DIY Stocking Stuffers: Small Homemade Skincare Gifts You Can Make

Good homemade stocking stuffers are small skincare gifts that take under an hour and fit in a tin, tube or jar: lip balm, sugar scrub, bath melts, mini black soap bars, a lotion bar and whipped shea butter. Most start with the same few butters. Baraka's shea butter, African black soap, kombo butter and baobab oil are all made by hand by the women of the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Wa, Ghana.

What are good homemade stocking stuffers?

The best stocking stuffers are small, quick to make and built from a short ingredient list. A stocking has little room, so aim for gifts of about 1 to 2 oz (28 to 57 g): a tin of lip balm, a mini soap, a lotion bar or a small jar of scrub. Make a few of each and you can fill several stockings in one afternoon.

Four things make a recipe suit a stocking:

• Small and sturdy: it survives being squeezed in beside an orange and a pair of socks.
• Quick: under an hour of hands-on time, with the rest being cooling or drying.
• No added water: none of the recipes below adds water, which keeps them simple to make.
• Easy to label: a short ingredient list fits on a small tag.

Most of the gifts below rely on a few ingredients, and it helps to know how each behaves:

• Unrefined shea butter is solid at room temperature and melts on contact with skin. Its natural colour runs from ivory through cream to pale yellow, and a mild nutty smell is normal. It keeps 2+ years when stored properly, away from heat and direct sun.
• Unrefined cocoa butter is harder and more brittle than shea and melts close to body temperature. It keeps the chocolate smell of the bean, which makes it a good choice for gifts where a firm shape matters.
• Virgin coconut oil is solid below about 75°F (24°C) and clear liquid above it. It moves between the two readily, and that is normal.

Because these are natural, unrefined ingredients, colour and smell can differ a little from one gift to the next. That is a good thing to mention on the label, so nobody thinks it is a fault.

What small DIY gifts can you make?

Six small gifts work well in a stocking. Each one below gives the time, what you need and where to find the full method.

1. Lip balm

Time: about 20 minutes, plus an hour to set.

You need: shea butter, beeswax, a liquid oil, and lip balm tubes or tiny tins. You can leave out essential oils entirely; the balm still has the mild natural smell of the shea.

Lip balm is the easiest gift to make in bulk, because one small pot of melted mixture fills a whole row of tubes. Follow the quantities in our DIY lip balm guide or our classic shea lip balm recipe.

2. Sugar scrub

Time: about 10 minutes, with no cooling needed.

You need: 1 cup (240 ml) sugar, 1/4 cup (60 ml) melted shea butter, 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of a liquid oil such as shea oil or baobab oil, and a small jar with a tight lid.

Stir the melted butter and oil into the sugar until it looks like wet sand, then spoon it into the jar. A scrub is a rinse-off gift, so it suits anyone. Our DIY sugar scrub guide covers more combinations.

3. Bath melts

Time: about 30 minutes, plus an hour to set.

You need: cocoa butter, shea butter, baking soda, cornstarch and a silicone mold with small cavities.

The full method is in the bath melts section below.

4. Mini black soap bars

Time: about 15 minutes of hands-on work, plus drying time.

You need: Black Soap Base, which is sold as crumbs for soap making, a small silicone mold, and paper or a tin to wrap the finished bars.

Press the crumbs firmly into the mold in layers, pressing each layer down with the back of a spoon. Turn the bars out and let them dry somewhere airy for a week or two before wrapping. The Base is already soap, so there is no lye to handle. Black Soap Base contains raw honey, so it is not vegan; say so on the label. African black soap is alkaline, as all true soap is, and Ghana Standard GS 289:2021 sets a pH of 6 to 10. It also absorbs moisture from the air and softens if left uncovered, so wrap each bar or pack it in a closed tin.

5. Lotion bar

Time: about 30 minutes, plus an hour to set.

You need: 1 oz (28 g) beeswax, 1 oz (28 g) cocoa butter, 1 oz (28 g) shea butter, 1 oz (28 g) virgin coconut oil, and a mold or small tins.

Cocoa butter is the reason to choose it here: it is firm and stable, so a bar holds its shape. Melt everything together gently in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Pour into the molds and leave to set. A pale surface bloom can appear after a change in temperature. It is a change in crystal structure, not spoilage, and it disappears on melting.

This makes about 4 oz (113 g), enough for three or four small bars.

6. Whipped shea butter

Time: about 15 minutes.

You need: 4 oz (113 g) shea butter, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of a liquid oil, a hand mixer and a small jar. Our unrefined shea butter is strained and filtered only, with no refining, bleaching or deodorising, so it stays just as it is.

Let the butter soften at room temperature, then beat it with the oil for several minutes until it is light and fluffy. If your kitchen is warm and the mixture slumps, chill it for 10 minutes and beat again. Spoon it into the jar. Whipped shea melts quickly, so make it last and keep it cool.

