Homemade Lotion (in 3 Easy Steps)

I’m not one to compromise on quality. Whenever I make something in my kitchen, I intend it to be equal if not MUCH higher quality than anything store bought. You guys have followed my blog long enough to know that’s true. This week I decided to make homemade lotion. This was my first time making homemade lotion, and it turned out great!

So why did I decide to make it myself? I got this fancy hydrating cream with essential oils from Doterra. It has Lavender, Jasmine, Geranium, and Frankincense in it. I originally bought it in desperation to cope with my food-allergy-exacerbated eczema on my cheeks. The ingredients of the Doterra hydrating cream are…pretty good. I mean, it’s Doterra, and you all know I use Doterra Essential Oils (buy here). The essential oils are among the purest oils you’ll find on the market, and I use them for everything under the sun. And while their skin care line is great, I still am very sensitive to many things, and I prefer to make my own stuff when I can just so that I know WITHOUT A DOUBT what’s in it and how it’s affecting me. Just take a look at the ingredients:

INGREDIENTS: Aqua (Water), Butylene Glycol, Betaine, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Hordeum distichon (Barley) Extract, Behenyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Isododecane, Dimethicone, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Nylon-12, Phytosteryl Isostearate, Theobroma cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Lavandula angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Pelargonium graveolens (Geranium) Oil, Boswellia carterii (Frankincense) Oil, Jasminum grandiflorum (Jasmine Absolute) Flower Extract, Phellodendron amurense Bark Extract, Santalum Album (Sandalwood) Extract, Erythritol, Algae Extract, Artemisia vulgaris Extract, Phospholipids, Whey Protein, Hydrolyzed Oat Protein, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ascophyllum nodosum Extract, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Acetyl Dipeptide-1 Cetyl Ester, Adenosine Triphosphate, Niacinamide, Homarine HCL, Panthenyl Triacetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Cetearyl Methicone, Sorbitan Laurate, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl
Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hexylene Glycol, Tetrasodium EDTA , Dimethicone Crosspolymer

Before getting the Doterra hydrating cream, I had actually been using tallow and a totally natural cream made from manuka honey. They weren’t working so great to be honest. The tallow left my face oily and not feeling natural. The manuka honey cream was sticky and did not provide me with relief. Neither the tallow nor the manuka honey cream were cooling, and anyone with eczema knows that it’s HOT. The hydrating cream was appealingly cool when applied, so when I made my homemade lotion, I wanted to replicate this quality.

ALSO, the Doterra hydrating cream is 1.7oz in size and costs $46.00 retail! I price compared other face creams and hydrating creams at my local grocery store, and WOW! The cheapest one I found was $24.99 and the most costly $94.99. For a 2oz size!! What the heck are they putting in these creams that makes them so expensive? I decided I’d figure out how to make my own lotion using ingredients I already had, and WOW it turned out PERFECT!!

I went home and pulled all my butters and oils out of the cabinet and set to work. The resulting lotion is lightweight but wonderfully hydrating. I emulsified oil and water bases, so it’s not only hydrating, but also cooling when applied.

Homemade Lotion

You will need:
A food processor (buy here)
A double boiler (buy here)
1 cup room temp herbal tea (buy here)
1/2 cup coconut oil (buy here)
1/4 cup shea butter (buy here)
3/8 cup sweet almond oil (buy here)
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil (buy here)
4 TBSP beeswax pastilles (buy here)
1-2 tsp total of essential oils of your choice. I used the following Doterra oils: Frankincense Oil, Lavender Oil, Myrrh Oil, Helichrysum Flower Oil, Rose Flower Oil.

I’m going to make this very easy for you. There are really only three steps. Ready? Here we go.

Step 1: Brew

Brew the tea. Boil the water, steep the tea blend and bring to room temp.

Step 2: Melt

In the double boiler, melt the butters and oils and beeswax together. DO NOT add the essential oils yet.

Step 3: Emulsify

Pour the melted oils into the food processor, and lock the lid. Turn the food processor on, and SLOOOOOWWWWWLLLLYYYY pour 1 cup of herbal tea into the mixture. It should begin to emulsify. Leave it running for another 30 seconds after you’ve poured in all the tea. You may need to stop the food processor and scrape the sides to blend completely. Add the essential oils of your choice, and blend for another 30 seconds.

Storage and Expiration

This recipe will make 2-3 cups of lotion. If you don’t want this much lotion, cut the recipe in half. The lotion should keep pretty much indefinitely in the fridge without added preservatives. I put a couple ounces in a small container, which I’m leaving on my bathroom counter, and I’ll refill it from my jar in the fridge when I run out. It will keep at room temp just fine for several months, but since I made so much, it doesn’t hurt to put it in the fridge. PLUS, I live in Florida, so it can get quite hot sometimes.

The lotion goes on cool and smooth and absorbs quickly, leaving your skin nourished and hydrated. It smells amazing and does not leave a greasy residue or shine on your skin. I’m using this primarily to deal with my eczema on my face, but it’s perfect as a light weight day cream or even a hydrating night cream as well. Use it all over your body. Put it on your kids. You could even eat it, but I don’t think it would taste very good! Hehe.

I hope you enjoy this recipe! I’m loving it!