My love affair with Egyptian Magic in all forms continues with this lovely Egyptian Magic lotion. The classic bee ingredients are blended into a creamy emulsion to make a rich lotion that smells of pollen and is just lovely.
Classic Egyptian magic is a balm of beeswax and olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada) enriched with honey, pollen, propolis, and royal jelly. With all those healing bee goodies it’s no wonder this balm is a favourite for healing, moisturizing, and soothing. It is, however, rather thick and a touch greasier than some people might like for during-the-day moisturizing.
Enter this lovely lotion—it marries all these awesome things in a lighter, lotiony form by emulsifying in a good measure of water to make for a quickly absorbed lotion that delivers a serious dose of moisture along with all the classic bee goodness.
Like all lotions it comes together quickly—all you have to do is warm the two parts and whisk them together. I do recommend adding a preservative to this one thanks to all the bee goodness (mmm, bacteria dinner!), and be sure to store it in a pump top bottle to extend the shelf life as long as possible.
Egyptian Magic Lotion
6g | 0.21oz emulsimulse/ritamulse (or other complete emulsifying wax—not beeswax!)
2g | 0.07oz beeswax (USA / Canada)
17g | 0.6oz olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada)4g | 0.14oz honey
30 drops bee propolis tincture
½ tsp bee pollen
71g | 2.5oz distilled water
½ tsp royal jelly (optional)4 drops lavender essential oil (optional)
Broad spectrum preservative of choice (why?)
Weigh out the emulsifying wax, olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada), and beeswax into a small saucepan and melt over medium heat.
While the oils are melting, combine the honey, propolis, pollen, water, and royal jelly (if using) in a small glass measuring cup and gently warm through.
Once the oils have melted, add the water mixture. Heat through to ensure everything is melted before removing the pan from the heat. Whisk the mixture as it cools—it will thicken into a nice white cream (the thickening may take a few hours or days if you are using a different emulsifying wax than emulsimulse/ritamulse). I love this whisk—it’s wonderfully sturdy and a great size for this much lotion.
Add your broad spectrum preservative—follow the usage amounts suggested by the manufacturer of the specific preservative you use. Some preservatives will also have specific instructions for adding them to the lotion, so be sure to look at those as well.
Whisk in the essential oil (if using) and preservative and decant the mixture to a 120mL/4oz pump-top bottle before using.
New to lotion making? Watch my basic lotion how to video!
This looks awesome! The link for the preservative says file not found. Could you fix it?
If I remember correctly from one of her other posts, she used this preservative Hope this helps!
Thanks, this is the one!
Gah! Clearly they missed the memo on re-directs when changing URL structures :/ Fixed!
No link or info regarding the preservative. Not even a name. More info please! Thanks.
It looks like the link I included (it’s in the ingredient list) died when the website re-organized. I’ve fixed it 🙂
I am so glad to have found this site! I’ve been making my own soap/bath products/candles/cosmetics for about 3 years now. I make a similar balm & lotion as the Egyptian brand but for the balm I use candelila wax instead of beeswax and I use argan oil instead of olive oil. For the lotion – similar to yours – sometimes I use the same emulsifying wax as yours and sometimes will use one from Brambleberry called Bio-Emulsion. I will typically add tapioca powder to the lotion for a more silky/powder and less greasy feel….
I absolutely love duping expensive face creams! Although, many of them have so many ingredients it is time consuming. I have gotten some wonderful products from Making Cosmetics…like vitamin a microgels for night face cream….you may want to check them out.
Anyway…love your site. It’s always fun to learn about others who share your passion. My friends call me the mad chemist ..lol.
Hi Sheila! Thanks so much for reading and commenting 🙂 Your support means the world to me! Your version of Egyptian Magic sounds downright decadent, and probably much silkier than my version with the candelilla wax. I might have to give that a go in the future 🙂
Beautiful inspirational website, thankyou, I am so happy I stumbled upon you. In Australia, I cannot seem to find Emulsimulse, but have come across this:
http://www.aussiesoapsupplies.com.au/veg-emulse.html
Could this be similar to what you use?
The INCI’s are identical (what they’re made up of), so I’d speculate that they are probably close to identical 🙂
Thanks Marie! Have you tried emulsifying waxes based on olive oil like these?
http://www.aussiesoapsupplies.com.au/oliv-emulse.html
also OLIVEM 1000 and OLIVEM 900.
I’d be curious to know how they’d go as a self-emulsifying wax. Would it be too much olive oil in a recipe that already has it?
