If you’ve never made DIY Lotion Bars, you have to try this simple shea butter and essential oil lotion bar recipe! You can use them right in the shower for instant and lasting hydration.
The golden rule of body lotion application is to “apply immediately after shower to seal in moisture.” So you could safely say I’m a failure at lotion. I always have the best intentions of applying it when I get out of the shower, but in reality, it doesn’t happen very often. By the time I get out of the shower and I do my facial skin care, I’m rushing to get makeup and clothes on, and then the clothes are on, so another opportunity for moisturized skin has bitten the dust.
How Do Lotion Bars Work?
I first discovered the idea of lotioning in the shower during a stroll through one of my favorite stores to stroll through, Lush. I found a thing called a lotion bar that you use in the shower. In the shower! I thought it would be a game changer, which it was, and it has definitely been a skin changer! After finishing your shower, you just grab the solid lotion bar and smooth it over the areas needing moisture. The lotion glides on, absorbing quickly and easily. Then simply pat dry. The scent and softness last all day like a champ. Genius, right?!
While I love the Lush version, I’m a scent girl. I like a variety of scents in my life, and this bar comes in just one scent. It isn’t offensive by any means, but I’m not in love with it either. A scent that I am a big fan of is lavender. Lavender anything! It’s my scent mood transporter.
I’ve played around with various ingredients and recipes, I found the homemade lotion bars that were the winner! And they are reeeeeally easy to make! They are extremely moisturizing and dense… a little goes a long way!
How to Make DIY Essential Oil Lotion Bars
Video and Written Instructions (printable instruction card at the bottom of post).
Gather your ingredients. You will need:
- Beeswax pellets
(the pellets are much easier to work with and melt than bulk!)
- Shea Butter
- Unrefined Coconut Oil
- Lavender Essential Oil
- Silicone soap mold
If you would like to experiment with different scent combinations, I have found some great essential oil combos that I used in my DIY sugar scrubs that would work well with these. too.
These DIY lotion bars make great gifts as well… I like to wrap them in parchment paper and tie a ribbon around them.
Here’s to the end of dry skin forever!
DIY Lotion Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup Beeswax pellets
- 1 cup Shea Butter
- 1 cup Unrefined Coconut Oil
- ½ teaspoon Lavender Oil or your favorite essential oil
- Silicone soap mold
Instructions
- Add 1 cup beeswax pellets, 1 cup shea butter and 1 cup unrefined coconut oil into a microwave safe measuring cup (or bowl with a spout).
- Pop the measuring cup in the microwave, and cook on high for 1 minute. Take out and stir; cook for another minute. Repeat 2 more times or until the mixture has completely liquified (my microwave melts the mixture in 4 minutes total). The beeswax will be the last thing to melt. Once melted, stir in the lavender oil (or whichever scent you prefer).½ teaspoon Lavender Oil
- Immediately pour liquid into molds (it begins to harden quickly!) Let the liquid settle for about 5 minutes (so it doesn't spill everywhere when you transport it!) and then move into the refrigerator. Keep refrigerated for at least 1 hour.
- Remove from the fridge. The bars pop right out as you push down on the bottom of the lotion bar mold.
Miriam says
Great!! I was going to ask if theres i a substitute for the beeswax since I don’t use any animal products. Im glad Im reading every comment hahahaha. Is there any specific place where I can buy the soy wax?
Lydia says
Hi Miriam! I always get all of my supplies through Amazon, I’m sure you can find some there.
Laura Ray says
Can you add actual mint or lavender to this or does it need to be essential oils?
Lydia says
Hi Laura! You could do both, but the scent will come from the essential oils.
Jamie says
Hello I was wondering if you have done this kind of recipe with out the butters I am in a place where these butters are hard to come buy or so expensive makes it hard to justify spending that kinda of money and using the mail system gets expensive as well cause of the weight factor. Any suggestions would be great.
