Non-Greasy Hand & Body Cream
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If you’re looking for a homemade lotion or hand cream that will nourish your skin, look no further. This recipe is super nourishing, super versatile and super simple. And I’ve updated it with essential oils suitable for your skin’s needs.
I love making as many of my personal care items in order to cut down on toxins in our home and on our bodies.
I’ve made Eye Makeup Remover, Alcohol-Free Hairspray, Sugar Scrub, Nourishing Lip Scrub, Hair Rinse, Homemade Body Wash, and more. I’ve been looking for a homemade lotion recipe that works for a long time, and I finally have it.
I’ve bought so many lotions and creams in my life, but have really wanted to go to making homemade lotion myself.
I can’t stand forking out a ton of money for something when I can make it for a fraction of the cost myself.
That doesn’t mean that I am opposed to buying high-quality things but
I asked all of my great readers the other day for recipes for DIY lotions, and one reader had a recipe that really appealed to me. I liked it, but then tweaked it to remove the aloe so it didn’t need a preservative.
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Why You’ll Love This Lotion
This homemade lotion is
– non-greasy
– super easy to make (no fancy tools–just melt, stir, and pour)
– smells great
– has flexible ingredients (so you can pretty much use what you have on hand)
Why Hard Lotions Didn’t Work for Me
It’s a cross between a smooth lotion and a hard lotion. Are you familiar with those hard lotion bars that are all the rage now on the internet?
While I love the concept, I have found that the hard lotion bars are a little tough for me to use.
Mostly, I think it’s because I’m a little too impatient to wait for the bar to soften. Does anyone else get frustrated with this?
I find myself trying to rub the hard lotion into my skin before it’s had time to soften and as I watch my skin pulling and stretching, I think, “That can’t be too good for my skin, can it?”
Anyhow, this lotion is solid at room temp, but it isn’t super hard and softens up really quickly in your hands, even in our home in winter when it’s on the chilly side.
Essential Oils for Different Skin Issues
This lotion recipe uses essential oils. While they aren’t necessary, adding them can turn your lotion from being simply moisturizing to something that really addresses what is going on with your skin.
- Dry or aging skin? Try rose & geranium
- Need to be energized and refreshed? Try lavender, lemon, and grapefruit
- Troubled skin like psoriasis or eczema? Try helichrysum, frankincense, lavender, sandalwood, chamomile, rose or jasmine
- Want to avoid Stretch Marks? Try helichrysum, lavender, patchouli, neroli, rose, & geranium
Why This Lotion Is Non-Greasy
The simple step of adding some arrowroot powder makes this a non-greasy lotion for both your body and face. So simple!
Arrowroot is a great oil absorber. It can be used for removing oil stains from clothing and it’s also a great ingredient in DIY dry shampoo. In fact, we often use arrowroot on its own as a super quick “I didn’t have time to wash my hair” solution.
Arrowroot absorbs some of the oil in this recipe to make this a DIY lotion that is a great consistency and also a non-greasy treat for your skin.
While I really like arrowroot for this purpose, you can also use cornstarch or tapioca starch, and you should get the same result.
How to Use This Lotion
Of course you can simply put this lotion on your skin, but here are some things I’ve done that make it work even better.
- Use a Sugar Scrub followed with this Body Cream for hands that feel super soft and revitalized. The moisture left from rinsing off the scrub is sealed into your skin by the cream.
- Put this body cream on before bed (misting your body with some water first is best) and wake up to healthy, nourished skin.
Recipe Notes
1. For essential oils, use whatever you like. I’ve used orange, which was really heavenly smelling, especially combined with the fragrance of the coconut oil. It smelled kind of like a creamsicle. Lavender would be very soothing as well.
2. Buttter/Oil Options: This recipe is very versatile. I’ve used extra coconut oil and shea butter when I was out of cocoa butter, and it still turned out great.
3. Container Size: This makes a small amount: just enough for one of these small canning jars like these.
4. Solidifying Problems: Please note that some (including me) who have made this have had issues with it not solidifying. I suspect it has to do with the type of shea butter used. It seems that if you use a raw shea butter, the resulting product is not as firm.
Some people mentioned in the comments that their lotion didn’t solidify. I’m guessing that is due to different temperatures or perhaps that quality of the ingredients used.
Even if yours is liquidy, you can still use it. In fact, one idea is to put it in a pump bottle.
This bottle would be just perfect for that.
Where to Buy Ingredients
For essential oils, I recommend checking out the company I recommend in my Best Essential Oils Series.