Hi Michele! I haven’t as I haven’t found it for sale in Canada yet (not that I need any more ingredients, ha!). I wouldn’t worry about too much olive—the e-wax is made from fatty acids derived from olive oil, it’s not actually olive oil, so there is unlikely to be any associated scent. I’m also not really sure there’s such a thing as too much olive oil in any case 😛
Hi Marie, I just found that Liberty Naturals in Oregon has the Royal Jelly.
Look under products for “natural sources”
http://www.libertynaturals.com
Yours Truly,
Lisa
* Connecticut USA *
Thanks!
Hi!
I’m curious: how do you usually manage to decant your lotions into pump up bottles with a narrow opening? Maybe I’m not creative enough but it’s always very annoying and sometimes messy. Do you have any tips or tools you’d recommend?
A funnel comes in crazy handy here 😉
Hi. I have been working in the spa industry for over 10 years. I have used some rather expensive creams/lotions/serums and some inexpensive ones throughout my career. The one product that I fell in love with and continue to use is Egyptian Magic. (Yes, there have been times when I have cheated on Egyptian Magic but I always return to it.) I have found the ingredients in it to be beneficial for the skin. I have also been making my own skincare for myself, family, and friends. I want to try and make the lotion but wasn’t too sure what the difference is between a powder and a liquid preservative. There seems to be numerous preservatives on the market. Do you have a section dedicated to different types of preservatives that works better for making face creams, serums, soaps, body lotions? Or do they all work the same?
I really love reading your blog and getting your weekly emails. It has really inspired me to branch out and make more of my own products. Keep up the great work!!!!
Alex
Hi Alex! I have an article on preservatives here. Your main concerns when choosing one (beyond safety/ingredients) is solubility (oil vs water), or the potential to split an emulsion. I’ve had good results with both Germall® Plus Liquid and Gluconolactone & Sodium Benzoate in lotions 🙂
I can’t seem to find how much this makes? Why the royal jelly and where can I find it? Thank you for your time. I love your blog.
Read this on yields 🙂 I did not use the royal jelly as I don’t have any so I can’t speak for what it does in the recipe beyond knowing it’s a valuable source of proteins and vitamins, but a commenter above recommended http://www.libertynaturals.com.
I’ve been substituting this for the honey and other bee additives in your Egyptian Magic recipes. It works well and may be easier for many to hunt down and was more cost effective for me.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00014E03S/ref=pd_aw_sim_325_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51qjnjhnAZL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL100_SR100%2C100_&refRID=1FFFC776HPMB3NBW8CSM
My skin thanks you for sharing!
Cool, thanks Sandy! That looks almost like a “just add olive oil and beeswax” Egyptian Magic kit 🙂
I received a sample Egyptian Magic Face Cream from an online order, but obviously don’t want to pay full price to order more, but it worked wonderfully on my skin. Can this recipe be used on the face?
I wrote an FAQ on this 🙂
Hi Marie, I have read the FAQ related to that we can use lotions on face too.
what about PH on Egyptian Magic Lotion? And PH for Healing Bee Propolis Cream, those two are my favorites.
I don’t have an answer for you; I did not own a pH meter when I made those formulations and I have not made either of them in years. It really is best for you to check yourself, though—the pH can vary if my distilled water has been open for longer than yours + many other factors. Happy making!
I received a sample of Egyptian Magic Face Cream from an online purchase, but it was too expensive to buy full price. It worked wonderfully on my skin, though, so is this recipe safe to use on the face?
Absolutely, yes—read this for more info 🙂
Hello! I’ve actually got a bee keeper in my new city here in China! So I can finally get my hands on all the ingredients for all this lovely Egytian Magic stuff. And the best part? I get to harvest all my own beeswax (I’ve nine combs in my kitchen to go through!).
Anyways, I’ve been looking online for the answer to this question, if I add fresh Royal jelly to a lotion/potion, soap, or oil based (no water) serum, what’s the shelf life?
Hey Penny! That’s awesome—woo! I’m afraid I have no idea, that question has WAY too many variables. How clean was everything? How warm is it? How clean is your working environment? Your container? How are you storing it? What else is in it? How fresh were those ingredients? … etc. (Those are hypothetical questions :P)
Clean: I wipe everything down with a vinegar water solution before use. Counters and walls too. Makes clean up easier. However; my lotion jars, they get vinegared before being put through a sterilizer.
Weather temps: hot. Dry heat.
Storage: I plan on storing this recipe in a vacuum pump bottle or a glass pump bottle in my bathroom cupboard out of sunlight.
My ingredients are only as clean as they can be. I store everything in cupboards out of direct sunlight.
