Somewhere between the simplicity of making facial masks and the distant and far-off world of precision artisanal soap-making live a few homemade pursuits that I’ve yet to try. They’re in that gray, hazy land of “Am I Really Capable of Doing This Without Breaking My Kitchen?”
Crafting cosmetics. That’s one thing. Lotion bars used to live there, too.
If you know what I’m talking about, you’ll be happy to hear this: Homemade lotion bars are easier than tying your own shoes. I mean that literally. (I’m also pretty bad at shoe tying, though.)
No longer do you have to worry about breaking your kitchen.
It is a cinch to make lotion bars yourself.
Looksee!
How To Make Lotion Bars For Yourself or Someone Else (Maybe)
These lotion bars weren’t ever supposed to be for me (until I made more later). I’ve had this grand plan for some time to make matching lotion bars and bath fizzies for my nephews.
On a whim, I picked up cute little molds on Amazon a year ago, and they’ve been waiting for me to use them ever since.
Simple Lotion Bar Recipe
Equal parts:
- beeswax, shea butter, and sweet almond oil (or any other carrier oil your heart desires)
- 15 drops essential oil of your choice (optional)
First, you need to know that I did this the very imprecise and unscientific way. I have no kitchen scale, so I estimated.
Theoretically, you’re supposed to weigh out your three ingredients so they all measure the same (3 oz is a good place to start for a largeish-sized bar).
Instead, I grated my beeswax and smushed it down it in a measuring cup. It came to just about 1/2 c.
So I used 1/2 c. as the basis for my other ingredients, using 1/2 c. oil and just under 1/2 c. shea butter (because the shea butter is more dense and heavy).
Now that you know how I measured it – and that you shouldn’t be afraid of doing it yourself like this, if you don’t have a kitchen scale – here’s how it goes down once you get into the making of it.
In a double boiler (or a fashioned double boiler out of a small pot resting just above a large pot that’s filled with some water), heat the water to nearly boiling. Make sure, if you’re fashioning a double boiler, you don’t get water in your top pot, as that could really mess up your recipe.
Here’s what my jerry-rigged double boiler looks like (because I was too lazy to fish through my pot cabinet to find the real thing):
The water in the bottom pot should be steaming now, at which point you want to add your beeswax.
Stir the beeswax around a bit until it starts to melt, and pour in the oil.
Continue stirring everything until the beeswax has melted thoroughly.
Only then do you dump in the shea butter.
Shea butter’s a little finicky, and if you heat it too high or too long, it’ll turn grainy on you. That’s why you want to wait until the end to heat it up.
And it melts fast.
So pop that smooth stuff into your mixture:
And stir and stir and stir.
Once the shea butter has completely melted, and your lotion-bar-to-be mixture is thoroughly incorporated, move the pot from the heat, over to where your chosen molds are.
(Not sure what to use for a mold when you make lotion bars? You can use anything. Silicone ice cube trays, bread pans, Altoid tins, muffin cups/tins. Whatever. If you use something larger, like a bread pan, all you need to do is then slice it into more manageable pieces.)
So quickly, before it starts to cool and set, you want to pour it into your mold.
While it starts to cool, but WAY before it sets, drop in your essential oil(s) and stir with a toothpick. I was running a bit behind, due to trying to take photos of the process, so I almost waited too long. (They turned out absolutely perfect, though, so don’t fret.)
Then you can pop your mold into the freezer for faster setting time. (Or just leave them on the counter to set up for a few hours.)
And then 15 minutes later, pop them out and you have …
THIS!
I got a little overzealous there on one of the fishies, and instead of banging on the bottom of the mold to get it to slide out, I stuck in a butter knife. Oops.
Also, originally I had thought that the two sides would fuse together to make one big lotion bar, but that didn’t happen at all. In retrospect, it’s better that way. My nephews fight about who gets what, if they don’t get the exact same thing. This way, they each get a car and they each get a fishie.
I LOVE TO MAKE LOTION BARS. It’s official.
I Love Lotion Bars So Much, I Had to Make My Own
Yes, there was a lot of jealousy on my part once I saw how freaking cool homemade lotion bars are, and that my nephews get some and I don’t. So I made my very own grown-up version.
