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Instant Pot Hard Lotion Bars

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Instant Pot Hard Lotion Bars | Homemade beauty products almost always require melting beeswax and fat over a double boiler, so I avoid making them. Until the Instant Pot made it oh, so handy!

You know what’s a real pain?

Double boilers.

Boiling water in a large pot with another, smaller pot or glass bowl over it to melt things like chocolate or beeswax or sugar in egg whites.

I don’t even want to talk about how many batches of chocolate have seized up on me, or how many times I’ve had to start meringue over because the smaller pot or bowl plopped into the boiling water below.

Double boilers and I aren’t friends.

So I avoid making homemade beauty products. They almost always require me to melt the beeswax and fat over a double boiler.

But then, the Instant Pot…

It has this handy little “Keep Warm” button. Could that work for melting fat and beeswax WITHOUT the dreaded double boiler?

Yes, it does!

Instant Pot hard lotion bars, here I come!

And would you believe I melted, without burning, beeswax and cacao butter in 13 minutes??

I know I’ll never make hard lotion bars without my Instant Pot again!

Homemade beauty products almost always require melting beeswax and fat over a double boiler, so I avoid making them. Until the Instant Pot and its handy Keep Warm button. Could that work for melting fat and beeswax WITHOUT the double boiler? Keep reading to find out!
4.75 from 4 votes
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Instant Pot Hard Lotion Bars

Double boilers and I aren't friends. But then, the Instant Pot... It has this handy little button that says "Keep Warm" -- and it works for melting fat and beeswax WITHOUT the dreaded double boiler! I know I'll never make hard lotion bars without my Instant Pot again!

Course Household & Health
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 13 minutes
Total Time 18 minutes
Author Lindsey Dietz

Ingredients

  • 1 cup cacao butter grated
  • 1 cup beeswax pastilles pellets or grated
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil extra virgin
  • 1 teaspoon Vitamin E oil optional
  • 20 drops essential oils choose skin-friendly such as cypress (optional)

Instructions

  1. Begin by grating the cacao butter and beeswax. Grate first, then measure into a 1-cup dry ingredient measuring cup.
  2. Press the "Keep Warm" button on the Instant Pot.
  3. Next, add grated cacao butter, grated beeswax, and olive oil to the Instant Pot.
  4. In 12 to 13 minutes, it's all melted!
  5. Transfer the melted oil/wax mixture to a glass cup with a pouring spout.
  6. Whisk in Vitamin E oil, if using.
  7. Then quickly whisk in 20 drops of essential oils, if using. (I used cypress, and its scent pairs beautifully with the chocolate-smelling cacao butter!)
  8. Pour into molds or a muffin tin.
  9. Set aside to harden or place into the fridge to speed up the hardening time.
  10. Pop out of the molds.
  11. Finally, wrap in parchment and tie with twine to give as a gift, or store in an airtight container.

Recipe Notes

  • I grated my cacao butter and beeswax first. This significantly cut down on the melting time — and my Salad Shooter made it a breeze! If you start with blocks of cacao butter and beeswax, your melt time will be significantly longer.
  • These bars smell and feel ah-mazing without any additional scents, so the use of essential oils is completely up to you. Should you decide to use essential oils, choose a skin-nourishing oil, such as ylang-ylang, cypress, lavender, sandalwood, or frankincense.
  • I chose cypress essential oil, and it pairs beautifully with the chocolate scent of cacao butter! Plus, it's a gender-neutral scent, so the male members of my family won't mind using these hard lotion bars!

 

Did you know that you could make hard lotion bars in the Instant Pot?!

This post was featured in 25 Natural Gifts For The New Mom On Mother’s Day.

We only recommend products and services we wholeheartedly endorse. This post may contain special links through which we earn a small commission if you make a purchase (though your price is the same).