Hummmmm. Brain lightning. What about adding more of the preservative? The company I buy from says .5-2% I usually keep it between 1.2-1.5 depending on what I’m making. But what about increasing it to say 1.8%? I really want Royal jelly in my lotion and that is the one that is causing me worry.
Thanks for the answers, but the hypothetical nature of the questions still stands 😉 I still have no idea, haha, that isn’t something that can really be hypothesized.
I haven’t been able to find anything on using extra preservative. I don’t know if the upper limit is there because after that, additional preservative has no noticeable improvement in shelf life, or it it’s because dangerous. I’d probably use the upper end of the recommended limit, keep everything as clean/dry/cool as possible, make a small batch, and see what happens. Keep a close eye on it, take notes, and just see. At a certain point you’ve just got to do it!
Well, I did it last week and so far no problems. The two lotions I put it in so far have no issues but I did find the lotions make my skin feel much nicer than usual. My skin feels more hydrated without feeling greasy/oily after an hour of having the lotion on.
And the good news that make me wicked pumped about Royal jelly, since adding it to my skin care routine, is I’ve had no pimples or the usual cystic acne I usually suffer from year long. I decided to whip up some test batches to experiment on friends around here and so far their praise is all positive! So for me, it’s been almost five weeks I’ve been using Royal jelly in my products and for friends about ten days. I’ll wait a full month before I’m convinced!
Have you ever made an Egyptian Humblebee Magic Inspired face wash? I take equal parts honey to Royal jelly, and 1tbsp powdered bee pollen per 100g and a few drops propolis and use that as my face wash. I leave it on while I shave then rinse or just as a mask for twenty or so minutes. Amazing!
Awesome! The acne part is especially promising—how exciting 😀 I do have an Egyptian Magic cleansing balm that uses soap paste and is pretty awesome!
Hi Marie,
I made this the other day and LOVE it, but I’m noticing some discoloration on the sides of the container I used. I sanitized everything before I made it but I’m wondering if its growing mold? Should I hold off on using it until I’m 100% sure its mold or should I just chuck it and start a new batch? I used Liquid Germall Plus in the recommended amount so I’m rather disappointed 🙁
Hey Patience! Can you send me a photo? You can upload one to Imgur and then share the URL with me in your reply. There’s a chance it’s just drying out a bit with the headspace in the container, or something in it is oxidizing a bit and shifting in colour. It shouldn’t be mould if it’s only been a couple days, you used a preservative, and you were working as cleanly as possible, and it sounds like you did all those things. There is quite a bit of bug food in this formula so it will spoil eventually, but you should get a couple months out of it, not just a couple days!
Thanks so much! My only major error was making a huge batch at once. Enough to fill 4-5 four ounce containers (this was supposed to be my gifting batch, haha). The first three image links are from one container, it was the biggest amount of discoloration out of all of my tins. The rest of my tins only have a small spot on one side of the tin, like the fourth image link shows. I noticed this about a week ago (which was a week from making the lotion, all but one of the lotion tins hadn’t been used at that point)and the discolorations haven’t gotten any larger in size. Nor does the lotion smell funny. I’ve made the lotion before and stored it in glass containers with no problem, so I THINK one of the ingredients may be reacting with the tins I’m using.
Container 1: http://i.imgur.com/DY8oCse.jpg
Container 1: http://i.imgur.com/DzO2m3B.jpg
Container 1 Lid: http://i.imgur.com/ZRF3fYB.jpg
Container 2: http://i.imgur.com/lTGu3jd.jpg
Thanks again, I really can’t express how much I appreciate the help troubleshooting!
Hmm. Given that it only seems to be right around the edges of your container, I would agree that it’s probably a reaction of some kind, involving the container, and it’s likely still find to use. Is there any chance any of them had scratches in their coating? Another thought… could that be where some air is leaking in, causing the lotion to oxidize?
Hi Marie , I make this lotion it went great, then 2 days after making it, the water separated from the lotion. I followed the directions can you please tell me what I did wrong. Can I remix the lotion ?? Thanks Therese
Hmm. What emulsifying wax did you use? You will have to chuck it, though—a split emulsion is a dead lotion 🙁
Dear Marie, I’ve been following your blog for well over a year and FINALLY had the time and energy to order the supplies and make my first batch of lotion, following this very recipe. I’m so excited! the consistency turned out great and I keep layering the lotion on my skin with excitement. unlucky for me I chose the wrong kind of bottle: the pump is too weak/small to pump my thick lotion. other than that, this was a great first experiment. thank you for the really great and unique blog. next up: olive and jojoba silk conditioner.