How do you make bath melts?

Melt cocoa butter and shea butter, stir in baking soda and cornstarch, pour the mixture into small molds and let it set. You drop one into a warm bath and the butters melt into the water. There is no water in the recipe.

You need:

• 3 oz (85 g) cocoa butter
• 2 oz (57 g) shea butter
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) baking soda
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) cornstarch
• A silicone mold with small cavities, such as a mini muffin or candy mold

Method:

1. Melt the cocoa butter and shea butter together in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth.
2. Take the bowl off the heat. Whisk in the baking soda and cornstarch until no lumps remain.
3. Stir again as you pour, because the powders sink. Fill the mold cavities.
4. Leave the melts to set until firm, about an hour. A short time in the fridge speeds this up.
5. Pop the melts out and pack them in a tin or a small paper bag.

We leave out essential oils here, so the melts smell of the cocoa butter. If you add any, never use bergamot or lemon, which are phototoxic. Tell the recipient that the bath may be slippery after using a melt. Our bath melt recipe gives another version you can follow.

What are easy homemade gifts for coworkers?

A lip balm, a mini black soap bar or a small lotion bar is an easy coworker gift. Each is small, quick to make in a batch and neutral enough for almost anyone. You can make one batch and give the same gift to the whole office.

A few things keep coworker gifts simple:

• Keep scent minimal. With no added fragrance, the gift smells only of its butters, which is easier on a shared office.
• Put the ingredients on every label, so anyone can check what is in it.
• Say clearly if a gift contains honey. Black soap made from Black Soap Base does, so it is not vegan.
• Make one set, then repeat it. A lip balm, a mini soap and a lotion bar in a small bag looks generous but takes little extra work.
• Avoid any recipe that includes kombo butter for a coworker gift, because kombo butter needs a patch test before first use and is best kept for people you know well.

Tins, tubes and labels

Choose containers that suit the gift. Small tins of 1/2 to 2 oz (15 to 60 ml) suit lip balm, lotion bars and whipped shea. Small jars with tight lids suit scrub. A paper wrap or a closed tin suits black soap.

Wash and fully dry every container before filling it, because water left inside has no place in a water-free balm. Pour the mixture in warm and leave it to set without moving it. Put the lids on only when it is fully cool, so no steam is trapped under them.

A good label is short and complete. Write on it:

• The name of the gift.
• The ingredients, in the order you used them.
• The date you made it.
• "For external use" for anything that goes on skin.
• Any ingredient that matters to some people, such as honey in the soap.

Kraft tags, plain stickers or a hand-lettered card all work well, and a label with a date makes it easy for the recipient to know how fresh the gift is.

How far ahead to make them

Start in early November, so everything is ready by mid-November with time to spare. Work in this order:

1. Mini black soap bars first, because they need a week or two to dry.
2. Lotion bars, lip balms and bath melts next. These set in a few hours and then sit happily in a cool cupboard.
3. Sugar scrub and whipped shea butter last, within a week or two of giving them.

The shea butter itself keeps 2+ years when stored properly, so buying ahead is no problem. Keep finished gifts away from heat. Coconut oil goes soft above about 75°F (24°C) and shea melts on contact with skin, so a lotion bar or balm left in a warm room or a car can soften or lose its shape.

More gift ideas

If you want a wider range of ideas, including larger gifts, read our homemade Christmas gifts guide. If you would rather start with ingredients gathered for you, see the DIY pack. For more recipes to try, see the recipe book bundle.

This is DIY advice, not medical advice. If you or a recipient has a skin condition, see a doctor or pharmacist.

Quick answers

What are good homemade stocking stuffers?

Good homemade stocking stuffers are small, quick skincare gifts: lip balm, sugar scrub, bath melts, mini black soap bars, a lotion bar and whipped shea butter. Aim for about 1 to 2 oz (28 to 57 g) per gift so it fits in a stocking. Each can be made from a few ingredients and packed in a tin, tube or jar.

What small DIY gifts can you make?

You can make lip balm, sugar scrub, bath melts, mini black soap bars from Black Soap Base, a lotion bar and whipped shea butter. Each takes under an hour of hands-on time. Most need only a few ingredients and a small container.

How do you make bath melts?

Melt 3 oz (85 g) cocoa butter and 2 oz (57 g) shea butter together, then whisk in 1/2 cup (120 ml) baking soda and 1/4 cup (60 ml) cornstarch. Pour the mixture into small silicone molds and leave it to set for about an hour. Drop one melt into a warm bath, and take care as the tub may be slippery afterwards.

What are easy homemade gifts for coworkers?

A lip balm, a mini black soap bar or a small lotion bar is an easy coworker gift. Each is small, quick to make in a batch and has a mild natural smell. Put the ingredients on the label, and mention honey if you give black soap, because it is not vegan.