Posted in: Essential Oils Food Preparation Household & Health Pressure Cooking Recipes

About Lindsey Dietz

Native Texans, Lindsey and her family now live in the northern Minnesota wilderness on their dream property, where they are attempting to raise chickens and a few of their own veggies. In her free time, she enjoys food photography, flipping through cookbooks, and tackling home improvement projects. She also serves on the board of her local food co-op. Lindsey has dedicated much of her time over the past several years to unlearning conventional practices and implementing Traditional foods and natural remedies in her home. This has radically changed her and her family's health. Lindsey now loves to share her knowledge and recipes through her blog All The Nourishing Things and her eBooks: Nourishing No-Bake Treats and Sweet Without Sugar.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Renee Kohley says

    October 17, 2016 at 1:36 pm

    oh my WORD! brilliant!!

    Reply
  2. Tracey Lackey says

    October 17, 2016 at 5:05 pm

    Could I melt the ingredients inside a Pyrex measuring cup INSIDE the IP pot? I’m a wee bit clumsy and I’d rather not have melted cocoa butter and beeswax all over my counter or me! ????

    Reply
    • Lindsey Dietz says

      November 3, 2016 at 10:48 am

      I’m sure you could, Tracey. I haven’t tried it this way, so please let me know how it turns out if you do!

      Reply
  3. Sami says

    October 19, 2016 at 12:29 pm

    How is clean up of the Instant Pot when you are done?

    Reply
    • Lindsey Dietz says

      October 24, 2016 at 9:13 pm

      If the pot is still hot/warm and you’ve scraped as much of the lotion mixture out as possible, hot water and dish soap will work fine. I had no issues cleaning up my IP. Also, the stainless pot is dishwasher-safe.

      Reply
    • Patricia Myers says

      August 28, 2018 at 12:43 am

      Another site recommended pouring into a quart canning jar and placing that in the center of the Instant Pot . . . not putting directly into the pot! – PM, Fremont, OH

      Reply
  4. Shannon says

    October 19, 2016 at 4:35 pm

    I was also wondering about cleaning up the instant pot insert when done? I have made lotion bars using an old crock pot and then a turkey baster to get the liquid out and into molds. But clean-up was more than I would like… I am hesitant to have my IP insert permanently coated in wax 🙂

    Reply
    • Lindsey Dietz says

      October 24, 2016 at 9:12 pm

      My IP isn’t permanently coated in wax! 🙂 If the pot is hot/warm, some hot water and dish soap work just fine. Also, I put my pot in my dishwasher sometimes too.

      Reply
  5. Sally says

    October 22, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    I’m wondering about cleaning the instant pot as well. Do you use a dedicated pot?

    Reply
    • Lindsey Dietz says

      October 24, 2016 at 9:09 pm

      Nope, Sally, no dedicated pot. If the pot is hot/warm and you’ve used a spatula to scrape all the lotion mixture out of it, some hot water and your favorite dish soap will do the trick. I didn’t have any issues getting my pot clean!

      Reply
  6. Hélène says

    October 23, 2016 at 3:24 pm

    How about an herb infused oil with the beeswax, to make salve? Would the oil get too hot?
    How do u clean the pot after??

    Reply
    • Lindsey Dietz says

      October 24, 2016 at 9:08 pm

      If you have an herb or salve you’d like to use, feel free to substitute if you feel comfortable with it. One of our other writers, Andrea, also wrote a post about making an herbal salve in the Instant Pot that you may find helpful: https://traditionalcookingschool.com/2016/10/14/make-herbal-salve-instant-pot/

      The pot cleans up quickly if it’s warm/hot and you use hot water and your favorite dish soap. I didn’t have any issues getting it clean!

      Reply
  7. Roxy says

    November 5, 2016 at 11:18 am

    Does anyone know what temperature the stay warm setting is? Also the yogurt setting might work for infusions? But I’ve had trouble finding temperatures for those settings.

    Reply
    • Cynthia says

      December 9, 2016 at 11:31 am

      Keep Warm Function: 145-172 degrees F

      Yogurt Normal: 96.8 – 109.4 degrees F

      http://www.instantpot.com/benefits/specifications-and-manuals/instant-pot-duo-series-specifications

      Reply
  8. Melisa says

    November 9, 2016 at 7:20 pm

    Can I ask a silly question on how you use hard lotion?

