This beautiful oat milk dream cream is silky smooth, gentle, and soothing. I got the idea from Lush—their Dream Cream Body Cream is one of their best sellers. I’ve never tried it, but the internet made it sound good enough to dupe, so here we are!
For our water phase I’ve got two options for you to infuse it with some oaty goodness. Option one is a DIY oat milk, which is much easier to make than you might think. Basically, you’re making really watery oatmeal, and then straining out the oats. I used a heat-seal tea bag filled with a few spoons of oats to make mine easily. Option two is incorporating 1% colloidal oats into the recipe. Option 1 is a bit more accessible, but takes more time. Option 2 is a bit faster and likely a bit easier to preserve, but you’ll need colloidal oatmeal. It’s up to you! If you’re wondering about the shelf stability of option #1—I have a jar of this lotion made using method #1 that is 2.5 years old and it is still perfectly fine. That’s longer than I’d typically advise keeping a lotion around, so I think it’s a perfectly fine method to use!
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Oats have been a long time favourite in skin care, known for their soothing properties. Oats help with dryness by working with water to form a thin film over the skin, helping lock in moisture. They’re also a great natural cleanser, and help relieve itchiness, so if you’re suffering from any eczema or plain ol’ extra-dry skin, they’re fantastic.
The fats in the lotion are olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada) and cocoa butter (USA / Canada), both simple, long-time favourites of mine. The scent of the cocoa butter (USA / Canada) does come through in the final lotion, which I love.
The majority of the complaints about this lotion in the reviews on the Lush website were about the scent, which many said was overpowering, not to their taste, or both. So, I’ve stepped it back a lot, resulting in a gently scented lotion with hints of rose and lavender, with soothing chamomile. If you’re not much for florals, please just ditch the essential oils—the subtle scent of cocoa is more than enough, and it’s fantastic.
I’ve included a broad spectrum preservative in this lotion because of the oat milk. If you don’t want to use any, I’d recommend halving this recipe and being sure to store it in a pump-top bottle rather than a wide-mouth jar as shown to give the shelf life a boost.
2016 revision: Include a broad-spectrum preservative; this emulsion contains water and will spoil in about a week if you don’t preserve it properly.
Oat Milk Dream Cream
Heated water phase
144g | 5.08 oz distilled water
4g | 0.14oz vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada)
2g | 0.07oz colloidal oatmeal (USA / Canada)Heated oil ohase
14g | 0.49oz complete emulsifying wax (not beeswax!)
14g | 0.49oz cocoa butter (USA / Canada)
22g | 0.77oz olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada)Cool down phase
10 drops benzoin essential oil
4 drops rose absolute or 20 drops diluted rose absolute
12 drops chamomile
4 drops tea tree essential oil
7 drops lavender essential oil
1g | 0.03oz Liquid Germall Plus™ (USA / Canada)Prepare a water bath by bringing about 3cm/1″ of water to a bare simmer over low to medium-low heat in a wide, flat-bottomed sauté pan.
Weigh the heated water phase into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Weigh the entire lot (measuring cup + ingredients) and note that weight for use later. Weigh the heated oil phase into a second heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Place both measuring cups in your prepared water bath to melt everything through.
After about 20–30 minutes the oil part should be completely melted and the water part should be thoroughly dissolved. Remove the water bath from the heat and weigh it. Add enough hot distilled water to bring the weight back up to what it was before heat and hold, and then pour the water part into the oil part. Stir with a flexible silicone spatula to incorporate.
Grab your immersion blender and begin blending the lotion, starting with short bursts so the still-very-liquid lotion doesn’t whirl up and spray everywhere. Blend for about a minute, leave to cool for ten, blend for another minute or two, and repeat this blend-cool-blend cycle until the outside of the glass measuring cup is barely warm to the touch and the lotion is thick and creamy.
When the lotion is cool it’s time to incorporate our cool down ingredients. Because cool down ingredients are typically present at very low amounts you’ll need to use an accurate scale—preferably one accurate to 0.01g. As these more accurate scales tend to have fairly low (100–200g) maximum weights you won’t be able to put the entire batch of lotion on that scale without blowing it out. So—grab a smaller dish. Add a scoop or two of lotion, and then weigh the cool down ingredients into that, using the more accurate scale. Stir to thoroughly incorporate, and then stir all of that back into the master batch of lotion. Doing it this way minimizes the amount of cool down ingredients lost to the secondary container.
Decant into a two 120mL/4oz pump-top bottles (preferred) or a wide-mouth jar.
To use, smooth over dry skin & enjoy!
Don’t have the oils called for in the recipe? Check this out.
If you want to make your own oat milk, soak approximately 2 tbsp of rolled oats in 200g of just-boiled distilled water for about twenty minutes before straining, and use that for the water and the colloidal oats called for in the recipe.
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I used my straightening iron to seal the tea bag—it doesn’t get much use these days otherwise 😛
Can you make me some!?
I’ll buy it!
Sorry, I don’t sell anything I make—that’s why I provide the recipes & instructions!
I thought I bought the right wax, is this one isn’t good?
The cream didn’t work it separated. Is there anything I can do to use the oil part? Can I reheat it and use it somehow?
Thanks
This is what I bought (they didn’t ship to my country what you recommend)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074SXZK5R/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Sorry, that is not a complete emulsifying wax. You aren’t going to be able to save the cream 🙁 That can only be used as a sole emulsifier in water-in-oil emulsions, and this is an oil-in-water emulsion. As a general rule, if the “emulsifying wax” only has one ingredient in the INCI, it isn’t what you’re looking for.
Hello Marie
Your website, blog and YouTube channel are amazing.
May I know the Proportions of oats and water to make oat milk please.
I don’t think it’s mentioned
It is 🙂 Make sure you read the whole post!
What preservative did you use? I only have grapefruit seed extract. Would love to give this recipe a try!
I used germall here, but I wouldn’t recommend it as it’s not overly safe. I’m experimenting with it (wanted to get a feel for the industrial strength stuff), but I won’t replace it. From what I’ve read, liquid leucidal sounds like the best option, though I haven’t tried it yet 🙂
2023 update: Liquid Germall™ Plus is great, I trust it, I’m happy with it, and I use it all the time!
Do note that grapefruit seed extract, rosemary extract, and vitamin E are all antioxidants, not full preservatives. That means they’ll help preserve the shelf life of something that’s made entirely from oils, but they won’t have any effect on bacterial growth, which is what we are worried about here 🙂
Just bought some liquid leucidal and will give it a try. I feel a bit conflicted because I am interested in making all-natural stuff but don’t want my batch to get icky in the blink of an eye.
