For oily skin, keeping the face hydrated can be difficult. While additional oil can lead to break outs, a lack of moisture can cause dry patches, tightness and flaking. This Fresh Face Oil-Free Lavender Lotion was created with oily skin types in mind. This lotion delivers light-weight hydration that leaves skin feeling refreshed without excess oil.
Made with conditioning BTMS-50, and oil-absorbing Tapioca Powder, this lotion keeps skin comfortable throughout the day. While it does contain a very small amount of oil via the Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil, you can omit the essential oil if you’d like. If your skin is dry, you may prefer the Lavender and Aloe Lotion Tutorial.
What You’ll Need:
18.6 oz. Distilled Water
.75 oz Sodium Lactate
1.2 oz. BTMS-50
.5 oz Isopropyl Myristate
2.4 oz Cyclomethicone
.3 oz Optiphen
.3 oz Tapioca Powder
3 mL 40/42 Lavender Essential Oil
8 oz. Bottles with White Disk Cap (3 bottles)
EQUIPMENT PREP: Disinfect your utensils by dipping them in a 5% bleach water solution and allowing to dry. This includes mixing containers, your stick blender, and any spoons or spatulas that may come in contact with your lotion. Your products must be as free of germs, bacteria, microbes as possible, so be safe and bleach water all your utensils.
ONE: In a heat safe container, combine distilled water and sodium lactate. Set aside.
TWO: In a separate container, combine BTMS-50 and Isopropyl Myristate. Set aside.
THREE: Heat both containers with the distilled water and BTMS-50 in the microwave on 1 minute bursts until both reach between 150 – 160°F. Once both containers have reached 150-160°F, pour the BTMS-50 mixture into the distilled water mixture and stick blend for 1-2 minutes.
FOUR: In a separate container, combine the Tapioca Powder, Optiphen and Cyclomethicone. Stir mixture until fully incorporated.
FIVE: Continue to stick blend the emulsified mixture until it reaches 120°F. Pour the Tapioca Powder and Optiphen mixture into the emulsified container, and stick blend for 3-4 minutes.
SIX: Add the Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil and stick blend to fully combine.
SEVEN: When the lotion drops below 110°F, pour it into bottles. Let the bottles sit overnight without a cap (otherwise condensation can form inside the bottle).
If you have oily skin, how do you combat the excess oil and shine?
What is the shelf life for the oil free lotion? 24 oz is too much for my personal use and I am not confident to reformulate the recipe to 8 oz. I leave out the isopropyl myristate and add panthenol, green tea extract and tripeptide 5. With twice daily use 8 oz will last a few months.
Hi Kathy!
This lotion will last at least a year, probably longer than that! All the ingredients have long shelf lives. To ensure it lasts a long time, store it in a cool, dry place. 🙂
Read more about storing your lotion here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/how-to-store-handmade-bath-products/
You can also resize that recipe using percentages! To do so, add all your ingredients up to get the total weight. So, this recipe weighs 24 ounces. Then, divide each ingredient by the total weight to get the percentage. So, 18.6 ounces of water divided by 24 ounces is 77%. Then, once you have all the percentages, you can multiply those by 8 (the total weight of the new recipe). So, .77×8 would be 6.2 ounces!
Read more in the Soapy Math post: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/math-soapers/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Can I make this lotion with aloe vera juice? I have got an aloe vera plant. How many days I can keep the aloe juice without spoiling in the refrigerator?
Hi Madison!
You can use aloe vera juice in this recipe! We often use the liquid in place of water in our recipe. You can replace all of the water, or do a combination of aloe vera liquid and distilled water. 🙂
We used aloe vera liquid in the Rose and Aloe In-Shower Lotion: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/lotion/rose-aloe-shower-lotion/
With a preservative, the lotion should last fairly long! I would recommend using a preservative at 1%. Optiphen or Phenonip will work well. Read more about preservatives here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/lotion/talk-it-out-tuesday-preservatives/
This post has some great information about product shelf lives and may be helpful for you: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/shelf-life-bath-products-ingredients-rancidity-vs-mold/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
This is an awesome recipe. I love it!
So glad you love it Judith, thank you! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
24oz of face lotion is way too much. I converted this to 12.5oz and still have a bit too much. Do you have a recipe to produce about a third of this? 8oz at a time is more than enough for personal use.
Hi Kathy!
If you like, you can reduce this recipe to just 8 ounces! To do that, you can find out the percentage of each ingredient, then reduce that down to your desired size. Find out how to do that with our Soapy Math post: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/math-soapers/
We also have some smaller recipes you may like! This Argan and Shea Lotion makes 8 ounces and feels awesome on the skin: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/lotion/argan-shea-lotion/
This Burnt Sugar Shimmer Lotion makes 16 ounces and can easily be halved: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/lotion/burnt-sugar-shimmer-lotion/
You may find this post on lotion formulation helpful as well: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/lotion/how-to-create-homemade-lotion-recipes/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Can I use my KitchenAid stand mixer instead of my Stickblender? Will that change the consistency? Thank you.
Hi Marley!
You can use a stand mixer, but it can take hours to fully emulsify. Also, the stand mixer does whip a lot of extra air into the lotion, which can make it thick or foamy. We definitely recommend using a stick blender. It emulsifies the lotion quickly and doesn’t in extra air. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Perfect Pink Stick Blender: https://www.brambleberry.com/Perfect-Pink-Stick-Blender-P5245.aspx
I don’t have the Tapioca Powder, can you substitute Corn Starch instead? I forgot to buy it the last time ordered. Thank you very much!!
