least 13 ingredients, off the top of my head although no stabilizers or other junk. Beeswax definitely acts as an 'emulsifier' in solid products like this. My ingredients list is lengthy because I use a combination of plant infused oils which are amazing on the skin, making my product very unique & highly effective for those dealing with dry skin, sun burns, eczema, psoriasis etc. My testers are very happy with the blend, so I have already made a large batch so all of the ingredients can fully meld over the next few weeks. The smell of the unrefined cocoa butter is sweet, almost honey-like. So beautiful

whether it would actually work or not, I guess it probably could. Is the base liquid or solid?

That definitely sounds like a liquid / cream to me, which I would say absolutely would not work for 'lotion bars'. The amount of beeswax / any wax or butters needed to solidify that combination of ingredients would be so much that it would feel like getting waxed, and never having the wax removed I doubt it's even possible to solidify that base based on the blend of ingredients.

 

[Shelley D]

I always buy my unrefined beeswax from a local raw honey producer, in very large blocks. Shredding beeswax is a nightmare in more ways than one, which I will never willingly repeat.

My way around the shredding is: crack the honker into rough chunks - or buy rough chunks if you can - melt the entire thing down in a double boiler, then pour into ice cube trays or silicone molds with small cavities. Allow to harden & throw all the little cubes into a paper bag or jar. It doesn't take that long & I only have to do this once every year & a half or so.

This also means that each 'cube' is very close to the same weight, which also adds to the ease of working with natural, unrefined beeswax that has been portioned in honking bricks. The small cubes are also much easier to split into smaller chunks when need be for more precise weighing.

Great idea!

 

[TheGecko]

Hello,
I was curious and cannot find elsewhere if I could use a premade lotion base to create lotion bars. I purchased 32oz of Stephenson Natural Unscented lotion base and have appx. 1lb of beeswax. If this is not the case, I was wondering if adding a percentage of beeswax to help thicken the base would work as well? I am hesitant to test as I do not want to order anything else for the time being.

What you have purchased is a base to make a cream lotion...it will not make lotion 'bars'. Lotion 'bars are typically made with beeswax, butters, hard oils and maybe a small amount of soft oils. They are then poured into cavity molds and usually set-up with an hour depending on external temperatures (I refrigerate mine to have them set up quicker).

If you go to YouTube and search for Ellen Ruth Soap and then search her videos for Lotion Bars, she does share a couple of recipes.

Depending on where you purchased your base, the site should have some information on how to use/customize it.

 

[GGMA0317]

Yes it is a huge lip balm! But it looks really strange putting a deodorant tube to your lips!

May as well Slather like nobody's watching! Because no one is.

 

[pjknight]

I second (third?) the advice being given. Lotion bars are anhydrous (don't contain water) so any base that contains water won't be suitable. @Zing has provided the super-secret recipe for lotion bars that can be tweaked to suit your preferences.

Here's one of my favorite lotion bar threads where people including Zing contribute their thoughts and ideas. Well worth the read -- Lotion bar recipe question

I'm on my third try of making a solid balm. my recipe has to be off, but at this point I can't see what is wrong,.. what I am trying to accomplish,is a nice solid bar that glides on the skin with not alot of drag but doesnt completly melt., that can be used in hot weather without it melting in the container, if that makes sense. Here is my recipe. Beeswax 99g cocoa butter, 28 g. mango butter,138g, hemp oil,107g,avocad oil, 28g, jojoba oil, 22 g kaolin clay. I reallly don't want to throw it all away if there is a chance I can save it. I melt the beeswax and cocoabutter, take it off the heat, then add the oils, I use the Humblebee's method to take the product to trace and then pour it in the containers. when it starts to harden, I pop them in the fridge for 24 hours to set up. My first two tries went in the trash.

 

[AliOop]

I'm on my third try of making a solid balm. my recipe has to be off, but at this point I can't see what is wrong,.. what I am trying to accomplish,is a nice solid bar that glides on the skin with not alot of drag but doesnt completly melt., that can be used in hot weather without it melting in the container, if that makes sense. Here is my recipe. Beeswax 99g cocoa butter, 28 g. mango butter,138g, hemp oil,107g,avocad oil, 28g, jojoba oil, 22 g kaolin clay. I reallly don't want to throw it all away if there is a chance I can save it. I melt the beeswax and cocoabutter, take it off the heat, then add the oils, I use the Humblebee's method to take the product to trace and then pour it in the containers. when it starts to harden, I pop them in the fridge for 24 hours to set up. My first two tries went in the trash.

Awww, solid balms are easy to remelt and tweak, so don't throw away any more of these!

What is it that you don't like about your existing recipe? Too draggy, too greasy, not absorbing quickly, or ?

 

[pjknight]

The problem is that it didint really harden. As soon as I remove it from the fridge, it softens up into a blob. Its not hard at all, and when I push it up out of the tube and apply to skin, its just all greasy. Can you help me figure out this recipe? Or do I need to start over. I would prefer to use beeswax, cocoa butter, hemp oil, mango butter, kaolin clay and vit. e. That was my old recipe that I always used, however, I lost it!, and trying to come up with a new recipe has been a disaster!!!

 

[DeeAnna]

You're flailing around trying to create a complicated product from vague memories. And you're clearly not getting the results you want. So maybe it's time to stop trying to remember those fancy dance steps and go back to basics.

First thing is set the clay aside for now -- you can always add that in later -- but focus on getting a salve that's the right consistency.

Zing's basic recipe is about 1/3 beeswax, 1/3 solid fat, and 1/3 liquid fat. Try this and see how that works. Then tweak from there to get the consistency just right.