Here is a fun homemade gift idea. This is also really nice if you or the little ones suffer from dry skin during winter, if you are a gardener or you just wash your hands frequently. I like these things for girl friends and housewarming gifts and for teachers as well– I promise they wash their hands nonstop and can probably use a little extra moisturizing. I love these types of homemade items for those of you with little girls in particular. I think it is fun to make this kind of thing with the kids- especially older girls where it can be hard to find things to spend quality time together. These products cost a small fortune in the fancy soap shops so why not make your own!
These lotion bars you simply pop out of the molds and when you are ready to use just rub them between your hands to soften and moisturize- knees, hands, feet etc…
You can keep these on the counter in a pretty soap dish and then the extras you might want to put in a jar or a Ziploc and pop in the fridge until you need them.
I thought these lavender ones would be so pretty in a Mason jar tied with twine and a little sprig of lavender.
Ingredients:
- 2 Ounces Beeswax
- 2 Ounces Shea Butter
- 2 Ounces Coconut Oil
- 3-4 drops Lavender Essential Oil (or oil of your choice- optional)
- 1 tbsp Vitamin E Oil
- Food Coloring (optional)
These will have a very subtle fragrance of coconut oil if you don’t want to use an essential oil.
Also when you are shopping, if you can find beeswax pellets they are much easier and faster then trying to cut through blocks of beeswax.
Directions:
In a microwave safe bowl (or double boiler) melt beeswax. Once beeswax is melted, add in shea butter, coconut oil and vitamin E oil. Continue to heat on low until all butters and oils are melted.
Allow to cool for 2 minutes and add in your coloring and essential oils. I actually like these without any coloring but I have purple pictured above to give you an idea of how that would look. You can choose from any essential oils you like- peppermint, tea tree, lemon, rosemary etc….
In a silicon mold, pour your mixture in. If any air bubbles appear on the top, spritz the tops with rubbing alcohol to remove.
Allow to set on the counter for 1-2 hours until completely opaque.
Carefully remove from molds and enjoy!
All the supplies you need to make these can be found at Natural Food stores or you can actually get great prices on these things from Amazon (including silicone molds in tons of shapes and sizes).
A few other ideas you might like:
Homemade Almond Butter-– this stuff is so good!
Tips like this are the reason you are my favorite money saving blog!! Thanks for all you do!
Jean, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that :). Sometimes the ingredients are a little pricey- beeswax and shea butter and stuff but once you buy it and have it on hand there are so many things you can make.
Charlene,
Where did you get the mold to make yours? They look to be the perfect size. =)
I couldn’t agree more. My favorite blog too! 😀
These would make great little gifts for Christmas or a birthday. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Emily, amazon. You can find silicone molds at the craft stores too for like $11. I have a star one from IKEA and actually the Target Dollar Spot has them but they are pretty flimsy. I am going to repost my bath jelly recipe soon and those will be in a heart shaped mold I got after Valentine’s Day. 🙂
I absolutely mean it! your website makes my life as a stay at home mom of 3 possible! So this may be a silly question but what else do you use the beeswax and shea butter for? and will silicone ice trays work?
Just finished making these! They are amazing, thank you!
Becky I am so glad!
Jean- I am not sure if ice trays will work just because it might be hard to get the bars out. You can certainly try it though :). I think you might be able to use cupcake liners too. And the beeswax and shea butter can be used for other beauty products like lip balms, lotions etc… I will be posting a lot of homemade items like this for the holidays so hopefully you find a few things you like :).
Is the 2oz of coconut oil melted or solid?
Jenni- if yours is solid right now it won’t matter. You are putting into a warm liquid over heat so it will melt on its own really quickly. 🙂
I don’t have a scale to measure out ingredients. Are you using a measuring cup or scale?
Deena- is it possible to look at the packaging on your bags to determine oz? I didn’t use a scale- I just looked at the size of my products and used 2oz of each.
So this might be a dumb question but how do you use it? Does it melt into a blob with the warmth of the hands or is it like rubbing a dry bar of soap on your skin?
How many small bars does this recipe make?
I would just like to know if there is a secret to printing these recipes. I can get the picture but I’d like to print the directions. Thanks
Would you please tell me the name of the mold you used? I like the shape but don’t know where to buy a mold. Thank you.
Hi Angie– sorry I don’t remember where this was from but you can find them at craft stores like Michael’s. They are little clear plastic trays and priced around $3- so just use a coupon and they are super cheap. You want to look for the soap making section- usually it is a tiny one. Hobby Lobby might have a bigger section 🙂
Hi Charlene, I made lotion bars similar to these a couple months ago and I used cupcake liners in my muffin pan and that worked out fine.
Also, for Mary Mellen’s question about printing, I just use the print preview option under file, that way I can see what is being printed and I can skip printing the extra stuff.
Hello Charlene, I was just wondering how many lotion bars this recipe would make?
Thank you!
Ameera- this is 6 oz of product so it will depend on the size that you make the bars. You should be able to see an oz size somewhere on your mold to give you an idea of the quantity.
My food coloring didn’t work… What kind do you recommend? It never mixed.
Hi, there is colorant available at craft stores that is made for this type of use. It can be hard to find- I see it at Michael’s in the very small section with candle making supplies. If I remember it is super inexpensive- just $2 or so and you can use a coupon 🙂
Hi Charlene,
Love these ideas! I am so excited to try making lotion! What is your most trusted source for unrefined shea butter? Thanks so much in advance!
the coconut oil…is it the solid kind you can eat Or is it the fractionated liquid? Thank you!
I just found this blog tonight and I love it. I can’t wait to go through it and see what all you have to say. Thanks again.
How kind of you to say Stephanie- thanks for stopping by!
I so love these!I’d like to give it a try, any alternatives to beeswax?
What could I use as a replacement for the coconut oil? I am allergic to coconut and it is hard to find body products without it.
I always use coconut oil but I found this for you 🙂
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/allergic-to-coconut-oil-alternatives_us_559ed671e4b01c2162a62d89