    Reply
    • Lindsey Dietz says

      November 10, 2016 at 10:11 am

      That’s not silly, Melisa! I put the bar in my palm and rub it over my skin. Your body temperature will slowly melt it so you can rub it in. Hard lotion bars are also great for traveling if you don’t want to risk a bottle of lotion leaking in your bag. I have a little metal tin that I keep one in inside my purse.

      Reply
  9. Brit says

    November 13, 2016 at 9:44 pm

    I am trying to figure out how much ingredients to buy. How many of those mold trays (shown in the picture) were you able to fill up? Thank you!!!

    Reply
    • Lindsey Dietz says

      November 14, 2016 at 3:16 pm

      That is actually the form for flower-shaped ice cubes, so they are pretty small! I had quite a bit of lotion leftover that I allowed to harden in silicon muffin liners. The flower mold was just too cute for the photo. 😉 So I honestly can’t say how many mold trays I would have used; it would depend on the size of each mold. Muffin liners (silicon or paper) actually make excellent molds for hard lotion bars, and there’s no need to buy something special! Hope that helps!

      Reply
  10. Shannon says

    November 19, 2016 at 3:24 pm

    How long do they take to harden enough to pop them out?

    Reply
    • Lindsey Dietz says

      November 21, 2016 at 11:29 am

      Depends on the temp of your house or if you put them in the fridge or freezer to harden. Mine were ready to pop out within a few minutes because I put them in the freezer!

      Reply
  11. Helene says

    November 21, 2016 at 2:54 pm

    These melt pretty readily onto ur skin, rite? Im thinking of adding in some bentonite clay to make a deo stick out of it. I made some recently that are still too goopy to glide on. They came out like a paste that i have to rub around n then deal with my goopy fingers. Maybe not so much cocoa butter tho… thats just to make it moisturizing, rite? I dont need to moisturize my pits lol

    Reply
  12. Lori says

    November 22, 2016 at 4:58 pm

    Do you leave the lid off during the keep warm cycle?

    Reply
    • Lindsey Dietz says

      November 23, 2016 at 3:14 pm

      Yes, Lori! 🙂

      Reply
      • gina says

        November 29, 2016 at 5:44 am

        thanks totally new to this and I was trying to figure it out 🙂 Can’t wait to try this.

        Reply
  13. Radha says

    November 24, 2016 at 1:56 am

    Won’t this bar melt during summer ?
    Does it give lather ?

    From India

    Reply
    • Lindsey Dietz says

      December 6, 2016 at 12:52 pm

      The beeswax will keep it from melting, but it will soften considerably if left at warm temperatures for long periods. No, it doesn’t lather. It’s lotion, not soap.

      Reply
  14. Danielle says

    December 6, 2016 at 11:42 am

    Hi there, can you sub coconut oil for the olive oil?

    Reply
    • Lindsey Dietz says

      December 6, 2016 at 12:51 pm

      You can, Danielle. Coconut oil, however, doesn’t work as well on some peoples’ skin. It can actually have a drying effect on some people. That’s why I chose olive oil.

      Reply
      • Danielle says

        December 7, 2016 at 10:23 am

        Thanks!

        Reply
  15. Andria says

    December 8, 2016 at 10:00 pm

    I’m going to try with almond oil instead of olive oil. What do you think?

    Reply
  16. Michelle says

    December 13, 2016 at 11:57 pm

    can you use shea butter instead of cacao?

    Reply
    • Lindsey Dietz says

      December 15, 2016 at 12:01 pm

      Yes! You sure could!

      Reply
  17. Elena says

    December 17, 2016 at 6:37 am

    Do you know the weight of the ingredients before grating? I find it easier to weigh and then grate (cheese for instance).

    Reply
    • Lindsey Dietz says

      December 17, 2016 at 8:43 pm

      No, I always grate, then measure.

