Give your skin some much-deserved love! Not your average moisturizer, this DIY lotion bar uses the warmth of your body to melt natural emollients and essential oils into the skin to smooth, moisturize and hydrate dry hands, heels, elbows, and more.
With a rich base of coconut oil, beeswax, and shea butter, this homemade lotion bar recipe has a smooth and rich consistency. We honestly can’t get enough of the clean and fresh lavender-lemon combo we tried, but feel free to get inspired and create your own essential oil blend!
Bonus Tip: If you want to create an exfoliating texture, we recommend adding in some citrus zest, oatmeal, or dried lavender. Have fun experimenting!
Ingredients
- ½ cup extra-virgin coconut oil
- ½ cup beeswax
- ¼ cup shea butter
- ¼ cup cocoa butter
- 15–20 drops essential oil of your choice (we recommend 10 drops of Lavender essential oil and 10 drops of Lemon essential oil)
- Optional: dried lavender and lemon zest for exfoliation
Materials
- 16-ounce measuring cup
- Medium-sized saucepan
- Silicone molds or muffin tin
Directions
- Combine coconut oil, beeswax, shea butter, and cocoa butter in a 16-ounce glass measuring cup.
- Place in a pot with water that rises to halfway up the measuring cup
- Bring water to a boil, stirring frequently until ingredients are completely melted.
- Remove measuring cup from the pot.
- Add dried lavender and lemon zest, if desired.
- Add essential oils and stir until completely combined.
- Immediately pour into molds.
- Let sit overnight.
- Once cooled, remove the lotion from the molds.
- Store in a cool, dry place.
What combination of essential oils are you excited to try? Tell us in the comments below!
View Comments
I have made lotion bars with a very similar recipe - i love rubbing them on my feet at night before getting into bed...i leave one on my bedside table!!
After it boils and you remove from heat do you have to let it cool a bit before adding the essential oils? I've been reading on when you apply oils to things that are to hot to soon it will break down the oils, is this true?
Hello Cheryl, We recommend following the directions to achieve the desired finished product. If the contents of the measuring cup are allowed to cool too much, the mixture will begin to solidify. Adding the essential oils right before the mixture is added to the molds should allow it enough time to cool thus ensuring that the oils are not exposed to extreme heat. Thanks for stopping by!
So this is a lotion? Not a soap?
How cool!
One bar is for one-time use?
Hey Jof. Honestly, the bar can last a while depending on how large you make them, or how often you use them. If you store them in a cool environment (fridge, cool cabinet, or air conditioned area) you will be able to keep the lotion bars for as long as you choose to use it. Hope that helps and thanks for stopping by!
I can't wait to try this.... Do you have a soap recipe?
Hey Lucy. We don't currently have a DIY soap recipe, but we have our own soaps here: Young Living Soaps We also have other DIYs we have done on the blog though: Shower Bombs and Homemade Body Butter Hope that helps!
I'm very interested in making the lotion bars. I have to purchase a few ingredients though. How much do you put in each muffin cup?
Hey Carol. How much of the mixture you put into the molds depend entirely on what mold you use. Some people use large molds (the ones we used were on the larger side, making only three bars) and other people may choose to use ice trays for their molds. The recipe allows you to easily double it and experiment with it. I hope that helps and let us know how it goes!
Love the mold pattern. Where did you buy these?
Hey Loretta. We got them online. You can find similar items online or at your local craft stores. Have fun experimenting and let us know how it goes!
Any suggestions on what I can use besides Coconut Oil? I am allergic but this sounds amazing!
Hey Amanda! We recommend that you try increasing the cocoa and/or shea butters and adding in a little jojoba oil to soften it. We have only tried this recipe but please feel free to experiment with your own ideas and let us know how it goes. Hope that helps!
Just be careful of the photosensitivity of your skin if you are using citrus or any other oils that may cause it if you will be using these regularly with summer on the horizon! It would so be me to forget...lol
I haven't tried this yet. I question the size of the measuring cup. 2 half cups and 2 quarter cups would equal 1.5 cup. Do these actually fit in a 16 ounce cup? I'd rather start with the right size at the beginning. Also is the cocoa butter shaved?
Hello Karen. The amount of mixture that fits depends on the size of the mold. You can use large molds (we used three molds for one recipe) or use molds as small as ice trays for convenience. You can easily double or triple the recipes, but in the end this will be a bit of an experiment depending on the molds you choose. The cocoa butter was pure and in cubes. Hope that helps and thanks for stopping by with your questions!
Karen, it sounds like you're asking about the measuring cup itself to make the lotion bars, not the molds... If I'm understanding correctly... 1.5 cups should theoretically fit in a 16oz meas. cup, b/c that's 2 cups, but if you'd like extra room for stirring and such, you could go with a 4-cup measuring cup. I haven't made these yet, but I'll be making them this weekend once my supplies come in... I'll try to remember to come back and let you know how they turned out. :)