Homemade Lotion In the House!

Creamy, soothing I-know-exactly-what's-in-it, homemade lotion. I made it mostly for my eczema prone middle child but also because I'm slowly phasing out some of the major offenders in our personal care products. Since I already tackled lipbalm, then deodorant, this lotion was the next logical step.

A simple google search turns up hundreds of homemade lotion recipes. I narrowed down my inspiration to wabi sabi's tutorial as well as the formulary section of Lotion Crafter and Mystic Mountain Sage.

Lotion is very easy to make once you realize it's a three part emulsion. Basically oil+water+emulsifier. A typical lotion is 75-80% water and 20-25% water. If you plan on keeping your lotion out of the fridge (read wabi sabi's explanation on shelf life) then you'll also need a preservative. I chose Cosmocil CQ after spending way too much time on the Skin Deep database looking for a less harmful alternative. Finally the first version of the recipe!



Maricucu's Soothing Lotion

78.5% water

4% cocoa butter
4% rosehip seed oil
4% unrefined organic coconut oil
4% jojoba oil
2% e-wax
2% BTMS emulsifier

1.5% Cosmocil CQ
2-3 drops of essential oil per 1 oz. of lotion (I chose calendula extract for its soothing properties, plus lavender and tea tree oil for their healing properties).

Today I was making 24 oz. of lotion so my proportions were as follows (roughly rounded since my scale only weighs in whole grams).

680g = 24oz (3-8oz bottles)

water 534 g

cocoa butter - 28 g
jojoba oil 27 g
rosehip seed oil 28 g
coconut oil 27 g
e wax - 13 g
btms - 14 g

cosmocil 10 g
calendula extract - 48 drops
tea tree EO - 24 drops
lavender EO - 24 drops

First weigh out your water and oil/wax phases in separate heat safe containers.




Bring the water to a boil and melt the wax/oil phase. I used the microwave although next time I'll use a double boiler for the oils.



Pour the oil mixture into the water mixture. The lotion will instantly start turning milky white.



Blend well to emulsify. I used a stick blender but you can also use a standard blender or even with a whisk by hand. The emulsifying wax will do the work for you.




Then realize that your blending container is too small for this batch and pour in a larger container before blending in the cosmocil and essential oils/extracts.



Pour into bottles while still warm, otherwise it will be too thick to pour.



Clean up the lotion you poured outside the bottles and cap. Let cool and label. Despite using a preservative you'll want to use this lotion pretty quickly to benefit from the various oils and extracts. Like any other personal care item if it turns color on you or smells funky at all toss it.


Next time I will reduce the wax slightly and increase the oil phase just a tad. Aside from that, the lotion felt very nice, absorbed completely into my skin and both sons kept asking me to put more on them including the oldest who would rather dry like a leaf than have anything goopy on his skin. I'd say it was a success!