Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Soothing Lotion Bars

 

A lotion bar is a great alternative to a liquid water-based body lotion. I make them for the whole family, and they make great gifts during the holidays. A body lotion bar contains oil and is solid, which makes it ideal for children to use.

Lotion bars are extremely cost effective since it melts on contact with skin. As a result, less of the bar is used. There is one draw back: the skin will become greasy if too much of the bar is used. You can use ingredients such as bees wax, Shea butter, cocoa butter, almond oil, and essential oils.



The original recipe I used calls for 6 ounces cocoa butter, 6 ounces Shea butter, and 1 ounce vegetable oil. I cut the recipe in half since I didn't need as many this time. I only needed a few for my gift baskets. 30 drops of lavender were also added, but not needed.

The butters have a strong aroma which may cancel out the essential oils. That is, if you decide to add them just for their fragrance. I decided to use my calendula and lavender infused relaxing oil instead of regular vegetable oil.


The Shea and cocoa butters were placed in a glass bowl and put on top of a pan full of hot water to melt. Shea butter is actually a wax in semi-solid form. It is made from the nuts of the Shea nut tree in South Africa. It is high in vitamin E, has a slightly sunscreen effect, and softens the skin.

Cocoa butter is a wax from the cocoa bean. It has emollient qualities and absorbs quickly into the skin. Good for all skin types, but avoid if prone to skin allergy reactions.



Once the butters were melted, I added the rest of the ingredients.

I mixed well.



Since these are meant as gifts I used small cupcake molds, but you can make them bigger.

The smaller sizes are also perfect for little hands.



Here are the bars a few hours later.  I suggest that you use bees wax if you want them fairly hard since these bars are softer. I prefer them a little bit harder so  I will use 1 part beeswax, 1 part oil, 1 part cocoa or Shea butter when I make my  body bars next time. You make it the same way, melt it all together, add essential oils if desired, and place in molds.




Here is one of my gift baskets for the holiday season. I included my easy bath salt, infused relaxing oil, and my homemade perfume. As you can see, I added some other homemade items to add a nice touch.

Doesn't the basket look great?
at