Have you thought of making your own hard lotion bars?

When you have family members with skin conditions, lotion bars are the perfect solution.

Here's a question from a customer that came in this week:

Beverly writes:
"I am a Mom of three young children and would like to be able to make the hard lotion for them, especially for my middle daughter who has super dry skin. I have tried so many products, with no success. I like your recipe because it is natural, with only three ingredients.
I would like to get your advice on the exact quantity of each ingredient (by weight) to make a solid lotion bar resistant in Texas weather, especially during the summertime. Can I add vitamin E and how much quantity?.
Which essential oil would you recommend for children and how much quantity? I would like to be able to make six rectangular hard bars, for my children."

Great questions, Beverly!

First, let's start with MadeOn's basic hard lotion bar recipe:

3 oz beeswax
3 oz shea butter
3 oz coconut oil
Instructions: Use a double boiler to melt the ingredients. Stir well and then pour into molds (molds can be ice cube trays, cupcake trays, soap molds, etc.). If using essential oils, stir in essential oils right before pouring.

For hot summer weather, increase the beeswax by no more than 20%. So, the summer version would be:

3.5 oz beewax
3 oz shea butter
3 oz coconut oil

Need a visual? In this video, I show you how to make lotion bars...

 

Next, let's talk about vitamin E in lotion bars...

I'm curious to know why you'd like to add it. If it's because you heard that it's a preservative, that's fine but your lotion bars don't need a preservative because there's no water involved. In fact, in some cases, it can cause more skin irritability because many vitamin E sources are derived from wheat, so it's not gluten-free. That said, this may or may not affect your skin as everyone reacts differently... it's just that it's a potential allergen. Among our products that contain vitamin E (Avocado goat milk soap and shaving bars), they are made from a wheat-free source. I have not personally added vitamin E to our other products so I can't comment on the amounts.

Essential oils: if you're making lotion bars for children:

You'll want to follow some safety guidelines on which to use or not use, and how many drops to add. I recommend looking at https://www.usingeossafely.com/ for guidance. A few safe ones that your children might enjoy are lavender, sweet orange, or Roman chamomile.

How many lotion bars will 9 oz of lotion make?

The above recipe makes about 12 small (ice cube size) bars or 6 large bars.

No time to make your own? Find our 5 packs of Beesilk bars here:
https://store.hardlotion.com/collections/bulk/products/5-pack-beesilk-lotion-bars-pocket