There are always balances to strike when it comes to preservatives & projects, and this lotion does (unfortunately) need a preservative because of the oat milk. I just had to chuck the remnants of mine as it moulded quite enthusiastically after about 2.5 months, even with the germall. Oh well, I’m sure the bacteria enjoyed their delicious meal! 😛 Other lotions made with just water will last longer without a preservative if you store them in a pump-top bottle (they do here, at least, but it’s not very warm in general). Experiment, figure out what you’re happy with, and work in small batches so you’re never to heartbroken when you have to throw something out 🙂
Marie – you said at 2.5 you noticed mold (it was probably occuring before you could actually see it) even though you used Germall. Do you have any suggestions about how to turn this recipe into one that will not mold?
Well, it’ll mold eventually no matter what you do, but there are two quick alternatives. The easiest one is to store the lotion in a pump-top bottle instead of an open jar. I chose the jar for pretty pictures, but I definitely shortened the shelf life of the lotion by constantly dipping my grubby fingers into it 😛 Suggestion two is to try this recipe—I’ve got a pump bottle of it that is over five months old, and it’s still mould free!
Just my two cents worth, but the mold was possibly the result of two things that immediately come to mind:
1. “one or two drops” of Germall (I use Liquid Germall Plus) wouldn’t have been enough for this formula. It’s always best to go by percentages in your formulas so you can not only be exact with ingredients, but are able to increase or decrease the size of batches as required.
With Liquid Germall Plus, I know that I will require 0.5% of the total % of ingredients in my water-based products.
2. Anything with water in it – in this case, oat infused water – always require a broad spectrum preservative, unless you’re making a very small batch that will be stored in the fridge and used up within 2 or 3 days. Bacterial nasties can often be breeding in unprotected formulas long before it becomes apparent to the nose or the eyes.
Additional possible causes could have been unsterilised equipment and/or the use of tap water, rather than either distilled water or a floral hydrosol.
You’re 100% correct 🙂
I was did my looking up on preservatives and was curious to know how much Germall I would use in this recipe or other I am making?
Hi Jenn! You will need to look up the manufacturer specific recommendation for usage percentages for the specific germall you have (varies by liquid vs. powder, etc.). The place you purchased it from should list that on the product page. From there, calculate that percentage based on the total yield of the recipe (i.e. if the recipe contains 100g of ingredients and usage is 1%, that would be 1g of the preservative). Then add that much!
leucidal comes from radishes
Why germall isn’t overly safe?
It’s fine; I’ve learned A LOT since leaving that comment over 4 years ago! Used as recommended it is a great preservative.
Can you please make a copy cat for two of the products made by Head Kandy? The 3rd wheel spray and their conditioner
I’ll keep it in mind 🙂
What kind of preservative should you use?
I’ve heard good things about liquid leucidal. I have yet to try it but I did order some. It’s supposed to be all natural.
It’s on my to-try list as well—it’s surprisingly un-dodgy considering it’s a preservative.
I used germall here, but I wouldn’t recommend it as it’s not overly safe. I’m experimenting with it (wanted to get a feel for the industrial strength stuff), but I won’t replace it. From what I’ve read, liquid leucidal sounds like the best option, though I haven’t tried it yet 🙂
I use leucidal all the time. It’s wonderful. The one thing I will say however, is that it’s not broad spectrum and you will have to use it with another preservative. Personally I use Benzylalcohol, dehydroacetic acid as it is Whole Foods approved and there are no parabens..but there are a lot of different choices for sure if that one’s not available near you. 🙂
Thanks, Malora—I’ll have to look into Benzylalcohol dehydroacetic acid as well… I think I could spend an entire summer experimenting with and researching preservatives!
I also use this one 🙂 Benzylalcohol, dehydroacetic acid
Thanks! What do you think of it?
So far so good, I also use optiphen (INCI Phenoxyethanol (and) Caprylyl Glycol). I have had one person admittedly have an allergic reaction to the Benzylalcohol, dehydroacetic acid where as not one person has had an issue with any products with the Optiphen preservative. Optiphen is darer to buy here plus not labelled as eco certified by my supplier so I’m using the former preservative very cautiously and may just use both. I only make small batches so can easily do a custom order with the non-allergen for people 🙂
Hmm, good to know. I’ve just ordered “Geo-Gaurd” (benzyl alcohol, salicylic acid, glycerin and sorbic acid). It meets ECOCERT standards, and I’m quite curious to see how it performs.
What kind of preservative did you use? Preservatives are so confusing…
I always use Optiphen, that works well in lotions.
Thanks!
Hi…..can I use olivem 1000 instead of emulsifying wax. There are no cetyl alcohol used in this. Without that whether stability of the cream will be maintained??
Thanks, Signe!
I use Optiphen Plus.
Thanks, Linda 🙂
How do you keep Optiphen from curdling your lotions?
I used germall here, but I wouldn’t recommend it as it’s not overly safe. I’m experimenting with it (wanted to get a feel for the industrial strength stuff), but I won’t replace it. From what I’ve read, liquid leucidal sounds like the best option, though I haven’t tried it yet 🙂
This is something I will try too, sounds wonderful and simple enough! I used oats for dog hair conditioner just while ago, but I haven’t tested it yet.
Awesome! Let me know how it turns out when you give it a go 🙂
Hi Marie,
I don’t like the smell of cocoa butter on my body, Can I replace it with something else?
You can use deodorized cocoa butter, or just replace it all with olive oil. It won’t be as thick as with the cocoa butter, but other than that it won’t be too different.
What about mango butter?
That should work! It’ll just be a wee bit softer.
As a novice I’m a little leery of the sound of the ingredients in the emulsifying waxes. Is it possible to use bees wax instead? What exactly are the crazy sounding chemicals in the emulsifying waxes? By the way I am loving your recipes. I will be working on some of them soon. Thanks, Karen
Hi Karen! This is actually a pretty common question, so I’ve addressed it in the FAQ 🙂 Thanks so much for reading & welcome to the awesome world of DIY!
How much glycerin do you use?
4g 🙂
Norma – you can buy unscented cocoa butter.
Kokum butter is also a decent sub if you happen to have it, but in a lotion the texture of the oil is less important than its absorbency speed.
Sarah – GSE is not a preservative; it is an antioxidant. You need a preservative in any product that has water.
