Homemade Hand Lotion

Even if you're not usually a DYI type, hand lotion is one thing you can definitely DYI!

Just

3 ingredients
$3
3 minutes of active time
and 30 minutes of (mostly) waiting

will make you about 1.5 cups of thick and creamy unscented hand lotion. Add a few drops of essential oils, and you've got a magical moisturizing aromatherapy potion!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil (or oil of your choice)
1/4 cup emulsifying wax
1 1/4 cups water
A few drops of essential oils (optional)

Instructions

Boil the water (to kill bacteria), then cool it to rougly 110 degrees. It should feel quite warm but not scalding.
Heat oil and emulsifying wax together until wax is melted. I do this in a large pyrex measuring cup in the microwave, which takes 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat once melted.
Pour the warm water into the melted wax and oil mixture; stir to combine.
Continue stirring every 5 minutes or so as the liquid thickens into lotion. Stirring frequently will give you a smoother final product. Depending on the temperature of the room, it will take around 30 minutes to thicken into lotion.
Once the lotion has thickened, you can stop stirring and let it cool at room temperature before dividing out into jars or bottles.
If you would like to scent the lotion, add a few drops of essential oils and stir until fully incorporated.

Shelf Life

The trickiest thing about this lotion is that the shelf life can vary greatly. In some conditions, mold may start to form, and I unfortunately haven't yet found the solution. I have tried a natural preservative (leuconostoc/radish root ferment filtrate) with limited success. Other techniques for keeping the lotion good longer:

sterilize the jar or bottle before adding your lotion,
use smaller containers and refrigerate the portion you're not using, and
avoid introducing bacteria into the jar (using a pump bottle may work best, as long as it can handle a thicker product).

Despite occasional challenges with mold, I've been making this lotion since 2010 and still like it better than any commercial product I've tried. I hope you have equally good (or better) results!

-Justine