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In our family, we have a tradition of holding one gift to open on January 6th, which marks the feast of the Epiphany and the end of the Christmas season for us. I wanted to find a fun way to teach our kids about this traditional feast which celebrates the arrival of the three kings bearing Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh, and I thought what better way that a homemade product that combined all three.
Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh
I’d already made Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh Lotion Bars, but wanted a smoother lotion that would be easy to make and that my kids could help with. As we made this, we learned about the benefits of each of the ingredients and what they symbolized.
Gold was pretty straightforward but the other two are not as well known. Some speculate that frankincense signified a teaching role and sacrifice while myrrh predicted death and embalming. Both had practical benefits for mom and child though. Frankincense was often used to help balance hormones and for healing. Myrrh was often used on the umbilical cord to prevent infection and speed healing and both are considered calming and soothing.
Frankincense and Myrrh are both extracted from the bark of certain trees and are considered medicinal herbs.
Other Ingredients
I wanted to also make this an opportunity to teach my kids about oil and water and emulsification (homeschool science project) so we used an ingredient I don’t often use but that aids emulsification. It is called emulsifying wax. There is some debate on how natural it is, though it is plant derived. Emulsifying wax goes through more processing than a truly natural wax like beeswax, but works much more easily for emulsification.
In fact, we first attempted to get oil and water to emulsify by themselves in the blender and watched them separate completely after a few minutes. Once we added the emulsifying wax, they stayed blended and felt like lotion.
NOTE: Unlike my homemade luxurious lotion, this lotion does contain water and will have a shorter life than strictly oil based lotions. You can use a natural, broad-spectrum preservative to extend the shelf life, but I chose to skip it. I just made a small batch and used it all up within two weeks and kept it in the fridge.
For this recipe, we used (click links to see the brand we used):
- Coconut Oil
- Olive Oil
- Emulsifying wax
- Distilled Water
- Essential Oils (Frankincense and Myrrh)
- Gold Mica powder
Three Kings Lotion Recipe
Yield
Materials
- 1 TBSP coconut oil
- 1 TBSP almond oil (or olive oil)l
- 1 TBSP emulsifying wax
- ½ cup distilled water
- 10 drops frankincense essential oil
- 10 drops myrrh essential oil
- 1 tsp gold mica powder
Instructions
- Make sure that all containers and ingredients are very clean. This lotion does not contain a preservative so to extend shelf life, make sure everything is as clean as possible.
- Melt the emulsifying wax and coconut oil in a double boiler until just melted.
- Remove from heat and add olive or almond oil and whisk in.
- Slowly add water, whisking to mix until all added.
- Return double boiler to heat and heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes creamy and slightly thick. It will be the consistency of squeezable lotion from a store.
- Add essential oils and whisk in.
- Let cool and transfer to jar or bottle to store.
Notes
Ever made a DIY project with your kids? How did it turn out?
Hi Ms Katie, I have a question on your recipe for the frankincense myrrh lotion when do you add the for Mica powder? Thank you Shawn!
You don’t mention when to include mica. Also, about half the amount of distilled water is sufficient.
Love Wellness Mama and give us a great diy face cream for winter please!
I would love to make this as an in-shower lotion bar. If I left out the water, would that be possible?
Much thanks!!
Right on!!!! I totally agree. Some people are such trolls.
Dear Wellnessmama,
I will just want to simply say…GOOD JOB with defending your blog! I love everything you put out to help others. Keep it up!:-)
Hi I tried to follow your recipe and made some changes on my own. I was intending to make a water based hair wax instead of a lotion and the following are the ingredients I used.
1) Melt 1/2 tablespoon of beeswax, 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, 1 tablespoon of emulsifying wax in a double boiler.
2) Add 1 tablespoon of canola oil after the previous mixture was completely melted.
3) Removed from heat and added 1/2 table spoon of bentonite clay powder and stir until fully dissolved.
4) Add 100ml of water bit by bit while stiring constantly and heat it again while continued stiring
5) Poured into aluminium tins to cool down.
However, the mixture does not solidify nor has a creamy texture to it. The upper layer has a semi-solid texture but the inside is still liquid.
It would be really helpful if you could point out which part went wrong and how else should I be doing it?
Thank You
Is lecithin safe as an emulsifier in this recipe?
Katie what are your thoughts on this product of emulsifying wax ? I’m Canadian and this would be easier for me to purchase … But not sure if it’s vegetable based or the same type of stuff ? https://well.ca/products/penny-lane-organics-emulsifying-wax_109024.html
I am wanting to get back into making lotion. I’ve only made it twice in the past and one batch did go bad (I guess a little moldy?) and the other batch I put just a little bit of colloidal silver (as part of the liquid ingredients) in it and it kept for a VERY long time!
I love making my own body lotion! But I can’t stand how greasy it is. It doesn’t soak in, gets on everything I touch, makes my hair greasy, makes my cloths stick to me, etc. Do you have a recipe for something not so greasy?
You could try adding more beeswax and shea butter.
I tried making this for some Christmas gifts; however, instead of using the recipe for a single batch, I quadrupled everything to make the recipe bigger for more to give. It ended up turning soupy and will only harden up temporarily when in the freezer or has a thin, lotion layer over the top of the liquid. What could cause this recipe to stay soupy?