This Cooling Aloe Mint Lotion is my most popular lotion recipe for a good reason, it’s so moisturizing! It’s all thanks to a lot of aloe vera gel for hydrating combined with coconut oil for conditioning and moisturizing the skin. It’s an easy to make DIY that you can customize by changing up the essential oil to suit different seasons. This homemade lotion is easily absorbable with so much aloe vera in it, and keeps my skin nice and smooth.
This lotion is perfect for summertime, or after excercising because of the ‘cooling effect’ from the aloe and mint. It’s particularly awesome after a long day on your feet. And I really love it massaged into my legs and feet after a day hiking in the mountains. With warmer temperatures, I like to use a light moisturizer, and the cooling effect is an added bonus.
I use straight coconut oil as a moisturizer year round. But sometimes I just need a little moisturizing, not the full coconut conditioning. The 50:50 ratio of coconut oil to aloe vera in this recipe has been the perfect amount, with just enough moisturizing. It sinks right into my skin, leaving a smooth non-greasy surface.
Ingredients for this Cooling Aloe Mint Lotion:
- Beeswax – I have a giant block of beeswax I’m still using up. But if you’re looking to buy beeswax I most definitely recommend getting some beeswax pellets so you don’t have to bother with grating it. However the most accurate way to use beeswax pellets is to measure by weight. So if you don’t have a scale, consider grating your beeswax instead.
- Coconut Oil – makes the perfect lightweight and easily absorbable oil to use in this lotion. And because it’s solid at room temperature it helps to thicken up the lotion as well.
- Aloe Vera Gel – I use bottled aloe vera gel, (the Desert Lily brand) because fresh aloe vera spoils too quickly to put into a lotion.
- Peppermint Essential Oil – adds to the cooling feeling of this lotion, but feel free to omit the essential oil for an unscented lotion. Or you can use any essential oil you like the smell of that works for you.
Tip: to get the beeswax off your grater, pour boiling water over the surface and watch it melt away. Or buy beeswax pellets for the easiest DIY projects!
How to make Cooling Aloe Mint Lotion:
I like to have all of my ingredients ready to go before I start. That way, when the beeswax has melted into the oil, you’re ready to whisk in the aloe vera.
There are a couple key points to this lotion:
- It’s very important to make sure the beeswax has completely melted into the coconut oil, with no flecks remaining. If it’s not completely melted, the lotion won’t emulsify properly. And there will be little gritty pieces of beeswax in the finished product as well.
2. The aloe vera gel must be at room temperature. If you put it into the hot oil/wax mixture straight from the refrigerator, the mixture might not emulsify. Instead you might end up with clumps. Also if you add cold liquid to hot oil it can splatter. So it’s best to keep the oil mixture as cool as possible when melting the beeswax, (pictured above). Just warm it enough to melt, but don’t let it get super hot.
This mixture will look too thin at first, (above photo). But it thickens up as it cools (photo below). I like to blend mine on the lower settings of the blender to make it fluffier. Also, it sometimes separates as it cools if it hasn’t been properly emulsified.
If this happens running it for a few seconds on low in the blender has always made it stable for me. Once it’s fully cooled, I haven’t had it separate. You can also lightly warm the mixture and whisk thoroughly to emulsify if it didn’t come together the first time.
The cooling process can take 2-4 hours depending on your room temperature. It’s really best not to rush this process because by cooling down slowly the lotion becomes more stable. I’ve also put the lotion over an ice bath and stirred it vigorously until it thickens.
But if you keep it over the ice water too long, it will harden and separate, (so it really is best just to let it sit on the counter for a couple of hours). It’s not worth the hassle to speed up the cooling process all in all!
This is one of my most popular DIY recipes, and I hope all the extra tips I’ve added today will help you be successful in making your own lotion. Once you get the hang of it, it’s actually quite easy, and only takes a few minutes to whip up.
The reason this lotion needs a little extra care and attention is the large ratio of water to oil, which makes it less stable than normal lotions. This is also the reason it’s such a great summertime lotion though! If you’re looking for an easier first time project, try my Lavender Sugar Scrub, or my Easy Buttercream Lotion.
At home spa day inspiration:
- Refreshing Peppermint Sugar Scrub
- Moisturizing Mint Body Wash
- At Home Facial
- Finish with this lotion!