Maybe I’ll share the exact recipe soon, but I’m calling it Nutty Butt Butter, because it’s made with nut oils (hazelnut, tamanu, argan oil), cocoa butter, coffee, and rose geranium and cypress essential oils. All the ingredients equal a soft butt (and thighs) and less cellulite!
My piece-de-resistance:
And any time there’s a recipe like this, someone always asks, “Where should I buy all this stuff?” The answer is: Mountain Rose Herbs or your local natural foods store.
If You Don’t Want to DIY It …
… I will tell you exactly where to buy it: Made On.
Renee of Made On recently sent me some of her lotion bars and I’ve been in soft, supple skin heaven since. Absolutely some of the best lotion bars I’ve ever held in my hands. And the best part about it is, there’s a date on everything you receive so you know exactly when it was made. Oh wait. That’s not the best part.
The best part is: Made On only uses healthy, natural ingredients. Example: The Au Chocolat hard lotion (my favorite) has beeswax, cocoa butter, and coconut oil in it. That’s it. No preservatives. Nothing icky at all.
It’s the kind of company we want to support wholeheartedly. So if you don’t DIY your lotion bars, but still want some, definitely check out Made On. (And peek at her other products, like natural diaper rash cream, hair butter, and soaps.)
Really, receiving those bars from Renee just kicked my butt into gear so I’d try making my own, so it’s imperative to give her a shout out both for her inspiration and her excellent products.
(I also REALLY loved the peppermint lip balm and calendula goat’s milk soap, just for the record.)
Lotion Bars: The Perfect Gift
So I’m thinking these are the perfect Christmas gift for friends. My Nutty Butt Butter, especially.
If you’ve ever made your own lotion bars, do you have any tips or recipes you want to share with us?
And if you haven’t made them … are you ready yet? It’s almost winter! The PERFECT time to get prepared for dry skin is now.
PS – Nutty Butt Butter
(I had to say it again, because it makes me laugh)
Generations of Learning: Your Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Grandma’s Beauty Tips
I came across your site today while looking up lotion bars and a problem I have using honey. I have tried adding raw honey to my lotion bars twice now. The recipe is 1/4 cup each of shea butter, coconut oil and beeswax, 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 1/2 tbsp raw honey. It makes about 6 lotion bars and the last 2-3 have gooey honey on the bottom and I have to throw them out. The second time I made it I stirred each time I poured into a different mold. Still the last two were the same with the gooey honey on the bottom. I melt the shea butter and beeswax then stir in the rest of ingredients. What am I doing wrong? I really really like these lotion bars but I don’t like waisting so much. I hope you read this and can help me. I noticed the posts are from quite a while ago. Thanks!
In my research, I’ve found that it’s not advisable to use honey in these types of products for the exact reason you are stating – it separates. Also, your butter, oil and beeswax should be equal parts, so either leave out the olive oil or put in 1/8 cup olive oil & 1/8 cup coconut oil to make up your 1/4 cup.
hi !! I made these and they turned out sticky and tacky. did I add too much bees wax? can I fix them by adding more cocoa butter or shea butter or oil???? help!
Where can you get shea butter besides online and for a not so exspensive price
Wondering if you ever published the Nutter Butt Butter Bars Recipe?? That one sounded so yummy and I was so intrigued!!!!! If not I’m very interested and want to make some of my own?? Won’t you please publish??
can you tell me how to take the stickiness out of my diy body butter?
Sandee, I have been trying to reach you. However, I do not have your new cell number or address. Please call me when you get this message. Denise (Linnie’s daughter)
Puleeeese can someone help me with adding or subtracting whatever is making my diy body butter tacky(sticky)_
I love your website also it is great. I made the lotion bars and used coconut oil but they are very soft and mushy even after setting for a while is it because I used coconut oil instead of the almond oil?
Can you add the essential oils before pouring? And can you use fragrance oils as well?
You should add the essential oils as it’s cooling, because they are so delicate if you add them when the mixture is right off the stove it will destroy the properties of the essential oils and there will be no scent or benefit from the essential oil. So it’s best to add it towards the end of the cooling process, and the scent of essential oils does fade after awhile no matter how much you add or how cool the mixture is when you add that’s just how they are.
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Oh my I love those molds! I have 3 kids and I love to impress them with soaps and bath bombs in different shapes. Could do please tell me where I can find those mold or similar ones. Thank you.