More Homemade Personal Care Products You’ll Love
Homemade Shea Butter Lotion – non-greasy and great for all skin types, including aging skin and acne-pron skin.
Homemade Lip Scrub – so healthy you can literally eat it!
Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse – makes your hair super healthy!
DIY Sugar Scrub – get spa results without the spa prices
Black Cumin Face Oil Blend – get amazing skin without paying a hefty price
Nourishing Hand and Body Cream
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (I also really like Nutiva organic)
- 1/8 cup shea butter
- 1/8 cup cocoa butter (See notes for alternatives)
- 1 tablespoon carrier oil of choice (like sweet almond, jojoba, grapeseed, etc.)
- 1/2 tablespoon arrowroot powder
- 5-10 drops essential oils (optional. Read Which Essential Oils Company is Best? to see why I recommend this company.)
- Cute container for storing. I like glass jars like this one
- See notes for ideas according to skin type (above)
Instructions
- Heat the shea butter, coconut oil, and cocoa butter over very low heat until melted. A double boiler works well for this.
- Remove from heat.
- Combine the carrier oil, arrowroot, and essential oils (if using) in a small bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Store in container of your choice. I like these small canning jars.
- Add the carrier oil mixture to the melted butters. Mix well with a fork or hand mixer, but don't over-whip. Allow to cool in the fridge.
Not Wanting To DIY?
If you aren’t really in the mood to make your own lotion, or just are out of time, you can buy clean lotions too. I’m really careful to avoid using anything with artificial fragrances.
Poofy Organics has a lot of great options at a reasonable price. Their Skin Hero lotion is fantastic. Use code WNM to get 10% off your first order.
Have you ever made your own homemade lotion?
Photo credits – Naomi Huzovicova
Do you have any suggestions for substituting the aloe? I’m allergic to aloe.
Thanks
Water is typically a good sub for aloe vera but use less and be careful about it getting contaminated.
Thanks very much 4 the help!!!
Hi, do you have alternative ingredients to make it more watery?
I can’t use cream on my skin. Everything are lotion, gel or liquid.
My skin lack of water not oil, the doctor said. Even in this humid tropical country.
If you said it’s solid in room temperature, that’s definitely a no no
thanks
I’m sorry but not sure – does aloe work for you?
If you need to hydrate your skin, how much water you drink each day. To calculate how much water you should drink for basic hydration you should multiply your weight in pounds by 1/2 ounces. That will give you the number of ounces of water you should drink daily for basic hydration. If you live in a hot climate or exercise you will need more than that.
Hope that helps!
hey all, i loved this recipe i used raw shea butter fresh from Ghana when i went on some cause work. when i didi this it was a very lotiony texture som i put it in a small bottle i used for an old moisturizer. you should try tea tree oil. it has a beautiful scent. i dont have anymore jojoba oil so can i use extra virgin olive oil instead
Yes you could do that1
I read through your receipt but I really enjoyed , I keep trying
will it lighten up or darken one skin
I don’t have any experience that this should happen.
I’m new to your blog but I’m so happy to have found you. I’ve been researching the question of preservatives for a while. I found this website that looks promising. I hope you don’t mind that I added the link but it seems that it’s discussing other potential natural preservatives. Thank you again for providing such an informative site!
https://thenerdyfarmwife.com/natural-preservatives-for-homemade-lotion-and-cream/
Golly Carida, I’m so sorry for the horribly late delay in getting back to you. Your comment was buried under a lot of other ones. Thanks for the info. Yes, that’s helpful. I have a dear friend (actually 3) that are really good w/ preservatives so I should talk with all of them. Again, so sorry! Hope to see you around again!
What liquid fat are you suggesting. My butter just says liquid and does not get creamy
I’m sorry – are you responding to a comment?
Youmentioned in your update “Otherwise, leave the aloe vera out of the recipe or substitute with a liquid fat.”
The question is asking what kind of liquid fat you are talking about, and I am wondering the same. Thank you
Possibly almond oil or jojoba. Something like that. Hope that helps.
maybe u should try olive oil but virgin, thatb is more fresh and nourishing. and i put aloe vera gel. it was 7 quid fro holan and barretts
Can you specify exactly what kind of cocoa and shea butter. (There are so many choices…raw, unrefined, organic, cream, bars, wafers, etc.) thanks!!
Shape doesn’t matter. Chunks are cheaper. I typically go for unrefined as typically they use chemicals to do that but not always. Organic or not is your choice.
All of these handmade lotions are so greasy, I suspect it’s all the butters and oils. I read that arrowroot powder will solve that but that didn’t work. Any other ideas??
