Homemade lotion is a great way to keep your skin hydrated and moisturized. The problem is that lotion typically contains beeswax, which can be an allergen for some people. But no worries, there are alternatives to making lotion without using beeswax, and this is what today’s article is about.
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Beeswax can be a tough ingredient to find in your skincare routine, but it doesn’t mean you have limited options. In fact, many alternative ingredients will do just as good of a job!
The first thing you need is patience and practice with making homemade lotion for yourself, though because not all beeswax alternatives are created equal- some may irritate or even cause an allergic reaction on sensitive skins like ours, so make sure before starting any new recipe experiment by testing out different combinations until one works best suits you best.
Why make your own lotion?
There are many reasons why you would decide to make your own lotion, this can vary from saving money up to healthier ingredients.
- You’ll save money in the long run.
You will find tons of cheap lotions wherever you go shopping, but not all of them will fulfill your desires or needs, nor will they have natural ingredients. Cheap lotions may solve an immediate need but are likely to be non-lasting or cause other problems. Contrary to this, high-quality lotions often have top-notch ingredients but will only be available at extremely high prices.
Still, let’s take into account that a lotion’s main ingredient is water. Hence, this fact opens a whole world of possibilities if you decide to make a lotion by yourself.
- You’ll have control over the ingredients.
Leaving the monetary problem aside, a crucial reason people decide to make lotions is to choose the ingredients that will compose the final product. Some people like to make 100% organic lotions, while others don’t care about it so much but still try to pick the best ingredients they can find to save a bit.
What matters here is that you’ll be able to select the ingredients regardless of their quality. This way, you will be able to avoid oils that may cause you an allergy or maybe a different fragrance that isn’t available in traditional stores.
- It’s an environmentally-friendly choice.
Sustainability is another good reason you may want to make your own lotions, as you’ll keep the waste as minimal as possible. For instance, you will be able to reuse the packaging as many times as you’d like without any problems.
Why would you want to make lotion without beeswax?
Many people actively avoid using beeswax because they don’t want to support an industry that actually causes harm to one of the most essential species like bees. Others might avoid it because they’re allergic to beeswax.
Beeswax isn’t created in a minute. Bees must fly extremely long distances. This sometimes equals six times around the earth to collect the necessary amount of pollen to create only ONE pound of beeswax. Furthermore, you can only create one pound of beeswax by using eight pounds of honey.
Considering that bees only live for 40 days, imagine how you’d feel if all your hard work went to someone else whenever you leave your home. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happens to bees – as they only leave their hives when the sun is shining. It’s also why you will never find a beeswax product tagged as “cruelty-free.”
With that being said, there are many replacements out there that have similar or even better effects than beeswax, and most of them are plant-based. For instance, good options include carnauba or candelilla waxes.
Summary
Discussing why you shouldn’t use beeswax can turn out to be quite extensive. What’s described above sums up pretty well why many people actively avoid using it as an ingredient for their lotions or other products. Still, here you have other reasons why you should overlook it next time you’re making your cosmetics.
- Beeswax is crucial for the health and survival of bees. Bees store it as food, or when they need to eat more than honey but don’t have access in time; removing wax can weaken their immune system because these workers aren’t able to fight off any diseases easily anymore without proper protection like antibiotics
- It’s practically impossible to find a cruelty-free beeswax brand. But, contrary to this, you can find beeswax in practically any balm or lipstick brand, for instance.
- Beeswax is not as durable as you may think it is. In fact, it molds too fast and with ease.
Beeswax is the most common material when it comes to manufacturing cosmetics, but that doesn’t mean it is the most recommendable. There are tons of alternatives out there you can use that have several health benefits. It’s even possible to find more affordable substitutes.
What can be used instead of beeswax?
There are tons of alternatives you can use that have similar or even better effects as beeswax. Here we mention five beeswax alternatives you can use to make your lotions.
Olive wax is an excellent alternative to beeswax due to its smooth texture. Furthermore, many people prefer it due to the balmy feel it has.
We’ve already mentioned this material above as a beeswax substitute utilized in lip balms, but you can also utilize it for lotion bars. It’s a more economical alternative to beeswax, as you’ll get double the amount per unit thanks to its density.
If you want an all-natural product, soy wax is an excellent choice (we recommend researching the manufacturer to be sure about its origin). Due to its versatility, it can be used in lotions, lip balms, and many other cosmetic products. Moreover, it is smoother than beeswax. It’s also prominently used in the vegan candle industry.
