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Hot chocolate lotion bars are a fun and easy DIY solid lotion that are perfect for gift giving (or keeping for yourself!).
If you are a choc-a-holic like me, you will LOVE these hot chocolate lotion bars. They smell like amazing, indulgent hot chocolate and are made with all natural, good-for-your-skin ingredients. These smell good enough to eat!
This recipe is a variation of my original lotion bar recipe, which I created almost 15 years ago on a whim. I began selling them, and they quickly became my best-selling product.
Lotion Bars Make Great Gifts
Lotion bars are one of my favorite items to give as gifts! They are a unique gift that you can make yourself with just a few ingredients.
I love giving consumable gifts, and this one fits the bill for just about anyone on your gift giving list. Lotion bars are perfect as stocking stuffers, teacher gifts, as part of a hostess gift, or even as party favors for your holiday gathering or bridal shower.
Amazing Reasons to Use Lotion Bars
- Lotion bars are made with completely natural ingredients and they are amazing for dry skin.
- Lotion bars are super concentrated because they contain no fillers, additives or preservatives. (Learn more about toxins in body products here.)
- Lotion bars are extremely portable, especially if you store them in a metal tin like I do. They fit perfectly in a purse, diaper bar or car console for any dry skin emergency (Pro Tip: don’t leave lotion bars anywhere it gets really hot, they will melt! Lotion bars are best stored at room temperature).
- Lotion bars are inexpensive. A little goes a long way when you are using a lotion bar, so they are very cost effective.
Check out this post to learn more about lotion bars.
What Supplies Do I Need to Make Lotion Bars?
You might have some of these ingredients on hand already, but if not they are easy to find.
- Beeswax
- Cocoa Butter (make sure you get raw, non-deodorized cocoa butter. I also use it for cooking and in my favorite hot chocolate recipe)
- Almond oil
- Avocado oil
- Vanilla essential oil
- Cacao Powder
- Vitamin E (optional)
In addition to the natural oils, butter and wax, you will also need a silicone mold. There are lots of choices on Amazon, including chocolate and candy molds that are so fun for these hot chocolate lotion bars!
They will turn out looking so similar to actual chocolate you might have to tell people not to eat them.
Here are my top silicone mold choices for lotion bars:
I have used all of these molds for lotion bars, and they all make similar sized bars. These will also all fit in these metal travel tins that are perfect for storing and gifting lotion bars.
You could also use a silicone pan mold and cut these into whatever size lotion bars you like once they cool, or use silicone baking cups to make slightly larger lotion bars.
Related: White Chocolate Mint Lip Balm Recipe
Hot Cocoa Lotion Bar Recipe
These chocolate scented solid lotion bars are a treat for skin and your senses. Solid lotion is made with a nourishing combination of solid butters, waxes and oils. A little goes a long way in this water-free lotion recipe. Perfect for gifting and those practicing zero-waste, too!
This recipe is measure by weight. See below for a version measured by volume.
Ingredients
- 2.4 oz Beeswax
- 1.2 oz Cocoa Butter
- 0.8 oz. Almond Oil
- 0.4 oz. Avocado Oil
- 1 tsp Cocoa Powder
- 50 drops (apx. 1/2 tsp) vanilla essential oil
- 1/2 tsp vitamin e oil (optional)
Instructions
- Add beeswax and cocoa butter to a double boiler and slowly heat the oils over medium-low heat until melted. Do not overheat – these should not boil! Low and slow is best with these delicate butters and waxes.
- Once melted, turn off the heat and add the almond and avocado oils.
- Add cocoa powder and mix well until completely combined. A mini wisk is perfect for this!
- Lastly, add vanilla essential oil and vitamin E (if using) and stir a final time.
- Pour into silicone mold.
- Let bars sit until completely hardened, then carefully remove from mold.
Notes
This recipe makes 7 small, handheld lotion bars using a mold very similar to this round silicone mold. Each finished lotion bar is approximately 0.7 oz.
Store in a sealed container and keep out of water.
Best if used within 6 months.
Recommended Products
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Hot Chocolate Lotion Bar Recipe by Volume
My preferred method for creating any body products at home is to measure by weight because it makes a more consistent product. This is easy to do with a normal kitchen scale (I use this one). If you don’t have a kitchen scale, use the recipe below that measures by volume.
- 1/2 cup Beeswax
- 1/4 cup Cocoa Butter
- 2 Tbs. Almond Oil
- 1 Tbs. Avocado Oil
- 1 Tsp. Cocoa Powder
- 50 drops (apx. 1/2 tsp) vanilla essential oil
- 1/2 Tsp. vitamin e oil (optional)
Directions:
- Add beeswax and cocoa butter to a double boiler and slowly heat the oils over medium-low heat until melted. Do not overheat – these should not boil! Low and slow is best with these delicate butters and waxes.
