What are good oils to use in a lotion recipe?

[Juggsy]

Yes I am making lotion and jojoba is my liquid oil. I will also be using shea butter in my recipe.

Right now I have jojoba oil so I think I will start with that and make a very small test batch once I have all my ingredients. I am waiting on some new e-wax I wanted to try and hopefully will have that by the end of this week.

Although I am in the R&D and in the testing phase I do intend to eventually make a lotion to sell. This all started because I wanted to make my own instead of using premade bases. I mention this because cost is also a part of the equation since I have a soap and B&B biz. For example, after checking out abyssinian oil I am discarding it for now due to its high cost. If I use it at all it would probably be personal use unless I get good enough at lotion making some day to tweak ingredients to make it cost effective. KWIM?

Yes, I think jojoba is a good place to start. ☺ It's not extremely expensive (compared to other exotic oils) and it's a such a nice ingredient to work with.
I know exactly what you mean and can relate. I am undertaking a diploma in personal care formulation at the moment (an accredited one - not one like FB or SNSC), because while I've been making products for years (some more than others), and I do plan on branching. At the moment, I'm only charging cost price - yes, even soap. There's a few reasons for this. I haven't officially relaunched my business yet, but was getting asked to formulate certain things again; I was still doing this for myself - but when it's only for the family, you only have to soap a couple of times a year and other things I would just formulate as needed. I decided I would start selling for cost to family and friends again. I am selling only to fund my products. Basically, I've got several families, friends, a few old clients and some family members testing for me. It's helping me develop, change, gather feedback and start rebuilding social media and I'm covered legally - insurance and not profiting from things I formulate (rules are interesting around this) helps me not have to reregister everything just yet. Allows me to take my time, not overload etc. And there's been HUGE changes in personal care and soaping. I even have been able to source ethical coconut oil, ethical palm oil (still haven't said yes to palm yet) - that's huge. And, there are so many more sustainable crops. I hope you have fun playing.

 

[Tammyfarms]

I really like squalene, babassu and abyssinian oils in lotions. Squalene is great on the face as it’s a lighter oil and I also use it straight on my face at times. I am using a “lotion” made with Sepimax Zen gelling agent and several cosmeceuticals that works really well for my skin.

 

[amd]

You also mentioned Sunflower Oil. It is low comedogenic, light oil so is good for face moisturisers. It is has some wonderful properties but it has a really short shelf life (3-6 months thereabouts).

I'm not sure where you found the 3-6 months shelf life. All of my sources say 1 year +.

 

[Juggsy]

I'm not sure where you found the 3-6 months shelf life. All of my sources say 1 year +.

Typo on my part, I meant to say 6-12months. I wouldn't say longer, because shelf life is dependent on a few things really. But, it does have quite a of vitamin E (37mg/100) so has better shelf life than grapeseed. I think it's important to remember that primary shelf life is defined as a finite length of time after production and packaging and Secondary Shelf life is from opening. Most supplier that the home formulator or SB formulator are using are repackage oils. Unless you are buying in drums, your oils are likely to have been repackaged. My supplier dates all sunflower oil with about eight months. Bin went out last night - and I don't feel like rummaging through wheelie bin but I will take a photo of next purchase. The US Sunflower association they say 32-38 weeks: Sunflower Shelf Stability
Another Source (relates to primary shelf life of sunflower oil in plastic)

 

[Candybee]

Sunflower oil is one of my favorite oils. It really makes my skin feel so soft. I use a small percent in some of my soaps. If it weren't for the low shelf life stability I would use it. Maybe I will still try it in a test batch for personal use.

 

[amd]

If it weren't for the low shelf life stability I would use it.

Buy HO Sunflower oil and store it properly (out of light, in cool area or in the fridge if your container is small). I have a jug that is roughly 18 months old and has not gone rancid at all. I used it in my first test lotion almost a year ago (end of August) and that too is fine - no odd smell, texture, or other change from when it was made. I do use tocopherol in my lotions, so that also helps slow the oxidation process, I think. I haven't had issues with sunflower shelf life, so it's not a game changer for me.

 

[Candybee]

I've used the HO sunflower before and didn't care for it as much. I like the regular sunflower because its high in linoleic acid which is what makes my skin so soft. The HO sunflower is high in oleic of course which is also nice but the two oils just don't feel or perform the same for me.