Thanks, Anita—you’re completely correct, of course 🙂
I wonder if you are familiar with the Rosemary Antioxidant sold by Mountain Rose Herbs. They make the following claim about its preservative qualities:
“The organic Rosemary antioxidant offered by Mountain Rose Herbs remains the number one choice for the natural preservation of hand made cosmetics, creams, lotions, and other herbal compounds. Its concentrated nature allows you to use sparingly with effective results and each bottle is guaranteed to contain healthy quantities of rosmarinic acid, the key compound in Rosemary, which is essential for stabilizing the shelf life of your body care products.”
It does not matter what Mountain Rose Herbs says in their description, rosemary antioxidant is not a preservative. It is exactly what it says it is – an antioxidant – and a very effective one. Rosemary Antioxidant does demonstrate some antimicrobial characteristics. Just not enough to preserve a product all by itself. So…to clarify, rosemary oleoresin can function as part of a preservative system, but is not a broad-spectrum antimicrobial preservative.
Thank you, Anita. That’s very helpful.
Precisely, thanks Anita!
Wow… that’s surprisingly irresponsible of MRH. They start off my calling it an antioxidant (which it is), but their claims about it being an effective preservative in concoctions that include water are quite far-fetched. Rosemary Antioxidant helps prevent oxidization, which leads to rancidity. Rancidity is really only an issue in products that are 100% oil as products that contain water will tend to mould well before rancidity comes into play. One place you can often find Rosemary Antioxidant is in Burt’s Bees lip balm—an entirely oil based product.
can i use this recipe on hair?
You certainly can, though I’d start with small amounts and work your way up as it’s pretty rich 🙂
I’m confused about the amount of oat water you are using. My scale weighs in grams and ounces. How much oat milk does it take? Thanks.
After you make the water, measure out ~146mL, and that’s how much you’re using. A ml (milliliter) is a measurement of volume, so you’ll want a fluid measuring cup for that. However, since oat milk is mostly water, you could convert the mL measurement to a weight measurement with fairly little variation, so that would be 146g 🙂
That looks yummy! Seeing the photo of your scale prompts me to ask what brand it is, and if you would have any other comments on what to consider when looking for a scale to purchase. Thank you!
That one is by “Home Presence”—I got it at Costco years ago on some sort of special. I have a few scales (4, I think) scattered through my house, but you can easily get away with one (or two, if you want to be indulgent). I’d recommend a scale that measures in both grams and ounces, in increments of 1g up to 5000g or so. It should be digital and have a tare function. Also be sure the batteries are a type you’re likely to have on hand so you don’t have to run out for new batteries half way through a project 😛 My secondary scale would be a wee pocket scale that measures in 0.1g increments—that’s super useful for making just a few tubes of lip balm or other smaller projects. I like this one for a larger scale, and this one for the smaller one.
Thank you for your reply, comments and links, Marie. I’m not finding any Home Presence kitchen scales available at this time. It must have been a limited production item, but that’s OK. There are many other brands available on Amazon and beyond. My biggest concern is finding one that is reliably accurate. I found a couple on Amazon that looked appealing, but some of the reviews mention inconsistent readings for the same calibration weights; the same kind of problem I have with my digital bathroom scale where, if I stand on the scale multiple times in short succession, the reading increases or decreases each time by a couple of decimal points. Sure, it’s within range, but it’s not much more informative than my old analog scale. Being a stickler for details of that sort, it bugs me. More importantly, since some of your measurements are very precise (especially as I noticed for soap making) it seems that minor inaccuracies could make or break the product. I was hoping you might have discovered a scale that had proved very reliable. Thanks again for your input. 🙂
I wouldn’t fret about it too much as I’ve never had a scale break a product. With soap, part of the reason we build in a superfat is to create a buffer for any measurement errors 🙂 Anyhow, I look forward to hearing what you’ve been making with that fancy and awesome looking scale you found!
After a couple of days of searching I think I’ve found my scale here: http://www.oldwillknottscales.com/my-weigh-kd7000-silver.html
In spite of the fact that it’s not as sleek or pretty as many I’ve seen (yours included), it has a high capacity, multiple weighing modes, many features and gets good customer reviews, from soap makers no less — not to mention it’s currently on sale.
Also, my husband has a mini scale of the same brand so we’ll have something of a matched set.
Thanks again for your thoughts.
Oooh, that looks like a beauty! Good find 😉 The features list is pretty much everything you could ever want in a scale, so I’m certain you’ll love it.
As a preservative in my cremes and lotions, I always use a drop of Red Thyme essential oil. For the emulsifiers I use bees wax and cetylalcohol (natural product). With regard to the oat milk, is it not possible to use ready made (natural) oat milk? I believe it is also 100% natural.
By the way, I absolutely love your recipes Marie. I only sometimes have troubles with some of the ingredients which I don’t easily find here in Belgium.
If you can find ready made oat milk feel free to use it—I just didn’t see the point in purchasing some for such a small amount, especially when it can be made at home so easily 🙂
Just so you know, essential oils are not broad spectrum preservatives. Many certainly do have anti-bacterial properties, but they aren’t strong enough to fend off bacterial action in lotions over the long term. They can’t hurt, but don’t feel like you have to include them as they aren’t all that useful as a preservative. I’ve had many the lotion containing EOs like tea tree go mouldy on me after a few weeks or months 🙁
Thanks so much for reading & DIYing with me!
Your oat milk dream cream is a…Dream!I just made it.
Greetings from Greece!
Oooh, fantastic! Enjoy it & thanks for reading and DIYing with me 🙂
Sounds wonderful. I will have to try it. Is this a body cream and can you use it on your face? I am looking for a facial cream that I can try making due to very sensitive skin from the store bought expensive creams I end up throwing out. Any ideas? Love love love your posts and have used several of your recipes already. Peppermint and eucalyptus soap was a big hit.
Thanks, Cindy! I never really put lotions on my face, I prefer to use argan oil. I’d really recommend giving that a try for your sensitive skin—it has been a hit with everyone I know who has tried it, and many readers. It’s quite inexpensive as long as you don’t buy it at the beauty counter (~$12/100mL instead of $30/15mL), and is absolutely brilliant. I cannot recommend it highly enough!
Thanks so much for reading & DIYing with me 🙂
I have to say. Emulsifying wax purchasing = confusing! Emulsimulse is rather expensive, but I’m willing to pay the price if it makes the product that much better and or that much healthier. Are there some ingredients in emulsifying waxes that are worse than others? I have a supplier that can supply me with 3kgs for $36.97 as opposed to Emulsimulse for $52.22 + shipping. The ingredients are: Vegetable derived (Cetearyl Alcohol and Polysorbate 60)……? Is the emulsimulse worth the money?
