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Cold winter weather with a bitter chill in the air can do a number on your skin. The combination of dry air and freezing temperatures can leave your skin dry, flaky, and itchy. The best way to combat these effects is by making your own DIY Lavender Rosemary Lotion Bars.

Soothing with a fresh, herbal scent, they will be your new go-to home remedy for dry skin. Made from cocoa butter, shea butter and beeswax, these moisturising bars will leave your skin feeling soft and supple. Moreover, a soothing scent of lavender and rosemary essential oil makes these lotion bars a perfect gift this season!

Why Add Lavender and Rosemary Essential Oil To Lotion Bars?

Essential oils offer a multitude of skin benefits. Lavender essential oil is no exception. Its wide range of therapeutic properties makes it one of the most versatile essential oils. It is also one of my go-to essential oils for dry skin, as it balances your skin’s moisture barrier. Blending it with shea and cocoa butter and massaging it onto dry skin promotes soft, itch-free skin. It is also naturally antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and remedying oil.

A few drops of rosemary essential oil can do a world of good for your hands too! Cold fingers are a common occurrence during the winter season. Massaging lotion bars infused with rosemary essential oil into your hands may help increase blood flow to your fingers and hands, helping to warm them up.

DIY Lavender Rosemary Lotion Bars

Recipe by Kay GuptaDifficulty: Beginner Formulator

Makes

100

grams

Prep time

minutes

Formulating time

minutes

Total time

minutes

Soothe dry winter skin with a homemade lotion bar infused with soothing lavender and a hint of freshness from rosemary essential oil.

Ingredients

Phase A
77.65 g unrefined cocoa butter
15.00g shea butter
5.00g beeswax
Phase B
1.00g vitamin E
0.70g lavender essential oil
0.35g rosemary essential oil
0.30g cedarwood essential oil

Directions

Bring 2-3 cm of water to a simmer over low heat in a saucepan.
Weigh the unrefined cocoa butter, shea butter, and beeswax in a heat-resistant glass beaker and place it into the water bath to melt the ingredients.
When fully melted, remove the oil blend from the water bath, and stir until cooled down to avoid graininess.
Add vitamin E and essential oils once the blend has cooled down to under 40°C.
Continue stirring until you notice the trace building up. Now you can pour the mix into the mould, allowing the bars to set overnight.
Once firm, remove them from the mould, label and store them in an airtight jar.

How to Video

Notes

Even though essential oils are natural ingredients, some people might be sensitive or even allergic to them. Mix a drop of essential oil with a tablespoon of oil, such as sunflower oil, and apply it to a small skin patch to check for sensitivities. If your skin turns red or itchy or you experience any rash, opt for a different essential oil or an unscented lotion bar. You’ll still benefit from the moisturising effect of the bar.

Shelf life and storage

While I am a massive fan of body lotions, I like to keep some lotion bars on hand for extra dry spots like my elbows. They’re small enough to carry around in a purse and keep up to a year if stored well. Keep them away from direct sunlight in a dry, cool room or a draw. If they change colour, smell or texture, dispose of them and prepare a new batch.

h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="equipment">Equipment

silicone mould

Substitutes

Please remember that swapping the ingredients in the formula will alter the final product. Consider how the ingredient you switch will affect the final product’s texture and smell when making changes.

Beeswax: Candelilla wax and carnauba wax are great substitutes you can use instead of beeswax. However, if you prefer to skip it, replace beeswax with cocoa butter.

Butters: Cocoa butter is one ingredient you’d find challenging to swap due to its unique texture. If you don’t like cocoa butter’s overly sweet scent, opt for the refined version instead. As for the shea butter, soft butter like mango, cupuacu, and murumuru make great substitutes.

Essential oils: If you’d like to try other variations, blend lavender with eucalyptus and frankincense oil; benzoin with clary sage oil; or lavender with frankincense and clary sage oil.

FAQs

What other essential oils pair well with cocoa butter?

The sweet scent of cocoa butter will blend beautifully with citrus essential oils like bergamot, orange and tangerine, woodsy oils like cedarwood and sandalwood, or floral oils like jasmine and geranium. You can learn more by reading 10 Essential Oils That Pair Well With Cocoa Butter.

How can I make lotion bars less greasy?

Use dry butter like mango butter instead of shea butter. Adding tapioca starch or arrowroot to your formula can also help. It will help lotion bars feel less greasy since starch helps to absorb oil.