Try wish.com they have a ton of molds for CHEAP. And shipping is only $1 to $2 per item. Be advised though most of the stuff ship’s from China so orders usually take 2 to 4 weeks. But it’s def worth the wait. I bought a heart mould for $2 and same mould sold @ Wal-Mart and Amazon for almost $12 plus $4+ shipping. Wish also has a ton of other items. My family lives to shop there.
im having the issue that no matter how much mango extract i use i cant get the lotion bar to smell like like mango (im using the recepie of bees wax,almond oil, and shea butter)can anyone help?
Shea butter has a strong nutty scent, if its all natural unrefined, and mango oil/butter doesn’t really have a scent. But if your mango extract actually smells like mango, I have never used it before, than I would suggest using a different butter so it doesn’t mask the smell of the mango extract and also it takes a lot of essential oil to scent a batch of product and the bigger the batch the more you will need to use, essential oils loose scent over time so they tend to fade quickly.
Dear CrunchyBetty… I think I have a crunchy crush on your blog. 😉 I’ve been making some of my own products for a little while and saw the picture with the whole coffee beans in the lotion bar. Imagine my delight when I also saw the little egg shapers, since I JUST ordered some of these (bear & bunny) for my 5 year old. I can’t wait to try your recipe with these.
I just made these for the first time. They are great and only took half an hour to make! I used silicone ice cube trays in different fun shapes. Looking forward to handing out extras to my friends!!
Ooo I love how you added the coffee beans. I’m going to have to give that a go!
just read on another website you can sub soy wax for the beeswax!!!
How do you package the lotion bars you make in a mold? It just seems they would be hard to use not being in some type of container. I was thinking of making them and putting them in tins as small gifts for the staff in the doctor’s office, insurance office etc.
Also, what type of essential oil would you suggest for men?
I like to use old mint tins and travel soap containers for packaging. Protect them from heat. 🙂
ok, rookie here. Are lotion bars used as soap, or rubbed on dry skin for lotion?
they are used just like lotion, rub them on your skin as you would a soap bar but instead its lotion. No water needed.
You can get already made natural lotion online without harsh chemicals and not expensive as well. I like to get mine from http://www.naturalwayorganics.net. Theirs is the best I have found online and they also have a few varieties to choose from that are mild and not bad for your skin.
Most of the other recipes for lotion bars that I have found use coconut oil instead of a liquid oil (e.g. almond oil) like you do. Have you had any problems with your bars being too soft or melting? Do you find that the lotion absorbs easily into your skin? I’d appreciate any thoughts you have, especially if you have also made these bars with coconut oil in the past.
I ask because I would prefer not to use coconut oil (I love almond oil for skin products!). Thanks for your help!
How can I give the lotion bar some color?
Commercial food dyes probably work, but that’s not such a good idea if you’re trying to go organic. I know turmeric makes a nice yellow, and beet juice is good for pinks and reds…Maybe someone else has suggestions for the cooler end of the spectrum? 🙂
Commercial food dyes would not work! They contain water and oil and water do not mix and is definitly not a good idea if you’re going for a lotion bar that is all oil. It wouldn’t harden right it would be runny. I would try some dry powder organic dyes, like for baking, not sure which because I haven’t looked into coloring my lotion bars but that would be the way to go.
Great recipe! You may want to try out Marula oil or Baobab oil in your recipe. These both are great for the skin (Marula is actually higher than sweet almond in Oleic acid which your skin LOVES), while Baobab is similar to argan oil in it’s fatty acid make up. Both are awesome in soaps.
Cocoa butter and shea are comedogenic and I can’t use them. Do you know of any non-comedogenic ingredients that I can sub??
DM
You have probably found the aver to your question regarding the exchange of shea butter and cocoa butter but I thought I would share since others may wonder as well. Mango butter is a great sub.
Who knew that it could be so easy! I’d love an update when you try the vegan alternative to beeswax. Making one’s own products has so many benefits … not only can we get exactly the fragrance and shape that we want but we control the ingredients. No toxic chemicals or “unknowns”. I’m so glad that a link to this post was shared on our Meet & Greet. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!
Hi There, I love these lotions bars. SO much so that I posted a link to this post on
http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/2012/05/meet-greet-monday-mtagt_21.html
You make it look pretty simple; it’d be a great gift idea! We’d love for you to share recipes at taaz.com – we love DIY and all things beauty.
