Lip Balm and Lotion Bars

Yesterday was dyeing day but at the end of the day I had some spare time and decided to use it to restock my personal supply of lotion bars and lip balm. It took me all of 30 minutes to get out the supplies, make both batches and clean everything up. It's that easy.

Lotion bars are great if you have any very dry skin areas. For me, it's my feet. I use a lotion bar every night and sleep with socks on so I don't mess up the sheets. Plain lotion just wasn't enough so I keep a supply of lotion bars in a bag in the fridge and one on my nightstand. It works great.

It couldn't be easier to make. 
First find a mold. I use my small soap molds but you could pour all of this into a plastic container and once it sets up just cut it into palm sized bars. Ice cube trays would work great too.
In a microwave safe container (I use a Pyrex measuring cup) mix together equal parts of:

• Beeswax
• Coconut Oil
• A butter (cocoa butter, shea butter, mango butter are all good choices)

For the amount you see in my photo I use 6 ounces of each. 
Melt all that in the microwave. If you have Vitamin E on hand you break open some capsules and add some to the melted oils. That's a very messy affair so I usually leave it out.
Pour the liquid in your molds and waif for it to set up. You don't need to store it in the fridge but I find that's a safe place to keep it so I don't confuse it with my soap bars. This amount will last me and my friend, Cheryl, a year.

I primarily make lip balm for my Mom and friend, Becky. I rarely use it but I keep a couple of them around just in case. Making it is just as simple as the lotion bar from the perspective of mixing the oil but you do have to buy the tubes or pots. If you use the tubes you will want one of these tube trays. Where I buy my supplies the tubes are about a quarter a piece and the tops are a dime. Making this is a little messier and the recipe I use has more ingredients but I have them on hand already for my soap and lotion making. Given how cheap lip balm is, I don't think it would be cost effective to just make lip balm because the minimum quantities for the supplies would be way too big. But if you are already making soap you might want to give lip balm and lotion bars a try. Aside from the tubes and beeswax you probably already have everything on hand.

​If you are interested there are tons of recipes on the web and the one I use is here.