Lotion From Scratch

[Grumpy Girl]

I want to try making some lotion from scratch. Goats milk is what I'd like to try. I've seen a million recipes and don't usually like to use them. I want to formulate my own, but google just isn't being friendly. I'm lost. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[daniedb]

This is a generic guide to start with - it's in grams, that's what I use because it's easier for me to measure in g for some strange reason. It's a fairly thick lotion, but the consistency is great, and it sinks in nicely. It's just a basic recipe to start with, you can omit the beeswax if you want to, and sub your goat's milk for the water, some or all.

300 g water

100 g oils

50 g shea (or another softish) butter

30 g e-wax

10 g beeswax

10 g glycerin

5 g Vitamin e

~1 tsp. FO or 1/2-3/4 tsp EO

preservative (I don't know what you use, so I can't give you an amount)

Sub away, with whatever you have on hand, or add a different kind of butter and decrease/increase based on softness.

I just spent a straight month figuring out lotion, and it took me at least another 2 to get a recipe down that I love. Start basic, because you ARE going to mess up a few times!

Are you also looking for directions, or do you have those? Ask away if I didn't clarify enough for you - you know how it is, you forget all the little steps that are so confusing in the very beginning!

[Grumpy Girl]

Thanks so much! I have nothing, no directions, steps or anything. What I've found on the net just was a mess.

[RobinInOR]

Goats milk (and other things like hydrolized oats, etc) can be hard to preserve, and I've seen recommendations not to use more than 10% milk in a lotion. I make lotion w/ buttermilk, and that's about the limit I use. A mixture of liquid germal plus at .5% + tetrasodium EDTA at .1% (that's point 1%) is supposed to be a heavy duty preservative mix good for hard to preserve products.

[lindsaycb]

What does beeswax do for your lotion even though you already have ewax?

This recipe looks like a must-do! Is it squeezable? Or does it require a pump?

[daniedb]

It can be squeezable, but I would tend toward putting it in a pump, it's not at all runny when it sets up, so while you could put it in like a malibu, it might just be a little more trouble to get out. I've only used it in a pump, so I can only offer my opinion without having tested

Okay, directions (and here's my disclaimer, I'm going to tell you what I do, and that's NOT necessarily what's right, hopefully enough experienced lotionmakers will correct any mistakes):

Makes approx. 16 ounces (plus a little extra for spillage, LOL!)

PHASE A:

300 g water

Heat water to 180* and hold for 20 minutes.

PHASE B:

100 g oils

50 g shea

30 g e-wax

10 g beeswax

10 g glycerin

Combine in a heat-resistant container and melt until liquid. I melt in the microwave, and this small of a batch should be totally melted in 2-3 minutes on high in a Pyrex measuring cup.

Allow both Phases A and B to cool to 100-120. Using a stick blender or a hand beater, add Phase B to Phase A, in a steady stream, beating constantly. If you are close to 100* when you combine, the mixture should set up fairly quickly. It's obvious, it starts to thicken and looks more like cream than water, then like whipped cream.

Before the lotion gets too thick, add:

PHASE C

-FO

-Vitamin E

-preservative

-any other additives (silk fibers, exfoliants, etc)

Mix until fully incorporated. Once lotion has thickened to the consistency of barely-whipped cream, it should not separate and is okay to parcel into bottles. I actually pour mine while it's still very thin, and rarely have a separation problem. I tend to shake them a few times over the course of 24 hours in order to make sure it stays incorporated as it cools.

Leave the lotion uncapped overnight (but not in the mixing bowl, or you'll get a yucky skin) in order to allow condensation to escape. If you cap it while still warm, the condensation will collect inside and look ugly, and can also compromise your preservative.

As for the beeswax question, the e-wax serves to bind the oils and water together. It does provide a bit of hardness to the lotion, but if you throw in a little b/w (or soy wax, which is actually what I use instead of b/w), it gives a nice feel to the lotion and it also provides a barrier on the skin from moisture escaping. It also thickens the lotion a little so you can avoid using chemical or synthetic thickeners. Like I mentioned, I love the feel of soy wax in my lotion, but it's totally a personal thing. You can omit it completely, and it will be thinner, but still as moisturizing.

Again, ask if I've been unclear in any way!

[daniedb]

Any news yet? I'm dying to see if anyone's tried it since last night. Or maybe not everyone is completely obsessive like me, and y'all can actually control yourselves for five minutes until you have extra time to make a new product.

[Grumpy Girl]

I have to get a few items before I can try this. Where it says oils, does it matter what oils you use and the combination of them, how many etc?

[donna4909]

You can sub any oils, just remember that your lotion may have a different "feel" to it because oil properties differ. Some are light, some heavy, and some add "slip" like FCO.

[daniedb]

Exactly. This is a great chance to use a basic recipe to check out what feel you like of the oils. Popular lotion oils are grapeseed, SAO, olive, jojoba, FCO, and more. If you want to start with basics, you can pick up some grapeseed and olive and SAO at the store (as well as some others like sunflower and safflower) and check out how you like it. Break the 100 g into any increments you want. It helps if you do some reading first on what properties the oils have (light, heavy, cleansing, drying, etc) so you can at least start with some oils that have what you want in the finished product. Good links for that:

http://www.oilsbynature.com/product-category/oils.htm

http://www.soapnuts.com/snspecialoils.html