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Monday, September 10, 2012

Homemade Body Butter, Lotion with beeswax, free recipe


                            Homemade Chamomile Body Butter

UPDATED NOTE 2/25/15:   Please take note that this body butter recipe does not list
a preservative. Any product with water in it is a potential breeding ground for bacteria,
with serious complications.  This recipe is not intended for resale products, but as a
way for you to make a homemade body butter without chemicals. Please follow 
sterilization procedures if you try this awesome and fun project.
And remember to make an amount that can be used up within a couple weeks or please
add a preservative.

I was inspired by Louisa Shafia's post from lucidfood.com, to try my hand at homemade lotion.
This in itself is not a novel enterprise I know, but the fact that this lotion is made without any added stearic acid or emulsifying wax or preservative caught my eye.  Very easy, frugal to make this
gorgeous lotion at home.

Beeswax acts as an emulsifying (turning the oils and water into a combined product) agent.  No other emulsifier is needed.   It worked like a charm.  It came out the consistency of a beautiful body butter. Creamy, luxurious.  A very pleasing lotion with no chemicals or fillers.

My recipe is made with freshly brewed chamomile tea. The scent of the body butter is gorgeous. Not strong,  subtle and natural.  Very nice.  This recipe is SO creamy, absolutely lovely.  I've made this same recipe with plain, distilled water, with no tea, and added almond biscotti fragrance,  it was so warm and compfy, also made it with peppermint and loved it.  Just add your favorite essential oil and enjoy your own trademark lotion. If you make this with tea rather than distilled water it will have a shorter shelf life.

With no added preservative this will only keep a few weeks, longer if refrigerated.  I spritzed my containers with alcohol before filling them to get rid of any bacteria, and I used distilled water.  If I were going to sell this I would use a preservative in it, as any time you are dealing with water in a homemade natural product you are potentially dealing with bacteria and a preservative is a must. Optiphen is a good one, it is paraben, formaldahyde free.  Brambleberry sells it.


RECIPE:  Can be made in a blender or with a stick blender.  This recipe makes about 2 cups.

  • 1 cup tea made with distilled water  (or just water if you don't want tea)
  • 3/4 cup liquid oil: like almond, olive, grapeseed etc.  (I used 2/4 cup almond & 1/4 cup grapeseed oil)
  • 3 Tablespoons beeswax  (if using solid bar beeswax, grate it)
  • Optional :  Vit E for a longer shelf life: 1-2 capsules or 1 tsp
  • Optional: an essential oil for scent at your desired strength
1) Spritz all your utensils, blender, and lotion containers with alcohol.
2)  Make tea, or have distilled water ready if not using tea.
3)  Melt beeswax and oil together in microwave or double boiler. Allow to cool a few minutes.
4)  Pour tea or distilled water and essential oil (if using) into blender, or into bowl if using
    a stick blender.
5) Turn on blender, (medium) slowly pour in your oil/beeswax thru the stopper lid. It thickens
     fast.  It's done when no more water is on top. If you still have water, turn up the speed of
     of the blender.
6) Scoop out and put in jars, keep uncovered until cool. Will thicken more as it cools.


Made with Almond biscotti scent, warm and yummy

Made with homemade rosewater and peppermint tea, fresh and natural

Made with Chamomile tea, subtle
                                                                                               

Enjoy, ..................Anna


This post is joined to some great Blog Hops come join the fun:
Blissful and Domestic
Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways
The 36th Avenue
The Clever Chicks Blog Hop
Serenity You Blog Hop







19 comments:

  1. Hey Anna,

    Wow, your lotion is a thing of beauty! Glad this recipe worked so well for you. I'm about due to whip up a new batch myself. Lots of great ideas on your blog!

    Best,
    Louisa Shafia

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comment Louisa, and thanks for the great recipe.

      I'm having a blast with it....I made a batch of "Peppermint Rose" yesterday and a batch of "Almond Biscotti" today, I have three daughters who love this recipe too and are enjoying the benefits from mom!

      Anna

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    2. I love those ideas, you're inspiring me to get creative with my next batch!

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  2. New fan here from Frugal Days. This looks so good. I will definitely be trying it. If you haven't already, I would love for you to come visit me at Fresh Eggs Daily and share at my weekly Farm Girl Blog Fest: http://fresh-eggs-daily.blogspot.com/2012/12/farm-girl-friday-blog-fest-12.html

    Happy Holidays!
    Lisa
    Fresh Eggs Daily

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  3. I didn't realize it was so easy! I have a swap coming up and will be sure to try this!

