6 Lotion Bar Recipes

Fashion, Beauty and Health


At our house, we love lotion bars. In fact, I rarely use regular lotion anymore since lotion bars are so much easier to make and so much more nourishing. They are also mess-free so the kids can use them too.

If you are new to lotion bars, they are a nourishing skin bars that are used on dry skin (not in the shower! This makes a mess!)

Over the last few years, I’ve found ways to make a lot of variations of homemade lotion bars. These are our favorites:

1. Basic Lotion Bars

Basic Lotion bars combine coconut oil, natural shea or cocoa butter and beeswax for a simple but nourishing recipe. This is my kids’ favorite and we add favorite essential oils for scent.

2. Sensitive Skin Lotion Bars

These lotion bars use an unconventional ingredient in place of coconut oil for those with an allergy or aversion to coconut oil. These are especially helpful for those with eczema or skin dryness and they are equally simple to make.

3. Bronzing Lotion Bars

Being of Irish descent, I have naturally fair skin. I’ve actually darkened naturally quite a bit since changing my diet, but in the winter especially, I often feel very fair skinned. These lotion bars were my solution. They infuse coffee and cocoa for a (great smelling) and lightly bronzing lotion bar.

4. Pain Relief Lotion Bars

When our family started taking martial arts, these bars came in handy. They use natural ingredients like arnica, menthol and mint to help sooth sore muscles (just not while pregnant or nursing!). They are a natural cool/heat bar that helps ease muscle stiffness and pain.

5. Bug Off Lotion Bars

We don’t have nearly enough bats in our area for the number of mosquitoes we have. In the summer months, mosquito are really bad at our house, especially since we have so much shade around our house. These lotion bars have been a huge help! They protect the skin with natural oils and moisturize at the same time.

6. Sunscreen Bars

We don’t use sunscreen often (back to the diet for skin heath and avoiding sunburn) but when we will be outside for longer than usual, these are a great natural solution. They use zinc oxide with the basic lotion bar recipe ingredients for a low SPF lotion bar.