I have such dry skin – and the cold winter doesn’t help. Unfortunately, I have passed this trait onto my kids, who all have extremely dry skin, too. In my effort to try to find a moisturizer that would work for all of us, and not be filled with chemicals, I came across hard lotion bars.
Not only are these easy to make, they are fun to give as gifts (really any time of year) – and especially during the winter months!
Here’s how I made my hard lotion bars:
Ingredients:
- Coconut Oil
- Shea Butter or Cocoa Butter
- Bees Wax (I recommend the pellets because they are easier to melt)
- Optional Fragrance (lavender, peppermint, etc)
What you’ll need:
Double-boiler (or improvise like I did with a pot inside of another).
Silicon Molds
Directions:
1. Melt equal parts of the coconut oil, shea butter (or cocoa butter) and bees wax in a double boiler. The bees wax will take the longest to melt, but just keep stirring to help it go faster.
2. Once everything is completely melted, add your optional fragrance (I used peppermint oil to be festive with the holiday season) and pour the hot liquid into your molds.
3. The bars will start to form immediately, but you’ll want to let them set for about an hour (or you can put them in the freezer to form faster).
4. Wrap them in small holiday tins, baskets, or boxes to give as gifts! You can also individually wrap them in plastic wrap if you are giving more than one so they don’t mix fragrances.
I also found that these make wonderful lip balms, too. I used cocoa butter for the lip balms (you can order empty tubes to fill). Just fill them the same way as described above and enjoy!
Tip: If you mess up, you can just re-melt the bars and start the process again to get the perfect size and shape. You can also experiment with different butters, fragrances, sizes, and shapes to create a unique gift each time you make them. I found that cocoa butter has a light fragrance that is perfect without adding any other essential oils.
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Melissa Hurst, the founder of SavingCentsWithSense.net, is a married mom of three young children, so she understands the importance of stretching a family's budget to maximize savings. After working full-time in higher education for seven years, she pursued a passion of teaching both in the classroom and through her articles to help others. Her money-saving tips have been featured on Arizona Midday, and she is a regular columnist for LifetimeMoms.com and Times Publications in Arizona.
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