A few months ago my favourite tea shop, DavidsTea, ran a contest they called “Think Outside the Mug”. It was right up my alley, challenging entrants to come up with creative ways to use tea. This was one of my entries. It’s based around their Coco-Lemon Thai tea, but can easily be made with a plain green or white tea, or just straight water.
The tea features coconut, ginger, and lemongrass, with hints of sunflower and lemon myrtle. It was practically begging to be turned into a summery lotion, and who was I to say no?
The water part is the tea, with just a hint of vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada) for an added moisturizing kick. I steeped it for about 6 minutes before straining and letting the tea cool as I set to work on the oils.
The oils part is really simpleāextra virgin coconut oil and my emulsifying wax. The coconut oil adds a wonderful coconutty scent kick that compliments the tea beautifully.
Lastly, the essential oils, which are optional. Without them, the lotion smells very coconutty. With them, you have a lotion that has more of a citrus/ginger hit that blends beautifully into something that reminds me of Thai cuisine (though you won’t smell of curry, I promise).
Coco-Lemon Body Lotion
2 tsp Coco-Lemon Thai tea leaves (or plain white or green tea)
180mL | 6 fl oz water to make 146mL (4.9 fl oz) tea
4g | 0.14oz vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada)14g | 0.5oz emulsimulse/ritamulse (or other complete emulsifying waxānot beeswax!)
36g | 1.3oz extra virgin coconut oil5 drops lemongrass essential oil (optional)
3 drops ginger essential oil (optional)Broad spectrum preservative of choice (why?)
Pour 180mL (6 fl oz) of boiled & slightly cooled (we’re aiming for about 92Ā°C [198Ā°F]) water over the tea leaves. Let steep for 6 minutes before straining out the tea leaves. Set the tea aside to cool while you work.
Weigh the emulsifying wax and coconut oil into a small saucepan and melt over medium heat.
As the oil and wax melts, measure out 146mL of the tea and add 4g (0.14oz) of vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada). Stir to combine.
Once the oils have melted, add the tea mixture. Heat everything through to ensure the oils are melted and whisk to combine. You should immediately get an opaque white, milky liquid.
Remove from the heat and whisk as the mixture cools. Depending on the e-wax you’ve used the lotion may or may not thicken right up. Emulsimulse/ritamulse thickens immediately, but Polawax and Emulsifying Wax NF need a few days to thicken up to lotion texture.
Whisk in the essential oils (if using) and preservative.
Decant into a 240mL/8oz pump-top bottle. I used a jar for pretty pictures, but storing the lotion in a pump-top bottle will greatly increase the shelf life as you won’t be dipping your dirty fingers into it all the time.
New to lotion making? Watch my basic lotion how to video!
Why do you hate our dirty fingers so much? ;P
Well, it’s not so much the fingers as the mould… though it sure can be pretty colours! My pot of this lotion just started to mould and it’s all bright yellow and blue š
If you were to make a large amount of this, what preservative would you consider? Since water is an ingredient, I’d figure some preservative would be necessary right? I love the lemongrass and ginger combo!
Hi Candice! If I use a preservative it’s currently Germall as I bought a bottle to play with. I’m not all that thrilled with it (performance-wise or safety rating wise) so I likely won’t replace it when it’s gone. I’d really recommend doing your own research on the preservatives you can get (most DIY websites and stores sell a few) and choosing the one you are the most comfortable withānone of them will be particularly natural as well as broad-spectrum, though of course some are better than others.
All that said, storing the lotion in a pump top bottle will extend its shelf life quite a lot. This lotion just turned on me after about 2 months, but I have some in pump top bottles that are 6+ months old and still show no signs of mould!
Love all your recipes!! I was thinking that maybe putting this in a blue glass or amber glass pump bottle might help it last longer.
Hey Mary! With anything that contains water, we aren’t worried about oxidization (which is what a dark bottle helps delay)āwe’re worried about microbial spoilage like mold. The pump top will help with that since you won’t be dipping dirty fingers into your lotion, but either way you will still need a preservative to keep your lotion from going off ASAP. More info here š
Why not beeswax? Instead of emulsifying wax, I mean.
