Ingredient Ratios for Lotion Making Cheat Sheet

A Home & Health › Skincare cheat sheet in English by emmajane

Ingredient Ratios for Lotion Making

284,875 views 79,081 downloads 29 Jan 2012 History
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Water-­based Creams

Formul­ations in this column contain water.

Facial Lotion

Ratio
Ingredient
80%
Water
4%
Humectant
10%
Liquid Oil
0
Solid Oil (butter)
0
Wax
2%
Thickener
4%
Emulsifier

Hand Cream

Ratio
Ingredient
70%
Water
2%
Humectant
15%
Liquid Oil
5%
Solid Oil (butter)
0
Wax
2%
Thickener
6%
Emulsifier

Body Butter

Ratio
Ingredient
60%
Water
3%
Humectant
12%
Liquid Oil
15%
Solid Oil (butter)
0
Wax
3%
Thickener
7%
Emulsifier

Barrier Cream

Ratio
Ingredient
60%
Water
3%
Humectant
15%
Liquid Oil
5%
Solid Oil (butter)
5%
Wax
3%
Thickener
7%
Emulsifier

Anhydrous Products

Formul­ations without water ( anhydrous ).

Balm

Ratio
Ingredient
0
Water
0
Humectant
80%
Liquid Oil
0
Solid Oil (butter)
20%
Wax
0
Thickener
0
Emulsifier

Whipped Butter

Ratio
Ingredient
0
Water
0
Humectant
20%
Liquid Oil
80%
Solid Oil (butter)
0
Wax
0
Thickener
0
Emulsifier
Use a hand beater for a "­flu­ffy­" texture.

Solid "­Lot­ion­" Bar

Ratio
Ingredient
0
Water
0
Humectant
40%
Liquid Oil
35%
Solid Oil (butter)
25%
Wax
0
Thickener
0
Emulsifier
Use a paper-­lined muffin tray as a mold.

Ingredient Notes

Humectants draw in water. e.g. glycerine, honey, lanolin.
You can mix within an ingredient category. e.g. 12% oil = 6% olive oil + 6% rice bran oil.
To change the consis­tency, alter the ratio of hard & liquid oils. e.g. body butter vs. barrier cream.
Wax = local beeswax.
Emulsifier = Emulsi­fying Wax NF.
Preser­vatives are highly recomm­ended.

Your Recipe

 
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Weight
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After adding each ingred­ient, add a tick mark beside its name and note how much you actually used. 1oz = 28g (ish).

Instru­ctions

Weigh water and humectant in a heat-proof container.
Weight oil, butter, wax, emulsi­fier, thickener in a heat-proof container.
Set both containers into bath of hot water.
Heat to 70C. Hold at temp for 20 minutes.
Pour water into oil. Ensure container mouth is big enough for stick blender.
Blend with a hand blender or beater for at least 3 minutes.
Let cool to 40C.
Add essential oils and preser­vative.
Blend additional 3 minutes.
Pour completed lotion­/salve into contai­ners.

Helpful Hints

Print out this cheat sheet and circle the type of product you are making.
To make 200g of a product, multiply the % ratio by 2 for each ingred­ient. e.g. 10% x 2 = 20g.
Lotions will be approx­imately 1.25 larger than the weight in grams. For example: 100g will be about 125mL.

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Comments (18)

EEM 15:26 20 Apr 2023

Hello Emmajane, I just love your cheat sheet for lotion making. I am a formulator and noticed that there is no preservative in lotions that contain water. Germs and bacteria thrive in water. So, when it comes to skincare, using a preservative isn't a bad thing, as preservatives are actually protecting us from the nasty germs, mould and bacteria that could grow in the product. You may want to change your cheat sheet and add a % for a preservative. Thanks

Reply
Charann 16:23 21 Jan 2021

What are thickener?

Reply
Amina29 20:58 10 Jan 2018

Thank u dis was really helpful

Reply
xtan170174 20:33 15 Jan 2017

Hi, I'm looking to make a lotion and have the following ingredients I would like to blend to use in a 500ml spray bottle, Vegetable glycerine Propylene glycol Azadirachtin Tea tree and or bergamot essential oil I'm hoping just stirring together will do and it is for skin treatment, where I have so far only really gleaned the neem oil should be proportionately between 1:10 - 1:20 parts and the essential oil[s] are just to mask it's aroma. Also that the best way to ensure it emulsifiers is to use a lotion rather than make one from scratch - so I'm looking for the best neutral base in that respect. Can you help? Look forward to hearing from you :)

Reply
xtan170174 20:34 15 Jan 2017

*emulsifies

Reply
Nicole 15:30 5 Mar 2016

The first thing I notice, is that all the recipes were devoid of an emulsifying wax, with the exception of the lotion bar recipe. Was that on purpose? If so, what are you using for an emulsifier in these lotions, creams & butters? Thank You! : )

Reply
Christian 07:39 6 Feb 2015

Thank you very much :) looking to diversify from my soapmaking. This will be a good start

Reply
Beekercat 09:20 2 Jan 2015

This is fabulous - exactly what I needed!

Reply
Lucy 09:34 31 Oct 2014

Does coconut oil count as a solid or liquid oil?

Reply
paul 08:29 9 Oct 2014

can you please email me thickening agent.i am using guargum, is there any other thickening agent. thanks

Reply
manal 11:14 8 Sep 2014

hi,i want names of thickening agent ,emulsifier,natural preservative

Reply
Jo 11:27 3 Apr 2014

What do you consider a thickener to be? Stearic acid?

Reply
Tami Hayes 15:01 13 Feb 2014

Thanks for the great reference material!

Reply
Megs 10:21 20 May 2013

AWESOME information! This is absolutely great for me and my lotion making addiction!

Reply
PugMom77 08:20 2 Feb 2013

Thank you for the great guide! What do you mean by "thickener"?

Reply
emmajane 18:27 30 Jan 2012

Warning: making lotion is about as addictive as making cheat sheets. ;)

Reply
SpaceDuck 16:48 30 Jan 2012

Amazing, I've always wanted to try this type of thing but have never managed to find such concise instructions before. Thanks

Reply
DaveChild 08:19 30 Jan 2012

What a great idea! When I saw "ingredients" I thought this would be cookery ... I still think it might be :)

Reply

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