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  4. Yes, this recipe is an easy one, and so fun to make, it's amazing when all of a sudden the water/oil mixture just turns into this lovely cream! If you try it, I'd love it if you let me know!
    Anna

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  5. Hi Kathy, thanks for the comment and the invite to Clever Chicks Blog Hop. I just came back from there and started following your blog. It's awesome, love it. Love the photos too, who's the great photographer?!
    Anna

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  6. I would like to make this lotion but I'm not sure if I could use it all within 3 months. How much Optiphen (preservative) would you use for this recipe? Thanks

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  7. Hi Yvette, I haven't used Optiphen or Optiphen Plus yet because I know I'm always going to use up this yummy lotion, but the usage rate for Optiphen is .5 to 1.5 % and is best used in oil based products. For Optiphen Plus (which is water soluable) it is .75 to 1.5% . Check with www.Brambleberry.com as they sell this as well as everything you need to make your own lotion.

    If you don't want to use preserative you could make a smaller batch, which is what I do!
    good luck, Anna

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  8. i love this recipe! i am so pinning it to make it later!

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  9. Hi Nataliya, You will love this recipe, it is SO creamy! Your blog and online magazine written by moms that you moderate, called Goober Gang Mag, is really neat. Lots of fun things to do with your kids, teaching moments, recipes, etc. I am recommending it to my two daughters who have toddlers, they will love it.
    thanks for the comment, Anna

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  10. Hey ! i'll definitely try this. I was just wondering how long is its shelf life without any preservative ? Thank you

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  11. Hi Nora, I've had this recipe last 3 months, and I've had it last 2 weeks!

    Shelf life will depend on how careful someone is with sterilizing their containers, if you use a botanical like tea or not, and if you keep it refrigerated or not. Adding rose water or tea instead of plain distilled water shortens the shelf life. With a naturally made product your shelf life is only as long as the ingredient with the shortest shelf life.

    With that said, kept refrigerated this recipe can last up to 3 months. I always make small batches that I know will get used up, and they always do!!

    good luck, its a great recipe to make. Anna

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  12. PS/ to Nora.... also if you have water on your hands when you dip into your container to scoop out lotion it can shorten shelf life. A paddle to get out lotion or using a squeeze lotion bottle is great.

    smiles, Anna

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  13. i made this and loved it.. but i do have one question. After a few days, mine started to separate and water started to draw back to the top and it would stay mixed. Did i just not blend it long enough? As i blended it, it was completed mixed and white but after a few days it separated. Just wondering what I did wrong, or if this is normal :)
    Thanks!

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  14. Hi Jenny, glad you tried the lotion recipe, sorry it separated on you. Hmm...it may be because you didnt blend it long enough, but you said you felt you had, so I honestly don't know what could have happened. I haven't had it separate on me before.

    Another reader said it happened to her, and she made it again and blended it much more and it worked great.

    Also I have found that using plain distilled water instead of a botanical infused water seemed to make a thicker, creamer lotion, also I make sure my oil mixture and water are close in temperature. In other words I don't pour cold into hot.

    I think I will make a video tutorial on this lotion so readers can see exactly what I do.

    I hope you give it another try Jenny! Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate the input.
    Anna

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  15. Thanks for the straightforward recipe. I made it today with grapeseed oil & citrus rose tea. It turned out FAB. I like using my stick blender but next time I will pull out my blender. This is my first lotion attempt as I recently got turned onto CP soap & have the ingredients on hand. So glad it turned out.

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  16. PomPoodleLover, wow citrus rose tea sounds great for a natural lotion like this. Glad it turned out so well for you, it's my fav recipe, I use grapeseed as well because it absorbs so well and is not greasy at all.

    I know what you mean about being a soaper and having all the ingredients on hand, that's exactly how I got into making all kinds of great natural products! Next you should try the Solid Lotion Bars, you will LOVE them. I just did a tutorial post on them if you want to know how. thanks for commenting, Anna

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  17. This is one of the best resources I've found for making your own toiletries! I love the variety! Thanks for this great work you are doing!
    Jennifer~.

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Thank you for your comment or question, I read every one and will reply! I no longer accept anonymous comments as most have been incredible spammers.
Many thanks, Anna