Cooling Aloe Mint Lotion
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 1 cup 1x
Description
This Cooling Aloe Mint Lotion is my most popular lotion recipe for a good reason, it’s so moisturizing! It’s all thanks to a lot of aloe vera gel for hydrating combined with coconut oil for conditioning and moisturizing the skin. It’s and easy to make DIY that you can customize by changing up the essential oil to suit different seasons. This homemade lotion is easily absorbable with so much aloe vera in it and keeps my skin nice and smooth.
Ingredients
1/4 cup grated beeswax, 11 grams
1/2 cup coconut oil, 122 grams
1/2 cup aloe vera gel, 122 grams, room temperature
1/8 Teaspoon peppermint essential oil
Instructions
Place the beeswax and coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat. Heat just until just melted with no remaining flecks of beeswax.
Try to keep the temperature as low as possible to preserve the benefits the of coconut oil.
Remove the oil mixture from the heat, and hand whisk in the room temperature aloe vera gel and peppermint essential oil until it’s thoroughly combined.
Let the lotion cool to room temperature, about 2-4 hours. Whisk again, or place in the blender and blend at a medium speed for about 30 seconds for a fluffier version.
Notes
This lotion will naturally become thicker and more solid over time, as some of the aloe vera slowly evaporates.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Category: DIY
- Method: Whisking
This recipe has been updated with new photos, step by step process, and more tips and additional information in 2021.
Can I use natural bee honey instead of beeswax
Beeswax is necessary in this lotion because it’s an emulsifier and the lotion won’t come together with just honey even if it’s in its natural state.
The 11g of beeswax is to the same as 1/4cup? I’m asking becouse that description stay the same even when I am changing scales to bigger. It’s important to me because I have beeswax in other form so I have to weigh it. Please tell me exactly how much of this should I add in grams for 1/2 cup of oil and 1/2 cup of aloe vera.
Best regards,
Magdalena
Yes 11 grams of beeswax is the same as 1/4 cup. I haven’t weighed the oil and aloe myself, but a quick search says the coconut oil should weigh 48 grams and the aloe should weight 102. I hope this helps!
What would you add got a preservative so it would have a longer shelf life
This lotion has always lasted well for me at room temperature for up to a month. It does get thicker over time, but it lasts well. However the only preservative I’ve ever used is Vitamin E oil. Maybe try a bit of that in place of some of the coconut oil.
I’m a massage therapist and I like to heat up my creams before the treatment. Would it ruin this cream if I did so?
I’m not sure that would work entirely because this lotion has a large portion of aloe in it which could cause the cream to ‘break’ as it’s heated up. If it was just heated a little it should work, but I would dispose of any unused cream that has been heated up due to the aloe gel in it.
Can you use emulsifying wax instead of the beeswax?
I haven’t tried emulsifying wax myself, but I have heard you can sub it in for beeswax.
Can som other oil be substituted for coconut oil?
Yes you can substitute any skin appropriate oil, but the consistency does change since coconut oil is solid at coconut oil.
How long will this last for? If the time is minimal would it help to add some vitamin E , rosemary extract or vegetable glycerin?
I’ve never had a problem with this lotion lasting before, I’ve always used it up within 6 weeks, and I keep it at a room temperature between 65ºF-75ºF. I hope this helps and be sure to let me know if I can answer any more questions!
what kind of aloe do you use? because i have the plants but i want the shelf time to be longer.
I use the Desert Lily brand of aloe vera gel!
Hi Kari
I love the look of this recipe and cant wait to make it up. I have an aloe vera gel which is a thin constistancy. Is it a thick or thin gel consistancy that you have used for this recipe and does it matter which one you use
Look forward to hearing back from you
Jan
I think you can use the aloe gel you have but the lotion may be thinner, I’m not totally sure as I haven’t tried it, but it should work. I hope you’ll let me know how it goes or if you have any more questions!
Hi, this looks like a great recipe. I’d love to make it. But i have a question, can i use fresh aloe vera gel from one of my plants? And how long is the shelf life for this recipe is since it has 50% ratio of water.
I don’t know if this lotion works with fresh aloe vera gel, but I do know the shelf life wouldn’t be the same. Bottled aloe vera gel comes with preservatives and that’s why this keeps at room temperature. If you do decide to try fresh, I would definitely refrigerate this lotion. I don’t know what the texture might be like refrigerated, but it won’t keep long at room temperature with fresh aloe.