Lotion Bars

[mourningdove92]

My SO and I enjoy making our Christmas gifts each year for our family and co-workers. This year we decided to make home bath and beauty products. One of the most interesting (and easy) recipes we found was for Lotion Bars. These little bars of lotion are great to keep by your kitchen sink to keep your hands in good shape. The only real problem I had was in finding a mold for the bars. As I was unable to find any soap molds to use...I had to get creative AND CHEAP. I ended up using my muffin pans with liners. Worked great.

Super Easy Lotion Bar recipe

1 part Almond Oil
1 part Coconut Oil
2 parts grated Beeswax.
20-30 drops of fragrance

put the oils and beeswax in a pan over medium heat and heat until the beeswax is melted. Mix well. If desired, add fragrance drops. Pour into lined muffin tins. I use about 1/4 cup for each tin. Allow to harden completely. Just peel the muffin liner away from the bar and Voila! Lotion Bars.

[NMDemDist2]

1. Lotion Bars?? I have never seen such a thing? n/t

[mourningdove92]

2. Neither had I.

I found the recipe on the internet. They come out really neat.

[eleny]

3. Did you use a double boiler?

Just wondering if it was necessary. Tia!

[mourningdove92]

4. No, I don't even own a double boiler. I just put it all in a good

saucepan and heat it slowly.

[eleny]

5. thanks!

[fortyfeetunder]

6. Interesting, I've never heard of them

Just rub on the hands? That sounds cool.

Should the fragrance be an essential oil?

[mourningdove92]

7. yes, use essential oils.

They work great.

[Eloriel]

8. Looks good -- so tell me

how big a "part" did you use to go with all those drops?

[mourningdove92]

10. hehehe, I believe I used

1/2 cup combined oils
and
1/2 cup beeswax.

[Red State Rebel]

9. A good place to look for soap molds and supplies....

For soap molds and soap fragrances and supplies: www.sweetcakes.com and for essential oils and soap supplies (they didn't carry molds) www.rainbowmeadows.com .

Easy molds - take a cardboard soda flat and slip it inside of a trash bag. Smooth the wrinkles as best you can and pour your stuff in. When it's ready to unmold, the plastic bag easily pulls off and you can slice your product into bars in any size you like.

Another mold - when I make soap, I use a 3" pvc pipe about 16-18" long. Rubberband plastic wrap over one end and fill from the other end with the mold standing on end. If you have problems getting it to release the product, place into a freezer overnight and the next morning let it set for 10 minutes or so and you should be able to push it out. Slice into round bars of any thickness. (I use a hacksaw with the teeth ground off for a nice clean cut.)

[yardwork]

11. Muffin pans are a good idea!

I tried making hand salve (basically the same recipe) and poured it into an old cold cream container.

Also, I didn't grate the beeswax. I melted it in a double boiler and added the other oils when the wax was mostly melted.

I use Essential Oils because they may have therapeutic value (aromatherapy) and I like the idea of using something straight from the plant.

Note: Coconut oil can dry skin. If you need more moisturizer, try reducing the percent of coconut oil and upping the percent of other oils. I used olive oil and jojoba oils in my recipe. Others to try include avocado oil and apricot kernel oil.

[mourningdove92]

12. Thanks, I am planning on trying it

with Almond oil and olive oil.

[yardwork]

13. The olive oil does smell like olive oil in the finished salve, though

and it turned the salve a green color. When I do it again I'm going to try the almond oil.

[fortyfeetunder]

14. Saw lotion bars in a gift shop today

I went to my favorite gift shop and it had a display of lotion bars. I tried one, which was nice. They were wrapped and used a terra cotta pot saucer to hold them in!

This bar had shea butter in it. Is there any advantage in using shea butter? What would it be a substitute for?

[yardwork]

16. Shea butter is very moisturizing and soothing

You can exchange it for some of the other oils in the recipe.

[fortyfeetunder]

15. another idea for molds

are the little cupcake pans Wilton makes in shapes. I have a Christmas tree pan, once I figure out how much liquid I need, and I master the recipe can make these in tree shapes.

[fortyfeetunder]

17. Five+ years later, I (finally) made lotion bars!

After buying some lotion bars(OMG, that was pricey), I saved up some buck$ and bought some ingredients. I used some mixed oils, with shea butter, cocoa butter and beeswax. I tried heating it over heat, though I wasn't getting the beeswax to melt. I ended up microwaving and pouring the mixture (along with fragrance) in muffin tins. The outcome was great, I bought some terra cotta saucers to put my creations in. My hands have never been softer and it lasts all day, through multiple washings!!!!

Thank you for the inspiration!