Has anyone ever had a problem when making lotion bars of oil bubbles forming on the bottom of the mold which ends up being the top when unmolded. I have to remelt and try again and don’t know what causes this. Seems like the oil would rise to the top if anything.
Make sure that your molds are dry. If you rinsed your mold out and it wasn’t completely dry when you poured in the lotion ingredients then it will cause the bubbles/holes in the top.
yesss i wanna learn to make butt butter too!
i really like the molds you used…are they silicone?
Perfect!!!!! Thanks for the information.
I found you on pinterest. Thanks for the tip about shea butter! My batch went grainy and I didn’t know why. I am your newest follower. Would love if you popped on by for a visit! Cheers!
Any ideas for yummy scents? I’ve never made a lotion bar before …
I tried this recipe, but it didn’t work out very well. It’s like VERY greasy. Would adding a bit more beeswax help? And is it possible to melt the lotion bar again, and then add more beeswax, or should I just say bye-bye to the one I’ve made already?
I’m having the same problem, I just made them
And they do feel a bit greasy…
🙁 any luck with redoing them? Wondering if I should up the beeswax.. I shall try soon
echoing Rachel’s comment…when are you going to post the Nutty Butt Butter recipe?!? Very excited about that one!
I’d really like to know how you reccoment you store them? And how I should wrap them when giving them away for christmas. Will it be enough to just wrap a bit of cellophane around it?
– Thanks a lot!
Sooo can’t wait for the nutty butt butter bar recipe!!
Please post more recipes soon! My daughter and I ready to start making our Christmas gifts. =)
I think I’m in love! I’ve just started my own little shop, and I’ve been looking for a way to put a creative spin on lotions. I’d heard of lotion bars before, but it didn’t dawn on me to look for a tutorial. This is downright amazing. I’ll have to source some beeswax locally (not because I’m so environmentally-friendly, but because I’m horribly impatient and I want to do this now). But you better believe that when I do, I’ll be making so many lotion bars my eyeballs will be well moisturized!
I also love that this was my introduction to Crunchy Betty. I now have a crush on you. Expect to hear a lot more of me here. Thank you!
I am so excited about this! I am making these for Christmas gifts!! Can you share the nutty butt butter recipe!
Can’t wait for the butt bar recipe! Love the coffee beans look
I just decided I would try these today even though I didn’t have any beeswax. I used equal parts coconut oil, cocoa butter, and olive oil since that’s all I had. Without the beeswax they melted very easily, but smelled great and worked well. Cocoa butter gives them a light (faint) chocolate-ey smell almost enough to eat(love chocolate!!). I added some essential oils to some of the molds to experiment. They all smell great and feel awesome!
My only problem is how do I store them…I didn’t about that before I started…maybe a glass bowl in my bathroom & kitchen. Any other ideas? I don’t have any tins that I can use at the moment. Another quick question…How long do they last? I think they will be used long before they expire but just in case.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe!!
I really want to make some of these but im vegan and dont use beeswax. Is there anything i can use to replace that that is not an animal product? Thanks this looks great by the way!
I have heard that candelilla wax makes a good substitute. I am about to order some to try it out.
Betty!!! I wanted to run out my front door and shout to my neighbors that I accomplished making my own lotion last night. You are right! It is very very easy! I measured 1 oz of beeswax, sweet almond oil and shea butter and added sweet orange EO. After heating them up, I poured the finished product into the little tins from Mountain Rose Herb. They set up nicely and are soothing on lips and cuticles. But the lotion is pretty hard and slighty sticky. I’m wondering if I incorrectly measured my ingredients? The beeswax smell lingers on my skin and very firm to touch. Any advice how I could make this softer and less beeswaxy smelling? Thank you!
To make it softer add more sweet almond oil and less beeswax. Also, your bars could be sticky because of the sweet orange essential oil. I make mine with the exact same ingredients and they are never sticky.
A heads up on citrus essential oils, many of them are known to be phototoxic and should not be used before going out in the sun.
Hello!!! When are you going to publish the Nutty Butt Butter recipe?! I placed my first order to Mountain Rose Herb and am excited to use my products. Hurry up and give us the recipe! 🙂
I’m dreaming of a Crunchy Christmas!