- Once melted, turn off the heat and add the almond and avocado oils.
- Add cocoa powder and mix well until completely combined. A mini wisk is perfect for this!
- Lastly, add vanilla essential oil and vitamin E (if using) and stir a final time.
- Pour into silicone mold.
- Let bars sit until completely hardened, then carefully remove from mold.
- Best if used within 6 months.
Recipe Notes:
This recipe makes 7 small, handheld lotion bars using a mold very similar to this round silicone mold. Each finished lotion bar is approximately 0.7 oz.
The perfect way to gift these lotion bars is in these metal travel tins! These tins are just the right size to hold lotion bars using any of the molds I’ve linked to above. They fit perfectly in a purse, diaper bag, nightstand, or Christmas stocking. The tins also do a great job of keeping the lotion bars fresh.
Looking for more DIY gift ideas?
White Chocolate Peppermint Lip Balm
I am allergic to coconut, avocado, and nuts. Is there another oil I can swap them with besides just olive oil? I feel the scent would be overwhelming – but I may be incorrect. 🙂 I am looking forward to trying this recipe. My skin is so dry and it’s very difficult to find lotions that do not have coconut or a derivative in them. Thank you!
Hi Cheryl, I’d try sunflower oil or grapeseed oil! You could also look for an olive oil with a lighter scent, look for one that says ‘light’ on the label and is more of a yellow color and less green. Let me know how it turns out!
Hi, I made these and they are really hard. They don’t melt on the skin, and are just blocks. I didn’t have cocoa butter so used shea butter. Would you recommend melting them down and adding more almond oil? Thanks!
Hi Maggie, Yes you could try melting them down and adding a bit more almond oil. They are supposed to be solid, but they should melt even with the shea instead of cocoa butter.
Instead of using a silicon mold, I’m thinking of pouring directly onto the metal tin containers. Then you would just rub the top and get the lotion. Do you think this would work?
Hi Rebecca, yes, you can pour directly into the tin containers! It will be more like a balm, since the bars are fairly firm so that they keep their shape in hand. I haven’t done this recipe like that before, but I might actually reduce the beeswax slightly so that it is a little softer in the tin.
I made it and put it in empty deodorant sticks. It doesn’t glide on or feel smooth , feels waxy and heavy in my skin.
Is there anything I can do to fix this, maybe remelt it and add some oils or ?
Did you do the recipe by weight, or volume? Measuring by volume can give mixed results, which is why I also include the recipe by weight – it is more accurate. You could try adding more almond oil if it feels too heavy for you. It could also be since it’s in a stick it does not melt as easily on your skin as a lotion bar that you hold in your hand.
Hi there. Would love to try making these without beeswax. What can I use in place of beeswax?
candelilla wax works in place of beeswax 🙂
I did it by weight using a scale
I did remelt it and added more oil then poured into silicone molds it does melt better but still feels waxy on my body even the next day, I can still feel it on my skin like coating but the snell is amazing I love it! I will decrease the wax by half and see what happens
Thank you for responding all the best !
How to use this lotion bars…^_^
Are you able to use a different oil to avocado? Such as coconut oil or olive oil?
Hi Roxanne! Sure, you could substitute almond oil, olive oil or coconut oil with good results. Let me know how it turns out!
Looks yummy ?.. How to use this lotion bars
So I swapped th avocado oil for coconut and it came out great!
In one section you say cacao powder and in another you say cocoa powder. Is there a difference between them and which is better to use? Also I was thinking of adding peppermint oil instead of vanilla but I love the orange idea. I’m making them heart shaped for a Valentine’s day gift for the girls at work.
I used cacao powder, but either cacao or cocoa would work. The difference between the 2 is how they are processed and the taste, so both will work fine for lotion bars 🙂
Peppermint oil sounds amazing in these – I love mint and chocolate together! I used to make a mint chocolate soap that was wonderful – I think it work well in a lotion bar. I would start with just a little of the mint since it’s so strong though, it could easily overpower the chocolate.
Let me know how they turn out!!
I made this for my son, who has terribly dry skin, and it worked great! Almost as good as his medicated cream, which he hid from me, but this smells eat better.
Also I accidentally forgot to get the vanilla essential oil and used an orange one instead but it still smelled amazing.
I am so happy to hear this Angelique!! Lotion bars ARE wonderful for dry skin, and I’m glad they worked for your son. Orange sounds like a great choice in these too 🙂
These look so yummy! I always feel tempted to taste anything I make with cocoa butter because it smells so good!
LOL, me TOOOOO Natasha! The cocoa butter I use is food grade, so I suppose you technically could eat it 😉