Yay! I’m so glad I was finally able to drag you over to the dark (oops, DIY) side 😉 I designed this lotion to be pumpable, so maybe put that one on your list 🙂 Happy making and thanks for DIYing with me!
What kind of bottle did you decide to go with for good results?
How long does it take you to “hand whisk” the lotion you made? I don’t have a stick blender yet so I think I’ll be needing lots of arm exercise here 🙂
Not terribly long, really—e-waxes are pretty foolproof. Think… whipping cream. The only thing you’ll really notice is that the lotion will take several days to thicken, and no amount of hand-whisking will speed that up!
Hi Marie, I just read all the comments but I’m still unsure of what broad spectrum preservative you used and what amout you used. If you don’t mind helping me out I’d be very grateful 🙂
Thanks! You Rock!! You inspire all my creations!
Check out this FAQ 🙂
Oh MAN. I’m late to the party by finding this recipe, but I’m so glad I did. I’ve been soaping for a while but have been trying out making lotions recently. In particular, something moisturizing. I decided to give this a go and I am SO glad I did. It absorbs into the skin so well, better than almost anything else I’ve tried on my face. I decided to use a “Honey I Washed the Kids” type scent (Lush), and it worked perfectly for the lotion. Thank you so much for sharing!
Yay! And welcome to the recipe! I’m predicting you’ll be fully hooked on lotions in no time—I know my skin is SO much happier now that I’ve introduced water-based moisturizers as plain ol’ oil just wasn’t cutting it. In fact, it was really disguising the dehydration my skin was suffering from as my skin felt fine (it wasn’t itchy or flaky), but in hindsight, it was crazy dehydrated! Now that I use water based hydrators my skin is plumper, brighter, and heals WAY faster. It’s so awesome! LOTION! 😛
I also made your henna shampoo bar (which I’ve only used once since I JUST made it, but it looks like it’s going to be wonderful). Darn you, you’ve created a monster! (A monster with great hair/skin)
I don’t have a henna shampoo bar recipe…? Glad you’re enjoying whatever it is you’re using, though!
Duh! Sensors crossed. I meant I’m liking your coconut aloe shampoo bar (and also a henna shampoo bar that I made from a different tutorial). Regardless, I am enjoying your blog very much 🙂
Ha, no worries! Does a henna shampoo bar dye ones hands orange?
It actually doesn’t dye the hands, or at least not that I’ve noticed in the times I’ve used it. Lather isn’t colored either. It’s got neutral henna so basically all the benefits are there without the actual dyeing part (although you might be able to use colored too, not really sure as I don’t color my hair).
Here’s the website I found it at: (and of course for you and anyone else reading, I take absolutely no credit for this, just a fan)
https://frugallysustainable.com/neutral-colorless-henna-shampoo-bar-recipe/
How interesting! I’ve been eyeing the henna bars LUSH makes and thinking I should try one. Hmmmmm. 😛
I’ve used the Lush bar and it worked well enough, but I like being able to customize my own soap/shampoo, as I’m sure you can agree with! Hope you like it if you make it 🙂
I want to try a coloured one… I suspect my shower will not love me for it LOL!
Marie,
Is this the only lotion that you have with beeswax? I read on the mommy blogs that beeswax helps a lot in hand lotions to form a barrier on the skin for those that are constantly having to wash their hands. But of course, the mommy blogs shun preservatives so I came to your blog to find a beeswax lotion. other than the beeswax and honey I don’t have the propolis or bee pollen, can this still be made with out it?
It is, other than this one, which as you can see is quite different. Beeswax definitely is quite occlusive, but it also has a tendency to be tacky in lotions, so I’m not a huge fan of it, which is why I don’t do it often. You can definitely make it without the propolis and pollen; simply replace them with more water 🙂
Hi Marie,
I don’t have the bee pollen granules, but I have the extract. Can I use the extract in place of the granules? Do I use the same amount? Thanks!
That should work; check with your supplier on usage rates + which phase the extract should go into. Happy making!
WOW! Just stumbled on your site, SO much good info and so overwhelming. I am so new to this as well. I am tiring to create a organic product like the Egyptian magic Lotion. I don’t know enough to know this, but I would like to use vitamin E oil as a preservative. Also, I would like to use organic ingredients. I have bee hives, so my propolis and such is covered. What are the organic choices for the complete emulsifying wax? Thank you in advance.
Welcome, Eve! So, vitamin E is NOT a preservative; you can learn more here. Have you found the FAQ? There’s an entire section on shelf life and preservatives with lots of helpful information. I like Ritamulse SCG as a natural emulsifying wax. You may also want to read this and this 🙂 Happy making!