DIY Lotion Bars: A Simple Recipe and The Cure for Dry Winter Hands (2024)

February 25, 2020 By Brandy 33 Comments

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Filed Under: Craft Tutorials, Gift Ideas, Teacher Gifts Tagged With: bath and body

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Coconut oil, shea butter, Vitamin E, beeswax, and essential oils combine to create luxurious DIY lotion bars to combat dry hands. Warm a bar with your hands for a few seconds then rub across dry skin. To use on feet, rub the lotion bar across heels and bottom of feet, and put on a pair of socks before going to bed.

If you like making your own bath and body products you’ll definitely want to try our homemade lip gloss, bath bombs, and peppermint sugar scrub!

Homemade gifts are my favorite. I love to make and receive them. For Christmas, my mom made lotion bars to give out as gifts. I suffer from dry skin, especially on my hands. And not just in the winter, but all year long. I’m sure it is due to the fact that I have young children and am constantly washing my hands after diaper changes, wiping noses, and cleaning. I’m sure weather also has something to do with it. That cocoa butter lotion bar that she sent me took my cracked knuckles and gave them a nice makeover within a couple of days. I now use a lotion bar every night before going to bed and I have had soft hands all winter!

Homemade Lotion Bars

Lotion bars look like a bar of soap, but don’t get wet or lather. These lotion bars warm in your hands and are easy to rub on elbows, dry hands, knees and feet. Today I am going to share how I made my own lotion bars with my favorite essential oils: lemon and lime.

The beauty of these melt and mold type projects is that you can customize them however you’d like! Your favorite ingredients, base oils, and essential oils. If you are allergic to coconut oil, you can use olive oil. You get the idea.

DIY lotion bars are incredibly easy to make and only require a few ingredients. I love making beauty products and already had a lot of the supplies in my cupboard from when I made lip gloss and melt and pour soap last year.

You will need equal ratios for this recipe, so that is easy to remember. I went with 2 oz. ratios.

Homemade Lotion Bar Recipe

an adaptation

5 from 4 votes

Homemade Lotion Bars

Coconut oil, shea butter, Vitamin E, beeswax, and essential oils combine to create luxuriousDIY lotion barsto combat dry hands. Warm a bar with your hands for a few seconds then rub across dry skin. To use on feet, rub the lotion bar across heels and bottom of feet, and put on a pair of socks before going to bed.

Active Time10 minutes mins

cooling30 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Yield: 3 bars

Cost: Under $10

Equipment

glass pour measuring cup
small baking sheet
lotion bar mold (silicone soap molds work great)

Materials

2 ounces coconut oil
2 ounces shea butter
2 ounces bees wax pellets
2 capsules vitamin E oil
essential oils for scent optional

Instructions

Fill a sauce pan with about 2" of water and bring to a boil. Place a mason jar or smaller pot inside (double boiler**) and add your shea butter, beeswax, and coconut oil and heat until melted.
Transfer to a pourable measuringcup. Cut the tip off of the vitamin E capsule and add it to your liquid mixture.
Add essential oils, to your liking. As a reference, I used about 15 drops of each of the lemon and lime essential oils. Stir. If your mixture is lightly scented, add a few more drops and give it another whiff. If it smells just right, add a couple of more drops as it sometimes seems to lose potency when it has hardened.
Pour your mixture into your molds.
Allow lotion bars to sit until the tops start to look solid (about 15 minutes). Carefully move to the refrigerator and allow to set completely about 30 minutes.
Pop your lotion bars out of the molds. Store solid lotion bars at room temperature for a long shelf life.

Video

Notes

To use, wrap your fingers around a bar. The warmth of your skin will activate the oils and leave a soft and smooth residue. A little bit goes a long way. Rub into your hands and allow it to absorb. Your hands will thank you!

**I used to make these by microwaving them, but learned that you lose so many of the valuable properties in the coconut oil and shea butter that way. Using a double boiler is super easy to do and works great—and you get all of the benefits of these amazing oils!

If you enjoy making your own beauty products, you may enjoy this collection of homemade beauty gifts that I put together below!

Homemade Beauty Gift Ideas

This post is a refresh of a post originally shared in 2014.

Brandy

Website | + posts

Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!

