Trying to make a lotion..

[Bladesmith]

Somehow after making soap, I've now become the family bath and body product producer.

Ive been asked to try to make this lotion. I dont know a thing about making lotion. Does someone know the percentages that one might use when making a recipe with the ingredients pictured? Otherwise, is there a good guide somewhere that I could read up more on this topic?

Ive never even used lotion...

 

[Relle]

Can't help with a lotion. Here is the go to site for all things you are looking for. Prepare for lots of reading and homework.
https://swiftcraftymonkey.blog/

 

[earlene]

Susan at Swift Crafty Monkey does a great job of explaining how to read a label and duplicate or come close to duplicating a product, but you do have to subscribe (paid subscription) to participate at that level. There are different subscription rates depending on how much access you wish.

If you are not ready to go that route, there are several books on lotion making, which of course also cost. Or your library might have some of them. I believe my library has the Anne Watson's Smart Lotionmaking and a couple others.

Perhaps if you can provide the product name (a photo of the front of the bottle would do), someone here may actually have already done it and might be willing to share.

 

[Bladesmith]

This lotion is from Tropical Traditions. I believe it's where some family members were purchasing their coconut oil (for food). Upon questioning them again about the lotion, they indicated that it wasn't critical that it be a dupe but could be pretty much any lotion as long as it doesn't contain a bunch of junk.

I think I may pay for the blog and dive a little deeper and see what I can come up with. I appreciate the suggestions!

 

[DeeAnna]

This will get you started -- http://makingskincare.com/how-to-make-a-lotioncream-part-1-equipment-and-ingredients/

Susan has had input on the tutorials at this site. I strongly recommend Making Skincare -- reputable and sensible.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

This will get you started -- http://makingskincare.com/how-to-make-a-lotioncream-part-1-equipment-and-ingredients/

Susan has had input on the tutorials at this site. I strongly recommend Making Skincare -- reputable and sensible.

 

[DeeAnna]

I will also say that the grapefruit seed extract in that ingredients list is the supposed preservative. It's a terrible choice -- there are MUCH better preservatives out there. Making Skincare has a great article on preservatives too -- if you click the link to the lotion making tute and mouse around a little bit in their knowledgebase, the preservative article is easy to find.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

...the grapefruit seed extract in that ingredients list is the supposed preservative. It's a terrible choice...

I saw that too! Weird. Can't help but wonder who the manufacturer is.

 

[HowieRoll]

Another site I really like for DIY B&B products/education is:

https://www.humblebeeandme.com/

 

[dixiedragon]

I like this tutorial:
https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/lotion/gift-series-lotion-tutorial-from-scratch-2/

It uses this as a guideline so you can tweak it a bit:
70-80% Distilled Water
3-5% Stearic Acid
3-6% Emulsifing Wax
add the rest in your choice of oils and butters
To this add
.5 – 1% Preservative
.5% Fragrance

Does the lotion squeeze out of a bottle, or do you scoop it with your fingers?

In my experience, if you want a lotion you can squeeze out, use 75-80% water and replace all butters with liquid oils. In this case, coconut oil is fine because it has such a low melt temp (76 degrees). I also prefer to use around 2% stearic.

 

[Bladesmith]

This lotion is in a shampoo style bottle. It's pretty fluid.

Thanks everyone for all the links. I'm going through everything. That recipe template you posted looks pretty similar to what I've seen elsewhere. Looks to be a good starting point!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

This Lotion Calc is no longer working but it gives you a range of %s for each phase of lotion formulating that I found easy to use. Joseph Henry is the creator. It really worked well! You formulate at 100 grams and then use the multiplier for the batch amount. Of course, all the raw materials are examples. You just typed in whatever you wanted to use.