I have just started reading your website about a month ago and love it! I particularly enjoy your writing style – you make me laugh!! Anyhoo, I want to try some of the body recipes, such as the lotion bars and the homemade not a secret deod, but I’m not sure what kind of shea butter to buy. There seems to be a lot of different ones available (I’m looking on amazon) and I am now thoroughly confused. Can you help me, please??
You probably want pure, raw shea butter. From Africa. Same with cocoa butter (well, the pure and raw part, not sure where its from).
Sorry sorry sorry…Courtney, I think you were talking about the lotion bars not my query. Just ignore my raving above if it does not apply to your question. :/
This may sound like a stupid question, but could you use this same technique to make a face cream? I want to make something more solid than the typical oils I use during the Fall and Winter and if this recipe (with a few different ingredients) could translate into something I can pour into a tin and use on my face daily then I would love to give it a try. I plan to try these lotion bars as well, but I REALLY want to experiment with making my own face cream.
The recipe does actually say for face and body. That’s exactly what I’m going to use it for. I’ve been using EVOO for moisturising my skin but as it’s coming into summer I don’t want to start frying. Let me know if you want the recipe. 🙂
Courtney, sorry I should have said the recipe says “Bees Knees Super-rich Skin Cream”.
I use my lotion bar for a face moisture. I am 59 and have been noticing more wrinkles under my eyes … after about a month of using the lotion bar I noticed that the wrinkles aren’t as noticeable. The most IMPORTANT thing to remember is do NOT use essential oils in a lotion bar that you want to use on your face..near your eyes.
Just waiting for my beeswax to arrive so I can make these…they sound great!
Question…I came across a recipe for a skin cream with the ingredients of beeswax, anhydrous lanolin, baby oil, pure borax, honey and essential oils. Given that baby oil is not ‘natural’ (sorry I haven’t researched a lot but I know that most store bought ones aren’t), can I substitute this for EVOO or any other carrier oil? Thoughts?
By the way, the recipe came from the book “Honey, Nature’s Golden Healer”, by Gloria Havenhand.
I would avoid recipes that use borax in them…it is not necessary.
Those molds are egg molds. Why eat an egg when you could have a fish egg?
Seriously.
Anyways I cannot wait to make some of these! Im running a bit low on beeswak though…
Oh my goodness…I have every single one of those ingredients sitting around waiting to be used…even the hard boiled egg molds (but mine are a bunny and a bear). Going to make some tomorrow! FUN!
This sounds really fun. A project I’ve never tried. How hard do the bars turn out? I’ve tried some similar commercial products and found that they did not melt all that well on my skin. Do you think these proportions work really well with melting at body temp? I guess I could experiment and reduce the beeswax and up the oil if it’s too hard…
Wondering too about how they fare in tropical climates. I guess if you’re planning on bringing one to the tropics it’s best to make it higher in beeswax so it has a higher melting temp.
i made lotion bars last valentine’s day with honey and cocoa in them. mine didn’t turn out great because i was trying to eyeball a balance of shea and cocoa butters and i grated my own beeswax from a giant beeswax..wheel..thingy. i poured some into little disposable cups and put some in old heart shaped candy molds. those actually worked out really well but i wanna try your recipe and just choose one butter. it was too confusing 😛 i was basically just trying to copy the ingredients of a lush bar proportionately which is maybe not the way to go about it..
I use both shea butter and cocoa butter in my lotion bars. So instead of 1 oz shea butter, use .5 oz of each. They turn out great! Honey does not always blend in nicely and that could be the source of your problem.
You can use cocoa butter for shea & coconut oil for almond. My ratio is 4.25 oz beeswax, 4.25 oz butter, 5.5 oz oil. Love, love, love them! And the combinations you can use with E.O. are endless.
Thanks for the measurements! I was wondering if I could incorporate coconut oil. When I made mine, they were slightly sticky and very hard. Prom too much beeswax, most likely. I have 3 oz of this hard lotion, but it was my first time and I’m still excited that it worked out. 🙂
I was wondering
About your measurements… I used 3.0 oz beeswax 3.0 carrier oil and 2.9 Shea butter because the above measurements said = parts oil and wax and just a little less butter & my bars are kinda hard but feel kinda greasy… How do yours turn out? I noticed then when I washed my hands after applying my hands felt kinda water resistant.. Too much oil??
