Welcome to The Cherry On Top, crafters.
My travel buddy from The States brought over a lotion bar for me as a gift and I fell in love hard with it. What a super way to bring lotion on a journey without it getting messy?! It was fairly small as well. So it didn't take up any space in my luggage. Another win! My feet have never been so smooth. The bar is so rich, I don't have to apply it daily and I've got some seriously dry, lizard-like skin.
As my bar started to shrink, I began to panic. I couldn't run out of this stuff!? I hit up Pinterest to see if I could make these myself, with little work and no special appliances. To my surprise, you totally can! You don't need anything special at all. If you do any kind of cooking at home, you'll have what ya need.
Also, you only need a handful of ingredients. This is totally my kind of project. I made a bunch because that's what the recipe called for and I gave a few away as small Christmas gifts.
The only downside I found was this is a very messy process and it's not that easy to clean up because it's super greasy and then it dries. Make sure you've got a lot of hot water on hand for the cleanup.
I put some water in a pot and then my good, glass, Pyrex measuring cup in the boiling water for my bain marie. It didn't balance well and was definitely on the precarious side, but it got the job done.
- So set up your bain marie (water bath).
- Gather the ingredients and amounts of those ingredients.
- Follow the directions carefully. There is an order for when to put in things. Harder to melt items go first and your essential oils (if you are adding them) go in after your blend has cooled a bit.
- Pour the mix in to your mold and let them cool and harden.
You'll find all kinds of recipes for lotion bars. From insect repellent, to manly versions and from greasy to not so greasy. Look for the one that suits your needs.
Also mega cool with these, when they get really small you can save the pieces and when you've got a good accumulation, melt them down and make another bar or you can just rub the piece vigorously between your palms until it's melted.
Something I learned during our heat wave, here in Europe, depending on the recipe you use, the bars can get mushy and even melt a bit. The recipe I used was fine. It stayed solid.
Someone mentioned in a recipe comment that this stuff blocks your pores? I've not had this experience. You can always try a little on a place like your feet to test? If you have oily skin, maybe don't put it on your face? My skin is very sensitive and I've had zero problems so far. Yay! If skin has anything to do with genes, thanks a lot, mom and dad. To be fair, besides dry, my skin has always been pretty darn good.
Oh! Another thing I've discovered! As you shower, the oil can accumulate on the floor of the shower! Yikes! I can imagine it isn't ideal for the drain. I just thought I'd mention that. Rubbing with a hot wash cloth before entering the shower might help? I'll deal with the consequences. Hehehe...
It doesn't take any time at all. Under 30 minutes for sure and you don't need anything special to make them. As you can see from my photos, I used a bread pan for the rectangular shape and silicon muffin forms for the round ones. How easy is that?! Of course you can buy molds and make fancy stuffs, but whatever design you use will wear off after just a few uses.
Exciting news! Keep scrolling for the update.
I rub my bars directly over my skin and then gently message it all in or for your face you could turn and rub your bar between both hands and then rub it on your face.
I only made two batches so far. So I'm not mega experienced and I did end up buying a little device (I know!) to melt my concoction which made clean up a breeze. The small appliance can be used for a lot more crafts like candles and infused oils which is ideal because I also make my own CBD oil. I'll leave an image and link for you. It took me forever to find the right one. A huge one was not necessary.
These sized bars will last you at least a couple of weeks depending on how much you use and how often. I think they are a great deal for money and you know all of the ingredients that are in there. No chemicals whatsoever.
Let me leave you with a fun design you could use if you make these and want to give them as gifts or if you just want to put your bars in something pretty. I recycled the round tin from my friend's gift for a few of the muffin shaped bars and simply wrapped the rectangular ones in parchment paper, tied a festive and natural bow around and slid in a piece of pine. You can buy the tins online.
I'll let ya know when I get some new designs in there via newsletter and right here on the bloggo.
Check out the design I just downloaded for today's freebie. I'm thinking you can use it as a sticker or a tag for the lotion bars you are going to gift. Check out all of the coordinating designs, here and start thinking how you will use them.
Sorry about those shadows. I'm trying to learn another, darn software program. Grrr...I am so over PhotoShop Elements. Just after a few years of buying the software for a third time, it stopped working after a computer update, yet again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me three times, shame on me! I don't earn any kind of income. So it's essential that I find free software. Thank goodness, I did. I wish I could remember where I saw it and I can't believe I remembered the name. (I seem to forget just about everything, these days.) Photopea is my new home, for now. I'm a slow, self taught learner. That's a huge part of why I don't have a lot of new designs. I'm on the job! Stay tuned!
I'll have more info and hopefully a few more new items in the Kreative Design Studio at Design Bundles. Let me know what you think of this style of design. I love it, but wonder if it isn't a little too old farty?
Thanks for stopping by The Cherry.
Happy crafting!