Handmade Lotion Bar Recipe – 3 ways

Having a lotion bar recipe on hand is great when traveling or for little hands to hold and rub on their bodies after a bath or shower. I also use them as a back up for when I start to run out of body butters.

This lotion bar recipe can be made in multiple ways, depending on the ingredients you have on hand. They are very similar, but the slight changes will make the difference if you are vegan or don’t have cocoa butter. They’re all good, so use the one that you prefer.

MOLDS: Cupcake liners work great!  You can also line a glass dish with waxed paper and pour the lotion into it to cool.  Simply slice when cool.  The waxed paper will help you pull it out of the dish when it’s hard. Another way is to pour the lotion mixture into empty deodorant containers.  These make it easy to rub all over.

ESSENTIAL OILS: Use what you love!  Lavender is very relaxing.  Rosemary is great for the skin.  Tea Tree is a good antibacterial.

3 Lotion Bar Recipes

All 3 Recipes make 3 cups of lotion. I buy most of my ingredients on amazon.  I’ve included affiliate links to what I buy.

3 and Simple

For this recipe you will need equal parts shea butter, coconut oil, and beeswax.  This is the standard recipe that people use for lotion bars.  Shea butter is a solid oil, but semi-soft.  Coconut oil is a solid below 76 F.  So, the three ingredients together will make the lotion nice and hard, but wonderfully nourishing for your skin.

• 1 cup shea butter
• 1 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup beeswax
• 10-20 drops essential oil of your choice
• 3 drops rosemary essential oil as a natural preservative

Place shea butter, coconut oil, and bees wax in glass bowl or  jar.  Place jar into saucepan filled halfway with water.  Turn saucepan on med. heat and stir oils until they are melted.  Remove from heat, add essential oils, and pour into molds.

Oils of Choice

This is similar to the recipe above, but instead of just using coconut oil, you can substitute some of it for some other great oils.

• 1 cup shea butter
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup total of sweet almond oil, apricot kernel oil, grapeseed oil, rosehip seed oil, avocado oil, or oil of choice.
• 1 cup beeswax
• 10-20 drops essential oil of your choice
• 3 drops rosemary essential oil as a natural preservative

Place all oils except essential oils in a glass bowl or jar.  Place jar into saucepan filled halfway with water.  Turn saucepan on med. heat and stir oils until they are melted.  Remove from heat, add essential oils, and pour into molds.

Frugal Choice

This is the recipe I use.  Bees wax can be expensive, but it is necessary to create a hard bar.  Cocoa butter is also very hard and can sometimes be cheaper.  I like the smell and enjoy adding it to my lotion bar recipe so that it is a bit cheaper to make.

• 1/2 cup beeswax
• 1/2 cup cocoa butter
• 1 cup  shea butter
• 2/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup total of oils of choice (Apricot kernel, sweet almond oil, etc.)
• 10-20 drops essential oil of your choice
• 3 drops rosemary essential oil as a natural preservative

Place all oils except essential oils in a glass bowl or  jar.  Place jar into saucepan filled halfway with water.  Turn saucepan on med. heat and stir oils until they are melted.  Remove from heat, add essential oils, and pour into molds.

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