This beeswax alternative is obtained from bayberries. It’s an excellent choice due to its nice fragrance and neutral color. Plus, it has an extremely soft texture but isn’t greasy at all. This makes this material perfect for lotions, balms, and especially hair products.
It’s possible to form this material after dewaxing sunflower oil. Its elevated oil binding capacity will grant each product a non-greasy feel and a characteristic glow. It can be used in multiple products, including lotions, creams, and balms.
Is Emulsifying wax a good substitute for beeswax?
You can only replace beeswax with emulsifying wax if you don’t have access to the former. You can only replace this material with an emulsifier, and beeswax doesn’t fall under that category. Although it is possible to make an emulsion out of beeswax by adding borax, it will end up giving the end result a greasy texture.
Still, the alternatives present above pose a better option than emulsifying wax as a substitute for beeswax.
Is coconut oil a good substitute for beeswax?
If you prefer not to use beeswax in a DIY lotion or any other cosmetic product, there are tons of recipes based on coconut oil. However, as both materials are different, the processes may differ greatly.
It’s possible to make lotions and lotion bars with coconut oil, and the results can be even better.
Coconut oil is an excellent alternative to beeswax due to the many beneficial properties it has. These benefits include moisturizing dry skin, antibacterial properties, and even wound-healing effects.
What do you need to make lotion without beeswax?
If you’d like to make your own lotion without beeswax, here we’ll list all the ingredients you’ll need for the recipe. You will find the process in the next section.
Before we start, it is necessary to define the beeswax substitute you’ll utilize to make the lotion. We’ve mentioned some excellent choices in the sections above. However, the recipe we’ll describe next doesn’t use beeswax – it is coconut oil-based. Hence, although the processes are quite different, the benefits you’ll get will be better in the long term.
Ingredients
Here’s the list of ingredients you’ll need. You can find all of them at a local store, and some of them can be replaced with different things according to your preferences. This recipe is all-natural!
- Half a cup of shea butter
- Half a cup of coconut oil
- One-fourth a cup of a different oil – Here, you can get picky. The options vary from almond oil, avocado oil, and even olive oil. Jojoba oil is another good option for this recipe.
- Non-GMO cornstarch (three tablespoons). Alternatively, you can opt for arrowroot powder.
- As an optional ingredient, you can also add distilled water (only two tablespoons). If you don’t have access to distilled water at the moment, you can skip it.
- If you’d like to add a special fragrance to the lotion, you can also add 10 drops of essential oil of your choice. This ingredient is also optional.
Equipment
You will need the following instruments to complete the recipe successfully:
- A pot and a spoon – You’ll utilize them for boiling and stirring some of the ingredients.
- Measuring utensils – Just to make sure that you’re adding reasonable quantities to the mix.
- A container for lotion of your choice.
How do you make lotion without beeswax?
Before we start, let’s note that this recipe is extremely easy to complete. Preparing the mix will only take you a few minutes, but the overall process takes a couple of hours to complete.
- Combine the oils and shea butter.
Take the coconut oil and the other oil you’ve chosen and mix them along with the shea butter. Again, make sure to follow the measurements as we described above. If you’d like to make more lotion, you can also opt for adding larger quantities of each ingredient as long as you keep the ratio in 2:1:1 for each one.
- Liquify the mixture.
Put the pot with the mixture on the stove up and wait until it is completely liquified. It only takes a few minutes, and the result should be a clear, non-thick mixture, almost like water.
- Add the essential oils (optional)
Once you’ve liquified the mixture, wait a little while, so it cools down a bit. Then, move it to a different boil and add the ten drops of essential oil of your preference. You can use one that you already have at home or any other fragrance you’d like.
Once you’re finished, store the bowl in the fridge and wait until the mix is completely solid. You can skip to this point if you don’t have any essential oil at hand.
- Final touches
For the penultimate step, add the distilled water and cornstarch or arrowroot powder to the mix. None of these items are necessary but are highly recommended if you’d like to prevent the lotion from getting too greasy. Mix everything until it’s even.
- You’re all set up!
For the last step, all you need to do is put the lotion in the package of your choice, based on the quantity you’ve prepared. You can do anything that works out for you, even Tupperware containers.
