Hello

Inspired by many posts here I decided to try and make my own lotion bar for travel. Idea is it shall double as hand creme, face creme and general after shave treatment after a good traditional shave. This recipe is devoid of any additional scents and oils. In general I try and avoid if I can. Here it's very easy to avoid.

Here are my steps!

1. Order stuff on Amazon. I live in a place of the world where these ingredients are not easily available.

2. Wait. Impatiently

3. Yay, it's here!


Recipe I used here is:
100ml Jojoba oil
50g Shea butter, unrefined
50g cocoa butter, unrefined
100g beeswax
1 tsp. Vitamin E for preservation


4.Setup a double-boiler system


5. Pour in ingredients.


6.Wait some time while the heat melts it. Still some time to go. That beeswax is tough...


7. All of a sudden like a flick of the light, it's melted!


8. No tinkering without beer!


9. The molds.


10. Poured! Now they just have to cool down.

Nice! Let us know how they work.

And .... why do I have a sudden craving for corn bread?

I will, Richgem. If retail wont provide me with what I need, then I'll take matters in my own hands I've been really hard pressed to find any decent lotion bars that weren't outrageous expensive. These 7 I got here has been very cheap in comparison.

Nice. How firm is the finished product?

Having a cold beer is a must when mixing up a magic shaving potion! Good for you! I'd like to know the results.

It's hard as a shaving soap puck, but the minute you hold it in your hand, it softens up and transfers to your hands.

One could also say it's like a very cold bar of butter. Hard, but not stone hard. It's easy to scrape something off with a nail if that's what one wants to do to apply it.

My initial plan was that I hoped it would be as soft as hair wax, so I could easily take a small amount, but this works just as fine for me. At least the airport security can't claim it's a liquid

It turned out very nice I think. I like the smell - nutty chocolate smell, but not very strong-scented on the skin. It's very greasy on the hands, but it's only an issue the first few minutes. Also, when applied to my face I don't look like a glistering dounut, so that's very nice, I was worried it would be that way.

7 pucks in total. The one in the tin-can is for my dopp-kit. I've already PIF'en one to my mom, she's thrilled to try one. I accidentally promised her it would take 30 years off her age

Nice.I am making shave cream with Shea butter and coconut oil,double boiler,sandlewood eo,then whip with mixer.

Sounds exciting, Speed! Let us know how that turns out.

Nicely done!
Those look great!

I am just waiting to finish using my current batch.I believe using the natural ingredients gives it a shelf life.

Lack of water also increases shelf life. Still, it is not indefinite, so our International Penguin of Mystery has the right idea by adding some Vitamin E, for a preservative.

Our favo(u)rite Dane needs a new avi, tho....

Alright, I've now tried and use it combined with a shave. It definitely takes some getting used to. I always feel I've applied way too little (I experimented with it yesterday), but every time it turns out I've applied too much! So now I was a bit more sparse with it it I think it went well. Skin feels good and not overly greasy, but I even think I could do with less the next time.

yeah, new avi!

Maybe apply the bar to your hands and then rub your hands on your face. Anything leftover will be good for dry hands.

That's how I do it already. It's difficult to rub though, due to the friction. It's not actually slippery

Something freakish is going on. Already after 24-48 hours of use on my face I see a vast improvement of both my teint, but also the general appearance of my skin. It looks smooth, feels soft and silky and some of the imperfections is gone.

This stuff... the shea and cocoa butter.. IT ROCKS! Now, I've read the cocoa butter is actually highly comedogenic, so I've already ordered a batch of shea, to make a shea-only lotion bar. But so far no acne outburst. I do wash face twice a day, so maybe that's why I don't have any issues.

I can't believe how well it works, and having experienced it first hand, I feel all my face creams and balms now gather dust.

Am I the only one with such success with shea and/or cocoa butter on skin?

Well done on the lotion bars!

I use some Shea / Cocoa butter mixed products that are made by various companies when certain areas of the skin become dry to very good effect!

All right! New recipee.

The cocoa butter did with time give me a few zits, so I've retired those and made a new batch of only shea butter, but this time with 25% less bees wax to make it easier to apply.

Scent wise it's easier on my nose, it applies much easier and giving it's shea only (and the jojoba, vitamin E and bees wax) it's very zits-friendly.