Lotion Bars

This post was originally published on Ordinary Life Magic in December of 2009.

I made girly gift baskets last year for holiday gifts — one of my favorite things (and the first time I had done it) was lotion bars.

How is it that I had lived my life without lotion bars?

This recipe is called “simple”, and it really is… nothing could be easier.

All you need for this one is equal parts of cocoa butter, oil (olive, sunflower, apricot, canola – whatever you like), and beeswax.

I don’t bother with essential oils for this recipe – the smell of the cocoa butter is so strong that it would just over-power, anyway, and I believe it’s a waste of the oils. (I am tempted to try peppermint, though.)

Add one part of each to your pan

- I had a seven ounce jar of cocoa butter, so I used a tad over 3/4 cup of olive oil, and the same for beeswax -

and melt them in your pan, stirring to blend.

As this recipe is curable if it’s too soft or too hard, I pour a single bar into a mold, then let it sit

after it’s firm, I check the consistency.

If t’s too firm, add oil to the batch, if it’s too soft, add beeswax. Remelt.

Pour it into your molds and let it sit until firm. A container that isn’t absolutely rigid is best, like a small bowl that isn’t glass – just pull the sides away (stretching the bowl) and the bar will pop right out of the mold, undamaged.

These are not something that can be carried ‘as is” in your bag… they’ll pick up lint, and get dirty.

Lotion bars look like soap – but when you hold them the heat from your hands starts to melt a bit, allowing you to rub the goodness into your skin.

Very, very nice.

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