Have you read the ingredients on your favorite bottle of lotion lately??? There are numerous crazy ingredients in most store bought products (find your lotion on the Cosmetic Safety Database). I have been trying to make the perfect rich moisturizing lotion for a few months now and have finally made a wonderfully simple lotion that I love. Just a tiny bit of this creamy formula will make your skin sooo soft. The recipe came from Wabi Sabi Baby Blog. Her instructions are very clear and helpful. I quartered her recipe as follows:
- 1.125 ounces of coconut oil
- .375 ounces emulsifying wax
- 3 1/2 ounces of boiling water
- 2 ounces of glycerine
- 40 drops lavender essential oil
In a double boiler (as used to make my chapstick), melt the coconut oil and emulsifying wax. Boil water. Pour the water into a jar and add glycerin. Put the lid on and shake. Slowly pour in the hot oil/wax mixture and shake again. Add essential oil and shake. Allow the mixture to cool for about 5 minutes and shake to mix. Now pour into your lotion container, a pump container or small glass jars work well. As it cools, you may want to shake a few more times.
In my quest to make the luscious lotion, I have learned that you must weigh the ingredients with a precise scale to make the recipe turn out properly. I purchased a pocket scale that is perfect for small batches. To make larger batches, I would need a larger scale.
I’d like to try this recipe and wonder if jojoba oil would work? or another oil?
Thanks.
Oh, and is the lavender oil absolutely necessary? Can it be omitted or replaced with another fragrant oil?
Thanks again! This site has great info.
Ann,
Coconut oil is solid at room temperature. If you substitute a liquid oil, you will probably need more wax. You can definitely substitute other essential oils for the lavender. I make this with eucalyptus and spearmint too. Thanks for reading our blog.
Kathy
I found coconut oil in a jar and it said unrefined. Should this be refined? Photos of the items listed would help greatly. Being as I am just starting out to make my own and have no idea what to look for. Where can I find the jars you use? Thanks!!
Elle, unrefined and refined coconut oil will work the same way in this recipe. I happen to use Spectrum’s Organic refined coconut oil because I use it in my cooking and have it on hand. Unrefined coconut oil will have more coconut flavor and scent.
I purchase my little jars from Mountain Rose Herbs.
Good idea to show photos of the listed item, but I am not sure I have quite enough time or motivation for such an endeavor. Feel free to comment or email any questions that you have. Thanks for reading the blog.
Thanks for answering! I do appreciate it! I am excited to try out this lotion! My local health food store did not carry the emulsifying wax so I am going to purchase it from Mountain Rose Herbs, along with the containers. Thanks alot!
One more thing, how many ounces will this make when done?
Ell – Happy to help. This recipe makes about 7 ounces. Let us know how it turns out for you.
Kathy- I will let you know! I think I am making the chapstick as well, that looks fun:) I am looking for an oil to use for it, maybe making 6, 3 peppermint and 3 something else. I was hoping to find pumpkin oil. lol Have you ever used shea butter or cocoa butter in any of your lotions? Those smell so good.
Kathy, I am also making one for a friend of mine with sensitive skin and needs fragrance free. What can I substitute for the coconut oil (as I assume it smells like coconut) Would I also then not use any essential oil? Thanks!
Elle – I have not used shea butter, but I tried cocoa butter, and I didn’t like how it smelled on my skin.
Refined coconut oil has a very light scent. I think people with sensitive skin could use refined coconut oil, but that would depend on the person’s level of sensitivity. Many people who have sensitive skin can use homemade products without issues; they are allergic to all the crap companies put in their products. I would omit the essential oil for sensitive skin at first, but experiment with it as time goes on. I do not have a substitute for coconut oil; you would need a whole new recipe because the wax and liquid amounts are based on using coconut oil.
Hi Kathy,
Thanks for the mention and I’m glad you found the instructions useful. Also, coconut oil is semi-solid – melts around 76 degrees. So at our house, it is solid in the winter, liquid in the summer. You can see the lotion thickness vary seasonally. For water-based lotions recipes that use e. wax like this one, you can directly substitute any liquid oils without increasing the amount of e. wax (although this wouldn’t hurt the lotion) and still have similar results.
Just ordered glycerine and emulsifying wax! Thanks for the recipe – this looks like just what I was looking for!
@Trina You are very welcome. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Hey, I added 10 times the quantity of emulsifying wax by accident.
Do you know if that will make it not a good lotion?
I did not want to buy more of the other ingredients until I tried the lotion in a small batch first.
Thanks.
John
How long does this lotion last? Does it need any preservatives?
Nick
Nick – The lavender acts as a natural preservative, and I use this lotion for at least 2 months after making it. One time, I kept some for about 6 months and mold developed.
I think it is very important to note that this recipe is NOT vegan. Emuslifying wax is generally not vegetable-based, so if true vegans opt to use this recipe make certain you’re buying a vegetable-based waxed!
I use emulsifying wax from Mountain, Rose and it is vegetable based.
http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/wax/wax.html
I love this recipe/method! So far I have made pumpkin-orange lotion (subbing pumpkin seed oil for the coconut and sweet orange oil, also with antimicrobial properties, for the lavender) and grapeseed-citrus lotion (with grapeseed oil and a combo of sweet orange and lemon essential oils).
It has worked really well. Doubtless not as thick as if I made it with coconut oil, but I like the texture and it feels and works so well.
Thanks so much for this!
Can this lotion be used on the face? I have sensitive, slightly dry skin. I really want to make homemade face lotion with lavender essential oil but I’m a little scared! I saw your other post about making facial moisturizer but I would prefer to have a cream rather than a liquid. Do you know what the effects of coconut oil/emulsifying wax are on the face? Any suggestions would be great :0
Cate – I use this on my face in the winter. It can be a bit too oily for my skin so I usually apply a light coat after I wash my face while it is still wet. I use straight coconut oil on my nose when it gets dry from a cold. Hope it works well for you.
would this stuff be safe enough too put on an acne prone face? or would it just cause you too break out more?
Well, it does contain oil, but coconut oil absorbs so nicely it may be okay. I would say try it and let us know how it goes.
I use this as a base recipe for homemade lotion. I tweak it a bit-I use a mixture of various types of oils with excellent results. I have also used rose or orange water. I add a preservative-luecidil (mild radish-based natural no parabens) from lotioncrafter. I use various essential or fragrance oils. It is my favorite recipe and I have no problems with spoilage. I also use a pump or dispensing cap to limit microbe entry into container. Thanks for this wonderful recipe!
Hey, I’m grateful that you posted this recipe. I’ve been looking for a good recipe for vegan lotion, and I’m glad I finally found it! I wanted to make a quick note though, because I noticed someone asking about using it on acne prone skin. I personally have very oily skin, but thankfully the acne stays under control. The best oils for acne prone skin are hemp seed oil and sunflower oil. Either one of those could easily be substituted into this recipe to replace the coconut oil, with a small tweak to the ewax if needed. Hemp seed oil is especially wonderful for oily acne prone skin because it feels almost powdery on the skin, and it has wonderful antioxidant qualities. Just wanted to share that
Amber – Thanks for the suggestions!
I love this recipe, but have noticed it burns when applied to broken skin. I did not add any essential oil…is there any reason the lotion should sting that you know of?
Hi Jenna – I am sorry that I do not know what is causing the lotion to burn. I have never experienced that. The ingredients are very mild.