So, I finally made my first lotion bars, just for me. I made two, a two-ounce and a half-ounce (these are in twist-up tubes).
I started with the recipe for "Lotion Bar Love" on the Soap Queen blog as a jumping-off point. My version is:
20% beeswax
5% kuikui nut oil
30% sweet almond
25% shea
20% cocoa butter
One question I have, how soon is it good to use? I'm pretty sure I don't have to wait four weeks like you do for soap (at least I hope not!), but I used the smaller one pretty much as soon as it was cool, and it felt a bit greasy. I'm making myself wait 24 hours before I try again.
Oh, and I did use a teeny bit of Liquipar Optima (just in case!) and scented with Sweet Orange EO. I was in the hospital a few years ago and got sent home with some orange-scented lotion. When I decided to learn to make lotions, that orange scent was the first thing that popped into my head.
Also, I used Irena's hint about standing the containers in a container of raw rice. I had bought a big bag (okay, a
HUGE bag) of rice, and a couple of different things to put it in to hold lotion bottles. Last night, since I just had the two, I used those teeny little foil loaf pans. I bought a stack of five for less than a couple of dollars (and I didn't even take them apart). I filled the pan full of rice, set the tubes inside, and poured away. I got a bit sloppy on the smaller tube, so I had lotion spill-over and a wad of rice stuck to the side, but I just wiped that off. When the tubes were cooled, I poured the rice back into its little ziploc bag for next time.
So, thanks for another great idea, Irena!
Anita