Hello Zero Wasters, today video we are going to be making a deeply nourishing, non-greasy solid lotion recipe.
What's a solid lotion?
Think of it as a cream for your hands and body, but in a solid form. This recipe is perfect if you have dry hands, to use after a shower, or even on your lips. It's a truly multi-purpose product.
Solid lotion recipes can be made with as little as 2 ingredients: an oil and a wax. But with this method, they tend to be quite oily or sticky. We are going to overcome this issue by including a butter.
What butter to use in a solid lotion bar
Many recipes use cocoa butter or shea butter which are both very valid options. However, shea butter is quite sticky, something we want to avoid as much as possible in a solid lotion, and cocoa butter tends to be a little more oily. So, in this recipe, I wanted to try to use mango butter this time.
Mango butter is somewhat less used, but I think it's such an outstanding ingredient which has a similar fatty acid profile to shea butter, but it's less sticky and faster to absorb.
Mango butter fatty acid profile: Palmitic- 7% Stearic- 42% Oleic- 45% Linoleic- 3% Shea butter fatty acid profile: Palmitic - 5% Stearic- 40% Oleic- 48% Linoleic- 6%
Choosing an oil and a wax
The next 2 ingredients are going to be an oil and a wax. For my oil I chose sweet almond oil. It's super high in oleic acid which means it's really moisturising and good for sensitive skin, fast absorbing and clear in texture which will give us a lovely white bar.
For the wax I chose white beeswax, but you can also use yellow beeswax or candelilla wax. If you use candelilla wax, make sure to check the vegan version of the recipe below.
Finally, we will also add vitamin E. Not only will it slow down the oxidation of the oils and butters in the recipe, keeping the bar fresh for longer, but it will also add a really nice "slip" to the product, making it even more spreadable.
Solid Lotion Bar Recipe
Ingredients
To make a 50g solid lotion bar, you need:
- 40% sweet almond oil: 20 grams/0.71 oz
- 35% mango butter: 17.50 grams/1.62 oz
- 24% beeswax (I have used white beeswax to obtain a white and odourless bar): 12 grams/0.42 oz
- 1% vitamin E: 0.50 grams/0.02 oz
- Optional: up to 1% essential oils, that's about 0.50 grams/0.02 oz to remove from the sweet almond oil amount
Vegan version:
- 44% sweet almond oil: 22 grams/0.78 oz
- 35% mango butter: 17.50 grams/1.62 oz
- 20% candelilla wax: 10 grams/0.35 oz
- 1% vitamin E: 0.50 grams/0.02 oz
- Optional: up to 1% essential oils, that's about 0.50 grams/0.02 oz to remove from the sweet almond oil amount
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Solid Lotion Bar Recipe Instructions
1. In no particular order, weigh all the ingredients apart from the vitamin E and we will do this while we are letting some water to simmer inside a saucepan.
2. Place the bowl into the saucepan to allow the ingredients to melt really gently, giving it a mix now and then.
3. Once the ingredients are melted, remove the bowl from the saucepan, mix gently and add the vitamin E.
4. Mix again and pour your lotion into a mould. I like to use these circular moulds but you can use any other shape.
5. At this point all you need to do is allow the solid lotion to cool in the freezer for about 30-40 minutes, and then unmould gently.
Your bar is ready to be used and enjoyed! It has a shelf life of about 6 months but I am sure you will run out of it well before than.
I really hope you have enjoyed the recipe, if you try it make sure to let me know by tagging me on Instagram, @bottegazerowaste.