DIY Lotion Bars made with coconut oil are a fun beauty product to make at home. It was SO EASY and fast – I was done with the “making and mixing” part within half an hour.
Lotion bars need to set and harden up a bit before use, which takes a few hours. Or, speed up the process by setting them in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes before removing from the molds.
My skin loves the softening effects of this coconut oil and cocoa butter blend. If you prefer shea butter to cocoa butter, simply substitute the same amount in the recipe.
The basic recipe for lotion bars can also be used as a lip balm. DIY Lip Balm has also been on my To Do List for awhile. I bought empty lip balm tubes months ago.
If you don’t have empty lip balm tubes, try to find some other small container with a lid. An empty Altoids tin would work.
Lotion bars will need to be made in a mold. I have a flower-shaped silicone mold. The shape doesn’t really matter, but using a silicone mold made it really easy for me to pop the lotion bars out once they were ready.
The flower shape is actually really cute and would be perfect for homemade gifts. Lotion bars could also be given as baby shower or bridal party favors. They would look really cute wrapped in cellophane tied with a ribbon.
There are just 3 ingredients in the basic lotion bar recipe: Coconut Oil, Cocoa Butter (or Shea Butter) and Beeswax beads. I used Beeswax beads because the tiny pieces melt really quickly and they help the bars stay together when they are done.
Coconut oil melts really easily and you’d end up with liquid lotion instead of a bar without the beeswax.
You can make a big batch or a small batch of lotion bars. The key is to use equal parts of each ingredient. Click to download a printable version of DIY Lotion Bars and Lip Balm recipe.
DIY Lotion Bars Recipe
Makes about 3 muffin-sized lotion bars, depending on the size of your silicone mold. You could make smaller ones by using hearts, stars and shells silicone molds.
- 1 cup Beeswax beads
- 1 cup Raw Cocoa Butter (you can also use unrefined Shea Butter)
- 1 cup Coconut Oil
- Add all ingredients to a small saucepan and slowly melt on low heat, stirring constantly.
- Once ingredients are completely melted, remove from heat and pour into silicone molds.
- Bars will harden as they cool. Allow them to set at least 3-4 hours before removing from mold. Cool in the refrigerator for faster results.
If you want to experiment and make Oatmeal Lotion Bars or Lavender Lotion Bars, here is what I did:
Optional: Before pouring into molds, stir in half a cup of oatmeal flour (or more if desired).
Optional: Before pouring into molds, stir in 20-30 drops of Lavender essential oil.
Oatmeal soothes dry, itchy skin. I put about a cup of oats into my food processor and ground it up into a fine powder. The cool thing about Oatmeal Lotion Bars is that the heavier particles end up settling on the bottom of the bar. The lotion bar looks two-toned and the oatmeal side of the bar can be used to gently exfoliate.
Make Lavender Lotion bars using the basic recipe plus Lavender Essential Oil. Lavender is great for dry, chapped skin and I love the scent. You could also substitute your favorite skin-friendly essential oils. I love to use citrusy scents like Orange and Grapefruit.
To Use a Lotion Bar: Simply swipe the lotion bar across skin. You will probably need to let the body heat from your hands warm the lotion bar up a bit so that it will soften before application. Apply after showering or any time of day.
DIY Lip Balm uses the exact same recipe as the DIY Lotion Bars. The only difference is that you’ll want to put it into an empty lip balm container or something similar so you can carry it with you. A pipette makes it a lot easier to fill lip balm containers. I have found all of these supplies online at Amazon.
Do you like to make your own beauty products? Stay tuned because I am experimenting with the basic lotion recipe and essential oils to make an all-natural insect repellent DIY lotion bars. I hope to have it ready in time to shoo away mosquitoes this summer!
Check out more of my favorite DIY beauty and spa recipes:
Vegan Mango Butter Lotion Bars makes the most lux lotion bar EVER.
Himalayan Pink Salt Soap is the perfect recipe for beginners to make gorgeous soaps.
Strawberry Bath Bombs made with real strawberries for natural pink colors!
You may even want to check out my 3-ingredient homemade deodorant recipe. I’ve been making it the same simple way for 2 years now and still love it.
Rosie says
I’ve been looking to make lotion bars – I have the coconut oil, and I was wondering if you use only coconut oil and either beeswax or shea butter how they would come out – I just don’t want to buy more supplies than I really need to – I want to add something to coconut oil, just not sure what. These do look wonderful!!
Nicole says
I think the beeswax is definitely a must have ingredient because coconut oil turns to liquid so easily and the beeswax helps the lotion bars keep their shape. I have not made it without the shea butter – but I would leave the shea butter out before I left out the beeswax. Hope that makes sense – let me know if you have any more questions. I’m happy to give my input. And if you try it without the shea butter, let me know how it works. I would think you could re-melt the ingredients and start over until you got found the beeswax/coconut oil ratio that works. Good luck! – Nicole
Shannon says
These would make great gifts, thank you for sharing.
DailyWoman (Lacey) says
This looks so easy, I wish I could find all these ingredients near my house. I have always loved handmade soaps and lotions.