      Reply
  18. Mugdha says

    December 20, 2016 at 9:27 am

    Great idea! Do you think we can use avocado oil instead of the olive oil?

    Reply
  19. Jessica Bricka says

    January 1, 2017 at 3:43 pm

    Why can’t you just use the keep warm option on your stove with a regular pot?

    Reply
    • Lindsey Dietz says

      January 3, 2017 at 4:45 pm

      You sure could! Many stoves don’t have a “keep warm” feature, however. The main reason for writing this post was to showcase the versatility of the IP. 🙂

      Reply
  20. Julie says

    January 1, 2017 at 9:21 pm

    Can you use any dyes to change the color without it transferring to skin?

    Reply
    • Lindsey Dietz says

      January 3, 2017 at 4:45 pm

      I’m not sure, Julie, as we at TCS prefer not to use chemical dyes. You’ll have to experiment with natural dyes (maybe turmeric or activated charcoal?) and let us know how it turns out for you!

      Reply
  21. Wendy says

    January 21, 2017 at 11:24 am

    These were super easy. I find the bars a bit greasy for my taste. I’m thinking of remelting them and adding more beeswax or cacao butter. Which do you suggest?

    Reply
    • Lindsey Dietz says

      January 22, 2017 at 12:34 pm

      More cacao butter adds more fat, which will likely make them greasier. Perhaps beeswax?

      Reply
  22. Tracy Penn Sweet says

    April 6, 2017 at 8:12 am

    Could I use an old crock pot to make lotion in instead?

    Reply
    • DavetteB says

      May 4, 2017 at 4:34 am

      I put the ingredients in a clean spaghetti sauce jar and sit it in my crockpot, essentially making it the double boiler. I use Low. I also use a Pyrex measuring glass in a pan on the stove on low. The tall glass in a saute’ pan of water prevents water from getting in the mix. Also, the water doesn’t need to boil, just get hot; yuyou don’t want to scorch the wax or butters. HTH
      PS: You can use any liquid oil and any butter you like as long as you keep the same ratio, 1/3 each butter, oil, and beeswax.
      PPS: You could safely use up to 100 drops of essential oil and still be under 1%.

      Reply
  23. Katie says

    July 1, 2017 at 9:40 pm

    So, I am not understanding this exactly, new to the IP…Do you put the lid on the pot after putting the ingredients in (if yes, seal or vent setting)? I was thinking I’d try putting it in a pyrex cup instead of the insert directly. Sorry for my silly question 🙂

    Reply
    • Lindsey Dietz says

      July 5, 2017 at 12:15 pm

      No, Katie, you don’t need to use the lid at all. You are not pressure cooking with this recipe — just using the Keep Warm function. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  24. Kelsee says

    July 29, 2017 at 12:35 am

    So how do you keep your lotion from cracking in the mold?! All of mine cracked! ?

    Reply
    • Lindsey Dietz says

      July 29, 2017 at 1:12 pm

      Hmmmm, I don’t know, Kelsee! That never happened to me. Maybe they were in the freezer too long? I honestly have no clue.

      Reply
      • Lori says

        July 30, 2017 at 9:38 am

        I’ve worked with beeswax for making candles and sometimes they will crack if they cool down too quickly. Mold size could also make a difference.

        Reply
  25. Lori says

    July 30, 2017 at 9:42 am

    I’m considering trying to substitute lanolin for some of the other oils. Do you think that might work? Any helpful hints?

    Reply
  26. Kacey says

    August 27, 2018 at 9:25 pm

    Where can I find beeswax and cacao butter? I’ve got a Michaels/ac moore/and hobby lobby near me!

    Reply
    • Kerri says

      October 20, 2018 at 1:19 am

      I’m not sure if craft stores carry cocoa butter, but most will have beeswax for candle making. Some natural groceries have cocoa butter, Shea butter, etc. I usually get my products from Amazon.

      Reply
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Instant Pot Hard Lotion Bars | Homemade beauty products almost always require melting beeswax and fat over a double boiler, so I avoid making them. Until the Instant Pot made it oh, so handy!

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