This homemade lotion bar is super silky and buttery. The texture is light, smooth and luxurious massage on the skin. I will teach you how to make lotion bars without beeswax. It’s vegan and is also great for stretch marks. This DIY lotion bar recipe melts on your skin and moisturizes it as the same time.

If you are looking for a lotion bar recipe without beeswax, then you have come to the right place!

You may wonder “What is a lotion bar”?

A lotion bar is a solid bar that melts on the contact of your skin and contains butters (shea butter and cocoa butter) and oils (sweet almond oil, safflower oil…). Sometime, beeswax is added to homemade lotion bar recipes so they stay solid. I am not a fan of the waxy feeling beeswax gives to the skin so I’ve created this lotion bar recipe without beeswax.

This lotion bar recipe is inspired by the organic therapy massage bar from Lush. It’s one of the few products from Lush that does not contain chemicals or synthetic fragrances. Yes, that may be shocking to you but lush is NOT a natural beauty brand…

I really don’t appreciate deceiving brands that use the organic and natural pitch while not being true to their word. That’s really what pushed me making my own natural products in the first place.

One easy rule you can follow if you buy commercial beauty product is the following:  stay away at all cost If you see the word “fragrance” in the ingredient list on the product label.

The word “fragrance” or “parfum” on the product label represents an undisclosed mixture of various scent chemicals and ingredients used as fragrance dispersants such as diethyl phthalate. Fragrance mixes have been associated with allergies, dermatitis, respiratory distress and potential effects on the reproductive system.”  Read more On Skin Deep.

How to make lotion bars without beeswax

Back to our beautiful homemade lotion bar recipe…I’ve used 3 very simple ingredients: cocoa butter, shea butter and safflower oil. Plus I’ve added my own blend of essential oil but that’s always optional. The key thing here is to make sure the butter ratio is more than 75% to 90% of the ingredients. This will ensure you lotion bar stays solid.

Shea butter is a champion skin moisturizer. It contains oleic, stearic, palmitic and linolenic acids that protect and nourish the skin.

Cocoa butter has a lovely chocolate scent (that is if you buy the non-refined cocoa butter grade) and is high in fatty acids which will keep your skin hydrated. It also helps reducing skin inflammation and stretch marks.

Safflower oil has a light texture, absorbs fast and will not leave your skin greasy. Plus it is high in linoleic acid which stimulates the regeneration of new skin cells.

Last but not least, you will need silicon molds, I found this heart shape silicon mold that was perfect!

To make this homemade lotion bar, all you need to do is melt the oil and butter in a double boiler on low heat and pour it in a mold.

The fun part is that you can customize this lotion bar recipe to your own liking.

You want to use it as a massage bar, then add adzuki beans.

You have sore muscles; add cinnamon leaf, black pepper and peppermint essential oil! Your skin will feel warm and tingly and you can say goodbye to sore muscles!

How To Make Lotion Bars Without Beeswax

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 2 lotion bars

Instructions

  • Melt butter and oil ina double boiler
  • One melted take it off the heat and mix well.
  • Add dried lavender flower or dried calendula flower
  • Add the essential oils if you wish. Take care of not adding the essential oil too soon as they are volatile and can evaporate if your butter are too warm.
  • Pour in a silicon or soap mold.
  • Put in the fridge for 1 hour until it has completely solidified.
  • How to use your homemade lotion bar:
  • Rub all over your skin. It will melt on body contact.
  • You can leave these homemade beauty bars at room temperature. They are made to stay hard but you should keep in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight.
  • This will make two solid lotion bars.
Tried this recipe?Mention @organicbeautyrecipes or tag #organicbeautyrecipes!

How long will this homemade lotion bar last?

There are no preservatives needed in this solid lotion bar recipe. It will last as long as the shelve life of the butter you are using.

If your shea butter shelf life is 1 year and your cocoa butter shelf life is 2 years, then take the lowest shelf life which is 1 year. It’s as simple as that!

Please let me know if you have any questions on how to make lotion bars at home in the comments below! I look forward to your feedback!

Eve Cabanel

I’m Eve, a DIY organic skincare recipe creator since 2010 that loves to make a big mess in the kitchen! I’ve embarked on a journey to empower women to ditch all the chemical-filled commercial beauty products and to share how to make your own organic beauty recipes at home towards a healthier lifestyle. Homemade face & body creams, body butter, lips balms, face masks, shampoos, and all-natural perfume will have no more secret for you! I am self-taught, read many books, and spend many hours in the kitchen creating brand new homemade beauty recipes. All my recipes are unique and are tested on humans! In 2016, I studied Aromatherapy and became certified by the School of Natural Health Sciences.

View Comments

  • I made these but the tops after taking them out of the molds were messed up some! What can I do to make the tops beautiful

  • I love the smell of almond lotion. Can you help me with how to make this scent using essential oils, please.
    Thank you!
    Dawn

    • If you're adding the beans for a massage effect, then just add them first to the mold (in their whole form- not ground up). Next, carefully pour your melted butters over the beans and when the lotion bar hardens, you will have a layer of beans just at the surface of the bar. The beans act like little fingers, creating a bit of pressure as you glide the bar over your skin.

  • Hello! I loved this recipe, because I don't like to use beeswax, however I made the recipe and only substituted the safflower oil for almond oil, let them dry at room temperature, I didn't put them in the refrigerator, when they were firm I used it and I loved it the consistency, however, several days have passed, I kept them in a jar and when using it they do not dissolve with the heat of the hands, it remains solid and crumbles, what can I do? add more almond oil? Thanks a lot

    • Hi Roxana, I can't guarantee the results with almond oil as it does not have the same properties as safflower!
      if it crumbles, I would try to use more shea butter + 1 tbs.

  • The body bar hearts have worked out fantastic , definitely make some more, left them in the fridge for well over 3 hours

  • I have just made my first batch, I doubled the ingrediance so I made 2 large hearts been in fridge about 30 mins and it is just starting to change I do hope it works ask love the smell . Kitchen a bit smelly now

  • Hi there I made these today and when they came out of the mould they just crumbled. Tried again with a little more Shea and same result

      • If your lotion bar is too soft, you need to add more cocoa butter as this is the butter that is hard and holds everything together.

  • This recipe is great! But I find that 1 tbs of lavender is too much and ends up being super scratchy on my skin :(.

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