I am just wondering, how hot does it have to get before these bars would melt? I mean, if i go travelling in really hot sticky weather(I live in the tropics), will i open my suitcase to find my lotion bar has reverted to just lotion minus a container?
You might include more beeswax if you know your bars will be in warm conditions. It has a higher melting point (145 F) whereas cocoa butter would be more like 95-100 and coconut oil is 76 I think.
I am wondering something…. Is there a benefit of a “lotion bar” over straight up shea butter or cocoa butter or any other spreadable semi-hard, melts with contact type healthy single ingredient?
Don’t get me wrong. I love to play with raw ingredients and turn them into something new and exciting! I am just wondering. 🙂
The benefits of a lotion bar over solid shea or cocoa butter are that depending on which oils you include they add extra benefits. For example, sweet almond oil is really high in Vitamin E
Is that a sushi rice mold? Very clever!
Thats what i was wondering, what was the mold for the butt bars?
xo
rowan
Egg molds! You stick a hard boiled egg in them for 10-20 minutes and VOILA.
A cute shaped hard boiled egg.
Betty, I hope you know what a life changer you are. Being a newbie, you are teaching me so much and things that I can do, as I am disabled. I love you to pieces . . . REALLY! Every day I look forward to Crunchy Betty arriving in my email! My written project commitments are coming along nicely. To make all of my Christmas presents. I’ve received my vanilla pods and have ordered the bottles for the homemade vanilla extract. I’ve almost completed my first knitted scarf. I have plans to go to the orchard on the 20th to get a bushel of apples and then can them in pretty jars with cinnamon. Your lotion bars have been added to the list and I can’t wait until you share the Nutty Butt Butter Bar with us! Confession . . . I didn’t know what to do with the lotion bars until others asked. Thank you for all that you do! XxxoXoxoX to all of you Crunchies!
+1
WOWWW! What an awesome job you did!
I should hire you! (or you should hire me and teach me to make the nutty butt butter).
Renee
Looks absolutely fantastic!
I started trying out a similar recipe for last christmas, but then a million things happened at once so I never got around to actually making them… Luckily there are always more christmases coming up 🙂
can you use it on your face?
I wouldn’t. Lotion bars are pretty heavy, and they might clog your pores. I’m not sure I’d ever use shea or cocoa butter on my face. But everywhere else, heck yeah.
I use it on my face in the summertime when I’m in the pool a lot. (You know that tight, dry feeling you get on your face when you swim?). It’s great for that. Or, you can modify the recipe and make your own facial ointment – heavy on the coconut oil and just a tad of beeswax melted together. Here’s my recipe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNTXZ49Juuk
Renee
Super interesting. I have really sensitive “cloggy” pores, so I stay away from anything heavy. But you bring up a question for me: Do you ever have anyone complain that coconut oil, used on the face, made them break out? I know it’s comedogenic, and I’ve heard such differing stories about its effectiveness at treating acne. I was just wondering if you’ve gotten some kind of barometer on it as to who it may work for and who it doesn’t.
For several months now, I’ve just decided it’s safest to say that you shouldn’t use it on your face unless you have really dry or older (i.e., no more acne or frequent breakouts) skin.
What do you think?
I don’t really know. I have combination skin and I wouldn’t use it if I didn’t need it; I only use it when my face feels dry. I haven’t received much feedback on whether it clogs pores or not; it doesn’t appear to on my face – food has a bigger impact on making me break out than using natural oils on my face.
I use it on my face frequently, but I’m careful not to over do it. If I use too much, my face feels greasy.
I use coconut oil on my face (well, my whole body actually. Even my hair to get rid of the frizzies) and I have no problems with clogged pores or acne. (and I do get acne from time to time, but not from the oil.. just from the monthly hormonal fluctuations). I love coconut oil. I need to invest in some shea or cocoa butter and give that a whirl. BTW I just came across your website.. LOVE IT! Thanks for the wonderful recipe ideas. Now I have some new home-made Christmas gift ideas!
I’ve been using cocoa butter as a nighttime moisturizer for the past several months! Having combo skin, i haven’t noticed any increase in breakouts.. it does require a cleanser in the morning tho since it’s so thick! I used to use mary kay, but got tired of spending all the money! BTW- you’re recipes and tips are OUTSTANDING!! thanks soo much!