E-Wax performs much better in emulsifying lotions. Beeswax would be better for more solid recipes.
Exactly! Thanks, Candice š
Beeswax and emulsifying wax really don’t have anything in common beyond the fact that they’ve both got “wax” in the name. Beeswax is just one thing, made by bees. It’s awesome, but really only good for thickening & hardening concoctions. Emulsifying wax isnāt just one ingredientāthere are a lot of different types, made from different ingredients. All of these ingredients are usually derived from plantsāmostly coconut & palm because theyāre very cheap. Those ingredients work together to create easy, pretty much fool proof emulsions at percentages of about 5ā10%.
You can make a lotion using beeswax and borax to emulsify/thicken, but it requires a lot more power (you need to use a blender or it’ll separate in about a day), it’s much fussier, and you can only use up to 50% water, making for a much greasier lotion. I’ve totally abandoned this method since discovering emulsifying wax, thoughāthe results are just so much better!
The Coco-Lemon Body Lotion sounds intriguing. It has water in it. What did you use for a preservative and how much?
I use Optiphen to preserve my lotions. There really aren’t too many options available that are natural. Good luck
Have you been happy with Optiphen, Jen? I’m experimenting with Germall right now, but I’m not that enamored with it.
Hi Anita! If I use a preservative it’s currently Germall as I bought a bottle to play with. I’m not all that thrilled with it (performance-wise or safety rating wise) so I likely won’t replace it when it’s gone. I’d really recommend doing your own research on the preservatives you can get (most DIY websites and stores sell a few) and choosing the one you are the most comfortable withānone of them will be particularly natural as well as broad-spectrum, though of course some are better than others. As for how much, just follow the recommended usage for the preservative you end up using, they’re all a bit different.
When I move, I want to make this and a couple other of your recipes and send them to my sister and her kids in England (yup, my family has five people (not including their husbands and kids) and lives in five different countries). I want to add in some citric acid to try to extend the life a little. I know your recipes don’t include any preservatives, but do you know a site where they can give an approx rule of thumb for how much to use to extend the life a little? Or can you suggest some sort of preservative?
When I make all these lovely goodies just for me, I am like you. I have a bunch of pump bottles on order and since I’ll only be making for me and some local friends, I’m not planning on putting any in.
About the preservative – whichever you choose, will have a recommended amount on how much needs to go in based upon the amount of water in the recipe. (Example: Preservative ABC can be used at a ratio of 1-3% per 500g of water)
There isn’t much of a “rule of thumb” when you use the chemical preservative – each has their own rule based on what it is protecting against.
Thanks Erin!
Hmmm… how about this instead: just melt together the oils and emulsifying wax, and send that, along with instructions to melt it down and add a specific amount of water? With the emulsifying wax it’ll be foolproof, and you’ll save money on shipping since you won’t have to pay to mail all the water as well. And, if it does get lost in the mail for ages it’ll still be fine, no matter when it arrives š
ooooooooh!!! Grand idea!!!! I like it!!! And I just packed up my soaping boxes this morning so the family will have to wait till I move to get anything!!!!
Awesome! I look forward to hearing how it works out once you’re settled in your new place š
Hi Marie.. I am a bit nervous of making lotions at the moment. I made the Oat Dream creme and it grew bugs really fast, despite my many precautions. I know you did warn that this may happen. So with regards to this lotion, will the problem with bacterial growth be as problematic? in fact will it be a problem with all lotions containing water? with the Oat Dream creme I did include preservative, but the bacteria grew in a few weeks.. very fast. I have since made other potions without water and without preservative, and have had not issues at this point.
HI Sarah! Anything with water will eventually spoil/mould, especially without preservatives. How are you storing your lotions (temperature, container, etc.)? I’ve noticed this can make a huge difference in shelf life.