I dont see anything about a alternative to the cocoa butter?
Can you please clarify – do you need one? Try another solid oil like coconut butter or shea.
An easy way to solidify is to melt some beeswax shavings to the hot mixture. I usually buy a bar of beeswax from my health food store and grate it on a cheese grater. A couple of spoonfuls (grated) is all you need unless you are making a big batch. If you skip the aloe and add vitamin E it should last at least a month.
Hi hunny. Question about the essential oils for health reasons. Can I use one or two what you have suggested. Or do I have to use every one of the essential oils you lusted.???
Listed not lusted
The EOs are optional but would add scent and some preservative quality.
Like others, I’m wondering about the preservative. What could we use to make this? Without it, it sounds like this is a useless recipe, because who uses up a hand lotion within a 24-hour period? Would really like more information on that. Would keeping it in the fridge prolong it’s shelf life, do you think? As for making it for gifts? Uum, don’t see how you could really do THAT tho if if requires a preservative. I do thank you for all your articles though, your diligence, and research. I do regularly read your website and have also changed to using many RMO oils instead of YL. Didn’t want you to think all I’m offering here is criticism. :>)
Hi there. Keeping something in the fridge definitely extends its shelf life. I just went back and added more information about the preservative and the shelf life to the post. It’s a very sticky situation and it’s something that a lot of DIYers aren’t paying attention to. It’s something I’ve been learning about recently and doing a lot of research about and wanted to alert my readers to.
I hope that helps. Thanks for reading!
All the aloe veras that are out there (ot almost all) have a small percentage of preservatives. Would thay suffice in keeping the lotion safe for too long ?
I don’t think so since you are adding in so many things. But maybe that would take care of the aloe portion! I’m not an expert so please err on the side of caution. I have a skincare expert friend who is always warning me about being ultra careful w/ DIY stuff!
I guess I am a little confused, is this really just a lotion that you need to use in 24 hours? I noticed it said it’s great to make for gifts and to stock up on. Maybe I’m just not reading it correctly
Yes, this is confusing to me as well. I wrote the post a long time ago and have been looking at the need for preservatives so I am revisiting this issue. You could leave out the aloe and the have a much more stable mix of ingredients. I hope that helps.
Yes you have to use this lotion in 24 hours but if you want to make the lotion have more shelf life add vitamin E and dont use aloe vera juice as it contains water making it have moulds and be bad later.
Hi .
I’ m confused as well .. I have been making and using my coconut oil, mixed with almond or apricot oil or olive or all 3, and a few drops of all my fav. essential oils and have applied this to my body after bathing each day. I made it about 6 months ago because I make up about 2 cups. I do not see any mold or any thing else , I keep it right in the bathroom .
I don’t understand what the problem is since coconut and oils keep at room temps all the time , so why can’t you mix them and keep them for indefinite periods of time.
I will continue to just do this .!
Thanks for the recipe. It looks easy enough. What would you recommend for preservatives? Thank you.
I’m currently talking w/ someone about preservative options. It’s apparently fairly complicated. I hope to have more info in the future.
You can use opitphen or phenonip both in brambleberry.com and it has the usage ratios on her site. For about 24 oz of lotion you will use .2 oz of preservative
I accidentally grabbed Aloe Vera *GEL* instead of the juice.
Ack! Can I use that or should I go back to exchange?
Thanks for sharing
I think you will be OK. Try a small batch and let me know.
Hello! I would just like to ask for some photos of the procedure. I tried doing it but the cream won’t solidify. Thank you. I need this for my project.
Hi there. I’m sorry but I don’t have time right now to do this. Did you read some of the comments about others that wouldn’t solidify?
After every processes, you it in the fridge to cool and be solid. Then you bring it out after 1hour and give it a nice wisk or stair. I got this idea from another post thanks.
I have just started making my own products, could you tell me about the warning? why must it be used within 24 hours? Thank you
I am doing more research into DIY products that have water / aloe as a base and they are prone to bacterial and mold contamination. So I will be writing more about this soon. Hope that helps. DIY might not be the best choice after all – but it’s an option. We have to look at preservative options.
Why not leave the aloe out? I mean if it can cause contamination. Why would someone want to use it up in 24 hours? The rest of the ingredients will last much longer then. That’s what makes sense to me. Just saying. Thank you
I completely agree with you. That was a very recent addition to this post b/c of things I am learning about DIY recipes. I’ll be writing more later. Thanks!
Add a little beeswax to harden.