Hi Virginia!
We didn’t try this recipe with corn starch, so I’m not 100% sure! I would recommend making a small test batch to see if that corn starch works in this recipe. 🙂
If you have arrowroot powder on hand, that makes a great substitute for tapioca powder!
Arrowroot powder: https://www.brambleberry.com/Arrowroot-Powder-P3706.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Since I live on the east coast it takes a considerable amount of time to receive orders so I buy food grade tapioca starch (also known as tapioca powder) at the local natural food store. I get it at both Dave’s Natural Market or Whole Foods for half the cost plus no shipping. It works great.
Thanks so much for that awesome tip Kathy! That would definitely help prevent the greasy feeling on the skin. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I would like to know if the ingredient Cyclomethicone can be replaced with liquid silk? Silicone ingredients do not sit well with my skin, tending to block my pores. I have large pores and oily acne prone skin.
Thanks, deb
Hi Deb!
We love cyclomethicone in this recipe because it helps the lotion glide smoothly onto your skin. It’s also very lightweight and evaporates off the skin. While liquid silk would add some silkiness, it wouldn’t add the same slip.
You can leave the cyclomethicone out of the recipe and increase the amount of water. You could also try increasing the water by 1.2 ounces and adding 1.2 ounces of liquid glycerin.
Liquid glycerin: https://www.brambleberry.com/Glycerin-Liquid-P5965.aspx
Another option is to add more tapioca powder to help absorb oil off the skin. Keep in mind the substitutions will change the consistency of the lotion, so a small test batch may be helpful for you. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Thanks Kelsey! I will do some experimenting and repost my results !
You’re welcome! Let us know how it goes. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi
I agree with Dee. I always work with percentage so that it’s easier to make any amount required.
My suggestion is maybe Soap Queen can include percentage in future recipes as well.
Please please please.
Love
Nik
Hi Nik!
Thank you so much for your suggestion! I will definitely pass that along.
We also have a great post on converting your recipes to percentages you may like. I’ll include a link below. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Soapy Math: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/math-soapers/
I made this lotion last night and LOVE it! I may have misunderstood the blending directions though because I thought my stick blender was going to catch on fire it was so hot! 🙁 When you say stick blend for 3 to 4 minutes, do you mean constant? Or like we do with CP soaping where you pulse, swirl, swirl, pulse? My poor stick blender, lol. If you could clarify that part I would appreciate it. 🙂
Hi Tammy!
We stick blended for 3-4 minutes straight. You want your lotion nice and emulsified!
To give your stick blender a break, you can stick blend for a couple of minutes, then swirl. Just make sure there is 3-4 minutes of stick blending total. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi,
I work in grams and I change this recipe to percentage, but it seems that the silicone amount is high. im not sure if this is correct. so can you please let me know if I did this right. thank you.
77% water
3% sodium lact.
5% btms-50
2% ipm
1% tapioca
1% optiphen
10% cyclomethicone
thank you so much
Dee
Hi Dee!
I double checked those numbers and your math is correct. Yay!
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
This is not correct. It adds up to 99%, so you’re missing 1%, which could be added tot the water content I suppose 🙂
Hi Zala!
Lotion ingredients are typically used at a range. For instance, water is typically used at 70-80% of the recipe. That means the recipe may not add up exactly to 100%. However, as long as you’re using the ingredients in the recommended range, your lotion should feel great. 🙂
Learn more in the Lotion from Scratch post: http://teachsoap.com/2013/03/27/lotion-from-scratch-2/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Do you have to buy the essential oil? Can you use a fragrance oil in this recipe? Thanks for all the help.
Hi Diana!
Absolutely! It’s fun to customize your recipes. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi, thanks for the tutorial. I have oily skin and found silicones to be a bad idea. I will not be trying this, but I appreciate the idea. I understand the type of silicone you use is important, and all skins are different. So I would love to know if anyone has tried this recipe and how it worked for them. I myself have not yet mastered a great moisturiser, but I will keep on trying.
Hi Becky!
Thank you for your feedback!
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I have acne prone skin and love this recipe. I have to leave out the Isopropyl Myristate, which is comedogenic and will irritate existing acne, clog pores and cause breakouts (http://www.acne.org/comedogenic-list.html). I used Aloe Juice instead of water, added Panthenol-DL and a little green tea extract and found my skin looks and feels great. The lotion is thin but has a nice non-greasy feel. I may even try a little tripeptide-5 in my next batch to combat the crows feet.
Thanks so much for your comment Kathy! The aloe juice and green tea extract sound really nice for sensitive or acne-prone skin. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I have acnes too, if I don’t use the Isopropyl Myristate, what can i replace it with?
Hi Jennifer!
I have acne-prone skin and this recipe worked really well for me! However, everyone’s skin is a bit different. What works for one person may not for another! I would recommend making a small test batch and seeing what you think. If you find it’s not the best for your skin, you can leave out the isopropyl myristate increase the amount of cyclomethicone in the recipe by .5 oz. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Thank you Kesley you are perfect! One more question. I want to add some DL-panthenol. In the other face lotion recipe, it is added in hot water, but this is a vitamin, is it safe to add this in a hot mixture?
I think that should be just fine! DL-Panthenol is also known as Pro-Vitamin B5, so the one you have on hand is probably the same or similar. It’s super moisturizing! Just to be extra safe, I would recommend using it in a small test batch. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
DL-Panthenol: https://www.brambleberry.com/DL-Panthenol-P4852.aspx