An easy, DIY lotion recipe to help nourish and hydrate skin. Made without coconut oil this homemade lotion recipe needs only three ingredients and comes out silky, not greasy. Made with all-natural ingredients, it's the perfect homemade body lotion.
When it comes to making your own beauty products, the key is simplicity. Focus on natural ingredients (like these three body butters) and go from there.
And of course, this homemade lotion follows that thought. It’s quick to whip up, simple, nourishing, and based on quality, just like this DIY shaving cream.
When it comes to making your own beauty products, there are of course a few tricks. If you're just getting started, give the blog post Everything You Need To Know About DIY Beauty Products a read before stumbling around!
My DIY Body Butter Experience
When I was trying to get pregnant, I was researching everything I could find on how our hormones change by what we put in our bodies. But it wasn’t until I checked out wellnessmama.com that I learned that what we put ON our body counts too.
Our skin absorbs everything that is thrown at it. And notoriously, females put a lot of product on their skin. Scrubs, lotions, makeups, etc.
By this point in my life I wasn’t really a makeup person (it just doesn’t work when you’re sweaty from workouts all the time!) but I was a lotion and lip chap fanatic.
The more I read, the easier it sounded to make my own products.
So I tried it.
And failed.
I’m still not sure how I effed up such simple recipes but crafts and whatnot had never really been my thing 😛
But I kept trying and bit by bit I learned.
And so, this DIY lotion recipe is for all of you who were like me and struggled on the DIY front.
Benefits Of The Lotion
- all-natural (no hidden chemicals)
- cost-effective
- smoother skin
- safe enough for kids
I make my own homemade body butters because this way I know exactly what's in them. No icky ingredients or hidden fragrance.
Notes On The Ingredients
This homemade lotion contains only three ingredients (four if you use an essential oil!). It uses a base of shea butter which is extremely nourishing for your skin (especially things like cracked heels) and almond oil to keep your skin silky.
Here is where you can grab the ingredients and check out the brands that I prefer.
It’s completely optional how you scent these three ingredients DIY lotion but know this: lemons rock at boosting your mood (any citrus oils do!).
I personally love scenting with lemons as it gives you an immediate uplift on those days when you’re just crabby?
One more quick note: I use a full tablespoon of beeswax and that keeps the lotion moderately firm. I like it this way because then I’m forced to rub it in (versus slap it on).
But, you can easily use just under a tablespoon of beeswax and have it be a bit more liquid-y (that’s a word, right!?)
Essential Oil Options
Scenting your DIY lotion is completely optional! It will neither make nor break the recipe. However, before you go throwing in a bunch of oils, I'd place your focus on using them safely.
When I do use essential oils I am for a 5% dilution rate (which comes out to 1 teaspoon of carrier oil to 1 drop of essential oil). This is personally preference and is also not kid-safe (unless you're using a kid-approved oil from Plant Therapy).
This means that you would use 4-5 drops of essential oil in the recipe if using.
Another option to scent the easy DIY lotion is to use an actual lemon rind. I grate mine into the mixture and let it infuse while it's boiling down. This gives it all the benefits of lemon but without the need for essential oil. Learning to infuse oils like in this DIY sleep salve is an option too.
Again, completely optional though.
Ingredients
- ⅛ cup Shae butter
- 1.5 tablespoons almond oil
- 1 tablespoon Beeswax (or just under)
- 5 drops lemon essential oil (optional)
How To Make The Lotion
In a small glass jar, place the butter, oil, and beeswax. Bring a small pot of water (about an inch) to a rolling boil and place the jar in it. Heat the ingredients until everything is completely melted (especially that beeswax!).
Remove the jar from the heat and whisk in the essential oil (if using).
If using unfiltered beeswax or lemon rind, strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer while pouring it into a holding container. Let sit on the counter for 24 hours to firm up and use frequently to show your skin some love!
Make one small jar.
Other DIY Recipes You'll Love
- How to make homemade bath bombs (the biggest secrets!)
- Mini bath bombs for sleepy kids
- The do's and don't of homemade lotion
- Homemade muscle rub
- DIY tinted lip balm
- How to make lotion bars
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You'll also learn the exact tricks I stumbled through on my journey and how to avoid them.
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3 Ingredient DIY Lotion Recipe
Equipment
- Double boiler or mason jar
- Mini Whisk
Ingredients
- ⅛ cup shea butter
- 1.5 tablespoons almond oil
- 1 tablespoon beeswax or just under
- 5 drops lemon essential oil optional
Instructions
- In a small glass jar, place the butter, oil and beeswax. Bring a small pot of water (about an inch) to a rolling boil and place the jar in it. Heat the ingredients until everything is completely melted (especially that beeswax!).
- Remove the jar from the heat and whisk in the essential oil.
- If using unfiltered beeswax, strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer while pouring it into a holding container.
- Let sit on the counter for 24 hours to firm up and the use frequently to show your feet some love!
Video
Notes
Jessy says
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! I made some tonight (about an hour or so ago) and I think I did something wrong because the lotion looks more like candles lol. I used a little under 1 tablespoon of beeswax but I'm wondering if maybe I should adjust some things since it's kind of hardened already. Should it have been a heaping 2 tablespoons of shea butter? It said 1/8 a cup which I interpreted as 2 tablespoons. Sorry for flooding you with questions! Your pictures just show something that mine does NOT look like... I'm pretty positive I went wrong somewhere.
Jessy says
I was just wondering, maybe I missed it while I was reading, what size are the jars? I saw it said "small" but how many ounces does one batch typically make? And at the beginning, you said it was kid-safe but then later I think you said that the way you made it wasn't kid-safe? I'm about to make some for some littles that want caramel apple scented lotion but I don't want to make something that could be harmful to them. I loved reading your whole post and am excited to get started. Hope to hear back soon!
fitasamamabear says
Hey Jessy,
First off- thank you so much for reading the post all the way through. It actually means SO MUCH that you took the time to do that ❤ The small mason jars that I refer to are the 4oz ones. So that lotion should make roughly that amount (probably slightly under that amount). This one is COMPLETELY kid-safe so long as you don't add the essential oil. Essential oils are tricky for kids. They're not recommended for kids under 1 at all and above one, you want to make sure you use a safe dilution (which I think is ).5-1% so about one drop of oil only for this recipe. That's all I meant regarding safety for kids. I hope that helps but if you have more questions feel free to drop them!
Christie says
Hi,
What is the shelf life of this recipe? And can I put it in a plastic squeeze flip top container?
fitasamamabear says
Shelf life is tricky as it doesn't technically have any preservatives. Most people will tell you 6-8 weeks. However, I find that so long as you don't get water in it, it lasts much longer. I've actually had lotions for 6+ months... As for the squeeze top, it's a thinner lotion but I'm not sure how it would do as a squeeze to be honest. If you do try it, can you let me know?
Jacquelynn says
Hi! ☺️ This is a great, really simple recipe and I'm thinking a newbie like me would cinch it, no problem. Hehe. I'd just like to ask if I can leave the beeswax out? I've tried some beeswax products before and my skin had some allergic reactions.
fitasamamabear says
Haha it's definitely simple! Literally, measure, melt, pour. I remember being petrified of starting to make my own products so I get where you're coming from 🙂 Interesting on the beeswax. Beeswax (before it's in anything) is normally stored at room temperature in a cool/dark place. All of my lotions and lip chaps are stored the same and I've never had any issues. What kind of product was it? Sorry to hear it.