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Organic Lotion Bars Made in a Crock Pot

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I have been looking for spa/beauty product recipes with minimally processed, all natural ingredients. I wanted to use shea butter, as I’ve read that it is great for your skin and hair. Among other things, it is rich in vitamin A, E, and F, fatty acids, and nutrients that maintain a soft skin texture and help elasticity.

organic lotion bars

This lotion recipe contains only 4 basic ingredients with an optional 5th (not shown above). The crock pot liners are for easy clean up.

1. Shea butter – The shea butters available at my local chain stores and pharmacies labelled shea butter were not what I was looking for. Many had ingredient lists a few inches deep where shea butter wasn’t always the first ingredient. I’m sure they may have worked, but I was looking for 100% shea butter.  I ended up special ordering from a company called Cleopatra’s Choice. They offered 100% pure, organic Shea Butter from Africa. The product I received from them was amazing. It smelled wonderful and felt great when I applied it straight on my skin.

2. Coconut oil – I choose to go with organic, unrefined oil from a local organic store. You can go with the non-organic and refined oil, but I wanted a higher nutrient content oil. By going unrefined, the oil had more natural nutrients available.

3. Beeswax- I picked this up from a local craft store and used their 40% coupon from Sunday’s newspaper.

4. Vitamin E Capsules (10)- I wanted a vitamin E oil with as few ingredients as possible. I thought that would be easy, I was wrong. I looked at several brands and forms (capsules and oils). The brand I decided to go with was the Bluebonnet brand. It had the shortest ingredient list; vitamin E, oil, gelatin, glycerin, and water.

5. Tea Tree Oil (optional)- This oil was added to only a few of the bars. Tea Tree Oil is used to relief inflammation and skin irritation. It also has antibacterial properties.

Optional: Crock pot Liners- Plastic bags for the crock pot make clean up a snap. If you don’t have them, you have to scrap dried wax/lotion off your crock pot. Trust me, just go pick them up.

** Please note that you can add essential oils to this recipe for fragrance. Just follow the package instructions for quantity guidelines.

To make the lotion bars:
1. Open up your crock pot bag and place on a kitchen scale (or other scale with ounces). Measure equal parts  (16 ounces or 1 lb) shea butter, coconut oil, and beeswax in your crock pot bag. Place the bag into the crock pot.
2. Create a hole in each of the 10 Vitamin E capsules with a needle and squeeze the oil into the crock pot bag.
3. Turn the crock pot on High and wait about 1 hour. When everything is melted (see pic below), you are ready to continue.
4. To create the lotion bars, you’ll need something to mold them with. I used silicone muffin pans and lined metal muffin pans. You could also use, plastic wrapped loaf pan, ice-cube trays, etc. (Whatever you use, please note that it will no longer be food safe. The oils from the products can become impregnated into the mold and contaminate it.) Pour the melted lotion into the mold. I used a soup ladle with a side spout. Fill the molds 1/2 way.
5. Cool in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes. They will become solid when ready.
To use the lotion bars, rub it between your hands or on your skin. Your body heat will warm the bar up. This recipe made 52 bars. To store, I plan to leave them in the refrigerator until needed. They should also be okay out at room temperature, just keep them away from any heat sources.

Comments

  1. I love things that are simple. I also love that this is in a crockpot! I'd like to make some of these and then wrap them in brown wrap with some twine. Be an amazing gift. And Mother's Day is right around the corner. Stopping by from the Let's Get Real link party.
    Reply

    • We gave these as gifts over Christmas. I would recommend a wax paper instead of a plain brown paper. The ingredients will stain brown paper. I used small jewelry bags from Hobby Lobby to package and then wrapped in tissue paper.
      Reply

  2. Hi Nicky~ So this is a lotion bar and not soap, right? My skin is so darn dry right now............I really need to try this. The ingredients are wonderful. I usually rub coconut oil on my hands when I cook with it. Kind of a silly kitchen ritual I have. My daughter's hands are even worse than mine. When I put scented lotions on her she cries that it burns. This will be really good for her.
    Reply

    • Yes it's lotion. It's very moisturizing and if feels great. It takes a little bit to soak in (less than a minute), and you can feel it working.
      Reply

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