BTW, super stoked to try this cream for my mom, her poor hand. 🙂
Hope she loves it 🙂
And a follow up to your last comment—Saffire Blue carries both of the ewaxes, why not order 500g of each and see what you think? That much ewax will still make you about 20kg of lotion, so you should be set for a while 😛
Whoa, 3kgs?! Why so much? That’ll make you about 60kg of lotion! I think I ordered the 500g size 9 months ago and I still have a lot left. Emulsimulse is also cheaper than Polawax, which is NDA’s complete e-wax (there is such a thing as an incomplete e-wax… watch for those, lol). I do have the other one you mentioned, and it works perfectly fine—my only complaint would be that it takes a day or two to thicken to a lotiony texture (it’s more like milk until then).
As for safety, I’d really recommend doing your own research over at Skin Deep. It’s an amazing resource 🙂 In my experience most e-wax ingredients are a 3 or lower, but I haven’t looked up every single one on the market.
But, I suppose to answer your final question—I’d go with the emulsimulse. Just get the 500g size for $10 instead of 3kg and it’ll be a lot less painful. My general advice would be to never buy 3kg of something you’ve never tried at any rate 🙂
Thank you so much for the answers and info! As for the reason why I want 3kg, because I am buying in bulk with a friend of mine. She will use her stuff for her large family, I use mine for my family and friends and extended family and I plan to sell some…
Thanks for the link!
This cream was AMAZING my mom, my sister, and me all adore this cream! For some reason my sister and I have been having dry-face attacks recently (I think it is the changing of the season because our scalps are abnormally dry and pealing as well as my ears – weird, I know) and this cream has been perfect for zapping the intruding dryness. 🙂 Thanks a million!
Wow! Well, at least you’ll be set for a while 🙂 I’ve had my emulsimulse for about a year now and I’m still not anywhere close to finishing it off.
I’m so thrilled this cream is kicking butt for your family! It has been crazy dry here lately, so I definitely feel your pain. I’ve been stepping up my face mask routine to keep things a bit fresher/more exfoliated because I just can’t stave off the flakes :/ Eeew lol.
what can you make with out glycerin , shay butter ? I am allergic to them. Thanks an GOD bless
Hi Cheryl! I have tons of recipes up here that do not use shea butter (this one is one of them). I have over 500 recipes at this point, so just take a look around 🙂 As for glycerin, you can leave it out of pretty much any recipe, or replace it with an equal amount of honey. Good luck!
I made my version of this cream last weekend and tried it first time (both to face and body) just now. It feels nice on the skin and absorbed right away – even so quickly that I must add oils next time I make this cream. I have so dry skin that I need more fatty creams and lotions, especially in winter time. But this light cream would be wonderful for me in summertime, when I’m sweaty all ti time, I guess!
Ooh, wonderful! I’m thrilled to hear the recipe worked out so well for you, even if it doesn’t quite pack enough of a moisturizing punch for your skin 🙂 I definitely understand needing heavier creams in the winter—I made one featuring coconut oil as the main oil, and it doesn’t really work for me, it just vanishes into my skin. It’ll be perfect for summer, but for now I need something with more of a kick!
I forget to mention that my mum loved that oat cream too! 🙂
OOoh, fantastic!
Marie, (my middle name, BTW) OMG!!! I love your posts. I am probably your mother’s age and have been converting over anything that goes on or in my body to healthy, non-toxic stuff. I rarely use any make up, but all the lotion, body and face bars and creams, shampoos and soaps and some of your recipes I love! I am accumulating ingredients to make many of these things on my own as you do rather than paying the natural food store prices and sometimes still getting questionable ingredients. I am afraid to try lye soap, but will get into that before the year ends. I would love one of your simple cleaning soap bars! I also have long hair, so love the Edwardian hair up dos—keep blogging! You are awesome!
Thanks so much, Lin! I’m blushing over here 🙂 Congratulations on your DIY/natural journey—it’s a really fun one, and very rewarding. My mother has been enjoying the benefits as well 🙂 And don’t be afraid of lye—respect it 😉 It’s not any more scary than bleach or other cleaning chemicals you’ve probably used before. It’s funny how chill I’ve become about using it as the years have gone by and the soap has piled up—I don’t even wear gloves anymore 😛
Thanks so much for reading & DIYing with me, and feel free to get in touch if you need any help 🙂
I don’t have/cannot afford chamomile EO right now — can I try infusing it into the Olive Oil?
Definitely! I love using chamomile infused olive oil 🙂
Hi Marie,
I’m planning on making this dream cream, but I don’t have very many ingredients… My birthday is coming up, and I’m planning on asking for some DIY supplies. 🙂 For this, could I leave out the cocoa butter and put some beeswax in it to make it thicker? And could I replace the glycerin with honey? I think emulsifying wax is probably the only one I wouldn’t be able to go without, right? I’m looking at this one on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Milliard-MILLIARD-Emulsifying-Wax-16oz/dp/B00FP0HB1G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397094235&sr=8-1&keywords=emulsifying+wax) Does it seem good to you? Thanks so much! And LOVE your blog btw 🙂
Hey Isabel! If you don’t have all the ingredients for this recipe, I’d recommend trying a different one that uses ingredients you do have 🙂 What do you have on hand? I’m happy to recommend a recipe that you’ve got the ingredients for 🙂 And yes, you’ll definitely need e-wax, you’d can’t get away without that. The one you linked to looks like it should work, but since they don’t list the ingredients I can’t be sure.
Thanks for reading! 😀
I have coconut oil, besswax, vitamin e oil, argan oil, lavender eo, and tea tree eo. So I really don’t have that much… 🙁 Any suggestions that you think would be helpful to have that could be used in many different things?
Hmmm… yeah. That’s not a lot to work with. My Coco Lemon lotion is probably the closest recipe I have that uses those ingredients, though you’ll want to just use the EOs you have on hand. If you’re looking to start a shopping list, my Potions Cabinet entry is a good place to start 🙂
Hi Marie,
Thanks for the many great recipes!
I made this lotion, swapping the olive oil for apricot kernel oil (just because I had some to use up) and it turned out beautifully. I decided to try another batch, using aloe juice (an edible one from the health food store) instead of oat milk. I tried twice, and both times ended up with a curdled mass that would not blend. There were tiny wax blobs that eventually congealed on top, no matter how much I whisked. Both the oils and the aloe/glycerin were warm when combined, and emulsimulse was the wax. I added the aloe/glycerin slowly, and the curdling happened after about half was mixed in. Heating everything did not help, and I cooled it slowly. Is straight aloe juice too much? Would a water/aloe mix work? Do I perhaps need to use thickened aloe gel? (My juice was the consistency of water.) I love aloe lotions and would love to figure out how to get this to work. Thanks!