Regarding shea butter on your face…
Until OCM I had always been super oily and acneic, but now my acne has gone. I’m living in Canberra, so it’s a cold, dry winter. I put a little shea butter on my face every day, softened slightly with either jojoba or grapeseed oil. I would have thought it was too much for my face too, but it has not caused me a single zit. I even put it on a bit thicker on some mornings where it’s in the negatives (celsius) and I go for a bike ride. Sort of like a wind-burn-protection layer. When I get to work I just smooth off any excess and away I go. Everyone’s skin is different, but I reckon if a recovered acne sufferer can put it on their face, most people should be right 🙂
Crap, sorry I should have read all your comments before replying!
I sometimes use coconut oil on my face too, for no other reason than it’s nearer to me on the shelf, or I’m at my boyfriend’s house and that’s all I’ve got there. I’ve never noticed a direct link between coconut oil and bumps, but I’ve also never used it daily for a long period.
The one thing that surprised me was rosehip oil. I have always read that it’s amazing stuff but if you have any sort of blemish you should steer clear, as in, seriously avoid the stuff because it can inflame zits badly. To this day, I have no idea why I tried it anyway (probably once I’d discovered that OCM was curing my acne and I was feeling adventurous!), but I now put it on my face nightly and it causes no problems at all.
Of course, we’re all different, but I figured I’d chip in because I know you’re trying to discern fact from fiction via all our little bits of evidence 🙂
I can’t wait to try this!!! The car and fish molds are adorable. I smell Christmas gift ideas a-brewing…
I’m so glad you made these! I’d been looking at them at the MadeOn site and was thinking that they’d make great Christmas gifts. Great for air travel too (one less liquid product to try and stuff in that plastic bag for security).
You mentioned using Altoids tins for molds, but there’s a rolled lip on the inside of the tin… the bar won’t pop out. It would make a great container to store a finished bar in though. It would also work great for a lip balm or salve, or anything that stays in the tin as you use it.
Nutty Butt Butter… I’m already thinking of recipients, gift wrapping, tags, fonts for the tags… 🙂
To use an altoid tin, you could pad out the overhang with plasticine (non- air drying modelling clay), then clingfilmthe surface so you don’t get any leaking through and possibly combining with the clay. Then when the bar has set, it should just pop out. The bar would then be the right size for storing in the tin too. Just an idea 😉
You could also cut a small piece of parchment paper that’s the width of the tin, leaving enough to hang over the sides. Once the bar has set, you can use the parchment to pop the bar out of the tin.
Yeah, to follow up on Kira’s question above, this is something I’m always struggling with — how do you clean up beesewax in general? Say, from the pot you’ve melted it in, the grater you’ve grated it with, etc?
That stuff is impossible to get off! Is there a trick?
MK, I ran into this too when I made lip balm. Though I don’t like to use paper towels in general, there are times when they are the best thing for a particular job. In this case, get your beeswax-y containers warm again and wipe them out with paper towels really well, then wash normally.
As for the grater… I’m about ready to just buy the beeswax in pellets from now on! I hope someone here has a great (ha ha) idea about cleaning those!
Excellent, thanks!
Betty has a great response above as well.
I saw it after I replied to you! Betty to the rescue again… what an awesome trick for the waxy grater problem!
Oh! I had another question regarding your recipe for the lotion bars you made in the mold. Using the recipe (1/2 cup version), did that make 4 bars or more? Thanks!
Betty, I hope you know what a life changer you are. Being a newbie, you are teaching me so much and things that I can do, as I am disabled. I love you to pieces . . . REALLY! Every day I look forward to Crunchy Betty arriving in my email! My written project commitments are coming along nicely. To make all of my Christmas presents. I’ve received my vanilla pods and have ordered the bottles for the homemade vanilla extract. I’ve almost completed my first knitted scarf. I have plans to go to the orchard on the 20th to get a bushel of apples and then can them in pretty jars with cinnamon. Your lotion bars have been added to the list and I can’t wait until you share the Nutty Butt Butter Bar with us! Confession . . . I didn’t know what to do with the lotion bars until others asked. Thank you for all that you do! XxxoXoxoX to all of you Crunchies!
Those molds are adorable!!! I might have to get a couple of those for lotion bars for my son. I have some silicone molds (hearts and suns) and have been looking for something that my son won’t think is too “Girlie”! …Ah, the joys of having boys!
