Lotion Recipes
Wondering how to make lotion? I've got dozens of recipes, so you'll never have to buy it again!
My How-to Video
Want to see lotion making happen before your eyes? Check out my video tutorial!
What are emulsifying waxes and are they all the same?
All lotions need an emulsifier, and my recipes call for emulsifying waxes. Learn about the three most popular kinds and how they effect your final product!
A Quick Guide to Preservatives
Because all lotions have water in them, they’ll mold sooner rather than later without a broad spectrum preservative. Here’s a quick guide!
Sourdough Body Cream
Today we're whipping up something fun and different—a Sourdough Body Cream. I had a blast developing and testing this DIY! This is a great way to start using fun and beneficial fermented ingredients in your DIY skincare in an easy, accessible way. Want to watch this...
Happy Hemp Hand Cream
Today we're blending up a product I've had a lot of requests for! I'm calling this pale green lotion Happy Hemp Hand Cream, and it was inspired by The Body Shop's Hemp Hand Protector. My version is a bit lighter and more slippy, but it still includes many of the same...
Strawberry Kiwi Body Yogurt
Today we're whipping up an ultra-light, super-slippy, richly moisturizing Strawberry Kiwi Body Yogurt. I've had a ton of requests for a body yogurt formulation, and I had lots of fun working on this DIY. The scent comes from a juicy strawberry distillate, and the kiwi...
Honey Bee Mine Body Lotion
Brr! This week has been frigid; as I type this, it's -37°C with wind chill outside. It's the first proper cold snap we've had this winter. Along with that cold, it's also very dry. I currently have four (4!) humidifiers running in my home, and they barely make a dent...
Shealoe Emulsified Body Butter
Today I'm sharing my first Bee Better 3.0 project; a soft and creamy Shealoe Emulsified Body Butter that's an evolution on a shea butter and aloe vera heavy formulation I first shared in 2014, and then revised in 2019. This updated 2021 version uses a new emulsifier...
Sun Bum Body Cream
Over the years I have received a lot of requests for a Sol de Janeiro Brazillian Bum Bum Cream DIY. I found a 2018 request from Nichole and a 2020 request from Leslie in my records, and I'm pretty darn sure there have been others that have been lost in the shuffle of...
Phryne’s Milk of Roses
Last year I positively devoured Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher Mystery series. Set in Melbourne in the late 1920s, the novels star the glamourous and clever Miss Phryne Fisher, who solves all kinds of mysteries in style. I first discovered Phyrne in the TV show based...
Moisturizing Repair Lotion
Happy new year, and happy 2021! I decided to kick off this new year with an evolution of the formulation that kicked off 2020—my much-loved Moisturizing Repair Cream (please read that post, too—there's lots of good background information in it!). This lotion-y...
Super Simple Moisturizing Lotion with Glyceryl Stearate (and) PEG-100 Stearate
Today we're re-visiting this summer's Super Simple Moisturizing Lotion to learn how to adapt formulations to use the emulsifier Glyceryl Stearate (and) PEG-100 Stearate instead of emulsifying waxes like Polawax, Emulsifying Wax NF, Olivem 1000, BTMS-50, or Ritamulse...
Ice Palace Body Glow Lotion
We're continuing our Ice Palace theme today with this lovely Ice Palace Body Glow Lotion! This one is really neat in the skin feel/consistency department. In regards to viscosity and absorption speed, it's more like a mid-weight lotion—but the richness is closer to...
Hemp & Shea Hand and Body Lotion
This silky Hemp & Shea Hand and Body Lotion is another Bee Better project, riffing on and updating the Healing Herbal Hemp & Shea Lotion I shared back in October 2014. This version keeps many of the same ingredients and very much riffs on the same themes of...
Nourishing Hand Rescue Lotion
This gorgeous Nourishing Hand Rescue Lotion is another "riff" project—taking inspiration from April's much-loved Intense Hand Rescue Cream with the aim of creating something similar, but lighter and more pump-top/squeeze tube friendly. I positively adore April's...
Passionfruit Coconut Conditioning Body Lotion + Hair Conditioner
Today's DIY is a beautiful Passionfruit Coconut Conditioning Body Lotion. This rich emulsion is not only a great hand and body lotion, but it also makes a fantastic hair conditioner! Depending on your hair (and how much you use), it can be anything from a hair mask to...
Summer Glow Body Lotion
Today's DIY is another Bee Better project—an update of the Summer Shimmer Body Lotion I shared back in 2015 (over five years ago!). This lotion is lightweight and packs a serious shimmery punch to leave you glowing like a summer sunset. You can easily customize the...
Super Simple Moisturizing Lotion
Today we're going back to the basics with a Super Simple Moisturizing Lotion. I pared down the ingredients as much as I could, so this lotion just features five (5!) inexpensive ingredients that can be easily modified to suit what you have, or what you prefer. If...
Intense Hand Rescue Cream
This decadent Intense Hand Rescue Cream became an instant favourite of mine while it was still warm in the beaker. It's thick and rich, with a very luxurious skin feel and stunning slip. It's also loaded with all kinds of great-for-skin goodies like colloidal oatmeal,...
Watermelon Mint Hand & Body Lotion
This powder-pink Watermelon Mint Hand & Body Lotion is a bit of a departure from the heavier designed-for-winter lotions I've shared lately (I might be dreaming about warmer weather!). It's lightweight, with gorgeous slip and fast dry-down, and it's pump-bottle...
Lavender Aloe Lotion
We're continuing our Lavender Aloe theme today with a dusty purple lotion with a gorgeous powdery finish. It smells softly of lavender and quickly vanishes into your skin, leaving it feeling richly moisturized with no greasiness. Featuring soothing aloe vera juice,...
Little E’s Lemon Shea Hand Lotion
Today's lotion is one I created at the request of some friends. Their daughter (Little E) had painfully dry, cracked hands through the winter, and she really didn't like to use lotion as most of it stung and hurt. That really resonated with me as that's what my hands...
Moisturizing Repair Cream
Welcome to our first formulation of 2020—a beautiful Moisturizing Repair Cream! I am so excited about this rich, nourishing hand cream. It's positively perfect for this time of year, helping protect skin against the winter dry and cold. Our two power ingredients are...
White Chocolate Peppermint Foot Cream
Mint and foot cream = a fabulous match. Mint and chocolate = also fabulous. Mint + chocolate + foot cream = amazingness! Decadent, refreshing, tingly, tootsie-treating goodness, all bundled up in a rich and silky White Chocolate Peppermint Foot Cream. This one has a...
Creamy Autumn Grounding Lotion
Last month I shared a Creamy Autumn Grounding Salve, starring an intoxicating blend of essential oils—patchouli, lavender, benzoin, and ylang-ylang. I'd intended for the salve to be a one-off, but after sniffing away at it for a few weeks I knew I needed to use that...
Rich Shealoe Butter Cream
This decadent Rich Shealoe Butter Cream is the first project I'm tackling in my Bee Better series; it's an update of the Homemade Shealoe Butter Cream I shared back in February 2014. The idea was to create my own shealoe butter type product, inspired by the plethora...
Rosé Moisturizing Body Cream
If you love body-butter-esque creams, this one is for you. This Rosé Moisturizing Body Cream has a consistency that makes me want to dollop it on a big slice of pie, or perhaps eat it out of an artisanal waffle cone. It smells fantastic and is loaded with ingredients...
