DIY Healing Lotion Bars

Lotion Bar Redo

For many years I gave my mother-in-law a tube of Gardener’s Hand Therapy from Crabtree and Eveyln. She loved the stuff; it was the only lotion that keep her hands moisturized and help heal her skin after long hours working in the garden. Last year, I switched it up and made lotion bars.  She uses the lotion bars I made with cocoa butter, coconut oil and beeswax daily. I even had to restock her supplies over Christmas. This year, I decided to re-vamp my original recipe and add some healing herbs to the mix.

The Lotion Bar Ingredients

For the most part, the ingredients stayed the same from my original recipe. I did try using shea butter for the batch I made over Christmas, but didn’t like it as much; it seemed greasier and I did not enjoy the smell.  I decided to stick with cocoa butter.

For the Lotion Bars:

1. Beeswax
2. Coconut Oil (virgin or refined)
3. Cocoa Butter
4. Herbal Extracts (Calendula, Yarrow and Red Clover)

I used extracts instead of essential oils in this recipe. The difference is that in an extract, the plant material is steeped in a solution of  50% alcohol. The plant material steeps for days to weeks to extract compounds from the plant.  Essential oils are the concentrated volatile aromatic compounds of a plant. I used herbal extracts for two reasons: it’s consumable and it’s what is used in the Crabtree and Evelyn’s Garden Therapy.

Benefits of Calendula

Also known as Pot Marigold or Calendula Officinalis, Calendula is an annual flower native to the northern Mediterranean countries. The petals of the flower is what holds the medicinal benefits. It has been used for centuries to treat conjunctivitis, eczema, gastritis, minor burns (including sunburns), wart and  injuries such as sprains and wounds. Many over the counter beauty products contain calendula; it’s known to help reduce redness and blemishes on the skin. I am growing calendula for the first time in my annual flower garden.

Benefits of Yarrow

Yarrow or Achillea Millefolium is related to sunflowers and originated in Europe. It can be found  in many regions of  North America.  A little fun fact about Yarrow: Achillea refers to the ancient Greek hero Achilles. According to Greek mythology, Achilles painted himself and his soldiers with a tincture of yarrow  to protect them from arrows. He managed to cover everywhere on his body except his heel…well, you know how that one ended.

Yarrow has been used for centuries to treat external wounds on the skin. It can be used to treat bleeding wounds, gastrointestinal problems,  fevers, and lessen menstrual bleeding.

Benefits of Red Clover

Red clover or Trifolium pratense  is a short-lived perennial native to Europe, Western Asia and northwest Africa.  It is a powerful herb with various healing properties.The use of red clover as an herbal remedy goes back centuries. The plant is used for both topical and internal applications.  It’s often used in balms and salves to help relieve the pain of both eczema and psoriasis, for sores, burns, and as an aid against skin cancer.

How to Make Healing Lotion Bars

The process of making lotion bars is simple. If you want to see step by step, picture directions, check out my original lotion bar post. Basically, you need an equal amount of all three ingredients: a 1:1:1 ratio, weighed. Weighing the ingredients will give you the most accurate measurement.

I melted the three ingredients in a mason jar set in a pan of hot water, filled about half way up the jar. I put the heat on low/simmer. You can use a double boiler method as well. Once the oils and wax are completely melted, remove from the heat and add a dropper full of each of the three extracts: mix it in well.

Carefully pour the liquid into a silicon mold (I used this mold in the photo) and let it cool. Once cooled, package them up and give a couple to a fellow gardener; they will love it.