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This three-ingredient Lotion Bar Recipe makes incredible and moisturizing DIY lotion bars. They are so easy to make and can be prepared in only 10 minutes!

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These homemade lotion bars will make you feel like you’re at a fancy spa. But instead of spending tons of money, you can make them in your own kitchen in about 10-15 minutes.

What Are Hard Lotion Bars?

Ohhh, my friend, you haven’t lived until you have used a hard lotion bar. It looks like a bar of soap but contains ingredients that are moisturizing to your skin.

It is not soap so you wouldn’t bring it into the shower or bath, but you can put it on right after showering.

How Do You Use a Hard Lotion Bar?

The best part is how easy they are to use and store! You simply rub the lotion bar on your skin until the heat from your skin warms the bar up and releases the moisturizer.

How Do You Store Them?

Anything air-tight will work. Old mint tins, squat mason jars, or even a ziploc bag will work.

Coconut oil is liquid at 76˚F or above, so keep them out of direct sunlight and in a cool dry place for best results. You can also gift it to someone in a pretty homemade DIY fabric gift bag.

How Long Do Lotion Bars Last?

If stored properly (see above) they should last for five-plus years. The lotion bar may develop a harder coating from the wax but they are still perfectly safe to use.

Helpful Lotion Bar Recipe Supply List

Many of these same ingredients and supplies can be used in our homemade chapstick recipe and natural homemade deodorant.

ingredients for a lotion bar recipe - coconut oil, sweet almond oil, and a bar of beeswax

How to Make This Lotion Bar Recipe – Step by Step

  1.  Place 2 cups of water in a medium-sized pan fitted with a double boiler. Place beeswax in the double boiler and allow it to fully melt.
  2. Add the coconut oil and sweet almond oil, and stir gently until the coconut oil is melted.
  3. Using an oven mitt, remove the double boiler from the pan and wipe the water off of the bottom of the boiler. Pour the melted mixture into your molds, and allow it to set for a few hours, or overnight.

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

  • Having a double-boiled dedicated to just wax crafts means you don’t have to spend a ton of time cleaning it in-between recipes. You could also use a mason jar in a pot of simmering water.
  • Vegans can use carnauba wax in lieu of beeswax.
  • If you have a coconut allergy you can sub in shea butter.
  • If you have a nut allergy you can sub in olive or avocado oil for the sweet almond.
  • Using an empty deodorant tube makes it super easy to apply this lotion bar recipe and makes it kid-friendly for them to apply themselves.

Variations

Want a scented lotion bar? Add 10-15 drops of your favorite essential oils in step 2 with the sweet almond oil. Please note, I don’t sell essential oils or anything but I do use them myself around the house.

These bars smell so lovely even without essential oils, and they work amazingly well. They have become one of my most requested handmade holiday gifts from friends and family.

5 from 58 ratings

Lotion Bar Recipe {Homemade Hard Lotion Bar}

Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 10 minutes
a lotion bar in the shape of honeycomb on a grey cloth with wax and other lotion bars on a white board
This three-ingredient lotion bar recipe makes incredible and moisturizing DIY lotion bars. They are so easy to make and can be prepared in only 10 minutes!

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Note: by "equal parts" for the ingredients, it would mean you use the same measurements of all the ingredients. Let's say you want to use 1/3 cup of beeswax, you'd then want to use 1/3 cup of the almond oil and 1/3 cup the coconut oil. This allows you to use scale the recipe up to your preferred amount for your molds.
  • Place 2 cups of water in a medium-sized pan fitted with a double boiler. Place beeswax in the double boiler and allow it to fully melt.
    1 part beeswax (melted)
  • Add the coconut oil and sweet almond oil, and stir gently (with a spoon dedicated solely to beeswax crafts) until the coconut oil is melted.
    1 part sweet almond oil, 1 part coconut oil (melted)
  • Using an oven mitt, remove the double boiler from the pan and wipe the water off of the bottom of the boiler.
  • Pour the melted mixture into your molds, and allow to set for a few hours, or overnight.

Notes

  1. Vegans can use carnauba wax in lieu of beeswax.
  2. If you have a coconut allergy you can sub in shea butter.
  3. Using an empty deodorant tube makes it super easy to apply this lotion bar recipe and makes it kid-friendly for them to apply themselves.

Additional Info

Course: DIY
Tried this recipe?Mention @sustainablecooks or tag #sustainablecooks!

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About Sarah Cook

I'm here to help you make easy, seasonal, and no-fuss recipes for yourself and your family.

Whether it's a quick one-pot dinner or if I am teaching you how to can and preserve local produce, you can consider me your elder millennial grandma

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5 from 58 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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311 Comments

  1. Hi Sarah,

    Love your very simple recipe. Question. What can you substitute for the almond oil if someone is allergic to nuts?

    Donna5 stars

    1. Hi Donna, thanks for the question! It’s addressed under the “Pro tips” notes in the recipe. I’ll copy and paste it below:

      “If you have a nut allergy you can sub in olive or avocado oil for the sweet almond.”

      Since both are good options, I would use whichever you already have on hand.