10 Homemade Natural Lotion Recipes for DIYers

Lotion can be essential to soft, comfortable skin, but conventional products are full of toxic ingredients that can cause endocrine-disruption and all sorts of allergies. Some of the most hazardous ingredients are carcinogens and neurotoxic compounds. Yikes! We’ve already tackled the main ingredients to avoid in personal care products, but now we’re focusing on lotions specifically to tell you about the worst offenders to watch out for and the basic ingredients that are perfectly fine to use when you start making your own. And again, thank you for your trust! You’ve already trusted Mamavation to bring you the top 10 DIY shampoo recipes, dangerous shampoo & conditioner ingredients to avoid, and promoting good gut health with innovative probiotic products, now we are including the top 10 DIY lotion recipes that you can make at home with a handful of safe and effective ingredients.

Chemicals in Lotion That Are Problematic

Fragrance: The umbrella term “fragrance” legally encompasses over 3,000 different ingredients. The scent of a product is considered proprietary, so the manufacturer isn’t required to disclose the specific combination of ingredients on the label. That means they could potentially be using dozens (or more) undisclosed ingredients in one single product. Fragrance chemicals can be extremely toxic to the body in multiple ways, so avoiding this ingredient is the top priority when choosing a product.

Preservatives: Ingredients that prevent the growth of microbes like bacteria and mold are used to keep the product shelf-stable for a long time, but many chemical preservatives are hazardous in nature and toxic to the body and the environment. Some preservatives are fine, but the ones used by conventional lotion companies are not.

Skin Conditioners: Ingredients that prepare skin to accept the moisturizing properties of lotion are problematic because they can be hazardous themselves, many of them petrochemicals, but they also cause the skin to readily absorb all of the other ingredients into the body as well, including fragrances and preservatives.

Ingredients to Avoid*

• Fragrance
• Ethanolamines
• Parabens
• Petroleum-based ingredients:
  • PEG ingredients
  • petrolatum
  • polysorbate ingredients
  • propylene glycol
• Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives:
  • quaternium ingredients
  • DMDM hydantoin
  • diazolidinyl urea
  • imidazolidinyl urea
• Methylchloroisothiazolinone
• Methylisothiazolinone
• Retinyl Palmitate
• Sodium Laureth Sulfate
• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

*These ingredients are listed on the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics Red List, which is part of the MADE SAFE screening process for personal care products.

Basic Ingredients in Lotion That Are Safe to Use

Shea Butter: An excellent source of vitamin A, shea butter is a safe ingredient that eliminates the need for toxic retinyl palmitate in lotions. It also deeply moisturizes the skin with its essential fatty acids and encourages the body’s natural collagen production which makes it an effective anti-aging ingredient.

Recommended product to use:

• PlantOrigin USDA organic fair-trade raw unrefined shea butter

Pressed oils including coconut, avocado and olive oils: Naturally antibacterial and antifungal, these oils are press-extracted, high in vitamins A and E and act as superior moisturizers in lotions, working to hydrate very dry skin with high quantities of healthy fatty acids. They also have skin-healing properties and are often used to speed wound healing.

Recommended products to use:

• SVA Organics USDA organic avocado oil
• Nutiva USDA organic coconut oil
• Bragg USDA organic olive oil

Seed oils including almond, jojoba, rosehip, sunflower, red raspberry, and hemp: Extracted from seeds, these oils are safe to use and rich in healthy fats which boost moisture uptake resulting in conditioned, soft skin. Seed oils also act as effective carriers for the safe dilution of essential oils.

Recommended products to use:

• NOW Solutions USDA organic almond oil
• NOW Solutions USDA organic jojoba oil
• Kate Blanc USDA organic rosehip oil
• Flora USDA organic sunflower oil
• Berry Beautiful USDA organic red raspberry oil
• Nutiva USDA organic hemp oil

Aloe Vera: Aloe has many medicinal benefits. In fact, aloe is often used as an effective treatment for sunburn, razor burn, and minor cuts as well as to heal chronic skin issues like acne and eczema in Ayurvedic medicine. It’s an extremely effective moisturizer with antimicrobial and anti-aging properties due to its unique makeup of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes.

Recommended product to use:

• Seven Minerals USDA organic aloe vera gel

Essential Oils: Pure essential oils give products a pleasing scent in place of toxic synthetic fragrance ingredients. In addition, essential oils have many other benefits including antibacterial, anti-aging, aromatherapy and skin healing properties. Peppermint, lavender, orange, ylang-ylang, and frankincense are commonly used essential oils in lotions because they’re very beneficial to the skin and body. There is conflicting research on lavender essential oil being a hormone-disrupting chemical, but this still an unknown. I would, however, avoid using lavender around young boys.

Recommended products to use:

• Plant Therapy USDA organic peppermint essential oil
• Plant Therapy USDA organic lavender essential oil
• NOW USDA organic orange essential oil
• Aura Cacia USDA organic ylang-ylang essential oil
• Aetos USDA organic frankincense essential oil

 

Vegetable Glycerin: Acting as a natural humectant, plant-derived vegetable glycerin draws moisture to the surface of the skin and holds it there making it an ideal ingredient for lotions.

Recommended product to use:

• Sports Research non-GMO vegetable glycerin

 

Emulsifying Wax: Emulsifying wax has the ability to blend oil and water which often makes it an essential part of lotion formulations that achieves the thick, smooth consistency.

• Milliard non-GMO emulsifying wax pastilles

10 Homemade Lotion Recipes

There are several homemade lotion recipes to make that will minimize the amount of hormone-disrupting chemicals inside your body. Mamavation partners with hundreds of bloggers every year in order to bring you the safest ingredients for your family. Here are some recipes we thought you would be interested in trying out at home.

1. Luxurious homemade lotion with only three ingredients from Wellness Mama
2. Non-greasy hand and body cream from Whole New Mom
3. Whipped lavender lotion with coconut oil (large portion recipe) from Abra’s Kitchen
4. Homemade lotion with frankincense, lavender and peppermint oils from Dr. Axe
5. Natural anti-aging body lotion recipe with SPF from Simply Life Mom
6. Nighty night magnesium lotion from The Family That Heals Together
7. Lavender love homemade lotion bars from Happy Mothering
8. Cooling aloe-mint body lotion from Get Inspired Everyday!
9. DIY hand lotion sticks from Mama Instincts
10. Whipped peppermint foot lotion from Fit as a Mama Bear

And if you aren’t ready yet to dive into making your own lotion, here are some brands with some of the safest ingredients.

For more information about safer personal care products and other products for your home, pick up a copy of Green Enough: Eat Better, Live Cleaner, Be Happier (All Without Driving Your Family Crazy!). I’ll help you slay those foul-mouthed hidden dangers in your home so your family is safer. And for FREE updates, tips & tricks, product investigations and news, sign up for the Mamavation newsletter here.