Easy 3-Ingredient Beeswax Lotion Bar Recipe (Non Greasy)
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here.
Most homemade lotion recipes involve quite a few ingredients, blenders, and more mess than I’d prefer to clean up. These lotion bars are the opposite of that. All you need for these hard lotion bars is three ingredients – plus a pot and molds. That’s it!
You can even use muffin tins if you don’t have other molds, since the bars use all-natural ingredients. We have troubleshooting tips, packaging ideas, printable labels, and substitutions to help you customize your bars.
Table of Contents
What is a Lotion Bar?
A lotion bar is simply lotion in solid form. At room temperature, it stays firm. When you hold it in your hands or rub it on your skin, your body heat softens it just enough to glide on smoothly.
They coat and protect the skin, and are especially helpful for:
- Hands
- Heels
- Elbows
- Dry patches
The basic formula includes:
- Wax (beeswax) – gives structure and creates a protective barrier
- Butter (cocoa butter or shea butter) – deeply nourishing
- Oil (coconut oil or olive oil) – helps soften and spread easily
Together, they create a barrier that helps reduce moisture loss without feeling overly heavy.
You can also add vitamin E for longer shelf life and essential oils if you’d like a light scent or added skin support. If you enjoy working with herbs, you can infuse herbs into oil and then make the lotion bar with the infused oil.
How to Use a Lotion Bar
Using a lotion bar is simple. Hold the bar in your hands for a few seconds to warm it slightly. If your hands are cold, you may need to rub it a bit to get it started.
Then:
- Rub the bar directly on dry areas, or
- Rub it on your hands first, then apply where needed
It works especially well right after washing your hands or getting out of the shower.
Do homemade lotion bars really work?
These lotion bars have been wonderful for my winter dry skin.
I used to coat my hands at night with petroleum jelly because it was the only thing that helped. Regular lotions didn’t seem to make much difference. Plus, many of them have fragrances or ingredients I’d rather avoid.
Since I do a lot of dishes and wash my hands frequently, dry skin used to be a constant issue. These bars have been a simple fix. My only regret is that I didn’t try them sooner. The scent is light and pleasant (especially with cocoa butter), and they absorb fairly quickly.
How to Make Lotion Bars at Home – Step by Step
It helps to start with small chunks or shavings so everything melts more quickly.
Place butter, oil and wax in a heavy bottom pot or double boiler. You may also use an Instant Pot on the “keep warm” setting. Gently heat until everything is fully melted.
Remove from heat. Add optional ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon vitamin E per 12 ounces
- ~10 drops essential oils per 12 ounces
Pour the liquid into molds and let cool completely (several hours) until firm. If you have lip balm tubes, pour the tubes half full and allow the hard lotion to set up slightly, and then finish filling the tubes. I like to set my molds on a baking sheet to keep them level and easy to move around.
12 ounces of product fills one of the pink rectangular bar molds, making six bars. In the photo below I also filled small containers with lids to use as lip balms.
After several hours, the lotion will be firm and hard and should release easily from the mold.
Using Essential Oils (Optional)
Adding essential oils is optional. I skip them because we are sensitive to them. Start small—about 10 drops per 12 ounces.
Some potential combinations:
- Orange + cocoa butter (smells like chocolate orange)
- Peppermint + cocoa butter
- Lavender + shea butter
Keep in mind that cocoa butter already has a natural scent, so choose oils that pair well with it.
Non Greasy Lotion Bars – Troubleshooting Tips
Sometimes lotion bars have a greasy or slippery feel, especially in warm weather. Other times the bars may feel a little tacky or sticky.
- If your bars come out too slippery:
- Remelt and add more beeswax and/or cocoa butter.
- If they are too sticky/tacky:
- Remelt and add more oil.
Warm weather will naturally soften the bars, while cooler temperatures make them firmer. Don’t be afraid to remelt and adjust—this recipe is very forgiving.
