A Homemade Liquid Lotion Recipe

Have you ever wanted to expand your homemaking skills, to take the leap and begin creating your own, all natural skincare products? I know how intimidating it can be to take that first step! In this post, I’m going to help you get started on the right path by teaching you how make my favorite, all natural homemade liquid lotion recipe.

It’s super simple and nearly impossible to mess up!

How This Recipe Came to Be

When I originally began making skincare products at home, I started where many do, with thick, whipped body butters. While I enjoyed these dense, fluffy creams, I found myself wishing for something that wasn’t so sticky, something the skin could absorb faster.

One day I was flipping through a book called “The Boreal Herbal” by Beverley Gray (a great foraging book for my Canadian readers!) and came across a skincare recipe for liquid lotion. I just had to give it a try!

I’ve adjusted a few details on this recipe and I’m happy to report, I’m satisfied with the results. Let’s go over the ingredients and equipment you’ll need to create this liquid lotion.

Ingredients for A Natural Homemade Liquid Lotion Recipe

Making your own lotion only requires a few ingredients. In this case, you’ll need four. Let me walk you through each one, step by step! 

A Liquid Oil

Planning to make your own skincare products? You need a good carrier oil! The thinner an oil is, the faster your skin will absorb it. I’m a slap-it-on-and-go type of gal, so I prefer to use avocado oil (source it at your local grocery store) or an apricot kernel oil (this bottle will make you one batch of lotion).

Because it’s so good for the skin, I’ll occasionally add a bit of jojoba oil to the mix.

Beeswax

In this recipe, beeswax acts as a natural thickener. You should be able to source 1 lb (454 gm) bars through your local beekeeper. If so, you’ll need either a knife or a stainless steel cheese grater dedicated to the sticky task of shaving off bits of wax. I prefer the grater, primarily because grated beeswax melts the fastest!

If local beekeepers aren’t an option and if you don’t want to deal with beeswax bars, you can get natural, unrefined beeswax pellets here. If you use pellets, you’ll have to measure them by weight, which means you need to use a small, kitchen scale whenever you make your skincare products!

Shea Butter

Shea butter is a thick, sticky substance created from the nuts of the shea tree. I like to add just a wee bit to my liquid lotion. It helps with the texture and also adds extra nourishment for the skin.

You can get 1 lb of unrefined Ghana shea butter here!

Distilled Water

This lotion calls for a small amount of distilled (or at least filtered) water! I’ve been using the recipe for a while now, and it’s never gone bad on me. No, not even the bottle that was accidentally set aside for 4+ years!

Equipment You’ll Need

To make this recipe, you need 2 basic pieces of equipment. Don’t worry! It’s not complicated and chances are, you already have these things on hand!

A Double Boiler

In order to create liquid lotions, you’ll have to melt both beeswax and shea butter. Thing is, you don’t want to try this over direct heat! It’s easy to burn beeswax! The ideal tool for keeping temperatures under control is a double boiler. You can make your own using a pot and a tin bowl, or you can purchase this nifty little tool that spans with width of any pot and acts as the top portion of a double boiler!

A Blender

The other tool you’ll need is a kitchen blender. To create this lotion, you’ll have to whirl the ingredients together at high speed. My recipe won’t work without this nifty kitchen tool!

A Natural Homemade Liquid Lotion Recipe

To make your own homemade liquid lotion, measure out the following ingredients in these amounts:

• 1 C of liquid oil
• 1 Tablespoon of shea butter
• 2 ½ Tablespoons (lightly packed) grated beeswax or 2 oz beeswax pellets
• ¼ C distilled water
• optional: 15-20 drops of frankincense essential oil

Directions to Follow

Add water to the bottom portion of your double boiler, filling it 3/4 full. Place it on the stove top. Turn the stove top burner to medium-high. You don’t want the water to boil; just keep it hot.

Grate and measure (or weigh) your beeswax. Add it to the top portion of your double boiler.

Also measure out and add 1 tablespoon of shea butter. Place the double boiler on top of the pot of water and leave things to melt.

After the wax and shea butter have melted, measure out your liquid oil and also add it to the top of the double boiler. The wax will partially set up, but don’t worry! It’ll soon melt again.

When everything has once again turned to liquid and is still warm, pour the contents of the double boiler into your kitchen blender.

Make sure the lid is firmly secured, turn the blender on and measure out ¼ C distilled water. Slowly pour water in through the lid’s funnel. After all the water has been added, let the machine run for 15-20 seconds.

Turn off. Use a spatula to scrape down the lid and sides of the blender. If using frankincense essential oil, now is the time to add it! After doing so, give your lotion another 15-20 second whirl and presto! By following this natural homemade liquid lotion recipe, you just made your own healthy skin moisturizer!

Bottling Directions

I recommend keeping this lotion in a pump bottle, both to preserve it’s life and to make things easier on yourself! You can use an old pump you have on hand or purchase this lovely, glass pump bottle.

Either way, pour the warm lotion into your bottle and let it cool without a lid so it doesn’t condensate. Seal and store.

Directions for Use

Because this lotion is primarily made of oils, a little bit goes a long way! When apply it to the skin, you only need a light layer, just enough to make the skin feel moist. It should be used on the face and body as needed.