Rich Moisturizing Lotion

I won't need to worry about my jar going moldy. I use it every day and it makes my mature skin feel more supple and softer, even in these drier winter months.

NO WAY! I was on line looking for a good recipe for home made lotion when I decided to go to FIMBY and look at your day... Crazy (yet again! ) I look forward to shopping from our co-op for these items. Peace

Mmmmm... looks caramel-ly. :)

ohhhhh, thank you for this recipe! nicola http://whichname.blogspot.com

Greetings from... well, from {moderated to protect privacy}! I'm not sure how I happened upon your blog, but I'm glad that I did! I am that not-altogether-successful soapmaker, friend-of-friends, who lives in ... We spoke at a Range Pond birthday party back in the summertime (ah, the summertime!)... Anyway, I'm really enjoying your posts and figured I'd finally comment. Oh, and I am going to try this lotion recipe tomorrow; my skin is crying out for it!

Hi there - I was so excited to finally make this lotion and I love the outcome. Except one small problem...mine is separating. I find pools of green tea/water in my jar. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Liked the consistency. Smells a little "medicine-y" for me though.

Thank you for posting this recipe. I made it for my Mom and she loved it. You've inspired me to start making my own lotions, soaps, and even deodorant. As long as you'll be posting, I'll be reading your blog. Happy Trails, Nicole

Thank you for posting this, I can't wait to try it! I'm curious what the grapefruit seed extract is for -- we take it for health, but never thought to try it in personal care products. Also, do you use your cooking pans and blenders to whip up these lotions? Or do you have special pots and implements set aside for making lotions and soaps? Thanks!

Hi! This sounds great! I have excessively dry skin and am always up to trying something new! Where can you buy all of these things though? I am just starting to learn about all things natural. I have almost none of these ingredients on hand and somehow don't think I'll find them at Walmart... Any input? Thanks! (I'd love if you could even shoot me an email: jaimiemildred at gmail dot com) Jaimie

Just curious, you mention in your post you are brewing a green tea alcohol mix. Is that like green tea in vodka type mix? Thanks!

Well I gave it a whirl last night and made my first batch. I didn't have green tea on hand so I used Chamomile instead. I am not sure it if contributed or not but it seemed to be separating even while using the blender to finish mixing it. Today I am not sure if it is the right consistency or not but I am going to finish using it while I steep some homemade green tea extract. Thanks so much for answering my question! :)

I have very dry and sensitive skin that easily breaks out into eczema if something irritates it. I've been using Cetaphil lotion and cream for many years and it's one of the few things that doesn't irritate it. Do you think something like this would be ok for my sensitive skin and for my littles (ages 1 & 3)? Are there certain oils that would be good to leave out? Thanks!

I don't think Borax is safe to be using in any of your recipes that are going on your body. I'm going to try to research a bit more & try to find an alternative to "keep" all the rest of the ingredients from "separating"... See the section regarding Borax in this informative web article: http://lotionsecrets.com/glossaryharmful.html If you've come across a safer alternative, please let me know. These 'recipes' sound wonderful & I can't wait to try them out - withou the Borax, of course! :)

My understanding of borax is that during the lotion making process the beeswax and the borax cause each other to change chemically, so it's no longer borax. Similar to how lye and oil catalyze in the soapmaking process so that there is no lye in soap - lye is the catalyst that saponifies, or soap-ifies, the oil.

Good Morning and thank you so much for this "guide"! I just made my 2nd batch from this recipe. My first one turned out beautifully - smooth, creamy and incredible. My second batch went a little wonky on me - oh, what a mess I made!! ugh. The lotion blended together quite nicely and quickly, however its creamy smoothness quickly changed, as well. I managed to get it scraped into its containers but noticed it beginning to "break" in that the beeswax seemed to separate into tiny globules. The rest of the emulsion was nicely combined but it seems to have a bit of waxiness about it in its consistency and is somewhat clumpy as opposed to the creamy, even texture of the first batch. Does that make sense? I do not have a digital scale, but rather the standard, "manual" kitchen type. What do you use to measure your ingredients? Could it be I added to much beeswax or (?).......AND can I remedy it now? I did gently reheat and reblend but it returned to its waxy, globule-d consistency. What did I do wrong?? (I will say, the end result is still quite nice just lacks the creamy consistency of my first batch).

Hi Renee- I was speaking with Nancy A the other day and was telling her about a lotion and lip balm I made the other day and she recommended I post the question to you...so here goes. I made a lip balm and your rich honey butter face cream...they start out a really great texture and then as a couple days pass, they start to get a little gritty. The lip balm (a brown color from adding some mica) has these little white spots all throughout) and it kind of looks like the face cream has the same spots, but is lighter in color so it makes them more difficult to see. Have you encountered this? Any ideas what it could be? Thanks. Cheers. Hannah

GSE and vitamen E are NOT preservatives..they are antioxidants!! Try using 1% optiphen(approved for organic product use) it is a MUST for water in oil/oil in water products for your own safety !!!

I REPEAT GSE AND VIAMIN E ARE N O T PRESERVATIVES

woops..sorry for the mis spell/typo on spelling "VITAMIN"

I just tried this and it worked out pretty well! After the fact, I checked back on your photo tutorial and it explains how to mix the borax with water before adding it to the lotion, which I didn't do. I think it would make things curdle less. ;) Also, a single recipe is not a ton so your stick mixer won't be able to mix it well unless you put the stuff in a relatively small-diameter container, like a 2-cup Pyrex or teeny saucepan. Oops. However, I can tell you that a whisk works fairly well as an alternative. Things are separating a little bit, but that happened when I added the GSE and essential oils. I added as the recipe states first, then when things mostly still smelled of cocoa butter, added 15 drops lavendar oil and 5 drops clary sage. Yum. I like a good herbal-y smelling oil.

