With this DIY lotion recipe, it’s super fun to make your own easy homemade lotion that is light and non greasy.
DIY lotion recipe
Making things has always been a strong passion of mine. Ever since I was very young, I’ve loved creating. There’s just something about taking raw materials and ingredients, and putting them together to make something that wasn’t there before, like this DIY lotion recipe. It’s so much fun!
Something I found really exciting was making something that was similar to an item you could buy in the store, but so much better, since I made it myself. It’s true that you can go to the store, or shop online, and buy just about anything you can think of.
But in the fast paced, instant gratification filled lifestyle that is so common today, it’s easy overlook the pure joy and satisfaction that comes from creating.
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Easy homemade lotion
When it comes to skincare, making it yourself is not only loads of fun, it also puts you in total control over the quality of ingredients you use. And you can keep it simple, safe, and totally natural. That’s something that’s hard to find, even among commercial, “natural” skincare lines!
This DIY lotion recipe is very simple and pure and takes just a few ingredients. It’s a gorgeous, smooth, lightweight moisturizer that can be a nice alternative to deeper moisturizers, such as body butter and tallow balm. Sometimes you just want a light, non-greasy lotion, and this one fits the bill perfectly.
Customize it
For this easy homemade lotion, I’ve chosen to use jojoba oil as the moisturizing component. Although tallow will always come first for me as a skin moisturizer, jojoba oil is probably my favorite plant-based moisturizer. It is very similar to our skin’s natural oil.
However, you could totally change this out to a different oil, or even a combination of oils, depending on what you like, and what you have on hand. Some other good choices would be olive oil, sweet almond oil, or grapeseed oil. It works best if you use an oil that is liquid at room temperature.
Another way you can customize it is by leaving it plain and unscented or adding different essential oils. You can go with a single essential oil, such as lavender, use a premixed blend, or create your own unique blend. The possibilities are really endless, and it’s so much fun to experiment.
The method and process
Just like when I showed how to make magnesium lotion, this DIY lotion recipe is created using an emulsion. That just means that oil and water, two substances that normally avoid one another, are forced to combine. The water portion makes the lotion much lighter and non-greasy, compared to pure oil or butter.
The emulsion process is just like the method used to make homemade mayonnaise. If you’ve ever done that before, you know that it’s important to pour VERY slowly as you’re adding one ingredient to the other. The same exact thing here: as you’re pouring in the water, you want to go very slowly, using the smallest stream possible.
The Water
It’s important to use very pure water when you’re making lotion. You can use very thoroughly filtered water, or distilled water. I have a Berkey water filter in our kitchen, and I use water filtered through that when I make lotion.
A Preservative
Since this homemade lotion recipe uses water, it’s important to use a preservative. Otherwise, mold, bacteria, and all sorts of nasty things can grow in the lotion. I like to use a natural preservative that is free of parabens, called Optiphen Plus.
The emulsifying agent
In order to make the emulsion happen, we need something called an emulsifying agent. There are various waxes and emulsifiers available commercially. These are certain ingredients made specifically for emulsifying. I like to keep things as simple, pure, and natural as possible, so I like to use beeswax as an emulsifying agent. A high-powered method, rather than just a mixing method, is best when using beeswax as an emulsifier.
The equipment
You probably already have a blender or food processor in your kitchen. If so, you’re ready to make lotion! You can use either of these tools, but I find the food processor to be the best of the two. The blender works well most of the time, but every once in a while I have had an emulsion break when using a blender.
This just means that the oil and water refused to combine, no matter what. However, for me, the food processor consistently produces reliable results when emulsifying. If you don’t have a food processor, you can totally still give it a go with a blender, and most likely it will work fine.
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DIY lotion recipe directions
Ingredients:
- 1 cup jojoba oil (or liquid oil of choice)
- 1 cup filtered water
- 2 tbsp beeswax
- 1/2 tsp natural preservative
- 96 drops of essential oils of choice
Instructions:
- Put jojoba oil and beeswax in a heat-safe container.
- Create a double boiler by putting the container with the jojoba oil and beeswax in a pan of water.
- Heat the water in the makeshift double boiler to a low boil.
- Keep heating the jojoba oil until the beeswax is completely melted and blended in.
- Have the filtered water measured out and nearby in a pitcher that can pour slowly.
- Carefully pour the hot jojoba oil and beeswax mixture into the blender or food processor.
- Turn the food processor on, and very slowly pour water into the food processor in a very thin stream.
- Once all of the water has been added, let the food processor run for another minute or so.
- Check the temperature of the lotion. Once it is under 176° F, add preservatives while the food processor is running.
- Add essential oils (if using) while the food processor is running.
- Turn off the food processor, and pour into glass jars to store.
DIY Lotion Recipe Video
More DIY skincare recipes
How to make herb-infused tallow salve
Tallow lip balm recipe with honey
How to make magnesium lotion for sleep, stress, and more
Do you love to create?
What are your favorite things to make? Are you going to give this DIY lotion recipe a try? What essential oils will you use? Let me know in the comments!
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DIY Lotion
With this DIY lotion recipe, it's super fun to make your own easy homemade lotion that is light and non greasy.
Ingredients
- 1 cup jojoba oil, or another liquid oil
- 1 cup filtered water
- 2 tbsp beeswax
- 1/2 tsp natural preservative
Instructions
- Put jojoba oil and beeswax in a heat safe container.
- Create a double boiler by putting the container with the jojoba oil and beeswax in a pan of water.
- Heat the water in the makeshift double boiler to a low boil.
- Keep heating the jojoba oil until the beeswax is completely melted and blended in.
- Have the filtered water measured out and nearby in a pitcher that can pour slowly.
- Carefully pour the hot jojoba oil and beeswax mixture into the blender or food processor.
- Turn food processor on, and very slowly pour water into food processor in a very thin stream.
- Once all of the water has been added, let the food processor run for another minute or so.
- Check temperature of lotion. Once it is under 176° F, add preservative while food processor is running.
- Add essential oils (if using) while food processor is running.
- Turn off food processor, and pour into glass jars to store.
