Rich Moisturizing Lotion
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I decided to make this lotion with richer oils than I usually use to give our skin extra protection and moisture for winter. I had planned to call it Green Goddess, there was so much green in it. The herb infused olive oil made this past summer with fresh garden herbs, the green tea extract and the eucalyptus oil (technically not colored green but smells green!). But the yellow beeswax and pale cocoa butter won out - it ended up a creamy yellow color, so Mellow Yellow it is.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 ounces cocoa butter/jojoba mix (or plain cocoa butter)
- 1 ounce avocado oil
- 1 ounce apricot kernel oil
- 1/2 ounce herb infused olive oil, extra virgin olive oil is fine
- 1/2 ounce beeswax
- 4 ounces green tea extract* or distilled water
- 1/4 tsp. borax
- 30 drops grapefruit seed extract
- 10 drops eucalyptus essential oil
- 10 drops geranium essential oil
Method
*Prepare green tea extract (my very un-official method): Steep 2 bags of organic or high quality green tea in 6 oz of boiling water. Let sit till it's at room temperature. Squeeze all liquid out of teabag and then measure 4 ounces. Next time I'll try my green tea alcohol extract that I have "brewing" right now in my cupboard.
Weigh the oils and beeswax. Melt over very low heat, stirring occasionally.
Remove the melted oils and beeswax from the stove and add the green tea extract/water and borax. Mix with hand blender or mixer until creamy & thick. Stir in grapefruit seed extract and essential oils.
This recipe is runnier than my usual batch. I'm not sure if that is due to incorrect measurements or the different properties of the oils I used. I poured it into jars but I wish I had a little squeeze bottle for it instead, although either will work.
Notes
This is a very lovely lotion and I have received compliments on it from other people, ok my mom. But she's tried my others and she liked this one a lot. So do I.
I guess there's some debate these days on the safety of borax. Until I know more I'm still using it because if you don't the cream will separate. From everything I've read Borax mixed with water is safer than as a powder that can be inhaled. Even if it isn't bad for you that just seems to make sense.
This cream should last for 4 months or so, but if you see mold growing, discard. If you pour it into several containers you can keep some in the fridge until you need them. I've never had mold grow in mine and they last 6 months or so before they are all used up.
Making kitchen cosmetics requires cleanliness to inhibit bacterial growth. Purified or distilled water is used for this purpose. Also, thoroughly clean utensils and counter surfaces before weighing and mixing.
Our family uses this lotion for all our moisturizing needs - face, body and hands. One jar for every purpose, nice and simple.
For a photo tutorial of this process please see How to Make Lotion ~ A Photo Tutorial.
Wondering where to buy supplies? Check out Mountain Rose Herbs. Also see this post.
I won't need to worry about
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
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.
Mmmmm... looks caramel-ly. :)
ohhhhh, thank you for this
ohhhhh, thank you for this recipe!
nicola
http://whichname.blogspot.com
Greetings from... well, from
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
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
Liked the consistency. Smells a little "medicine-y" for me though.
Thank you for posting this
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
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!
I use GSE, Grapefruit Seed
I use GSE, Grapefruit Seed Extract as a natural preservative. You could use Vit E oil instead. I use my regular stainless steel cooking pots and glass bowls to make my lotions and soap. I have a hand blender and one wooden spoon I use for soap only (because of the lye) otherwise everything does double duty.
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[...] The texture of the lotion is perfect for Maine’s cold and dry winter. It’s very thick but melts in my hand easily. The smell is scrumptious but I am looking forward to experimenting with other extracts and using green tea extract, like Renee uses in this lotion recipe. [...]
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[...] Body Lotion - I have these two recipes that are variations on the same theme. [...]
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[...] Rich Moisturizing Lotion – Yummy, yum! (You can also find a photo tutorial here.) [...]
Hi! This sounds great! I have
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
I recommend starting simple.
I recommend starting simple. The recipe in this post is definitely easy but not my simplest. See this photo post or my basic recipe.
In both cases the Grapefruit Seed Extract is optional. So all that leaves you to buy is oil, beeswax and borax. Borax you probably already have on hand for cleaning and laundry.
You could buy your oils anywhere you buy groceries but for more exotic oils like cocoa butter check your local health food store.
The supplies at first might seem expensive. Like 8 oz of cocoa butter isn't cheap but will last a long time. Same for the essential oils, if you decide to use them.
Just curious, you mention in
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!
Exactly! Green tea bags
Exactly! Green tea bags steeped in alcohol to make a green tea tincture/green tea extract. Green tea is supposed to be really good for your skin and I saw it listed in The Green Beauty Guide and I thought, I can make that.
I usually add 20 drops for recipe this size instead of making a green tea water like I list in the recipe. I haven't written an updated lotion recipe for a while. Looks like I should.
Well I gave it a whirl last
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
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 can't say for sure but this
I can't say for sure but this lotion though is very mild. As far as oils, any vegetable oils are ok for skin but if you are adding essential oils for fragrance maybe stay away from peppermint, definitely orange and clove. Try rosemary or lavender instead, or no essential oil at all.
I don't think Borax is safe
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
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
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).
I'm afraid I don't have much
I'm afraid I don't have much to offer to this.
I've been experimenting with a new lotion recipe, one without borax, for those people who really don't want to use that small amount of borax. I don't like this new recipe because the lotion separates a bit.
All that to say, the only time I'm had issues with lotion separating is when I don't use borax. Maybe you forgot the borax in your water?
That's the only thing I can think of.
If it makes you feel any better that new lotion recipe I tested - well, I made a huge batch so I could blend it in the blender (instead of hand blender). A huge batch and it separated. Like you say, it's still usable and I've given some away and will give a bunch to my mom but still… I'm not pleased.
Hi Renee- I was speaking with
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
I have not encountered this.
I have not encountered this. I do have "problems" with my lip balm getting gritty over time, we're talking after one year. This doesn't bother me though, it just seems to be the honey solidifying more or something - I don't know.
It seems sometimes that each batch I make turns out different (probably because I'm always substituting ingredients, little more of this, etc - kind of like my cooking). And I'm ok with that. I don't sell these products so I don't need to be consistent.
Sorry I can't be of more help.
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