Lydia says
Hi Jamie! I have not personally tried them without the butters as that what makes them so hydrating. You could use something oil based as opposed to the butters like these hydrating scrubs but they’re obviously not in bar form: https://lydioutloud.com/diy-sugar-scrub-reveal-spring-skin/
Brooke says
Hi! Love making lotion bars for my business and am always trying out recipes! I noticed you wrapped your in wax paper, what a great idea! Is the lotion hard enough to not melt in the wax paper?
Lydia says
Hi Brooke! Yes it’s pretty hard, it wouldn’t melt in the wax paper unless it got too warm.
Amanda Ingraham says
Hi! Thank you so much for this recipe. Lush just discontinued King of Skin and I’m sad, and now trying to make my own. I tried many shower lotion bars from Etsy and all were too waxy, and didn’t really smooth over the skin the way KoS does. I was thinking it was likely due to the beeswax content. Does the beeswax here hold it together so much that it won’t glide over the skin? I ask, because I was considering omitting the beeswax altogether but wasn’t sure if that would be a terrible idea. KoS doesn’t have any waxes.
I am hoping to not have a bunch of dud batches since the ingredients are so expensive! Thank you again and I’d love your opinion!
Lydia says
Hi Amanda! How sad I can’t believe they did that! 🙁 It is pretty waxy from the beeswax but I don’t mind it if I get it good and wet before I glide it on the skin. I’m not sure how it would stay together without the beeswax but you could try just making an ice cube size (or smaller) sample to see how it works? I would love to hear how it works if you try it or any other ideas you try! 🙂
Lady Di says
Are you saying that you should just keep this in the shower until you need to use it? Then use it on your body before you get out and leave it there once you are out? Won’t get mushy? I’m not a patting type of towel user, will I end up taking it off my body if I do not “pat”?
Lydia says
Hi there! I keep mine in a soap dish so it doesn’t get mushy. You won’t end up taking it off (unless you really rub hard) because it’s super hydrating. Hope that helps! 🙂
Joanne says
Lotion bars are not meant to be used in the shower. You warm them up in your hands and rub them directly on your skin. If you are using them in the shower you are just rinsing all the benefits down the drain.
Lydia says
Hi Joanne! As I mention in the post, the lotion bars are used following the shower so they aren’t rinsed off.
Haven says
I must try these in place of my greasy body lotion!!
Thanks!!
Lydia says
Please let me know how you like it Haven! Thanks for your comment!
Billie says
I made this and it’s super oily. I have to say although I love the scent I won’t make it again this way.
Lydia says
Hey Billie! Thanks for the feedback, I’m sorry you didn’t like the texture!
Denise says
I would like to add that when a lotion bar is a little too thick or oily I just use it as a foot lotion before socks and my feet end up in perfect condition!
Lydia says
That’s a great tip, thanks Denise! I’ve been doing that all winter thanks to your great idea! What a difference it’s made!
Betsy says
I appreciated the info on where to get the supplies.
Lidi says
Hi, what is the weight of the beeswax amount in the recipe? I’m using my own bees wax, grated.
Lydia says
Hi Lidi! I’m sorry that I’m not sure of the weight, I just used a measuring cup.
Sabine Winter says
1 cup is 250 grams. 1teaspoon of pellets is 9 grams.
Hope this will help.
I don’t use pellets just the hard block. I hope this is of help.
good luck
sabine
Lydia says
Thanks so much Sabine!
Jessica says
I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to view this page without the LIKE US ON FACEBOOK! banner blocking me, then blocking the SUBSCRIBE NOW box that popped up and filled the screen on mobile. I couldn’t get to the X to close out of either. PLEASE FIX THIS! I won’t subscribe or like you on FB until I can see your content.
Lydia says
Hi Jessica, I’m sorry for your frustration. I finally figured out how to fix this by just getting rid of the banner. Thanks for your message.
Jessy says
I just made my bars, super excited to try them out! I added ground rice for exfoliation as well. Even holding the bar it melts super well, but I’m wondering if it is melting too quickly? Have you thought of messing with the beeswax-coconut oil-shea butter ratio? I’m thinking maybe of decreasing the coconut oil since that melts at the lowest temp, maybe increasing the beeswax?