You may also want to experiment with different combinations of oils and butters to see if you like those better. (See the Substituting Ingredients section below.)
What kind of beeswax do you use for lotion bars?
I prefer using unrefined beeswax for lotion bars. It has a light honey scent and a natural yellow color. We buy ours in bulk from a local apiary, and then chop off bits as needed for projects.
You can also use:
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- Beeswax pellets (easier to measure and melt)
- Refined beeswax (white, with less scent)
If you need a beeswax-free option, substitutes include:
- Candelilla wax
- Carnauba wax
- Soy wax
Candelilla and carnauba amounts = roughly half or less than amount of beeswax. Substitute soy wax in equal amounts. Soy wax is hydrogenated, so it’s not my first choice for skin care.
Lotion Bar Molds
I prefer the basic oval bars or rectangular bars, but the boys liked other shapes when they were little. Any heat tolerant mold will work.
You can also use ice cube trays, muffin tins or candy molds. Stick to the basic recipe if you’re using molds that you plan to reuse for food. (Essential oils can leave a lingering scent and/or flavor in the molds.)
Another option is to pour the “bars” into a salve tin with a lid. You can also use a rectangular soap mold to create a bar that will fit into a rectangular tin.
I prefer to pour the bars separately and store them in the tin. It’s easier to apply the hard lotion if you can hold the bar in your hand.
If you use the rectangular bar mold, fill the cavities to about 1/8 inch below the top edge. That way they will fit in the rectangular tin and the lid will close snugly. The molds and tins are in the table below.
My friend, Casey, made up some simple printable labels that fit on the rectangular tins. (See more practical gift ideas here.)
Substituting Ingredients in Your Lotion Bars
One of the nice things about this recipe is how flexible it is. You can combine different butters and oils with good results.
Butters
- Cocoa butter
- Shea butter
- Mango butter (softer bar)
I find shea butter bars to be slightly tackier and slower to absorb. Cocoa butter gives a firmer bar and a scent I prefer.
Oils
- Coconut oil
- Olive oil
- Jojoba oil
- Fractionated coconut oil
I typically use coconut oil or olive oil, depending on what I have on hand.
Other Options
High-quality tallow or lard can also work well for skin care, though you may want to pair them with essential oils for scent.
See The Shelf Life of Oils for a listing of oil longevity. Note that many cooking oils labeled as “olive oil” are vegetable oil blends with olive oil. For best results, use real olive oil.
Packaging Your Lotion Bars
If you make several bars and don’t use them right away, keep the extra bars in a sealed container or bag. This will help preserve the lovely chocolate smell or any essential oils you choose to add.
As mentioned above, the bar molds fit neatly into the tins, which is great for gift giving or everyday use. To keep hard lotion in your purse during warm weather, a sealed container is best. Pour your lotion “bar” into a container with a screw top or other tight fitting lid. Apply it like a beauty cream.
For applying the hard lotion bar to heels or large areas of the body, use a deodorant style container. It makes the bars easier to hold.
It’s handy to make multiple smaller bars so each family member has their own. I learned this from experience when I first starting making hard lotion.
My younger son loved the cocoa smell so much he rubbed it all over himself after he got out of the shower. He even rubbed it in his armpits. I had been using the same bar as a lip balm, too…oops…
The next time I made a batch, I poured some into smaller containers to use as lip balm, and made my son his own special bar.
PrintLotion Bar Recipe (Non Greasy, with Beeswax)
With only three ingredients and one pot, this is the easiest way to make hard lotion bars and could not be more simple to clean as well. They repair your dry skin, smell great without being over powering, and are not greasy.
Ingredients
Use 1 part each, by weight.
- Cocoa Butter or Shea Butter
- Oil, such as Coconut Oil or Olive Oil
- Beeswax
For instance, 2 ounces of each ingredient. If using liquid oil, you can measure by volume. For instance, 2 ounces of olive oil to 2 ounces by weight each of cocoa butter and beeswax.
