Homemade Lotion Recipes

Make your own body lotion using natural skin moisturizers for happy, healthy skin

These healthy homemade lotion recipes use natural skin moisturizers to nourish, support and heal your skin. (If your skin is extra dry or cracked, check out the lotion bar recipes - they're super nourishing!)

60% of what you put on your skin is absorbed into your body, so putting only wholesome, natural ingredients into your homemade body lotion really does help improve your health.

You'll see your skin become clearer, brighter and smoother as you use homemade lotion recipes to break away from harmful synthetic products.

Plus, essential oils do more than just support your skin - they also lift your mood, calm your nerves and strengthen your immune system. Not to mention, you smell wonderful!

We start with a basic unscented formulation you'll use as the base for your homemade body lotion, followed by recommendations for carrier oils and essential oils so you can customize to suit your specific skin type or problem. For SPF, check out this homemade sunscreen recipe.

Buy Emulsifying Wax

Basic Homemade Lotion Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons (3 to 8g) Emulsifying wax
  (depending on how thick you want it)
• 1/2 teaspoon (2g) Stearic Acid (stabilizer derived from plant oils)
• 1/3 cup (75ml) Carrier Oil (see below for suggestions)
• 1/2 cup (125ml) distilled Water
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) Vitamin E
• 10 drops Grapefruit Seed extract (natural preservative)
• Optional: 1 to 2 tablespoons (25ml) Vegetable Glycerin
• Optional: 10 to 20 drops Essential Oil (see below)

Directions

1. Stir together the oil, emulsifying wax, stearic acid and glycerin in the top part of a double boiler, warming slowly over a low heat until the wax is melted. Remove from heat and pour in the Vitamin E.


2. In a separate pot on the stove or in the microwave, gently warm the water just until lukewarm.


3. Slowly pour the water into the oil, stirring briskly with a whisk until the mixture is a uniform color.


4. Stir in the essential oils and the grapefruit seed extract. Pour the homemade body lotion into a clean, sterilized 8oz (250ml) dark glass or PET plastic bottle and allow it to cool before putting the lid on.


5. The oil and water components of the lotion will separate as it cools. Shake the bottle every 10 to 20 minutes to re-mix them. Once the lotion has cooled completely, they'll stay mixed.


6. Store in a cool, dark place.

Oils marked with an asterisk should only comprise up to 10% of a recipe - in this recipe, about 1 tablespoon of the total amount of oil. For example: for acne skin you would put 1 tablespoon of Neem oil into your measuring cup, then top up to 1/3 of a cup with grapeseed oil.

Take a look at the aromatherapy carrier oils page for details on each type of oil.

Oily, Acne-prone	Grapeseed, jojoba, neem*
Dry, Aging, Damaged	Sweet almond, avocado*, borage*, calendula, jojoba, kukui nut, olive, rosehip*, sea buckthorn*, St. John's wort
Normal, Combination	Sweet almond, apricot kernel, jojoba, sunflower
Sensitive	Apricot kernel, avocado*, calendula, grapeseed, kukui nut, rice bran
Eczema, Psoriasis	Calendula, sweet almond, avocado*, castor, evening primrose*, jojoba, kukui nut, neem*, olive, rosehip*, sea buckthorn*
Scars, Stretch Marks	Calendula, castor, jojoba, kukui nut, rosehip*, sea buckthorn*

Quick Links - Buy Carrier Oils

Apricot kernel oil	Evening primrose oil	Olive oil	Sunflower oil
Avocado oil	Grapeseed oil	Rice bran oil	Sweet almond oil
Borage oil	Jojoba oil	Rosehip oil
Calendula oil	Neem oil	Sea buckthorn oil

Essential Oils for your Homemade Lotion Recipes

Caution: Do not use citrus essential oils (bergamot, grapefruit, lemon or orange) in a homemade body lotion you'll be applying before going out in the sunshine. Citrus oils can increase your risk of sunburn.

Oily, Acne-prone	Bergamot, cedarwood, geranium, grapefruit, jasmine, juniper, lemon, lemongrass, orange, patchouli, petitgrain, sandalwood, tea tree, ylang ylang
Dry, Aging, Damaged	Chamomile, frankincense, helichrysum, palmarosa, patchouli, peppermint, rose, sandalwood, ylang ylang
Normal, Combination	Geranium, jasmine, lavender, neroli, palmarosa, rose, ylang-ylang
Sensitive	Chamomile, helichrysum, jasmine, lavender, neroli, palmarosa, rose
Eczema, Psoriasis	Chamomile, frankincense, helichrysum, jasmine, lavender, palmarosa, patchouli, rose, sandalwood
Scars, Stretch Marks	Helichrysum, lavender, neroli, patchouli, rose geranium, rosemary

Quick Links -- Buy Essential Oils

Bergamot	Helichrysum	Neroli	Rose
Cedarwood	Jasmine	Orange	Rosemary
Chamomile	Juniper	Palmarosa	Sandalwood
Frankincense	Lavender	Patchouli	Tea Tree
Geranium	Lemon	Peppermint	Ylang Ylang
Grapefruit	Lemongrass	Petitgrain

Essential Oil Blends for your Homemade Lotion Recipes

Oily, Acne-prone	10 drops petitgrain, 5 drops lemongrass, 3 drops tea tree, 1 drop each rose geranium and ylang ylang
Dry, Aging, Damaged	4 drops each helichrysum, frankincense, patchouli & sandalwood, 2 drops rose or ylang ylang
Normal, Combination	14 dops lavender, 2 drops each rose geranium & palmarosa, 2 drops jasmine OR neroli, rose or ylang ylang
Sensitive	12 drops lavender, 2 drops each chamomile, helichrysum & palmarosa, 2 drops jasmine OR neroli or rose
Eczema, Psoriasis	4 drops each helichrysum, frankincense, lavender & sandalwood, 2 drops chamomile, 2 drops rose OR jasmine
Scars, Stretch Marks	5 drops each helichrysum, lavender and patchouli, 2 drops each neroli & rose geranium

What Next?

Peppermint Lotion

Sandalwood Spice Lotion

Homemade Sunscreen

Homemade Bug Repellent

Vanilla Cream Lotion Bar

Shea Butter Lotion Bar

Aromatherapy Recipes Homepage from Homemade Lotion Recipes

Want to find more recipes for your skin type? Use the search box below.

For example, type in "dry skin" (without the quotes) and hit Search. Every page on this website that includes the words Dry Skin will pop up. Poke through them and decide what recipe to try next.