Hi Leanne! Thanks for reading & DIYing with me 🙂 It sounds like you’re probably encountering a pH problem here that’s causing your emulsion to split, and that’s likely because the aloe vera juice you’re using isn’t just aloe vera juice—it’s had some things added to it to make it taste nice/preserve it. I’d recommend getting yourself some pure aloe vera juice and using that instead. That always works for me as a direct swap for water 🙂 I really like this powder from Saffire Blue—it’s expensive at first, but it’s so concentrated that you barely need any to get a nice aloe vera juice. Plus, most of the juices you’re buying are just re-hydrated aloe powder, so if you get the powder you aren’t paying to mail yourself water 😛
Thanks, Marie. I thought the juice was pure, but upon closer inspection, it is 99% aloe, with citric acid, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate as preservatives. So, the pH of my lotion probably went wonky. Hopefully I can use it up in small amounts, as the separation happened after more than half had been added. (It is supposedly for drinking…but tastes terrible!) Thanks for the tip on the powder…I looked at it, but wasn’t sure it would have the same healing benefits as the juice. Guess I’ll have to put it another supply order….darn 🙂
Ah, that’d explain in 🙂 I really would recommend getting the powder, though—the juice from NDA is just rehydrated powder, and the juice from Saffire Blue contains parabens as a preservative :/ Ick! Plus you don’t have to worry about the powder expiring on you.
Marie; would this aloe vera powder be the same? or is it not concentrated enough? It’s significantly cheaper so that leads me to believe that it’s probably not the same..
http://www.canwax.com/Botanical-Aloe-Vera-Powder-organic_p_2431.html
Thanks so much; I’m gaining quite the apothecary cupboards in my home; it’s quite an upfront investment, but I won’t have to buy anything; and so many gift options!!
It’s definitely not the same thing. You could use it, but I’d be concerned about its solubility since it’s not a clear crystal powder like mine is :/
Hi Marie,
You are indeed an inspiring DIY genius, fanatical almost. You have provided us with an amazing information-base imparting your knowledge in such a personable and practical way.
I was wondering how it would be possible to dupe the original Nivea cream (stuff in a blue tub/can) without the petrochemicals and Jurlique’s Moisture Replenishing Day Cream without that hefty price-tag. They are the only creams that allow the eczema around my mouth to feel comfortable as with any other shop-bought or DIY cream I have tried, I can hardly open my mouth.
It is not the scent that I am interested in (although Jurlique’s take on what I consider to be a Chanel is stunning) but the creamy base. They are effective for almost the whole night as I sleep!
Keep up your crazy endeavors. I will be sure to enjoy them :o)
Thanks for the kind words, Puja 🙂
Your suggestions sound great! Would you mind submitting them through my Request a Recipe form, providing lots of details about what the products feel like and their ingredients? It’s much easier for me to find and remember requests submitted through that form—ones left as comments tend to get lost. Just do one per form, and I’ll see what I can do 🙂
Thanks again!
Hi Marie!
I made this lotion last night and, as I am working to develop a tallow-based skin care line, I swapped out much of the olive oil for beef tallow. The ratio was 16 g tallow and 6 g olive oil. I also used shea butter instead of cocoa butter, since shea is softer and easier to measure. My EOs were ylang ylang, benzoin, lavender & tea tree oil.
I have to say that this is the first lotion that I successfully made. It glides on the skin beautifully and soaks in quickly and does not leave a oily feeling on my hands. I can definitely see why this is a Lush fave 🙂
Thank you for being an inspiration to me and for so many others!
Oooh, exciting! That sounds like a lovely lotion 🙂 Congrats on your lotion victory & thanks for DIYing with me!
Hi Marie,
Is bee’s wax used as an emulsifying wax? I’m having problems with my lotions separating using it.
Hi Iris! Sadly beeswax is not even close to emusilfying wax, so it’s no wonder you’re experiencing separation when using it.
Emulsifying wax isn’t just one ingredient—there are a lot of different types, made from different ingredients. All of these ingredients are usually derived from plants—mostly coconut & palm because they’re very cheap. If you can’t get emulsimulse (my favourite) look for polawax, emulsifying wax NF, and vegemulse (another name for emulsimulse). All will do the same thing. Check any local DIY/soaping stores, or just order some online, where it’s super easy to find (and generally far less expensive).
Hi Marie, I love the sound of this recipe and can’t wait to give it a try. I don’t have chamomile eo at the moment, but I do have dried chamomile. Do you think I could infuse these along with the oats, as a substitute?
You definitely can, and it should yield somewhat similar results. The added botanical matter will speed up the spoilage of the lotion, though, so I would recommend a preservative, and/or a pump-top bottle. You may also want to halve the batch 🙂
Hi Marie,
Just made this and it is oh so wonderful! I am going to make another batch for my Mom for Mothers a Day, I think it will be fantastic on her dry skin. One question though…..the benzoin is so thick I couldn’t
Really get it to drop. I tried microwaving it for a few seconds but didn’t know if this would harm it. I ended up taking the top off and using a bit too much. Any tips on using the benzoin?
Hi Cindy! Benzoin will always be really thick, and I do account for this—when I call for a drop of benzoin it’s usually more of a blob, lol. That said, you can get it to pour/drop a bit better by putting the well-sealed bottle in a hot water bath for 10 minutes or so before you need it 🙂
I cannot thank you enough for this recipe, Marie! I’ve made one batch of it so far, with a few little changes (2:1 almond to coconut oil ratio instead of olive, and I added some raw honey. oh lord is it good.) but I do have a few questions.
1. how do you measure out your benzoin!? mine is so gloopy i cant really work with it.
2. instead of using chamomile eo, do you think i could put dried chamomile flowers in the muslin bag i fill with oats to make the oatmilk?
He Bee! I’m so thrilled you’re loving this recipe 🙂 For your benzoin, you’ll want to place it in a hot water bath while you’re prepping your other ingredients. By the time you need it, it’ll be warm enough that it will pour relatively easily in a drop-like manner. As for the chamomile, go for it!
Hi Marie,
So I finally tried this long awaited recipe and I am so pleased with the end result!Thank you so much! I had purchased LUSH Dream cream sometime back and just loved the lotion and its smell..and when I started making lotion I couldn’t wait to try this.And what I love the best is you have got the EO blend so close to the original and I couldnt be happier!
I did make some mistakes.. one, I had used BTMS-5O Emulsifier and reduced the amount(in the hindsight I should have followed your recipe exactly) and the result was a very runny lotion.Well I should have waited for it to cool completely before fixing it,but I ended up adding more emulsifier and Stearic acid thinking it will thicken it more and it became sort of err.. more thick 😀 Lesson learnt though!
but the end product is so close, if not almost like Lush’s product and I have only you to thank for! I used Optiphen preservative and planning to give it to friends 🙂 Next on my list is to try your Rose&Argan Body Conditioner.
