Making Lotion - in Bar Form

Re-melting the first batch in more
melted beeswax and coconut oil.

I'm continuing to experiment with common products that I can make at home, instead of purchasing products with unnecessary ingredients.  I saw, on Facebook, some talk of simple hand and body lotion hard bars and I found the concept very interesting!  It seems very convenient to have lotion in a portable, hard bar instead of a tube or bottle.  And I loved the simplicity.   Happy.Healthy.Holistic posted on Facebook that she had made some and loved them, and a few days later she posted the recipe here.  Simple ingredients, simple technique - it looked great!  I was interested in using ingredients on hand so  Jo's Health Corner recipe, here, used a liquid vegetable oil, allowing me to use my much-loved hemp oil.  As a matter of fact, the ingredients are the same as the one I used for lip balm, here, just different proportions.

I have, here in the pantry, coconut oil (a solid at room temperature), hemp oil from Manitoba Harvest (we use it in our smoothies and on salads), local natural beeswax and I decided on a little lavender essential oil.  I used equal parts of the first three ingredients, melted over low heat and poured into molds.  I used a double broiler method; hemp oil doesn't take much heat so I wanted a bit more control than trying to melt it in the microwave.  Stirring and melting took about five minutes, I removed it from the heat, added about twenty drops of essential oil and poured it into a muffin pan.  About an hour later, I knew something wasn't right - the bars were still too soft to get out of the container!  I put the muffin pan in the freezer, and was able to remove the bars about half an hour later.  Once they warmed up a bit on the counter, I realized that they were too soft: they held their shape but when I tried to pick one up my fingers sank into the bar.  Hmmmmm....

Happy.Healthy.Holisitic had used a beeswax pellet in her batch.  I had hand-grated a block of beeswax (a very good workout for the arms).  I decided that I hadn't packed the grated beeswax enough in the measuring cup, so I was low in that ingredient.  I also thought that Jo's Health Corner at used a lighter oil, so perhaps I was a little heavy on the hemp.  I decided to re-batch my lotion bars.  I grated another cup of beeswax and melted it with half a cup of coconut oil.  Once they were melted I added in my bars and melted them.  Back into the muffin molds and I let them cool for over an hour.  Much better!  The bars popped out of the mold easily and are firm to the touch.  They have a nice lavender fragrance.  You just rub the bar between your hands - coconut oil melts at body temperature and coats your hands.  A little goes a long way!  Took a few minutes, but it sinks in nicely and is very moisturizing!  The hemp oil gives them a beautiful green color, as well.  Recipe, for me with my hemp oil, will be one cup packed, grated beeswax, one cup coconut oil, half a cup or even a little less of hemp oil.  Any essential oil will be great!