Lush used to make a really simple lotion with coconut oil and, maybe because it had minimal scent, they discontinued it. So, I’m so excited you posted this– thank you!
I made this last night using lavender buds instead of tea. It came out a little looser than I was hoping for. Next time, should I reduce the amount of water or increase the amount of wax?
Thanks,
Madeline
Hi Madeline! The first thing I’d recommend doing is waiting. Some emulsifying waxes take three or four days to properly thicken up. I remember a few early batches where I thought I’d just have a batch of skin “milk”, and then coming back 5 days later and having a thick, creamy lotion.
If it doesn’t thicken up on it’s own, try upping the percentage of emulsifying wax to about 10%, dropping the amount of coconut oil to compensate š
I made this today with honey scented green tee and bergamot essential oil and I can’t stop smelling my hands. No only is it fun to make it yourself but you can mix and match and the result becomes wonderfully scented homemade lotion.
Thank you Marie for inspiration
Fantastic! Your lotion sounds downright mouth watering š Thanks for DIYing with me!
Hi! I’m assuming that it is the lemongrass essential oil that puts the “lemon” in “coco-lemon body lotion”? However I remember you saying in a post that citrus essential oils contain bergapten(e) which leads to phototoxicity. Does this mean that lemongrass a safe alternative to lemon for adding scent without adding skin cancer to a product?
Hi Jennifer! Lemongrass is not a citrus, and hence contains no photo sensitizing compounds š It just happens to have a lemon-like scent, which makes it a great alternative for skincare products!
Hey Marie!
I hope you don’t mind but I took this recipe and modified it a bit. I didn’t have coco-lemon tea but I did have about 2tsp left of a Raspberry Pineapple green tea. I used lemon and mandarin eo’s with it but otherwise followed your recipe. I dubbed it “Luau Lotion” (though Fruit Salad might be closer) and thought it was neat to make lotion with tea. I would have never thought of using tea and this opened up a bunch of different ways to experiment with those bits of leftover tea that I’m just not feeling anymore beverage wise. Thank you so much!
This sounds just divine! Thanks for DIYing with me, Victoria š
Do we need blender in this recipe?
Nope! Emusifying wax is pretty much fool proof and a whisk is all you’ll need š
Hi love all your recipes. Can you tell me what size mason jar this recipe makes. Thanks
Thanks, Julia! This recipe makes about 200mL of lotion š
Amazing as always! Thank you Marie! I love the fragrance!
I’m so glad, Kathie š
This was my first real success with lotion, thank you for such a great and simple recipe! Other recipes I’ve tried called for beeswax and loads of blending with an immersion blender. Love that I just needed a whisk and it thickened up within 15 minutes of cooling.
Reading your blog is so empowering š
Fantastic! I’m so glad you’ve conquered lotion, it’s so much fun and definitely saves me a lot of money š Thanks for DIYing with me!
Hi! i’m from argentina and i absolutely love your blog! but it’s really difficult for me to find an emulsifier and i wanted to know if i can use soy lecithin instead, and how to use it to emulsify creams
Hi Agustina! Unfortunately you can’t use soy lecithin instead, it’s not a complete emulsifier.
Hi Marie: I am really enjoying your blog and want to try this recipe, except I cannot find the Coco-Lemon Thai tea. What blend of green tea would you recommend to replace the Coco-Lemon Thai? Thanks so much.
Hey Natalie! Anything with notes of coconut, ginger, and/or lemongrass would be a good choice š Look for teas that are Thai inspired, or failing that, plain green tea is good!
Hey Marie! Just curious, did you end up winning the contest?
I did! It was such a thrill This wasn’t the winning recipe, though, this was!
I love your recipes Marie, especially this one!
A few of the sites that I’ve checked out don’t seem to have C02 extracted ginger EO. I even looked at New Directions but I did not come across it there either (unless I happened to miss it). Where can I get my hands on the stuff that smells like freshly peeled ginger? Thank you!
I’m afraid mine is from NDA, and has been discontinued š I have yet to find a new supplier.