Love it, thank you! If I can ask a question: what’s the best way you’ve found for grating beeswax? I’ve found it sticks to everything I use and is a big pain to get off. Do you just have a grater that you use solely for that purpose?
I found that if you put it in the refrigerator for about 15 min. before grating (or shaving with a knife, as I do) it’s not as sticky. It returns to room temp very quickly.
I agree with the refrigerating, but the trick to getting it off is to boil it.
While I was making these, I started thinking maybe “how to get beeswax and butters off your stuff” might be a necessary post soon. (And now that there’s more than one person asking, I think it is!)
Here’s how I do it, though. I put all the utensils that have touched the beeswax/butter into a large pot, fill it with water, and then bring it to a boil. After a few minutes, all the wax/butter starts to float to the top. Then you just pull everything out one by one (I use tongs for this) and wipe them down well with an old rag or a paper towel.
They should be clean at this point. If there’s still beeswax left on one of ’em, just pop it back in the water and repeat.
As soon as you dump the water out of the pot, you want to wipe it out (while it’s still hot) to get all the remaining wax/butter off the edges and around the sides.
Hope this helps!
If you freeze it, it pops right off.
You don’t *have* to grate the beeswax. If you’re able to cut it (chop it, really) into chunks, then weigh it and you’re set.
Eek and don’t pour the waxy buttery water down your kitchen sink, go and pour it in the garden or on the weeds that pop up between the pavers. It’ll cool and stick in your pipes over time, and no amount of bicarb vinegar volcanoes will clear that out.
Great tutorial (as usual). I also am wondering, what is a lotion bar and how do you use it? Do you just rub it like soap and apply to body?
Is there something to substitute the shea butter with? I avoid it and all nut butters because of allergies, and have been clueless as to what to use besides beeswax.
Cocoa butter is great and smells lovely! I’ve also heard that mango butter is very nice, but have never tried it.
Thank you so much!
I’ve used avocado butter, cocoa butter and mango butter, each as substitutes for shea butter. I believe aloe vera butter may work well, too, since it’s about the same consistency.
You can make an excellent salve by following pretty much the same steps, but using less beeswax and by soaking herbs in the oil (over VERY low heat for about an hour or so). Arnica flowers = muscle relaxing and bruise reducing. Lavender = awesomeness. Chamomile = skin soothing. The list goes on…
And as for intentions… wow, I really screwed mine up. I had every intention of ending a friendship (that is in dire need of being ended) but instead I let myself get sucked back into the drama of it today. Ugh. Looks like I’ll be doing a re-do on that one.
Not easy to end friendships–I ended a 20+ year friendship earlier this year, and you know what? It is ok. And I don’t miss the drama.
Good luck and stay true to yourself.
I am so excited! After making super simple lip balm last week, I thought to myself, “Making lotion bars must be pretty well the same thing.” And it is! This is so great. Thank you. What perfect timing for me.
OK, you are going to think I am an idiot, but what is a lotion bar?
I was scrolling to the bottom of the comments to ask that exact question 🙂
Basically it’s lotion in hard form. You take the bar and run it over your skin where it melts a tad with the heat of your skin, then you rub it in. Sort of like the way you use lip balm in a tube.
Forgot to say you are not an idiot!!! These are generally not for sale in stores so how would you know? I didn’t know until I saw them on someone else’s blog and she described how to use it. Have yet to try one myself 🙂
I CANNOT WAIT for you to post the tutorial for your Nutty Butt Butter!!!! I absolutely adore the fishies and trucks, too 🙂
Perfect timing! The air is finally not soup-like from humidity, but I had to start using some moisturizer after the honey wash this week.
I love how your lotion bars look! The fishies and trucks are adorable, and I love the way the coffee beans (?) stick out of your grown up ones. 🙂
Oh, and I would just like to point out that this was one of my intentions from earlier this week: http://crunchybetty.com/this-month-you-intend-to
And you can be danged sure I would’ve put it off and put it off longer if I hadn’t declared that intention. I had to do it, because I told you guys I would. (I’ve been so up to my eyeballs in book editing, I haven’t wanted to do anything else.) So I’m good on lotion bars, GREAT on progress with the book, but I’ve lapsed on the meditation – probably because no one can actually hold me to that one. Dangit.
How are YOU doing with your intentions?