Getting Started

New to this whole DIY thing? No worries!

What ingredients will I need?

Here’s an ingredient overview and a couple great starter shopping lists to help you get started.

What equipment will I need?

From a scale to spatulas, you’ll need some equipment to get started (you probably have most of it already).

Where to buy ingredients

You’ll need some ingredients—this page is full of links to places to shop all over the world.

Simple Starter Formulations

These DIYs are a great place to get started—they don’t require too many ingredients, they come together easily, and they’re pretty much foolproof!

Easy Non-Greasy Hand Lotion

Easy Non-Greasy Hand Lotion

Hand lotion is a skincare staple; heck, even my dad uses it! But, if your handmade lotions are anything like the ones I made when I was a new maker, you’ve probably noticed that your DIY versions are really different from products sold by big brands like Cerave,...

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Simple Sulfate-Free Shampoo Bar

Simple Sulfate-Free Shampoo Bar

Today we're kneading up a really simple shampoo bar that kicks out oodles of silky, luscious lather. You'll only need seven ingredients, there's no heat required, and you can whip up a batch in less than twenty minutes! Want to watch this project instead of read it?...

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Easy Emulsified Body Butter

Easy Emulsified Body Butter

If you've been frustrated by heavy, melt-prone body butters, this is the formulation for you. In this post I'll be teaching you how to make an easy 7-ingredient body butter that is lighter than traditional DIY body butters, won't melt in hot weather, won't seize up if...

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Easy Natural Lotion for Beginners

Easy Natural Lotion for Beginners

If you've been wanting to dive into making your very own easy natural lotion, start here! This post is the first in a series on how to create your very own lotions. Today I'll teach you how to make a basic lotion, and in upcoming posts I'll teach you how to customize...

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Essential Reading

Learn about carrier oils, essential oils, solubility, substitutions, and more. I’ve also got clean-up tips, shopping lists, and all kinds of other helpful information.

How to make your lotion lighter

How to make your lotion lighter

If you dream of fluid body milks, ultra-light emulsions, and fast-absorbing lotions, this post is for you. Today I'll be teaching you how to make thinner, lighter emulsions—I'm sharing three different strategies that you can mix and match to create the fast-absorbing...

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How to make your lotion richer

How to make your lotion richer

I struggled with what to title this post. I will be teaching you how to make your lotions richer and thicker, but the formulation skill behind that richness & thickness boosting is so much more than that! I will go as far as to say if you don't know how to do...

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How to make your lotions thicker

How to make your lotions thicker

If you want to make thicker lotions and creams, you've come to the right place! In this post I'll be teaching you three different (easy!) strategies for thickening and adding body to your natural lotions. You can use these strategies alone or combine them–it's up to...

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6 body butter mistakes most newbies make

6 body butter mistakes most newbies make

Body butters are a fabulous place to start your formulating journey. I started with lip balms and body butters and made a lot of mistakes along the way; I'm hoping this post can help save you from a few of them! Want to watch this project instead of reading it? Watch...

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Why is my body butter not whipping?

Why is my body butter not whipping?

Have you ever whipped up an utterly decadent body butter, only to find it transformed into a hard, crumbly brick when left overnight? Or perhaps you were whipping up a gorgeous blend of butters that suddenly collapsed into soft gloppy mess? Whipped body butters are...

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