I have made several lotions over the last few weeks and I have substituted baking soda for borax in the same amount with great success. Give it a try you just might like it!!

Hi, thank you for your wonderful care recipes! I have found adding Meadowfoam Seed Oil(for info see: http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/oilprofile/meadowfoam.php)to my cream, lotion, salve, etc. recipes help extend their shelf life & helps as a binder too! Hopefully this helps & thank you again.

Why would you use the alcohol extract when it would contribute to drying your skin?

Lecithin is a perfect emusifier to use instead of borax to keep your lotion from separating, and it is all natural and safe. Start with 1 tablespoon of liquid Lecithin, and increase or decrease as needed. You can also infuse your green tea with grain alcohol instead of grapefruit seed extract, which makes an excellent anitmicrobe preservative and will increase your shelf life tremendously. Good luck!

Your recipe looks like a good one. I think I will try it sometime with the suggestions I have made.

Grain Alcohol (95% pure aka Evercare or perfumer's alcohol) will not cause dryness to your skin if you compensate for quality oils in the proper amounts in your recipe.

Grain alcohol is pure, and actually helps your skin absorb the lotion. Additionally, alcohol, in making an extract, say any herbal extract, draws out (extracts) the pure natural plant chemicals that create the most benefits for your skin in any lotion. It also enhances the scent and other qualities of the essential oils you have used in your lotion. That is why alcohol is best to use as a solvent (in addition to its 100% natural antimicrobial qualities in preserving your lotion's shelf life for a long time.

I make and sell handcrafted bath and body products. If someone is not comfortable with using borax in their lotion they do sell emulsifying wax that is vegetable waxed base and not petroleum based. It is not 100% natural but is pretty close and will keep your lotion from separating. Also, GSE and Vitamin E are not preservatives. They are antioxidants. Antioxidants are not preservatives. They are excellent for extending the shelf life of your oils to keep them from going rancid but it will not stop unseen bacteria and eventually mold from growing. I have read several research studies in the past when I first started my business and even ran my own tests. You can buy kits online to test for bacteria growth that cannot been seen with the naked eye. In using GSE after 2 to 4 weeks my lotions were growing unseen bacteria that if the lotion was used would be spread onto the body. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean that it's not there. Mold started growing anywhere between 4 and 7 months. Lotion kept in the fridge will only stop bacteria growth for about 4 weeks. I understand that you are trying to share lotion recipes that are "accessible to the common kitchen" as you stated above but if someone is going to be making it to either give away as gifts or to use it on themselves then they should really be making it safely. Optiphen like someone suggested above is an excellent paraben free preservative that is not that difficult to get. There are tons and tons of soap and bath and body supplies websites that offer it for literally only a few dollars (about $3-$4 for 1-2 oz and you only need a tiny, tiny bit in a batch of lotion) and shipping is only a couple more dollars and to be safe with the products that you are spreading on your body a few extra dollars is well worth it.

http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/lotion/talk-it-out-tuesday-preservatives/

Here is an excellent blog post by a woman who has been in the handcrafted bath and body business for years. She runs her own online bath and body supplies company, has her own store in Bellingham, WA, and another website with excellent information on making products.

I've made this lotion 5 or 6 times now and I looooove the richness! That said, it refuses to say emulsified. I'm going to add some emulsifying wax, probably as part of the beeswax weight, and see what happens. Per my friend, who makes soap and lotion, the borax is not necessary in a lotion. I've not been terribly wound up about sterilizing things, and no problems with mold or anything. My friend adds a preservative to hers, but I haven't seen the necessity. I keep the extra in the fridge till I need it, but it ends up sitting out for at least a couple of weeks while I use it, and no problems. :)

I did! It worked the first time, but not after that. And the first time, after a few weeks, the rest of the lotion separated. I'm not sure if ambient temperature affects this and how much, but I've wondered if that contributes to the separation of the lotion. This last time, I used 1/4 oz emulsifying wax and 1/4 oz beeswax, and so far no problems. Skipped the borax. :) I am lucky to be able to get emulsifying wax easily at the Portland Homestead Supply.

I'm about to try out your recipe! Just waiting on the ingredients from Mountain Rose Herbs.

I might have gone slightly overboard and ordered way to many vegetable oils... I'm planning to use Rosehip, Evening Primrose, Avocado, and Jojoba, in addition to Shea Butter.

The total oil+butter will still add up to 4oz, but do you think a wider variety of oils in one recipe will be a problem at all?

Also, just so I have it right, are all ounces in your recipe dry ounces (weight)? NOT fluid ounces (volume), right?

Hi!  I'm fairly new at the lotion making.  I've made soaps, detergents and lip balms successfully.  A friend suggested using sunflower seed lecithin to emulsify the lotion.  Soy lecithin is not the best choice if you are estrogen sensitive ....and I've read it is made thru a toxic process.  My last batch grew mold in one jar, so I'm going to try the GSE.  I take it internally, so I think it wouldn't pose a health problem in lotion....any comments on why you are doubting the use of GSE?  Plus, I use a hand mixer....the kind you can put down into your cup....and have had few separation issues even without an emulsifier.  Thanks for the great web site and sharing!!

I just recently made a concoction of my own using black tea.  I used a preservative though to help it last a little longer.  I did find that after about a week or so it had black stuff on top of the lotion.  Maybe I didnt use enough preservative?? What do you think?