Paula in Georgia writes:
"I just wanted to let you know, that out of all of the lotion bar recipes on the internet, that I like yours the very best. I have already made some lotion bars, with your recipe, and I think that they will be a hit. I have made a few with Mango Butter, but the Shea Butter ones, felt so much better on my hands. Thanks for sharing your recipe. I just love your website."
NOTE from Renee: I'm noticing that now that summer temperatures are in full gear (here that means 100+ degrees F through September), I'm slightly changing my recipe. I'm currently at a ratio of 8:9:6 (beeswax, shea, coconut oil) so I encourage you to adapt the recipe to your liking. Try a small batch first. Store your shea butter and coconut oil in the fridge for the summer and read here for more tips on making sure your oils stay fresh.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How do I clean the turkey baster/medicine dropper?
You have a couple options:
- Use a baster/dropper exclusively for making lotion and after each use, wrap it in plastic or parchment until the next time you make lotion.
- Put the baster/dropper on a paper towel in the microwave on low (check every 20 seconds). When it liquifies, pour out the liquid onto the paper towel and then wash in boiling hot, soapy water.
- If the lotion hardens to the point of creating blockage, freeze it and then it's often easy to pop out.
Should I use unrefined or refined shea butter?
Either one works fine. You'll find the unrefined shea butter produces a bar with a bit more "grittiness" to it.
In the summertime, the temps reach over 100. Can I adapt the recipe amounts to make a more firm bar?
Absolutely. Increase the amount of beeswax to make a bar more firm, or more coconut oil to make a softer bar.
What other butters can I use?
I've replaced the shea butter with avocado butter, mango butter, cocoa butter, and aloe butter, with great results. To ensure the same hardness, you can always research the melting point of the butter that you're using, in order to find similar melting points as the shea butter or coconut oil.
My lotion won't come out of the mold. What can I do?
Wait until the bar has cooled completely, then freeze. The lotion should pop out when frozen. Otherwise, it may be the mold and you may have to re-melt it and try again using a different mold.