I will be the first to tell you that I have tried quite a few homemade recipes for hygiene products and household products that have.not.worked or even come close to it. Huge pinterest fails. 🙂
But, this next recipe I tried (with great skepticism) turned out BEAUTIFULLY and was SO SIMPLE!!! It really only took a few minutes to finish the recipe! (then stirring a few times later in the day.) Can you tell I’m excited? And, I’ve already shared this finished product with friends and family, we’ve all been using it for a few weeks now and still love it!
So, I thought it was time to share the recipe with you!
It is kind of crazy how I first came about this recipe…but I will try to explain so that I can give credit where credit is due! As you know, I love instagram. Well, I follow Aimee on instagram and one day she posted a picture of this lotion that she said all her friends were raving about! In the comments others asked what the recipe was and she directed us here, to A Sonoma Garden.
I tried her recipe as is, with olive oil. And it turned out FABULOUSLY!! I began using it, gave some to my parents and a few friends as gifts. And, I’m still using and loving my far of this! {If you make the olive oil recipe, she has printable tags/stickers to put on your jars!}
Next, after reading and reading about the huge benefits to coconut oil, I wanted to try the same recipe with the coconut oil instead of the olive.
Guess what? Turned out just as fabulously!! {You will notice I tweaked her recipe just a bit, but it’s still essentially the same as hers. I didn’t add quite as much essential oil because I didn’t want a lot of smell.}
Ingredients
1 1/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup emulsifying wax
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
15-20 drops lavender essential oil  (read more about essential oils & the brand I love here!)
Notes about my ingredients & materials:Â
- I purchased the emulsifying wax from Mountain Rose Herbs. like suggested on the original blog recipe, however, I was disappointed that the shipping cost MORE than the products themselves. Ugh. So, I’m going to be looking for a better option. We are in a tiny town and don’t have many options, but I think I’ll try this from amazon next time, (Emulsifying Wax )
 as we have prime and can get it quickly with free shipping! I haven’t tried Hobby Lobby yet, either, which we have…so those are my next 2 options to try!
- Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
This is the coconut oil we use for lots of things, I order it on ‘subscribe and save’ and save even more that way. We have it shipped to our house every 3 months or so.
- Lavender Essential Oil {find more info about essential oils here!}
- Jars: I also used a smaller sized jar because I think for giving gifts, especially with the “life span” on the lotion, I don’t want it to go bad on people before they can use it up. I used these 4oz jars.
- Ball Quilted Jelly Canning Jar 4 Oz., Case of 12
 I also purchased the white plastic lids
for mine, while the regular 2-part lids are pretty with a fabric on them for gifts, they are more of a pain to take off and on as you are using lotion frequently!
- Here is the preservative I have used on occasion, Potassium Sorbate
Now, on to the directions!! SO simple, I really could not believe it!!
Instructions
1. In my pyrex measuring glass, I melted the emulsifying wax WITH the oil. (coconut or olive.) The coconut will be a little more white like the 2nd picture as opposed to the 3rd picture – the coconut oil lotion ends up being perfectly white, the olive oil is more of an off-white/creamy color. I put mine in the microwave for about 1 minute and then stirred. (The coconut oil will take a little bit longer to melt, just fyi.)
2. Fill a coffee mug (according to A Sonoma Garden’s instructions!) or about 1 and 1/4 cup of water, heat in microwave, again, I heated for about 1 minute. (If you wish to add preservative – listed above under where I purchased things – you would add 1/8 a teaspoon to your water at this point!)
3. While water is heating, add your drops of essential oil. I only added about 15 drops, the original recipe calls for more than that. It really depends on how smelly you like your lotion! you don’t have to add a scent at all!!
4. Pour the hot water into the oil mixture and stir.
5. I then poured my lotion into the small 4oz jars. I left them open because you want to keep stirring the lotion so that it doesn’t separate. I basically left it on the counter and everytime I walked through the kitchen, I stirred it a few times.
After a few hours you have wonderful, homemade lavendar lotion!!
I noticed today that over on A Sonoma Garden she has added a new recipe with a way to add preservatives to your lotion recipe!! So, if you are interested in giving as gifts that will last for longer…or for yourself, you may want to check out that link!!
I would LOVE to hear from you if you try this! Honestly, friends, this recipe was so simple. I was so pleasantly surprised! 🙂
