I've been playing around with ideas for lotion bars and a couple of other 'solid' products for a while now, so when Lola posted a recipe for a bentonite butter bar (link below), I was immediately inspired to try a version with lavender.
This bar can be used as a facial cleanser (ideal for normal, dry, and mature skin). It can also be used as a hair cleanser (ideal for curly-kinky-coily hair). Isn't it cool when a product can multi-task? Best of all, this is so easy-peasy to do, you will be finished in no time!
27 gr (1 oz) clay
42 gr (1,5 oz) cocoa butter
57 ml (1,9 oz) oil (almond, jojoba, or your own lavender-infused oil)
dried lavender (not necessary – but decorative)
25 drops lavender essential oil (boosts the gentle cleansing effect)
Gather Ye Also The Equipment
Mold that holds 100gr (3,5 oz)
Mixing bowl (or beaker that is big enough to mix in)
Stirring implement
Melt the cocoa butter slowly over low heat.
(The little bowl at the bottom of the pic is because I couldn't bear to throw out the leftover mixture.)
Ready to give this a try?
Be sure to check out all 3 of Lola's versions as well.
Get Lola's bentonite butter bar recipe here.
Get Lola's Bentonite Mint Chocolate bar recipe here
Get Lola's green tea and ginger bar recipe here.
Curious about Clay? Read What's so Great About Clay
What's Next
Next time I will get into how I use this bar as a face cleanser (and what I learned when I tried it as a shampoo)
4 comments:
Hi Lise,
I am now a clay cleansing bar convert! I love how they give me the same skin feel as using the oil cleansing method but are so much more interesting to make. And I like the added benefit of the clay for exfoliating my skin. The only problem is I've used one of the 8 bars I made and I already want to make some more. I may have to start washing my whole body with them to use them up faster.
Hi Laura,
I'm so pleased! I know what you mean about wanting to make more. I have had a question about using these all over for very sensitive skin, and the answer is yes, you can.
Go for it. ;)
I am new to making my own body products. I was excited to try this recipe as I am going on vacation soon and thought this would be perfect. I didn't have french clay so I used white kaolin clay. My bar was as goopy 18 hours later as when I poured it in the mold. Was the different clay my downfall? Do you have any suggestions how I can turn this into a success? I hate to throw it out. I am positive I followed the directions exactly. If you have any advice for a newbie I would appreciate it! Thank you for making this available to me and everyone else. I love making my own stuff for my sensitive, hivey skin. Thanks for teaching me.
Hey there Heather! Let's see if we can't get you fixed up. The switch of green clay to kaolin shouldn't make any difference in the texture.
Are you in a very warm climate? Did you refrigerate the bar and it still didn't harden?
If that is the case, then it sounds to me like the cocoa butter/oil ratio is somehow off. May I ask if you worked in ounces or grams?
One thing that is a common mistake is the interchanging liquid and weighed ounces. (I find working with ounces incredibly confusing)
Let's see if we can save this mix!
My suggestion: remelt the portion you have along with (approx 15-20 grams) of cocoa butter (half the original amount). Then cool the mixture again. If it hasn't stiffened up in the fridge after an hour, you'll have to re-do again with a bit more cocoa butter (although I'm pretty sure this will set you up)
It's ok to remelt the mixture - if you keep everything at low heat and go slow, you should be fine.
Please let me know how it goes!
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