What I love about creating do-it-yourself beauty products is that you can customise them as you wish using only your creativity. In this article, for example, I decided to make a DIY solid body lotion using a special ingredient, an organic tangerine infused oil. This recipe is ideal as a vegan alternative because it only contains ingredients of plant origin. To formulate this DIY solid body lotion, I used a vegetable wax instead of beeswax to make the product vegan. Let’s see how to prepare it now.
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Gabi
How to make Infused Oils
The main ingredient in this recipe is organic tangerine infused oil. In a previous article of mine, which you can read here, I described the key steps to create an infused oil. In short, to make an infused oil we just need to soak herbs in a carrier oil. The oils I recommend are mainly Argan, Jojoba or Sunflower oil, or if you prefer you can also use a more viscous oil such as Olive Oil. The herbs should be macerated for a few months in the dark to give the essential oils enough time to disperse in the carrier oil. When our oil has a pleasant fragrance, we are ready to use it.
Important: For the creation of infused oils, it is necessary to use herbs or peels that have been washed well and that come from an organic source. This is to prevent pesticides or other chemicals from contaminating our oil and getting onto our skin.
Steps to make a DIY solid body lotion with tangerine
The preparation of the DIY solid tangerine lotion takes place in two stages. The first phase concerns the preparation of the infused oil as explained in the previous paragraph, while the second phase concerns the creation of the final product. Let’s see how to prepare it.
Preparation of infused oil
In the first phase, the preparation of the infused oil, we have to take from the peel only the most external part of it, removing the white part inside. This selection will allow us to have a infused oil rich only in essential oils.
The peels are then cut into small pieces and placed in a container where we are going to pour the oil. I chose to use sunflower oil because it’s available at home, it’s inexpensive but most importantly, it’s easy for the skin to absorb. It is important that no peel emerges from the surface of the oil. Contact with the air could lead to the formation of mould and thus compromise the preparation of the infused oil.
After about 40 days of keeping the mixture of oil and tangerine peel in the dark, we can use it in the recipe. I decided not to use it directly but to extract the flavoured oil after blending and filtering the mixture. If the tangerine peel pieces are small, you might think of using the mixture directly without filtration. In this way, the peels could play the role of a gentle exfoliant. For this recipe, I decided to pour the oil and peel mixture into a container and blend them lightly. I then filtered the mixture through a sieve and obtained the flavoured oil.
The ingredients: DIY solid body lotion with tangerine
Tangerine infused oil is the main ingredient of the recipe, which will be mixed with other oils and butters.
To make the DIY solid tangerine lotion we will need:
- 8 grams (0.28Oz) cocoa butter (find it here)
- 7 grams (0.25Oz) of Japanese wax (or alternatively Candelilla wax)
- 7 grams (0.25Oz) of shea butter (find it here)
- 6 grams (0.2Oz) of tangerine infused sunflower oil
- a few drops of Vitamin E
- two drops of tangerine essential oil if you prefer a more intense scent.
The preparation of the do-it-yourself solid tangerine lotion is simple. We pour wax, butters and oils into a glass container.
The ingredients are then melted in the microwave using 500W power for about 40 seconds. When all the ingredients are melted, we can add two drops of vitamin E and a few drops of essential oil. We stir to make the mixture homogeneous and are ready to pour it into the mould. Let it solidify for at least 48 hours.
Important: I do not use a freezer for the cooling phase. Slow cooling will ensure the success of our product. Once solidified, we can take it out of the mould and get our DIY solid body lotion with tangerine!
Tutorial
The entire process is also described in a video tutorial which you can watch here!
How to use a DIY Solid Body Lotion
How to use a DIY solid body lotion? Although this may seem like a silly question, switching from liquid to solid products can be tricky.
A DIY solid body lotion is a very simple product to use. If it is formulated with easily absorbed oils or butters will leave your skin soft without that unpleasant greasy feeling.
To use it, simply warm it up a little by rubbing it between the palms of your hands. Now, we are ready to pass it directly onto the area of the body to be moisturised. A small amount will be enough. Alternatively, it can be used during the shower. With the warmth of the hot water, the lotion will be ready to moisturise our skin. All we have to do is pass it over the body and massage. This is a really useful and effective product. It also helps to avoid the use of plastic because it replaces the liquid lotions sold in plastic containers.
Now make it yourself! And don’t forget to check out my academy to start making your own products at home with more confidence!