Lotion making makes me so happy! yay! 😀
-cheers,
Archana (California,US)
PS:Have you tried making shower smoothies before ?
Hi Archana! I’m so thrilled you’re loving your homemade dream cream 🙂 I haven’t tried a shower smoothie yet, but they are on my list!
Hi Marie…thx a lot for such luvly recipes…I was wondering if I can substitute oat milk with red wine…its vry gud 4 skin but m confused…could u help me with it n ya m planning to sell it so need 2 knw d shelf life of it without ny synthetic preservative…v dnt hav access to oragnic n natural preservatives here in India so if u cud tell me ny other preservative which wud b easily available here….thx in advance…:)
Hi Lovi—I really wouldn’t recommend it. The alcohol could break the emulsion, and in my experience wine starts to smell bad quite quickly when stored at room temperature. Alcohol is also drying to the skin.
I’m afraid I cannot give you any estimate of shelf life as I only have experience storing things in Canadian temperatures, and you’re in India!
Thx for replying Marie…will keep this in mind…will hav to do sum experiments according to Indian weather….thx a lot for ur help… 🙂
🙂
For those wondering about preservatives – I’m not sure if you can get it in Canada or wherever many of your visitors are from, though I would imagine so (I’m an Aussie) but personally I like either Preservative NB (mainly benzoic & sorbic acid) or Geogard Ultra (gluconolactone & sodium benzoate) which are both recognised as natural GRAS products.
The only potential issue with them is that they have a slightly more narrow range of efficacy as far as pH goes compared with some of the other readily available preservatives – but easy to adjust with addition of a small amount of either citric acid or sodium bicarbonate as needed.
I’ve been experimenting with gluconolactone & sodium benzoate lately and I like it so far—I want to do some more testing before I start recommending it to people, but the safety ratings look good and it’s performing well after 2 months, too 🙂 I’ll keep an eye out for Preservative NB as well.
Marie, I’ve still got some lotion I made using the Geogard almost a year ago (I misplaced the half used tub in a bag and just found it again recently!) and was still looking good – no obvious trace of mould or other spoilage.
Fantastic!
I just made up a batch of this, Marie, and I love it! I used chamomile-infused olive oil, and subbed in shea butter for half the cocoa butter (so 7g of each), because shea is so great for eczema (my poor kid is suffering in the unusually dry weather this fall), and I cut out almost all the EOs (I ended up putting in a couple drops of benzoin and chamomile, because I couldn’t help myself). I used .5mL of Optiphen Plus as a preservative (and realized after the fact that I decided on the amount based on weight, but only the weight of the oils and wax but not the full weight including the oat milk, because I was dumb and I’m used to measuring things based on oil weight for soap, so I’ve likely under-preserved it, so we’ll see how well it lasts). It’s a bit greasy because of the shea butter, but it’s also *amazing* (in no small part due to how satisfied I feel from having made it myself). Thank you so much for this!
Hi Kim! I’m so thrilled you’re loving this lotion 🙂 It’s definitely one of my favourites… I should make up another batch. Try storing it in a pump-top bottle to extend the shelf life 🙂 Enjoy your new addiction 😉
This lotion was my gateway drug into the world your Humblebee&Me and DIY! I was looking for a dupe of this and found your site!
I’ve made five batches of this lotion and they turned out great each time!
Hi Cat! Thanks so much for DIYing with me 🙂 I”m so thrilled to have hooked you with this lovely lotion 😉
Hi Marie,
I have been having so much trouble with lotions lately. I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong! I combine my oils and water mixtures together when they are approximately the same temperature (sometimes the water mixture is hotter), but it seems like no matter what I do, most of the time, it will separate into thick cream at the top with water at the bottom. I have to reheat almost every batch to get it to stay emulsified. 🙁 Any tips?
Hmmm, weird! What e-wax are you using, and what ratio of ewax to oils to water? Are you using new formulas or old ones that have worked before?
I am using 339 g of water, aloe goo, glycerin and 32 g e-wax http://www.saffireblue.ca/shop/waxes/cosmetic-waxes/emulsifying-wax-nf#.VMfXaf54ra4
I’m pretty sure I’ve had problems with different recipes (some I’ve used before and they worked), but it doesn’t always flop…
Hmm. I’m assuming you have a carrier oil of some variety in there as well? Without knowing the ratios of that, I’m curious about the pH of your aloe goo. If it’s wildly different from aloe juice/~7, that could be the problem.
Ah, well, if I continue having problems, I will have to check that out. I think I may have discovered what the problem is… I went back and read the description on the E-wax and it said you have to continually whisk until cool. So, on my next batch I kept coming back to it and whisking it until it was cool and it worked! Hopefully that is my only problem. 🙂 Thanks Marie!
Well hey, that’s awesome! Woo 🙂 It’s always lovely when it’s a relatively simple fix.
Hi!
I just recently discovered the world of home made beauty products. I’ve been thinking about alternatives for the emulsifying part of the recipe, since I’d like to try to make my products all natural (and also because currently I’m in an isolated part of the world with limited store selections and high customs taxes…). After a little googling I came across with lecithin, have you experimented with that? If you possibly have maybe you have some idea of how to get the best out of it. I’m starting to do some test portions at home as soon as I (hopefully) find some here.
Hi Elena! I have experimented with lecithin, and while it does have some emulsifying properties, it is not terribly useful—especially not on its own. It is definitely not going to serve as an alternative for emulsifying wax, sorry!
Hey Marie! Could I leave out the essential oils and absolutes?
You can, but it will obviously effect the scent.
Marie – well I was a little sceptical – especially when I was at the pre whisking stage and I couldn’t imagine how the liquid in the bowl could become at all creamy – whizz bang whizz a few minutes later and it magically transformed into a most delicious cream. I love the Lush version and this comes very close indeed.
Thanks for doing such precise measurements in your recipes.
Wendy (in the UK)
Hi Wendy! I’m so glad everything came together so beautifully for you 🙂 Enjoy!
Hi Marie,
I made this Cream and used VvWax (an emusifier I found in Austria)…and the texture turned out quite interesting….kind of frothy … actually like mousse….when applying it feels a little wet and watery.
So I was wondering what you version feels like.
I might try it again with a different emulsifier (the one I had success with making the rose argan body conditioner) as I am not a fan of the watery feel.
