If there’s one thing that drives me completely nuts, it’s that bunch of lotion at the bottom of the bottle that won’t come out of the pump. Most pump style lotions have this issue, and I find that the thicker the lotion, the more gets stuck down there. These things ain’t cheap. Very annoying.
I used to just cut the top of the lotion bottle off and scoop the lotion out of the bottom with my hands, but there’s something about doing that isn’t very luxurious.
So what I’ve started doing is using the leftover lotion to make lotion bars. One of my favorite combinations is Aveeno Daily Moisture Lotion and Coconut Oil anyway, so why not combine it up into a handy little bar?
The coconut oil portion of this concoction is actually very important, because it is what will make it into a bar. Coconut oil is solid when it is cool, so as long as you don’t let these sit out, they will stay in bar form without having to order any extra ingredients like bees wax off the internet. The point is: Don’t try to replace coconut oil with something else like olive oil because it won’t work.
Ok first you will need some ingredients. You will need a jar of coconut oil, an annoyingly unfinished bottle of your favorite lotion and whatever you want to add to give it an even nicer smell. I just added a dash of vanilla extract but you can try other things. I bet cinnamon would be awesome!
You will also need a few simple tools. I like to use a bowl, a whisk and a silicone muffin pan. The silicone mold makes it really easy remove the bars when they’re done. You just have to flip the mold inside out and they just pop right out.
Ok so now it’s time to get that lotion out of the bottle. The easiest way to do it is to (CAREFULLY) use a knife to saw the plastic bottle in half and then scoop it out with a spoon. Kids, if you are trying this please ask an adult for help…and if you’re like me and you’re an adult who’s scared of cutting herself, still ask for help! Hahaha
Now you want to add your ingredients into a bowl. Start with the lotion first because it is hard to know how much you are going to scoop out of there. Then add your coconut oil. In order for the bars to become solid later you need to have about two parts of coconut oil to one part lotion, so in other words however much lotion you get out of the bottle, add twice as much coconut oil.
This isn’t really an exact science, so if it’s not precisely 2:1 it will probably still work, but try to get it close to that if you can.
It was really warm in my kitchen today, so the coconut oil was completely liquid, but if yours is more solid you can always pop it into the microwave for a few seconds, that way you can mix it in.
Then just use your whisk to whip it all together.
Once it’s all whipped together just pour it into your mold. If you don’t have a silicone one, you can use a traditional muffin pan, just keep in mind they may be a bit harder to remove. You want to move quickly because if you let the mixture sit at room temperature that liquid coconut oil will want to separate from the lotion, and we want a smooth, even distribution.
Now it’s time to get them solid. Simply pop the muffin pan into the freezer and let them sit for an hour or so. That should be long enough for the coconut oil to solidify. All that’s left to do now is…
Now you have your own lotion bars, that are super moisturizing and you didn’t have to waste any of that pain in the butt leftover lotion!
They really give so much moisture, they are cool and refreshing, and they give a nice thin coat of moisturizer to the skin so it doesn’t feel heavy. I really enjoy them.
UPDATE: I tried using one of these bars to shave my legs (instead of shaving cream) and it was freakin’ awesome!
To store them I would suggest keeping them in a little tupperware container in the fridge or the freezer. Odds are if you keep them in the bathroom or in the shower they will just melt away in the heat and steam.
Let me know if you try it!
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