How to Make Lotion Bars with Shea, Cocoa and Kombo Butter

Melt equal weights of butter, oil and wax over simmering water, stir in a little essential oil if you like, pour into molds and let the bars set. Our version uses Baraka shea butter and kombo butter, made by hand by the women of the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Wa, Ghana, plus cocoa butter.

How do you make lotion bars?

You melt a butter, a liquid oil and a wax together, pour the mixture into molds and leave it to set. A lotion bar is solid in your hand and melts against warm skin, leaving a thin layer behind. There is no water in it, so there is nothing to emulsify and no mixer is needed.

Each part of the recipe does a job. Shea butter is the creamy base. Cocoa butter is hard and brittle at room temperature and melts close to body temperature, so it helps the bar hold its shape. Kombo butter is softer than cocoa butter and firmer than shea, with a distinctive earthy smell. The oil keeps the bar gliding, and the wax holds everything together.

You need a kitchen scale, a heat-proof jug, a saucepan, a spoon and silicone molds. Cavities of about 3 oz (85 g) suit this batch. A double boiler is the gentle way to melt butters, and it avoids heating them directly.

Ingredients

• 2 oz (57 g) Baraka shea butter
• 1 oz (28 g) cocoa butter
• 1 oz (28 g) kombo butter
• 4 oz (113 g) baobab oil (shea oil works at the same weight)
• 4 oz (113 g) beeswax pastilles
• Optional: about 40 drops (about 2 g) lavender or sweet orange essential oil

This makes 12 oz (339 g), or about four bars of 3 oz (85 g). It is equal parts by weight: 4 oz (113 g) of butters, 4 oz (113 g) of oil and 4 oz (113 g) of wax. The essential oil comes to about 0.5% of the batch, well inside the 2% limit for body products. Leave it out if you prefer an unscented bar.

Why Baraka shea butter: it is unrefined, strained and filtered only, and made by hand by the women of the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Wa, Ghana, so you start with a creamy, natural base.

Kombo butter is the one ingredient here that needs care. Patch test first by trying it on the inside of your arm for 24 hours, and keep it at 20 to 30% of the butter blend, as it is here (1 oz (28 g) of 4 oz (113 g) is 25%). In Ghana it is traditionally used as a massage butter. If you would rather skip it, use 3 oz (85 g) shea butter and 1 oz (28 g) cocoa butter.

Directions

1. Weigh every ingredient on a kitchen scale and set the molds on a tray so you can move them without spilling.
2. Put the beeswax, cocoa butter and kombo butter in the heat-proof jug. Set it over a saucepan of barely simmering water and stir until melted.
3. Add the shea butter and baobab oil. Stir until just melted, then lift the jug off the heat.
4. Let the mixture cool for a minute or two, then stir in the essential oil, if using.
5. Pour into the molds and leave undisturbed until fully firm. Do not rush it with heat, and unmold only when the bars are hard.
6. Rub a corner of one bar on the back of your hand. If it feels too hard or too soft, remelt the batch and adjust using the ratio notes below.

Storage

Keep the bars in a tin or wrapped in paper, somewhere cool and away from heat and direct sun. A warm room or a hot car will soften them. Shea butter itself keeps 2+ years when stored properly.

Cocoa butter can show a pale surface bloom after a change in temperature. This is a change in crystal structure, not spoilage, and it disappears when the bar is melted.

What is the best ratio for lotion bars?

Equal parts by weight is the best starting ratio: 1 part butter, 1 part oil and 1 part wax. It gives a bar that is firm enough to hold its shape and still leaves a layer on skin. For a small test batch, use 1 oz (28 g) of butter blend, 1 oz (28 g) of oil and 1 oz (28 g) of wax.

Inside the butter part, we use half shea, a quarter cocoa and a quarter kombo. Shea gives creaminess, cocoa gives firmness and kombo adds its own character. Keep kombo butter at 20 to 30% of the butter blend.

Once you have made the base bar, adjust in small steps:

• More wax makes a harder bar that glides less and goes further.
• More oil makes a softer bar that glides easily but may feel greasy and soften in warm rooms.
• More butter makes a creamier bar.

To change a finished batch, remelt it and add 0.25 oz (7 g) of wax to firm it up or 0.25 oz (7 g) of oil to soften it, then pour again.

How do you make lotion bars without beeswax?

Swap the beeswax for candelilla wax, a plant wax, at about half the weight. Candelilla is harder than beeswax, so an equal weight gives a very firm bar. It is a starting point, so test one bar and adjust as above.

Vegan candelilla version:

• 2 oz (57 g) shea butter
• 1 oz (28 g) cocoa butter
• 1 oz (28 g) kombo butter
• 4 oz (113 g) baobab oil
• 2 oz (57 g) candelilla wax
• Optional: about 30 drops (about 1.4 g) lavender or sweet orange essential oil

The batch weighs 10 oz (283 g). Follow the same directions, but melt the candelilla wax first, since it is the slowest to melt, then add the butters and finally the oil. The ratio is now 2 parts butter to 2 parts oil to 1 part wax. The shea, cocoa, kombo and baobab oil are vegan, so with candelilla the whole bar is vegan. The same kombo butter patch test applies.

How do you use a lotion bar?

Glide the bar over clean, slightly damp skin for a few strokes, then rub the thin layer in with your hands. Your skin's warmth melts the surface, so a little goes a long way. Hands, elbows, heels and knees are the usual places to use it.

After use, wipe the bar dry and put it back in its tin rather than leaving it on a wet sink. Keep it away from heat. This recipe is made for body use, so do not use it on lips. For a rash, cracked skin or anything that does not clear up, ask a pharmacist or doctor.

Do not use this recipe on babies. It contains kombo butter and essential oils, and neither is for babies.

Lotion bars as gifts

Lotion bars are easy to make ahead and wrap. Pack each one in a small tin or kraft paper and label it with the date and ingredients. Name the kombo butter so the person you give it to can patch test, and name the essential oil if you used one. Baraka shea butter is Community Certified Fair Trade, and you can read how the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre works in the Impact Report.

Quick answers

How do you make lotion bars?

Melt equal weights of butter, oil and wax over simmering water, stir in essential oil if you like, then pour into molds and leave until firm. Our recipe uses 12 oz (339 g) in total: shea, cocoa and kombo butter, baobab oil and beeswax. It makes about four bars of 3 oz (85 g).

What is the best ratio for lotion bars?

Equal parts by weight is the best starting ratio: 1 part butter, 1 part oil and 1 part wax. More wax makes a harder bar and more oil makes a softer one, and you can remelt a batch to adjust it. Keep kombo butter at 20 to 30% of the butter blend.

How do you make lotion bars without beeswax?

Replace the beeswax with candelilla wax, a plant wax, at about half the weight: 2 oz (57 g) in place of 4 oz (113 g). Candelilla is harder than beeswax, so test one bar and add a little wax or oil to adjust. With shea, cocoa, kombo and baobab oil, the whole bar is vegan.

How do you use a lotion bar?

Glide the bar over clean, slightly damp skin for a few strokes, then rub in the thin layer it leaves. Keep it dry and away from heat between uses. Do not use it on babies, and ask a pharmacist or doctor about a rash or anything that persists.