Making Lotion and Lip Balm

Today I made lotion and lip balm using beeswax, shortening, and vegetable oil. I got the idea from this blog, Little House in the Suburbs. It wasn't that hard at all! You just melt them all together and pour it into the containers. I am looking for a good way to label these things, so if anyone as an idea, let me know. I'm thinking they would make good gifts. I wanted to try to make these because the idea of knowing all my ingredients, and using no unpronounceable ingredients was very satisfying.


I made the lip balm first because it made a smaller batch, and I didn't want to make mistakes and waste a bunch of ingredients. I did add some raspberry flavoring, which I found at JoAnn Fabrics (home of the beeswax and lip balm containers, too). I was surprised that a total of 6 tablespoons worth of ingredients filled all of the containers. Next time I might cut the recipe in half so I can make more flavors.

Since the lip balm was so easy, I got started right away on the lotion bars. I used about 1/2 cup of each ingredient, melted them, and then added four drops of lavendar essential oil that I bought at Whole Foods. I poured the mess into some soap molds, and put it in the refrigerator to harden up. They were ready in about ten minutes, but I think I took them out of the molds too soon since they broke a little bit, but that could have been from the mold I used. It might have had too many shapes for the consistency of the lotion.


Anyway, it was fun, and I can't wait to try more combinations of scents, ingredients, and molds to make more lotions and lip balm. Thanks again to the blog, Little House in the Suburbs for the great idea and recipe.