I am a big fan of your blog! I just made the lemony cuticle butter….smells great but turned out very green (must be the avocado oil).
Have a nice weekend!
Ju
Hi Jude! How interesting that you got a moussey texture. Mine is more of a typical lotion, on the thicker side. Thanks so much for DIYing with me!
Hi there!
I made it and I am really impressed since I used to buy Dream Cream from Lush is this one is as good (or even better)
I liked it so much that I wanted to apply it on my face. It is fine but maybe a tiny rich. What can I do to make it lighter (less greasy sensation)
Hi Dave! Thanks for DIYing with me 🙂 One change you could make would be switching to faster absorbing carrier oils, but that will obviously fundamentally change the recipe. Beyond that it would need to be completely re-formulated to contain more water and less oil 🙂
I have made this following your recipe before and absolutely love it. My son has awful nappy rash at the moment and I’d tried making a few breastmilk lotions from recipes I found but none were that flash. So I altered your recipe a bit and it seems like it worked great. If it clears up the nappy rash I was going to write about it on my blog but don’t want to steal your recipe! If I link back to this page is it ok to put my altered recipe on my blog?
So happy to have helped! Feel free to publish your modified recipe with a link back, that’s fantastic 😀
I realize this is an older post but have a question about it I hope you can help me with. I’d really like to try a version of this for my 6 month old granddaughter who has horrible eczema. My question is that if I use aloe to make the oat milk instead of water, would that work? We will use it quickly and I use store bought aloe gel which already has a preservative in it so that should help it last a little longer maybe. Or would it be possible to make it more of a balm, using no water, just infused oils? Can the oats be infused in an oil? I have calendula infused olive oil made, plus I could add some coconut oil & Shea butter. And because she’s 6 months old a few drops of lavender & chamomile should be OK to help with healing. What are your thoughts? Any recommendations? Thank you so much for all of the wonderful idea you have and for sharing them!
Hey Crystal! You can make oat milk with aloe juice instead of water, but NOT aloe gel. If what you have is green and/or thick/gel-like, don’t use it. It sounds like you do have a gel, and I have no idea what that’ll do to the emulsion, or how it will behave after heating, cooling, and infusing with oats. The presence of a preservative in that will have no meaningful effect on preservation of the final product, sadly. That preservative is designed for that exact product with its exact ingredients; lotions are much more complicated to preserve than aloe gel, and you’ll be heavily diluting it and contaminating it. It’s sort of like making a ham soup; the ham is preserved by smoking, but adding it to the soup doesn’t mean the soup won’t spoil!
You can infuse the oats in oil, but you’ll extract different compounds—oil soluble ones instead of water soluble ones. You could also look at using oat oil instead—it’s lovely and rich, and great for irritated skin. I would not use any essential oils on a baby and won’t recommend it, but you should really chat with your doctor about that 🙂
Happy DIYing!
Marie, I watch your video, then read the recipe. So I want to use the colloidal oatmeal. I changed what I thought was in the video. Here is what I have. Could you look at it and see if I am going to do it correctly. I think I have some things really mixed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Weigh the emulsifying wax, olive oil, and cocoa butter into a 2 c measuring cup and place in a fry pan large to hold two cups, over medium low heat. Put the just-boiled water into a 2 c measuring, add the colloidal oatmeal
and the silk powder (optional). Measure the vegetable glycerin, mix into the oat milk to combine. Put the 2nd cup in the hot water. ? Remove the pan from the heat and take cups out of water. Let them cool til you can touch the side of the glass. Mix the two, using an immersion beater to beat until you have a thick, creamy lotion. Once the lotion has cooled, whisk in the essential oils and the preservative. Decant into a two 120 mL /4 oz pump-top bottles (preferred) or a wide-mouth jar. To use, smooth over dry skin & enjoy!
Thanks, Lois
Hey Lois—you do have things mixed up a bit, here’s where you’re wrong:
1) Combine the oil ingredients in one measuring cup and the water parts in another. BOTH go in the water bath an go over the heat for 20 minutes.
2) Combine them WHILE STILL HOT. Do not allow them to cool!
Everything else looks good 🙂
Thank goodness, I wanted to make this soon. I really appreciate you replying to me.
I really like your blog, and the fact that you help others to learn more. Bless you and thank you.
You’re welcome! If you have other lotion questions, this video is also a great one for first time lotion makers 🙂 Happy making!
None of the preservatives you mentioned will work for someone who has allergies to formeldahyde, corn, petrolatum/petroleum based products, or soy. These allergies are increasing exponentially each year in the general population. What are some other options?
Honestly, if you are worried about a laundry list that long, stick to anhydrous products.
Hi Katrina- just wanted to let you know that I have been using GSE (Grapefruit Seed Extract) with good success so far. (Yes, I realize everyone says it is an antioxidant, not a preservative, etc.) However, the oldest lotion I have right now with GSE as a preservative is 9 months old. So that is the longest I can attest to as of the moment. I am purposely using the lotion very sparingly to see how long it will last.
GSE is an antioxidant, but the preservatives that preserve it are what can yield stories like yours. There’s a good post with further reading here. A quote from that post: “It is concluded that the potent as well as nearly universal antimicrobial activity being attributed to grapefruit seed extract is merely due to the synthetic preservative agents contained within. Natural products with antimicrobial activity do not appear to be present.” If you are trying to avoid ingredients like parabens and triclosan by using GSE, you aren’t, so you may wish to choose something else on that basis. Happy making!
Hi there. I have penohip not sure how much to use in this recipe.I guess I need the total weight of recipe then use that to calculate how much to use. So do u know the weight. Pls help lol thx
You’ll need to weigh the final product after you make it 🙂 That shouldn’t be an issue since you’ll have to use a scale to weigh out all the ingredients, too 😉
I just made this… ahh. I love it! Smells delicious and is very soothing. I have dry/normal skin, so I used it on my face too.
Thank you, Marie! Your recipes are much appreciated
Lovely! I’m so thrilled you’re enjoying it 🙂 Thanks for reading & DIYing with me!
Hi Marie, I’m back to comment on another post haha (just love your blog). Did you use Roman or German chamomile? I only have German, and I’ve heard the scents are a bit different (I don’t think I’ve ever even smelled Roman, I’m pretty new to the EO world); is one stronger than the other in your opinion? Weird question/s I know.
I’m afraid I don’t remember in the least (it has been over three years!), but I do tend to prefer Roman chamomile—it’s softer and warmer to my nose 🙂
Lotion crafter has a hydrolized oats that comes in liquid form that could be a good substitute of the oat milk. The recipe will likely hold up a lot longer using the hydrolized oats versus making your own oat milk as it is very hard to not end up with food particles in the lotion for the bacteria to feed on.