Lydia says
Like the Lush buffy bars! I just made some like that too! Great minds think alike. 😉 I haven’t tried that but I’d love to hear what you think when you switch up the quantities. Thanks for saying hi, enjoy your bars!
Candice says
Hi. My sister is allergic to beeswax. Ella ref a substitute I can use?
Lydia says
Hi Candice! Yes you can actually use soy wax! It’s a little softer but it’s very hydrating too. You can also make candles with it. 🙂
Annette Holbrook says
I, too, love the lush bars but not the scent. I’d like to add an exfoliating factor like in their Buffy bars. Do you have a recommendation for that, and would you add it when you add the scent?
Lydia says
Hi Annette, that is BRILLIANT! I’m going to try that! I would try pulverizing some rice or almonds and mix it in when you add the scent. OR you can stay tuned for the results of my experiment because I’m going to try it too! 🙂 Thanks for the great idea!
Manny says
Do you what think about essential oils like water melen and honeysuckle and how about quinoa for an exfoliating scrub .😍😍😍😍🤗🤗🤗🤗😍😍😍😍😍
Lydia says
Hi Manny! I’ve never tried that but it sounds like it would be amazing!
Erlene says
My youngest daughter is dying to make her own beauty products. I’ll have to show her this recipe. Thanks for sharing on Merry Monday.
Lydia says
Thanks Erlene, I hope she likes them! I love making my own beauty products too!
Bev says
What if you.don’t have access to a microwave?
Lydia says
Hi Bev! You can use a double-boiler in place of a microwave. In fact that’s how most of the product websites recommend melting their products, I just improvised with a microwave since I don’t have a double-boiler. 🙂 Enjoy!
Leslie says
Good morning!
Need info from you Pretty Darn Quick (PDQ)!
My daughter wants to do this for a school project on Monday.
Where do I get beeswax?
Thank you!
Lydia says
Good morning Leslie! I ordered mine on Amazon but since you need it ASAP try a health food store or some craft stores carry it too. What a fun school project idea!
Julie says
I got my beeswax from a candle making shop
Heather says
Does this have to be used in the shower or could it be used anytime?
Lydia says
Hi Heather, I’m not sure how well it would work outside of the shower since the steam from the hot water is what activates the scent.
Julie says
Using less beeswax makes a softer bar that can be used as a lotion
Krista says
How do you store these lotion bars. We had a couple that were quite melty when just stored room temperature, so I had to have them in the fridge/freezer.
Lydia says
Hi Krista, I wrapped them up in parchment paper and haven’t had any melt on me. Storing in the fridge is a great idea though I think I’ll try that anyway.
Staci says
I have my mom freeze her supply that I’ve made her. I’ll make her a dozen at a time. They last 6 months plus that way. Just pull them out as needed. ****My lotion bars are made a little differently then the recipe above. But I think I need to try this recipe too. 😀
Veronica says
Cant wait to try these lotion bars. Where did you get your silicone mold?
Lydia says
Hi Veronica! I got it on Amazon, there’s a link right in the post so you can check it out there. Let me know how you like them! Thanks for stopping by.
Jessa says
I’m so excited to try these! I like the Lush ones too but don’t want to spend so much money on them when they don’t last very long. Thanks! 🙂
Lydia says
Let me know what you think! 😉
whitney says
These look awesome. How does the cost compare to buying ready made ones? Thanks, Whitney
Lydia says
Thanks Whitney! The Lush version is about 14 bucks, these cost about a third of that!
Juanita says
Can cocoa butter be substituted for shea butter?
Lydia says
Hi Juanita! Yes, you could absolutely substitute cocoa butter for the shea butter.
Juanita says
Thanks for your response. Also how do I add coloring, if I let it cool it sets up.
Lydia says
Hi Juanita. I actually didn’t add coloring but you could do that at the point that it’s liquified.