First off, I want to thank everyone for the wonderful response to my latest column series, “Lotion Making Month”, on hellogiggles. I’ve received a lot of great comments and emails asking about the ingredients used in lotion and options for substitutions. It got me thinking and I’ve decided to put together an e-course for lotion making!
I’ll talk about each type of ingredient and tell you how it works, why it works and what you can substitute it with. I’ll post a new section each week…up first: “Base and Carrier Oils”. Look for it soon!
Thanks again for all of the lovely support!
Hey Katie! I tried making your basic lotion recipe from hellogiggles.com this weekend. It came out really runny, and I am wondering if I didn’t let the oils cool enough before adding the water solution?? Will you please help me troubleshoot this? Once the lotion sat overnight, the oils and waters seperated again too…?
Hi Erika! Sorry for the delay in response, I’ve been away from my computer the last few days but I’m back now!
This happens to me every now and then, though it has been a while (knock on wood). Usually when this happens, it is because I measured wrong. If you’re sure you measured right, then you’re probably correct in your assessment that the oils may not have been cool enough. The entire top layer of the oils should be opaque, almost to the point that you start to worry they are going to harden completely! The goal is to get the warm water and the warm oil about the same temperature. Another thing that happened to me once, was that I blended too long. You can overdo it, especially if the blender blades begin to heat and “cook” your lotion. This will definitely cause it to separate later, though at the time it appears to be mixed just fine. To give you a time-frame, from the time that I turn on the blender to the time that I finish slowly pouring the water into the blender and scrape down the sides, it is only about a minute.
I hope this helps and I do hope that you try it again, it really is worth it and SO much fun! I’ve been doing it for a couple of years and I can make a batch of lotion in less than 30 minutes, so it does get easier. 🙂
Let me know if you give it another try, I’d love to hear how it goes.
All the best! -Katie
Hey Katie! I tried it again tonight and it turned to liquid again!? I have no idea what’s happening?! Any input would be appreciated! Thanks!
I’m so sorry to hear it went that way again. Just to double check, are you using the exact ingredients that I listed in the video? And are you pouring the water into the oil and not vice versa? Also, are you using a stand blender? I tried using a stick blender, also known as an immersion blender, once and the lotion came out runny. Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out! 🙂
I am putting in my best effort to follow the directions exactly, and I have checked and double -checked the ingredients. I let the oils cool for 20 minutes in a stand blender this time, so I’ve gotta believe they were cool enough. The problem seems to be when I start pouring the water in, at that point the mixture starts shooting all over the place. I don’t know if my blender goes to fast or what but I do have it on low.
I think I am going to try just a tid bit more beeswax and cross my fingers 🙂 I have been reading some worrisome things about borax online and I think I may have to switch to the emulifying wax. Do you know how much I should use if I decide to make the switch?
Hi Erika! I’ve read a lot about borax as well and some of the information is based on the sulfide-based cleansing product, which is not what I use in my lotion. That being said, you should never use an ingredient that you don’t feel comfortable with. So I think you’re on the right track using emulsifying wax. Just replace the beeswax in the recipe with the e-wax, leave out the borax and you should be good to go. The borax helps emulsify the beeswax, so if you’d like to leave it out, I’d skip the beeswax all together since you have another great thickener in the e-wax. Sometimes I do that too. 🙂
I have another blend too, I’ll dig that out and post it here in a few minutes.
This blend uses yet another emulsifier called lanolin. It is derived from sheep’s wool and does have a strong scent. I’ve found that it fades after a couple of days once I’ve mixed it into the lotion. Some people do have allergic reactions to lanolin, so do a small test spot on your skin first. If you don’t have wool allergies or really sensitive skin, you probably won’t have a reaction.
This is a blend for a nice thick cream that I use as a nighttime moisturizer.
Waters: 2/3 c. floral or distilled water, 1/3 c. aloe vera gel
Oils: 3/4 c. apricot kernel oil (or grapeseed oil), 1/3 c. coconut oil, 1/4 tsp. lanolin (the emulsifier) and 2 tbsp. beeswax
Additional Oils: 8-10 drops of vitamin E oil
Combine using the same preparation method from the video.
When heating the water (and the oils for that matter) be sure not to let it boil, that means the temperature on the stove is too hot. 🙂
I’ll be around more consistently over the next few days, so please let me know how it goes. My fingers and toes are crossed for you!!
I have still not conquered the lotion!! I have no clue what’s going wrong. It seems to happen when I start to pour the water in. It just all turns into liquid.
Are you pouring it into the vortex created by the oils? I know it’s a very loud and messy time once you get the blender going but the water shouldn’t be poured any faster than a very slow stream to start with. I’m so bummed this isn’t working for you. 🙁
I just remembered! A long time ago, I made a batch of lotion and my blender speed was too slow and the product didn’t emulsify. I know the oils are spurting all over when you first start the blender, but the speed might be too low. My blender has three low settings and three high settings, I use the highest-low setting called “mix” to blend my lotions. Perhaps that will help? Have you given it another go? If you’d like to try the lanolin that I mentioned above, send an email with your address to katienormalgirl@gmail.com and I’ll send you a small sample. I feel like you should be rewarded you for all of your efforts! 🙂