You can easily create your own luxury healing and moisturizing lotions and creams for a fraction of what you pay in the stores! If you've got a little time, and a stick blender, you can make lotion at home. Don't forget to sanitize all equipment before beginning to keep harmful bacteria out of your lotion.
The first thing to consider is what type of base oil you will use to create your lotion or cream. The possibilities are endless: coconut oil for extra moisturizing and soft skin; almond oil which has little scent of its own and produces lightweight and silky lotions; or grapeseed or any other vegetable oil. Always take into account what the scent of the base oil will have on your finished product.
Making lotion is a lot like making salad dressing. If you make salad dressing, you will need to add an emulsifying agent to your oil. This is because oil and water (in this case in the form of lemon juice or vinegar) don't mix. Usually, in making salad dressing, the emulsifier is an egg which binds the ingredients together.
When you make lotions, you will also need an emulsifier. But in this case, the emulsifier used in lotions and creams will be a type of wax.
Beeswax is probably the most common type of emulsifying wax used by the home crafter, but there are other types available as well. There is a special type of wax known as "e-wax" (emulsifying wax) created just for this purpose.
Without further ado, here is a basic recipe for lotion and cream. You adjust the amount of water added to the ingredients to make your lotions or creams the consistency that you would like.
Basic Lotion Recipe
1 cup lotion base oil (almond, grapeseed, jojoba, etc.)
1 tbsp. emulsifying wax
1/2 cup distilled water (adjust this amount to reach the lotion consistency you'd like)
Essential oil (add only by the drop)
Food coloring (optional)
Pour ingredients into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave only until the emulsifying wax is just melted, or heat gently in a pot on the stove until the emulsifying wax is melted. Stir well, then add water until the lotion is the consistency you'd like. (Less water makes for a richer cream.)
Add your choice of essential oils for fragrance and therapeutic properties and coloring, if using.
You will need some type of preservative if you plan on keeping your lotion more than a few days. Vitamin E works well, as does grain alcohol.
Store in a clean jar or bottle, in a cool dark place. Travel bottles that you can pick up in any drugstore or discount store work well for this.
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