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DIY Soothing Chamomile Lotion Bar Recipe

Chamomile lotion bar

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Soothing, smooth and easy to apply, this chamomile lotion bar is a perfect treat for dry or rough skin. Included ingredients are all-natural, and the recipe is super easy to follow, making it the ideal DIY project for even the most novice formulators. First thing’s first, you’ll want to infuse chamomile flowers in sunflower oil. 

Table of Contents

How to Infuse Chamomile in Oil

For this recipe, I followed the traditional sun-infusion method, which involves macerating dried chamomile flowers in sunflower oil for three weeks. By doing this, I knew that the result would be a wonderfully rich, warm chamomile-scented oil. Here is a link to a step-by-step how-to guide, along with helpful notes about chamomile’s skin benefits. 

If you don’t have any infused oil in hand but don’t want to wait for three weeks either, you can also opt to macerate oil using the heat infusion method. 

All you need to do is fill a glass jar with dried chamomile and top it off with the oil of your choice. Sunflower, jojoba or sweet almond oil are great for this recipe. Place the jar in a double boiler for one hour, warming the oil on low heat for about an hour or so until the oil becomes fragrant. Then allow the oil to cool completely before straining out the resulting infused oil.

Key Ingredients in My Chamomile Lotion Bars

Deodorised cocoa butter. Although I love cocoa’s chocolate smell, it completely overpowers chamomile’s delicate smell. I use deodorised cocoa butter in this recipe as it has barely any scent and blends well with the chamomile. It also helps to set the formula, and just as mango butter absorbs into the skin effortlessly. 

Mango butter, also known as dry butter, is a natural emollient that makes a great skin-smoothing treatment and is easily absorbed into the skin without feeling greasy.

Chamomile-infused oil. Sunflower oil is an excellent carrier oil that absorbs readily into the skin. Infusing it with chamomile flowers helps bring out soothing chamomile properties.

Buriti oil, rich in vitamin A, and E and high in anti-oxidants, is another soothing emollient that helps reduce inflammation and restore the skin’s elasticity. As it can stain, a little goes a long way.

Chamomile essential oil is known for its anti-inflammatory and soothing properties. It helps calm irritated skin, and reduce redness and inflammation. In addition, chamomile has a calming effect on the mind.

Frankincense essential oil may well be one of the most popular essential oils around. It is known for its regenerating effect on the skin. It is excellent for restoring tone to the skin along with calming the mind. 

Mung beans are totally optional, but they add a bit of texture to the bars and help massage sore and achy muscles.

How to Make Chamomile Lotion Bars

DIY Soothing Chamomile Lotion Bar Recipe
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DIY Soothing Chamomile Lotion Bar Recipe

Recipe by KayDifficulty: Beginner

Soothing, smooth and easy to apply, this chamomile lotion bar is a perfect treat for dry, or rough skin in the cold winter months. To prepare 100g you will need:

Ingredients

Directions

  • Bring 2-3 cm of water to a simmer over medium-low heat in a small saucepan.
  • Weigh cocoa and mango butter into a heat-resistant glass cup and place in the hot water bath.
  • When the butter has fully melted, remove the mix from the hot water bath allowing it to cool for a minute before placing it into a cold water bath. While cooling the mixture, keep stirring to avoid graininess. You can add chamomile and buriti oil once the mix temperature drops to about 55°C.
  • As soon as the butter/oil mix temperate drops below 40°C, you can blend in vitamin E and essential oils. Continue stirring until the mixture appears opaque.
  • Now pour the mix into a mould of your choice and let the bars set for 12hrs at least, preferably overnight, allowing them to firm up nicely.
  • Once firm, remove the bars from the mould and wrap them in greaseproof paper or an aluminium jar to keep them handy in your bag.

Notes

  • If you plan to give these chamomile lotion bars a try, always do a skin patch test first. Although ingredients included in the recipe are natural and safe to use on the skin, some people may be sensitive or allergic to some of them.

Shelf life and storage

Lotion bars are anhydrous products that will keep for four to six months if stored well. Keep them away from direct sunlight in a dry, cool room or a draw. You can also freeze them if you wish to preserve the bars for longer without altering their texture. If your lotion bars change colour, smell or texture, dispose of them and prepare a new batch.

Troubleshooting

My lotion bars are too soft

Too much oil or soft butter in the formula can make lotion bars soft, especially if you live in a hot climate. You can always remelt the bars, reduce the percentage of soft butter in the formula, and replace it with hard butter such as cocoa butter. In addition, to firm the bars further, you can also reduce the amount of oil in the recipe and add beeswax. 

My lotion bars are gritty

Mango and cocoa butter are wonderful to work with. They are not only good for your skin, but they also give a frame to lotion bars. However, they are sensitive to temperature changes which can sometimes result in very gritty lotion bars. You can fix that by remelting the bars. Once the bars have melted, place the mix in a cold bath and stir to a trace. The mixture has to appear opaque before you can pour it into the moulds. Leave it on the counter to set.

FAQs

Can I use a lotion bar in the shower?

Although the lotion bar is solid and can be used to moisturise from head to toe, I wouldn’t use it in the shower. For the best results,  use a lotion bar after the shower while your skin is still warm and moist – it will help lock the moisture in. 

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h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="in-what-should-i-wrap-my-lotion-bars">In what should I wrap my lotion bars?

To keep your lotion bars fresh, keep them in a sealed glass or aluminium jar or wrapped in beeswax paper away from direct sunlight. They are made of butter; hence they can melt at high temperatures. 

Are you looking for more ways to incorporate chamomile into your skincare? Check out the recipes below!

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