Reader Interactions

Comments

Monica says
March 7, 2014 at 9:01 pm
Where did u buy your essential oils? Which brand did u use?
Reply
- Brandy says
  March 8, 2014 at 10:42 pm
  Hi Monica,
  There are several companies (doTerra, Young Living, etc.) that sell essential oils and my friends rave about their quality. I purchased mine from a seller on E-bay after reading positive reviews. I am not an expert on oils, but these worked perfectly for my soaps and lip gloss that I made. Here is the link: http://www.ebay.com/usr/wf-medical Hope that helps!
  Reply
Krystil says
March 17, 2014 at 7:25 pm
Although lemon/lime can be a wonderful scent, be very careful using it & sun exposure. Citrus essential oils can cause sun sensitivity. Skin can be more sensitive to sunlight & can burn easier. Just use caution when applying a citrus lotion & limit time in direct sunlight.
Reply
- Brandy says
  March 17, 2014 at 9:23 pm
  Good to know, thanks Krystil!
  Reply
Lizzie says
June 25, 2014 at 4:59 am
I just made my first batch of these (minus the vit e oil and using cocoa butter), and I am in love with them!
I work in child care, so I’m always washing my hands and they get very dry, sore and cracked. After two uses my hands feel better than they have in years. They’re no longer sore or dry, and the cracks seem to be healing already.
Thank you for sharing the recipe 🙂
Reply
- Brandy says
  June 25, 2014 at 10:35 pm
  Yay! Your hands sound like mine! I couldn’t believe the results after the first few days. No more cracked knuckles. Glad they helped you to!!
  Reply
Karen says
November 21, 2014 at 6:36 am
How can I measure 2 oz if the products are solid or should I melt down then measure?
Reply
- Brandy says
  November 21, 2014 at 10:53 am
  Hi Karen, I just use a small kitchen scale to measure them. You could also melt them down, that would work too!
  Reply
Lisa | A Merry Mom says
December 5, 2014 at 7:35 pm
Pinned. These are a great little homemade gift idea – and I’ll have to keep one for myself. I get dry hands in the winter, too!
See Also
Mamma's Gnocchi in Brodo Recipe
Reply
- Brandy says
  December 5, 2014 at 10:07 pm
  Thank you, Lisa! The winters are so rough on my hands, but the lotion bars really help!
  Reply
Rachel Morgan says
May 8, 2015 at 3:37 pm
Is there anything you can use to substitute for the bee’s wax?
Reply
- Brandy says
  May 11, 2015 at 8:21 am
  Hi Rachel, honestly I don’t know! I’m sorry that I’m no help to you!
  Reply
Stephanie says
November 16, 2016 at 2:54 pm
Hello, could you tell me how to measure the good quantity of Vitamin E with a spoon maybe ? Thank you !!
Reply
Christine says
November 29, 2016 at 7:13 am
I love the smell of fresh citrus in the bathroom. These are perfect for the holiday season! Thanks for sharing! Stopping by from the Create & Crave party.
Reply
Erica says
November 29, 2016 at 7:28 pm
Can’t wait to try! Do you buy your beeswax on Amazon or where else can you find it?
Reply
- Brandy says
  November 29, 2016 at 7:30 pm
  Hi Erica! I’ve purchased it on eBay and amazon, but you can usually find it on etsy too. Hope that helps!
  Reply
✨GoddessWithin✨ (@CaptainPinkLady) says
November 30, 2016 at 8:21 am
Thanks for sharing! These sound awesome and I can’t wait to try 😀 I’ve stopped on by from the Totally Terrific Tuesday party!
(Sorry if I posted twice… I was getting an error!)
Reply
Embracing the Lovely says
November 30, 2016 at 10:09 am
I love making homemade lotion bars! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe with us!
Reply
Virginia says
December 2, 2016 at 5:56 am
I’m excited to try this. Thanks for the tutorial!
Reply
Julie Christiansen says
December 3, 2016 at 7:40 am
Lotion bars sound amazing. Goodbye dry hands! Thanks for sharing…
Reply
JESS44903 says
December 4, 2016 at 9:05 am
This is such a great idea!
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Reply
Britt says
June 3, 2017 at 12:15 pm
Hi, this recipe looks awesome! I have a question though, because it’s coconut oil based will it melt in a warm bathroom?
If so, should I store in fridge?
Thanks!
Britt
Reply
- Brandy says
  June 3, 2017 at 10:14 pm
  Hi Britt! I stored them under my sink and didn’t have any issues. They could be stores in the fridge though!
  Reply
Michelle Leslie says
January 6, 2018 at 10:22 pm
Oh this is great Brandy. I love walking barefoot except when it’s really cold outside which means my heels are as hard as rocks and have a tendency to crack sometimes. Your lotion bars may be just what the heel doctor ordered. Can’t wait to make some
Reply
Christine says
January 10, 2018 at 4:59 am
My hands have been so dry this month so definitely going to give these a try! Thanks for sharing on Inspiration Monday 🙂
Reply
Leanna says
January 11, 2018 at 6:19 pm
This soap looks beautiful and I love the idea of knowing exactly whats in it.
Reply
Theresa says
January 11, 2018 at 8:33 pm
I seriously need to make some of these. Thanks for sharing at the Inspiration Spotlight party @DearCreatives. Happy New Year btw. See you again soon. 😉
Reply
Colleen Pausley says
January 12, 2018 at 4:04 am
What a great idea! I can’t wait to try this!
Reply
Julie @ Back To My Southern Roots says
January 15, 2018 at 5:34 pm
I’ve made these before, but only with beeswax and essential oils. I really love the idea of adding vitamin E and coconut oil. Now, I really want to try these! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Reply
Rita C at Panoply says
January 17, 2018 at 3:09 pm
Great post and quick video!
Reply
Maisy says
January 18, 2018 at 2:29 am
Hi Brandy, these lotion bars look great! And I actually have all the ingredients at home, yay! 🙂 Thanks for sharing at the Friday Favorites linky party. I hope you’ll come back next week to link up your projects so I can stop by again!
Reply
Kristine says
April 9, 2021 at 7:19 pm

Thank you for this recipe, Brandy! I just made some unscented bars for my husband and some lavender rosemary ones for myself. We both love them.
Reply
- Brandy says
  April 9, 2021 at 8:38 pm
  I’m so glad! They really do help!
  Reply