Cindy Leonard says
My husband and I love the ‘massage’ bars from Lush…but they’re pricey for our budget…these would be awesome and affordable! Can’t wait to surprise him with my ‘craftiness’! lol
Ashley F says
Such a great idea! This would be perfect as little gifts!
alicia k says
these would make great xmas gifts
sarah sar says
I have tried solid lotion bars from Lush and absolutely LOVE them! I never thought to make my own…this looks super easy. I’ve bookmarked this post so that I can make my own once I’ve found the ingredients. Thanks!
Nicole says
Hi Sarah! Yes, these are definitely just as easy to make as it looks like in the blog post. I thought it would be more complicated, but really and truly – it was just melt and pour. Good luck! Let me know how yours turn out if you decide to make them. -Nicle
Jo-Ann Brightman says
This sounds like it is much easier to make than I expected. I never even thought about making my own lotion bar or lip balm and now I might try it.
Maryann D. says
I would love to make my own lotion bars, I never heard of Beeswax beads though, but that would be what I need to get. I love using essential oils so I would love to add it.
Aleksandra says
These are so cute and very beneficial. Thank you for this wonderful and useful diy <3
Jennifer Hiles says
This looks simple enough, I think I could actually do it! 🙂 I’d love to be able to make my own products. All I need is the beeswax. I think I have the rest.
Renee says
I like that the lotion bars have simple, natural ingredients that blend to “lock” in moisture.
Wanda Tracey says
This sounds so much easier than I imagined and I have a friend who wants to hel me.She does this kind of craft all the time so we are going to make a batch and give them away as gifts.Thanks for sharing.I’m excited to get started.
Nicole says
I hope you and your friend have a good time making them, and that you enjoy giving them as gifts. You’ll have to let me know how they turn out. And any ideas on how to package them for gifts. I think I’m going to make these for Mother’s Day gifts.
Sandra VanHoey says
With as much lip balm as I use I need to try this one
Small Footprints says
Oh this looks so easy and would feel luscious on my skin! Do you have any suggestions for a vegan replacement for the beeswax beads? Of course, I suppose if I just left them out, I could put the remaining two ingredients into a jar. Thanks for this recipe! 🙂
Nicole says
I am not sure what a good vegan replacement would be for the beeswax. That is a good question. I’m sure there is something, I’ll have to get back to you on that!
Small Footprints says
Hi Nicole … I’ve been doing a little research since I read your post and I think one could use soy wax in place of the beeswax beads. I haven’t actually shopped for it so don’t know how available it is but … I’m going to check. Thanks, again!
Nicole says
Oh! good you found something! I have also been looking and found that this ingredient: candelilla wax is a vegan option. I’m just not sure where to buy it for the best price. Or how much to put in a recipe. But I’m always up for a good experiment! 🙂
Nicole Untz says
Would love to try this out sometime… thanks for sharing! 🙂
RICHARD HICKS says
Never thought about doing this. You make it look so easy!
Trish F says
I would like to try these one day and I hope the stars align for me soon as I have had all of the equipment and ingredients to make cold processed soap now for about 2 years and still haven’t gotten around to trying to make it. My only concern about these lotion bars knowing the properties of coconut oil, is that they would start melting when the temp. hits above 72 degrees. But then again being that they are mixed with cocoa butter and beeswax maybe that keeps it in solid form. Thanks for sharing.
Nicole says
Hi Trish – You sound like me when it comes to projects. Soap is on my list, but I haven’t gotten the equipment yet…so you’re many steps ahead of me! Yes, I agree on the coconut oil and have wondered what will happen when it gets warmer. So far, I have had the bars in my house and in the bathroom that can get really warm (especially after someone showers). They have done fine, but our temps inside are probably right around 72-74 degrees.
I am *hoping* the beeswax is what is making a difference and will keep it from losing shape in the summer temps. I’ll probably have some of these left and see what they do. So far, so good though. It is a fine line between making a lotion bar that is soft enough to use yet hard enough to keep its shape.
People can tweak the recipe and add more beeswax if needed for a firmer lotion bar. I have tried some lotion bars that used WAY too much beeswax and made the whole bar unusable because it was too hard to put onto my skin.
**Just in case anyone reads through the comments, it would be good to note that these lotion bars should not be put in the sun or next to a heat source. They will soften up and melt when they get too warm – which is a GOOD thing if you are wanting to put it on your skin, but not a good thing if you are wanting to display it.**
I’m hopeful I got these lotion bars just right. Oh well. Worst case scenario is the lotion bars get a little melty. If they do, I’ll just put them in a container and use them like Body Butter. 🙂
Stephanie says
This is so much easier than I expected. I should try making this with my daughter, she would really love this!
Betty Baez says
Oh wow this is a lot easier than what i expected! These would make great gifts for any occasion!
Nicole says
It was so easy, Betty. I had been putting off making them, thinking it would be more messy or time-consuming. But it was over and done in half an hour. I want to find a cute way to package these for gifts. Cellophane/ribbon may be easiest.