If you don’t have a scale, you can use a measuring cup to measure by volume. For instance, as one cup cocoa butter, one cup coconut oil and one cup beeswax. This will make a softer bar. For a firmer bar, use one cup butter, a half cup oil and a cup of wax (or similar proportions).
Instructions
- Place butter, oil and wax in a heavy bottom pot or double boiler. You may also use an Instant Pot on the “keep warm” setting. If you don’t have a double boiler, you can make one by placing a glass bowl or wide mouth Mason jar in a small saucepan of water.
- Heat gently, stirring regularly, until ingredients are melted.
- Pour into molds.
- Allow to cool completely before removing from molds. You can chill the bars in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to speed up the process. The finished bars do not require refrigeration.
Notes
Options: Add 1 teaspoon vitamin E per 12 ounces of bar for increased shelf life. Add essential oils of choice after lotion bar mix is removed from heat, before pouring into molds. Start with around 10 drops per 12 ounces of bar.
Remember, with essential oils, a small amount goes a long way. If you’re using cocoa butter, keep in mind how the EO you choose will pair with the scent of chocolate. Mint and orange essential oils are popular pairings with cocoa butter.
You may also make your bars with herb infused oils, such as plantain oil, which is great for skin issues, or dandelion oil, which is wonderful for muscle aches.
Buy Lotion Bars Online
If you’d like to purchase the bars ready made, you can visit the MadeOn Hard Lotion Store here. MadeOn Skin Care products is a family owned small business that creates non-toxic skin and hair care products for all ages.
You can find these ingredients (and containers and molds) at amazon.com (linked within the post), soaperschoice.com, and many other sites around the web.
Keep in mind that two ounces of each ingredient made three bars, so a bulk purchase would make a LOT of bars.
I hope you enjoy this great recipe as much as we do. This one’s a keeper in our house! Please pass the post along if you find it helpful, and leave a comment if you have any questions or ideas.
More Natural Products and Tips
You don’t need chemicals to smell clean. Try these articles instead.
- Easy Homemade Deodorant & The Best Natural Deodorants
- Make Your Own Perfume with Essential Oils
- 6 Ways to Get the Musty Smell Out of Clothes and Towels
This article is written by Laurie Neverman. Laurie is a lifelong learner with a passion for natural remedies and holistic healing. She’s successfully improved her eyesight, cleared her psoriasis, and gotten off of prescription medication.
Originally posted in 2012, last updated in 2026.
I love this recipe and I love affiliate programs if I am going to buy something why not help out another in the process. That said I do not see the links for MountainRoseHerbs
I can’t wait to try this. Thanks got sharing this awesome idea!
So glad I found your blog. I can’t wait to try making some lotion bars myself. 🙂
I’m going to pin this recipe. Looks so easy! I suppose I have to devote a pan to this process?? I like the clean look of your blog too. THANKS!
Michelle – as long as you’re using everything edible (well, you could eat the wax, but it wouldn’t be tasty), I don’t see a reason why you couldn’t use a regular kitchen pot. If you start adding essential oils they might leave an “off” flavor, but with stainless steel pots and therapeutic grade oils, even that should be okay. My goal is to get everything I put on my skin to be safe enough to eat. 🙂
Thanks for the kind words about the blog. I’m still learning WordPress, so it’ll keep changing slowly, but I want to keep it easy to use.
I use the large mason jar they sell at Michaels and set it in a pan of water(double boiler fashion) . When finished just wipe it out and put the lid on.
Can’t wait to try this! Love the ingredients!
This would be easy to make as I have all the ingredients. We have bees, partner likes to make chocolates, and we have olive oil from the farmers’ market. Thanks!
Mil – sounds like you’re in business!
Heather – quickest lotion ever – except maybe Deborah’s beef tallow.
Carolyn – I keep a bar on my desk and a bar on my nightstand. Love it!
Jo – these are great! Have you made them with coconut oil?
