The beginning of spring in Cleveland is always so odd. It snows most days yet always melts, but it's still freezing. This weather messes me up, it really does. I own a bath and skin care business and a few of my products (Lotion & Massage Bars) don't do well in hot weather. April is when I start to worry about shipping my lotions, especially if they are going to the south. They'll get all melt-y and soft when sitting in a hotbox aka mailbox, yet I get tons of interest in buying them in summertime.
Since I'm too nervous about shipping them to the south, I'm going to share my recipe with you all instead.
Recipe is for a 2.2 ounce Natural Golden Honey Cocoa Lotion Bar
I always end up with a little extra, I'll tell you what to do with that extra bit at the end of the post.
Ingredients:
✮Measure out 2 TB or 1oz of beeswax and place it in your pyrex or double boiler. Beeswax takes longer to melt than the butter. Therefore, melt the Beeswax for about 30-40 seconds before putting in the 2 TB or 1oz of Cocoa Butter. I love Cocoa Butter so I usually add a few extra pieces of cocoa depending on how prevalent the cocoa scent is, it's all to your taste so add extra if you'd like it to smell a bit stronger.
✮If you are using a microwave for this melt the Beeswax and Cocoa Butter in 30 second spurts, this decreases the risk of "burning" or over-cooking the mixture. Once your mix looks like the photo above then it's time to add your carrier oil. I'm using Grapeseed for this bar.
✮Start off with 1 TB of the Carrier Oil. When you pour the carrier oil in, you will see it start to harden. Do not put it back in the microwave or over the hot boiler, just stir it. After you stir it, there will be a small amount of hardened lotion on your knife, spoon, or stir stick. Put that little bit on your fingers and rub it in, if it feels too waxy then add another Half TB of Carrier Oil, stir, try again. You can add up to 2 whole Tablespoons of Carrier Oil to your lotion mixture (if you add too much it will be too soft.)
✮Get your silicone mold (you can use any size and shape) and slowly pour the lotion mixture into it. If you pour too quickly air bubbles will form on the bottom and sides of the mold.
✮Cover your lotion so that hair and fuzz can't get to it and let it sit for 1-2 hours, depending on the size of the mold. If you find that after 2 hours your lotion isn't hard enough then you may need to melt it again and add up to 1 teaspoon of beeswax to help it harden.
When you're all done you might have extra lotion left in the pyrex of double boiler, if that's the case then just let it harden and pop it out with your fingers or a knife. It will be your little 'black sheep' lotion bar❤
You can use this same recipe but with White Cocoa & Shea Butter and Essential Oils.
If you use Cocoa and Shea Butter use 1 part Cocoa, 3 parts Shea, and 1-1.5 TB of Carrier Oil.
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If you'd like to see which lotions I have left for April, go
here.
I'm thinking of turning all Tuesdays into Tutorial Tuesdays! What do you think?
