How to make Solid Lotion Bars and Belly Bars for pregnancy

Updated: 1/7/21    Solid lotion bars are a rich combination of skin loving oils, butters and beeswax formulated into a convenient bar that is solid at room temperature, but melts on contact with your skin.  These little gems deposit a concentrated moisture packed punch that is unbeatable. Once you try one, you will not want to be without them.  I am going to show you  how to make these treasures yourself out of all natural, easy to find ingredients.  Perfect for all skin types. Exceptionally great for

skin stressed and stretched by pregnancy.

A beautiful addition in natural skin care for yourself and your family needs.

You will need 3 ingredients, plus an essential oil or a fragrance if you want it scented, and small molds, tubs or tins to pour lotion into.

1)  Beeswax  (solid chunks will have to be shaved, or buy beeswax beads)

2)  A solid oil, for example: coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa butter

3)  A liquid oil, for example: grapeseed oil, sunflower, olive oil, sweet almond oil

 and, essential oil or skin safe fragrance oil of choice.

Recipe is simply equal parts of the three ingredients. I'll give you a basic recipe using easy to find oils for an example, that's not greasy or heavy, but feel free to use your favorite oils. Keeping

in mind that different oils will make your lotion bar have different properties. Some oils are

heavier and have a greasier feel than others for example.

BASIC SOLID LOTION BAR RECIPE;  This yields 9oz 

3 oz beeswax

3 oz coconut oil  (or shea, see note below on using shea, or cocoa butter or a combo)

3 oz grapeseed oil or sunflower oil (found in your local grocery store by the olive oil)

10-15 drops essential oil of choice (optional)

If you are making Belly Bars for pregnant women, we recommend you do not add any

essential oils, they are not necessary, and some are not good for use during pregnancy.

We do recommend you add VitE to the blend after all the oils/butters are melted and stir well.

Procede to melt your oils and beeswax. You can use a double boiler or a microwave, (I use micro)    

Put beeswax into bowl you will be melting in. 

Add the grapeseed oil and coconut oil.

Put into microwave and begin melting. Once you see the beeswax start to melt, stir, stir, stir.

This helps it to melt faster into the oils without using too much heat. 

Put back into the microwave at 20-30 second bursts until fully melted. 

TIP: Do not use an overly large pyrex bowl to melt a small amount of oils in,

this can cause the bowl to crack or break.  Bowl will be HOT use a mitt !

 

 Above: you see chunks of cocoa butter and beeswax floating in oil. Cocoa butter will give you a little harder bar which is good for a massage lotion bar.

 Above: you see the beeswax floating in the heated oils. Stir, stir, stir.

 Stirring causes the solids to melt in the heated oil.

Once all your beeswax, coconut oil and grapeseed are all melted, allow to cool down some, as fragrance oils and essential oils have flash points. You want your 

temperature to be at or under your fragrance's flash point. Add your essential oils or fragrance

Stir well.  Pour into your molds or tubs.

These cool down quickly and harden into lovely solid lotion that you pop out of their tub or mold and smooth over your skin.  I pour mine into these 2 oz tubs, they are easy to store that way. These bars will melt if left in a hot car, if that happens just put them into the frig for a few minutes, no harm done.

There are wonderful variations of this recipe that you can design yourself, this is a good starting point as the oils are easy to find in your local stores.  I have to tell you though, that cocoa butter is fabulous in solid lotion bars. You can buy it online. I got mine at Brambleberry, which is where I purchased my essential oils. I also find great deals at Piping Rock. You can find beeswax there also if you cannot find it locally.

NOTE: if you are using Shea Butter, melt the beeswax and coconut oil first, then add the shea and stir it in.  Shea is a finicky butter, it does not like to get over heated, it will turn grainy. Still perfectly good to use if that happens, just not as smooth.

Above: you see a soap bar scented with Brambleberrys "Relaxing" fragrance oil blended with patchouli essential oil, and a matching solid lotion bar of the same scent. Incredibly lovely.

A little more info on the lotion bar subject HERE

Any questions, feel free to leave a comment. 

Anna

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Solid Lotion Bars

A bath and body must have: Solid Lotion Bar!

A solid at room temperature that melts on contact with your skin

 into a rich moisturizing lotion.  

.

Made with a short ingredient list of the "who's who" of moisturizing natural butters and oils these

little gems come packed with a skin nourishing punch!  No water is used, so no preservatives are

needed.   Super long shelf life.     Convenient to use and carry.    

You just pop your lotion bar out of its container, it is solid and smooth.  Turn it around in your hand like a bar of soap and your skin temperature begins to melt the lovely oils.  Silky and smooth, not greasy.

Smooth it on your legs after shaving, rub it into dry problem areas like your elbows and heels to restore, moisturize and heal.

I make mine with essential oils, high quality fragrance oils or leave unscented.  It's pure luxury, once you use a solid lotion bar you will never want to be without one.

RECIPE:
The recipe I like the best can be tweaked any way you like it to make the perfect bar for your skin.
Choose your oils and butters according to your preference of their properties.  If you are allergic to nuts don't use sweet almond oil, etc.

33%  Beeswax
33%  Natural butter.....cocoa butter, avocado butter, shea butter etc
33%  Natural oil..........sweet almond, grapeseed, coconut oil, olive, sunflower, etc
Essential oil, skin safe fragrance oil of choice.

I always put a bit of vitamin E in mine.
Keep in mind that heavy or greasy oils will make a greasy bar.

If you want a harder bar, use more beeswax or more cocoa butter, less sweet almond oil.

                                           The range of play in this recipe by general consensus is:  

25-33 %   Beeswax

67-75%    Base oils

Vit. E,  essential oil or fragrance

Just always make sure your recipe adds up to 100%.

If you don't want to make your own Solid Lotion Bar, you can
purchase one from Natures Home Spa 

                                                                       

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