Nourish your body and rock silky smooth legs with these homemade lotion bars for dry skin! Made with only four ingredients, these DIY lotion bars contain both coconut oil and rosehip oil to help replenish and hydrate skin.
With minimal ingredients, these homemade lotion bars make for a very easy DIY recipe. Not only will they help rehydrate dry skin but they also make a thoughtful DIY gift (as do these easy DIY recipes).
Ingredients In The Homemade Lotion Bars For Dry Skin
These DIY lotion bars have only four ingredients. Three of which are used to hydrate and nourish the skin.
Coconut oil is antibacterial and absorbed quickly into the skin. While it can seem greasy, it is one of the easiest natural skin care hacks.
Mango butter can help in healing and helps to regenerate skin. It also has a mild SPF which can protect your skin from the sun. Likewise, it’s a great skin choice for any skin type (learn more about choosing butters for DIY projects!)
Rosehip oil also helps to regenerate skin cells and even helps with collagen production.
Beeswax acts to help hold the lotion bars together but also as a barrier for the skin.
How Do You Make Homemade Lotion Bars
When you’re first starting out making natural beauty products, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
In my experience though, it’s really as easy as: measure, melt, pour, sit.
All you need to do is measure out the ingredients, melt them to combine, and pour them into your molds.
From there, place them into the fridge to cool/firm up for 2 hours.
How Do You Harden A Lotion Bar- Climate Matters
When it comes to DIY lotion bars, you can easily alter the texture to make the bars harder or softer. You may want to do this based on where you live or where the bars will be stored.
For example: if you live in a warmer climate, coconut oil is liquid at room temperature. Thus, you may wish to add a tiny bit of beeswax to help keep the lotion bar firm.
On the other hand, if you’re storing these homemade lotion bars for dry skin in a cool cupboard, you may want to add slightly more oil to the recipe t keep them soft.
I live in Canada, which means these lotion bars are stored in a cool place. They’re very firm but once pressed onto your skin they tend to “melt” around the warmth of your skin.
The result is a firm lotion bar that leaves a silky trace on your skin.
FAQ’s And Tips On Making Homemade Lotion Bars
If you want a smooth texture from the lotion bars, ensure you melt the ingredients for longer than you think. Sometimes, the lotion will come out “gritty” which is often the cause of it not being fully melted or combined into the oils.
While these homemade lotion bars are not scented, you can easily scent them to your liking. You can either infuse the scent you wish into the melting phase (adding in orange rinds while you melt the ingredients).
Likewise, you can add a few drops of your preferred essential oil to the lotion bars before pouring them into the molds. When it comes t using essential oils, make sure you choose one that is safe for the purpose (if using on kids for example) as well as check the dilution ratio you will need.
Lastly, if you're a beginner when it comes to lotions, make sure to check out the Do's & Don't of making DIY's, the same rules apply to this recipe!
Make sure to place the mixture into the fridge to cool quickly. If not, the texture of the lotion bars may end up "gritty" as some of the shea butter solidifies faster than the coconut oil.
How To Use A Homemade Lotion Bar
Once the lotion bars are ready, pop them out of the molds and store them. You can store them in a plastic baggie or a jar in the cupboard.
So long as they don’t come into contact with water, they won’t go bad.
When using a DIY lotion bar follow these steps:
- Grab the lotion bar you want to use (make sure your hands and the skin you’re applying to are mostly dry)
- Cup the lotion bar in your palm and press it onto your skin
- Hold for a moment and let your skin “heat” the lotion bar
- While continuing to cup the bar, slowly move the lotion bar over the area you’re applying to
The harder you press, the more of the lotion will transfer to your skin. Remember, move slowly and give the lotion bar a chance to melt on your skin!
When finished, keep that lotion bar separate from the rest to ensure no moisture/water transfers over to the batch.
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Ingredients
- ½ cup beeswax
- ½ cup mango butter
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
- 1 tbs rosehip oil
Grab all the ingredients you need here.
Tools You’ll Need
- Silicone mold of choice (I opted for circular molds and filled them halfway)
- A double boiler
- Small mini whisk
Other Lotions You'll Love
- Hot chocolate lotion bars
- Dandelion lotion bars
- Citrus bliss lotion
- Whipped peppermint foot lotion
- Almond vanilla lotion from Primally Pure
Don’t forget to pin these Homemade Lotion Bars For Dry Skin
4 Ingredient Lotion Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup beeswax
- ½ cup mango butter
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
- 1 tbs rosehip oil
Instructions
- Measure out all the ingredients.
- Place the ingredients into a double boiler (or a mason jar in a small pot of water). Heat to a rolling boil taking extra care that no liquid gets into the mixture.
- Whisk every so often and let heat until all the ingredients are melted (about 15 minutes). Keep it heating for another ten minutes to ensure there are no "gritty" parts.
- Remove from heat and pour into silicone mold. Place into the fridge to firm up the bars/let them cool for 2-3 hours until fully solid.
Notes
These DIY lotion bars with coconut oil make an easy natural skincare recipe for anyone new to DIY. Likewise, they make a thoughtful gift for anyone who needs a bit more self-care.
Whip up a batch of the lotion bars and keep them on hand to help replenish, nourish and repair dry skin on the legs.
Tessa Zundel
I love lotion bars so much better than lotion! We made some last year for Christmas gifts and they turned out really well. I like the addition of rosehip oil in your recipe here. We do have rosehips but I have yet to make an oil from them - thank you for the inspiration!
fitasamamabear
Yay! So glad I could give you some ideas. Honestly, lotion bars are just so EASY they're one of my favorite gifts to give!
Kelly
I'm so excited to make these for gifts! They look super easy to make. Thanks for the post.
fitasamamabear
Thanks for dropping by! They end up feeling so luxurious!
Suzanne
This looks so good! What a fun gift to make for friends or to enjoy yourself!
fitasamamabear
They're SO silky!
Vanessa
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
fitasamamabear
So "technically" it will keep 6-8 weeks. However in my experience as long as you don't get water onto them (dry your legs first) they'll keep longer. I've had mine for about a year lol
Cheryl
Love this recipe and I have everything on hand! I live in AZ where it’s hot most of the year. I find adding some cocoa butter (medallions) also helps keep the bars from melting. I’ve made bar before but didn’t think to use rosehip oil in them. Thanks so much for providing this recipe!
fitasamamabear
Aw this makes me happy! Rosehip is just a nice addition, calming somehow. Glad you like them!
Lisa Bennett
Can you tell me approximately how many lotion bars does this recipe make? I know it'll depend on the size of each bar, but just for an idea. Thanks
fitasamamabear
For the molds I used it made 5- I believe depending on how much I filled the molds. This is still my go-to gift for teachers presents!
Kate
Can I use shea butter instead of mango? I already have it from another project.
fitasamamabear
Yep should be able to. Might come out a bit softer as mango is harder when it settles but I think it'll still work!