Easy Homemade Vanilla Lotion For Dry Skin

An easy DIY recipe, this homemade vanilla lotion contains only six ingredients. A homemade body lotion to help nourish dry skin. Made with natural ingredients this DIY body lotion works well on your legs especially- and it's perfect for kids (it also makes a thoughtful spa gift.

Making my own beauty products is something I love doing. Given, I don't use a lot of products anymore (no make-up over here), for the ones I do use I love knowing what's in them and being able to tweak as necessary.

This homemade vanilla lotion is a simple DIY recipe (like my all-time favorite chocolate peppermint lip chap) that I've been using for a while. It's easy, hydrating, and quick to whip up!

Benefits Of The Homemade Vanilla Lotion

• Chemical-free
• Cost-effective
• Simple to make
• Far more nourishing to the skin

DIY body lotion tends to be more hydrating than conventional store-bought because they're all-natural.

Furthermore, since my skin has adjusted to natural products I find that traditional products only dry it out. Those products contain harsher ingredients than my skin is used to and thus they don’t work as well.

Besides this, since our skin absorbs what it comes into contact with, I strive to make sure it encounters the best possible ingredients- which is why I always have DIY lotion on hand!

Don't want to read? JUMP to the recipe!

 

Ingredients In The Homemade Body Lotion

I'm a fan of simple- so this homemade vanilla lotion contains minimal ingredients. I chose to use shea butter for this homemade vanilla lotion recipe because it's so hydrating.

Though, here's a list of my favorite butter bases and what properties I use them for specifically. 

The same goes for the oils in the DIY lotion. I use jajoba oil for this vanilla body lotion but almond, apricot kernal etc would work too. So use what you have.

You don't need a stash of hundreds of ingredients to make DIY skincare recipes. If you're new to DIY beauty products and stuck on where to spend your money, check out a list of ten ingredients to make tons of DIY projects here). and here is where you can grab them.

Texture Of The Homemade Vanilla Lotion

The purpose of this DIY vanilla lotion is to really hydrate the legs. Thus, it does seem bit greasy at first. I use homemade body butter with beeswax a lot as well in my skincare routine. However, I tend to make those a bit more firm where you have to massage the body butter in.

This homemade body lotion is less firm and thus it seems more oily. This is one of the reasons why it's so great on your body and not your face. 

How to use the vanilla body lotion: rub the lotion into your legs/body as you normally would. Then, give it a few minutes to absorb before putting on clothes.

Tight clothes immediately after using a homemade lotion recipe will result in grease stains *said from experience*. As a result, this homemade vanilla lotion is ultra-smooth and it's the oils that make it so hydrating for your skin.

 

Creating The Vanilla Scent: Bean or Essential Oil?

You'll also notice that I use vanilla bean in this homemade body lotion recipe versus an essential oil. I always try to use the exact item for the scent when possible. While I adore essential oils, they are potent and I'm not an aromatherapist.

That said, there's another reason for this...

When I first started making my own homemade products I really wanted to re-create that "French vanilla" smell from store-bought products (you know the one I mean!).

But you can't.

When I looked more and more into vanilla essential oil it became harder to find a pure grade one. Eventually, I wondered why and it's because the vanilla can't be outsourced into an oil like most other plants.

Meaning, most vanilla essential oils you see for sale are not pure grade oils. They have to use something artificial. For some reason, this devastated me haha (#hippieproblems much??).

So instead, I went back to basics and just started infusing the lotions with the actual vanilla bean. Keep it simple and all that.

Pro Tip: you can still rock this DIY body lotion without any vanilla! The vanilla is simply there for scent purposes and not for the lotion itself. If you don't have any on hand, no problem! Just omit it. Never let the essential oils or scent in a DIY recipe hold you back from making it.

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

• Double boiler
• Mini whisk
• Mini mason jars

 

Not Into DIY? Here's What To Do

If making your own body lotion is still a bit overwhelming (even though this is literally three ingredients) or if you're just too lazy to make some this second. Grab the almond vanilla body butter from Primally Pure.

It smells effing AWESOME and Primally Pure uses only natural chemical-free ingredients. Seriously, I can pronounce and buy them all. #win If you do end up on their site, use mamabear10 to save yourself 10% off your entire first order!

 

Don't forget to pin this Homemade Vanilla Lotion

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This homemade vanilla lotion helps keep your skin hydrated and soft in colder months. Thanks to the jojoba oil it helps prevent skin from drying out and it deals to use on your legs. This vanilla body butter is an easy DIY project that makes for great, thoughtful gifts.

The Best DIY Skin Care Recipes For Busy Moms

If you’re looking for a natural, simple, effective DIY skincare recipe check out DIY Skin Care For Busy Moms where I've created 21 indulgent but super easy DIY skincare recipes that are perfect for everyday moms. From homemade body butters to DIY face masks and energizing shower melts. Likewise, these DIY skincare recipes share a few things in common:

• They're simple to make (most are melt + pour + let sit!)
• They contain minimal ingredients
• Many ingredients are repeated throughout the book to make them cost-effective
• All-natural beauty products that are effective

Keep your skincare routine SIMPLE with these DIY recipes. I've also included video demonstrations for each section of the book as well as a download PDF of the ingredients you'll find and of course my best tips.

Grab your copy of the Busy Mom's DIY Skin Care Ebook today.