Homemade Lotion Bars

About a month ago, I tried making my own deodorant.  I'd never really made any personal care products before that.  But the deoderant I was using (a spray on that someone gave me) was making my family gag when I applied.  I knew that wasn't good.  So I started looking into homemade options. 

I've now been a bit obsessed with what I learned.  I can't believe how much junk is in the things I use everyday.  Like toothpaste.  And lotion.   Yikes! 

But, I also learned how incredibly simple it is to make these products at home using natural ingredients.  I've slowly been replacing what we use. 

A few weeks ago, I made my first lotion bars.  I'd heard that they were good for cracked hands and feet.  And I sure have those!

After doing some research, I found an easy looking recipe here.  I ordered Shea butter and beeswax from Amazon, and waited.  When the ingredients arrived at my doorstep, excitement reigned in our house. 

I gathered my helpers, and we started measuring.  We dumped the coconut oil, Shea butter and beeswax into a quart jar.  This jar was placed in a pan of water on the stove.  We waited.

It was neat to watch everything melt.  The coconut oil was the first to turn into liquid.  Followed fairly quickly by the Shea butter.  The beeswax was stubborn and stayed solid for a while. 

But eventually everything was liquid.  I took it off the stove and had Ellie add a few drops of lavender essential oil.  A quick stir was needed to mix everything one final time.  And then we poured it into some silicone molds. 

I was amazed at how quickly they hardened.  During this process, the mixture went from clear and translucent to white. 

When they were completely cooled, we popped them out of the molds. I made 12 bars out of the recipe.  And REALLY like using this lotion.

It truly has healed up the cracks on my fingers and feet.  I'm so happy! And I'm really excited not to have to rely on the chemicals in traditional lotion any more.  These work better and are natural!  After all, our skin soaks in what we put on it.  I'm trying to learn all that I can. 

I've now made toothpaste, deodorant, chap-stick and lotion bars.  I think it's amazing that the ingredients are really similar from one item to the next.  It really helps to save money in the long run!

Soap is my next goal.  I'm waiting on my lye to get here...We'll see how it goes!  What's really neat is that we're getting piglets soon.  When we butcher this fall, I can render the fat into lard and use that in soap. I like knowing where my ingredients come from!

Have you made any personal care products before?  Any recipes you'd recommend?