Deborah – I remember how soft my hands were after we rendered tallow, but I admit, I’m a sucker for the chocolate smell of the cocoa butter. 🙂
I have a one ingredient solid lotion recipe I keep in the fridge in a mason jar. Grassfed beef tallow! It smells a little meaty when you first put it on, but it soaks right in and soothes my hands like nothing else in the world. I rendered it myself from fat I bought from a local rancher who I trust. Seriously, I don’t think you could beat it with anything.
Thanks for the shout out!
I taught how to make these in a class a few weeks ago and they were a big hit.
Made a bar today and I love it! I used beeswax from my farmers market, sweet almond oil, and drugstore cocoa butter. Thanks for sharing this great tip for my super-dry winter hands. 🙂
Oh wow, this looks GREAt…and definitely easy enough for me to make at home!!!! Thanks for the easy project recipe!!!! I’ll write this on my list of stuff to do this month…err,…this month in February 🙂 🙂 Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂
By any chance, do you know what SVDA is?
Southeast Virginia Dressage Association?
Sacramento Valley Darting Association?
Specialty Vehicle Dealers Association?
Silicon Valley Dance Academy?
Thanks everyone for your comments, and thank you for letting me know the links aren’t working. I’ve added some additional links at the bottom of the post to ingredient sources.
laurie I so want to make these. When I went to the different sites to order the cocoa butter, coconut oil and Bee’s wax I found out there are different kinds etc. Which kinds did you use? Thanks! Peggy
The specific products that I have used or recommend are linked in the post right in the recipe, where it has text like, “Buy Coconut Oil”. I like ordering through Amazon.com because I have amazon prime. More recently I purchased bulk beeswax from a local apiary.
The links to the cocoa butter and shea butter don’t work.
Another amazing site for all kinds of oils and butters is camden-grey.com, they carry some amazing butters like Lavender butter, Horsetail butter which is very healing, coffee butter which smells like a cup of joe, matcha green tea butter, orange butter which is just like you sliced open an orange and they’re all super smooth and melt well. You can use them as is, or incorporate them into your recipes like lip balm, salves, I even bought an Arnica infused oil for pain control that is wonderful. I put some horsetail butter in a lip pot for my cuticles and when I get a sore area and it clears it right up.
Love this! Thanks for the recipe…I’ve pinned it for later 🙂
I’m interested, Laurie! I’d love you point in the right direction as to which butters are best to buy and where. 🙂
Loved the armpit – lip balm. Totally something that would happen at my house.
I mean, the ingredients- where would I purchase them, not the completed bars.
I buy all my ingredients from Mountain Rose Herbs. They are local for me, and they are WONDERFUL people! Their products are well priced, and they tell you where they come from, how they are processed and other information that may be useful. They have great essential oils and herbs in many sizes. You get a bulk discount if you order 5 # of herbs….any combination in 1# lots.
Great company (no, I’m NOT affiliated with them, but they know me well!)
Thanks for sharing your experience with Mountain Rose Herbs. I’ve always found their quality and customer service to be excellent.
Do they ship internationally?
You can also purchase soap making supplies @ Brambleberry they are a small business located in Bellingham Wa and they do ship.
These are so pretty! Now where would I purchase something like this? Locally- if so what type of store or On-Line?
Oh wow! These look and sound great! Thanks so much for sharing! I what to try these pretty soon.
Thanks for sharing this easy recipe! Fabulous idea!
super easy and super good! u go gurl!! 🙂
hiii
really happy to read this. my daughter has an extreme dry skin on her legs and hands. she is 10 years old she feels embarrassed when her friends laugh seeing her hands where the skin looks like aged ones. also she never wear skirts coz it exposes her dry legs. Hope this bar will work on her. Iam statying here in Kuwait and would like to order this product. can you please help me to order this
You can contact Made On Lotion directly, or you may be able to source the ingredients locally.
ok Laurie. let me check if I can get the ingredients here.
San, I’ve found that when I eat some coconut oil or MCT oil daily, I don’t have dry skin as badly.