You’re 100% right about the shelf life—I wouldn’t do DIY oat milk again—but hydrolyzed oats don’t have the starchy things that we get from (and love) in oat milk. A better alternative would be ~1% colloidal oatmeal, which I recently did in a new recipe and really loved! 1% is well within the recommended usage for colloidal oats in lotions.
Hi Marie,
Thank you for the wonderful recipes.
I made these recipe and got a grainy texture, do you know what did I do wrong?
I’m wondering if your silk was hydrolyzed—can you try stirring a bit into water and seeing if it dissolves?
This recipe is so awesome. My skin thanks you. My wallet thanks you. I am wondering if I can substitute the oat milk popping up all over the grocery stores instead of making my own.
thanks
Hey Anne! I would actually recommend ditching the DIY or shop-bought oat milk and instead incorporating 1% colloidal oatmeal for the most shelf-stable option 🙂 Happy making!
Hi with this cream can i use lavender or lemongrass or rose essential oil, if so how much off each?
Yes, you can. I’ve got an FAQ on this 🙂
Hi Marie, if I remember correctly in one of your last videos about things you had learned about beauty DIY you mention something about learning not to use edible ingredients of foods in your products (or something like that). I’m really dying to use ingredients like oat milk or rice water in my recipes, but I’m scared about contamination or it getting spoiled fast. So, can you say that this recipe is safe to use? Thanks in advance, I’m addicted to your blog! Greetings from Spain.
Hey! So, yes, this is definitely a harder-to-preserve formula, and from many things I’ve read it shouldn’t work. However, I have a jar of it that’s over 2.5 years old that is still doing perfectly fine! I would not recommend using a more natural preservative here as we need all the preservative help we can get 🙂
Hi Marie, I’m just starting out making my own lotions and after many failed Pinterest recipes I was so pleased to come across your blog which explains everything so clearly and using science to back it up! I was excited to make this copy of Dream Cream as that has been my usual lotion. For my first attempt on this I used Shea butter instead of cocoa. And my emulsifier is BTMS. I also made my own oat milk. Everything else was followed exactly. My lotion emulsified and got thick straight away. The consistency is fine and not greasy but it is quite thick and takes a bit to rub in, kind of like a sunblock. Any idea why mine isn’t silky smooth or easily absorbed? Is it the Shea or should I try with a bit less emulsifier? Thanks again for sharing all of your great recipes!
Good afternoon Sara and welcome to the lovely deep and wondrous hole that is the DIY community!
This recipe calls for cocoa butter which is one of my absolute favourite butters to use in products. It is also considered a “dry” touch butter due to its fast absorbency. Now, shea butter on the other hand, is a slow and somewhat greasy ingredient.
Kind of makes sense why it takes a bit to rub it in? If you are not wanting to use cocoa butter, might I suggest mango butter?
Hi Marie,
So I made this recipe and used Olivem 1000 which what I see in your FAQ about emulsifying waxes is a complete emulsifying wax. But my concoction hasn’t really blended well together and it is kind of separating (I can see oil shining on the surface area of my cream). I was reading the comments and I saw you said something about water-in-oil and oil-in-water emulsions. I surfed the internet but I can’t figure out how, based on a recipe, you can tell which on will be which.
Could you possible shine a light on this and explain to me how it works? And why my Olivem didn’t work?
Love your videos and recipes ! Thank you for your time.
Big hello from Brussels.
Hey! I can’t imagine why the Olivem1000 didn’t work—it should’ve, from everything I can see and think of. Are you certain you heated both phases to the same temperature and blended the mixture sufficiently as they cooled?
Oil-in-water vs. water-in-oil emulsions are entirely dependent on the emulsifier you use. Olivem1000 creates oil-in-water emulsions, as does the emulsifying wax I used in this project. You can learn more here 🙂 Happy making!
I’m looking to make this and about to purchase all the ingredients (so excited!). But I really love lightweight lotions and am wondering if this is the recipe for me in that case – is it lightweight? or is there a way to make it lighter?
This probably isn’t the lotion for you—it’s pretty heavy 🙂 Maybe try this one instead? Happy making!
I’m really looking forwards to making this, but I’m going to do some swapping to make it closer to Lush’s current lotion “Sleepy”, using almond oil, lavender water, jojoba oil etc.
I’m not sure at what part of the process I might add the lavender water to the mix – I was thinking of dissolving the collodial oatmeal in the lavender water as part of the heated water phase but not sure if this would the best way.
Not sure if you can spot any other pitfalls to changing the recipe like this?
I also wanted to check a part of the recipe. Where it says: “After about 20–30 minutes … the water part should be thoroughly dissolved. Remove the water bath(?) from the heat and weigh it. Add enough hot distilled water to bring the weight back up to what it was before heat and hold.” Are we adding distilled water to the water part or the bath itself? How long do we keep them in the water bath to hold once the extra distilled water is added?
One final question (sorry!!!). I’d really like for the lotion to have some colour. I’ve looked into natural colourants and settled on some acai and indigo powders to try and get a purple tint. I guess I’ll only need really small amounts but I’m still worried about potential skin/clothing staining. Would this be an issue if it’s a veeerrrry small amount?
Thanks for the fabulous recipes, I’m really excited!
Hey Jess! Have you seen this post of mine? I think it’s exactly what you’re looking for 🙂
Hello! Can you make oat milk from colloidal oatmeal?
Thanks!
Hey Corine! Have you read the formulation? It calls for colloidal oatmeal 🙂
Yes I did read it. It doesn’t answer my question though…I’m still curious about whether you can make oat milk from colloidal oatmeal or not…Thank you though…
Water + colloidal oatmeal = oat milk, yes 🙂 I thought you were asking in relation to the formulation, which suggests a combination of colloidal oatmeal and water as an easier alternative to making oat milk from oats. The second paragraph has more details.
Hi, could I use Olivem1000 (INCI name: Cetearyl Olivate (and) Sorbitan Olivate) instead of the Complete emulsifying Wax. Also can I swap the cocoa butter for Shea butter. Thanks
Olivem 1000 is a complete emulsifying wax, so it’s not an “instead” but “as” 🙂 And you can make the butter swap, but it will impact the scent of the end product. Happy making!
Hi! I was wondering if you knew how I could substitute Shea butter for cocoa butter? I have cocoa butter, but I’ve found the smell to be too overpowering for me. Can I substitute it with Shea butter by weight, or is this a volume issue? Or can it not be done at all?
Thanks for any input,
Fiona
You can certainly try it—equal weights 🙂