All-Natural Lotion Bars

Sometimes I fret that my skin is noticeably drier these days than it was when I was younger. I know, I know... losing moisture and elasticity and all that jazz. Awesome. Well, now that winter is upon us and the heaters are toasting 'round the clock, I'm a hot mess of itchy, crunchy skin.

I've been happy with my Coconut Oil moisturizing regimen. Out of the shower, and slather on some coconut oil right out of the jar. Good stuff. But I would be totally lying to your face if I claimed that coconut oil works as well or lasts as long as the chemically commercial stuff.

I needed something a bit more portable than a jar of coconut oil. I do some weird things at work (like pack salads in mason jars, sport a gloriously sticky jar of honey on my desk for tea, etc), and I keep some weird things in my purse (reusable bamboo utensils, anyone?), but there's no way I'm going to start scooping coconut oil out of my purse/desk drawer.

Pinterest, for the win!

The instructions below are snagged directly from The Coconut Mama, with my own small variations.

First, you need equal parts beeswax and coconut oil.

You can buy little chunks of beeswax online, or at Whole Foods.  I took the suggestion from The Coconut Mama's comment section and grated the beeswax with a box grater for even melting.

Here's a snap of a half-grated chunk of beeswax:

Grating it up. 

Throw the grated beeswax into a small saucepan with an equal amount of coconut oil:

For this first go, I used roughly 4 tablespoons of grated wax and 4 tablespoons of coconut oil. The original instructions say you can use a few drops of essential oils. I wanted my lotion bars to smell vanilla-y, but Holy Buckets! Vanilla Essential Oil is $22 for a tiny bottle. Scrap that. I tried adding a few drops of vanilla extract.

I DO NOT recommend swapping vanilla for vanilla essential oil, sadly. It didn't really incorporate into the oils, and basically just separated out to he bottom of the pan. 

But when it was all nice and melty, it poured elegantly into these little mini muffin pans:

I got a little impatient and decided to scoop one of the little bars out before it had fully set. Also a bad idea, but it did give me a preview of the lotiony awesomeness I had just made. Soft, but not too soft, with a pleasant coconutty-and-vaguely-honey scent. I rubbed it all over my arms and elbows. Soft, chemical-free skin!

Win!

If I had had some of those silicone bendy muffin pans, that would be a better choice for getting the bars out and keep them looking cute. But I'm thinking I might actually smash these little babies into Altoids tins or something similar to make them more purse-safe. 

Even in a tin, though, I would recommend you consider giving them one extra layer of protection from your stuff. I love love love homemade skin care, but it can be unpredictable in terms of melting and separating. If I put mine into a tin, I think I'll make the tin a little oilcloth zipper case. I once left my bag on top of a heating vent on the floor (didn't see it!) and all my lip balm melted into a gooey mess all over my bag! Fun times.