I have a wonderfully easy homemade peppermint lotion recipe to share with you today. Not only does this DIY come together quickly thanks to the microwave, but it also involves minimal clean-up!
The ingredients in this peppermint body lotion are all-natural and inexpensive. You can use this recipe year-round, but it’s particularly beneficial during the cold, dry winter months when skin experiences so much dryness.
Benefits Of Peppermint For Homemade Lotion
This homemade lotion has a ton of benefits, thanks in part to the star ingredient: peppermint essential oil!
Here are a few reasons I love peppermint:
- Helps relieve itchy skin. Does your skin feel extra itchy in the winter? Mine too. I’ve found that peppermint lotion helps tremendously with that.
- Aromatherapy. Yes, the scent is awesome, of course. That minty smell makes me feel invigorated and fresh.
- Feels fantastic. If you have never used peppermint oil, you’ll be plesantly surpised the first time you apply it! It feels tingly which is perfect for sore muscles or tired feet.
Ingredients Needed
These are the natural ingredients needed to make your own easy homemade peppermint lotion.
This is enough to make 5-6 4 oz containers of lotion.
- 8 oz or 1 cup of Organic Coconut Oil
- 8 oz or one cup of Pure Unrefined Shea Butter
- 1 oz or 2 tbsp Organic Beeswax – I used this: Organic Beeswax
- 2 tablespoons of Vitamin E oil
- Peppermint Essential Oil
- red jojoba beads (optional)
- 4 oz mason jars
In addition to the peppermint oil, you can see that this lotion is packed with hydrating ingredients, including coconut oil, shea butter, beeswax, and vitamin E.
You may substitute vitamin E oil for argan oil, jojoba oil, or even avocado oil if you prefer.
You’ll also notice that this lotion contains no parabens or other preservatives.
What else can I use besides peppermint?
Thanks to those aforementioned benefits of peppermint, I recommend giving it a try. It has a lovely holiday fragrance too, of course. However, if you don’t have any on hand or aren’t a mint fan, you can easily sub out another essential oil.
I like to use Eucalyptus and Lavender as well, either on their own or in conjunction with the peppermint. Lavender is particularly calming and soothing for sensitive skin.
Another blend I like is chamomile, lavender, lemon, and frankincense. You can also try orange or citrus essential oils.
How To Make DIY Peppermint Lotion
Using the microwave for this easy homemade peppermint lotion makes it super easy. This is a great lotion to have on hand this winter or even makes an awesome gift this Christmas season!
The first thing you will want to do is is grab a microwave-safe glass bowl.
Some recipes call for using the stove, but I much prefer the microwave! Since we are dealing with a combination of oils and waxes, cleaning out a saucepan can be a huge pain. With the microwave, things are way easier, including the clean-up!
To make your lotion, add coconut oil, shea butter, and beeswax to the glass bowl.
Heat at 30-second intervals, stirring well after each time, until it’s completely melted.
You don’t want the lotion mixture to be too hot, or the essential oils may be less effective.
Next, whisk in the vitamin e oil and essential oils.
Add 20 drops of peppermint essential oil. Another option, if you want a couple of more oils like I did, you can split up the 20 drops of essential oils between peppermint, lavender, and eucalyptus, or whatever blend you prefer.
Pour into wide-mouth mason jars. Make sure the jars have a wide mouth. Not only does this help you fill the jars, but it also helps you be able to reach in and scoop out the peppermint lotion once it’s made.
You could even put this in baby food jars to stretch this batch a bit further if you wanted to make gifts out of this recipe.
Storage Tips For Homemade Lotion
Keep the lid tightly on the jar when you aren’t using it.
Make sure to store this in a dark, cool place. It needs to be stored away from the sun.
If your lotion becomes too thick or hard, this is because the coconut oil has solidified due to cooler temperatures. You can fix this by placing the jar near a warm area – a sunny window or a heater/radiator, etc.
One batch should last 3-4 months. Because there are no preservatives, care should be taken to make sure it’s store properly.
How To Use The Peppermint Body Lotion
Once your lotion is in the jars, you scoop the lotion out with your fingers or use a spoon.
I know some people like pumps, but I don’t recommend using a mason jar soap dispenser lid
for this lotion because its consistency is too thick at room temperature for it to work well.
While this lotion is great for all skin types, it’s particularly helpful for extra dry skin as the organic ingredients provide amazing hydration. This is a greasy lotion – so it is best used at bedtime. You can use this daily.
Safety Note: Avoid using peppermint on young children. Because this recipe uses beeswax, it’s not considered vegan.
Looking for a lotion that works best for dry, cracked feet? Look no further than this DIY cracked heel cream. It’s easy to make and really works!
Pamper Yourself
First, you can pamper yourself by simply using this lotion daily. I personally noticed that my skin became much smoother after using this lotion regularly.
For a full pampering, I’d recommend slathering your hands in this easy homemade peppermint lotion in the evening and sleeping with thin cotton gloves on to hold in the oils while you sleep.
I use this lotion on my daughter’s dry skin after bath time since her skin gets really dry in the winter. I slather her up all over – arms, stomach, legs, and then immediately put on her fleece footie jammies so that her skin gets fully moisturized while she is sleeping.
Since I put lavender in this batch, it is also calming at bedtime. Plus, lavender is just amazing at healing anything having to do with skin, so I love adding it to any skin product I make!
I also recommend giving yourself a nice foot soak with this Homemade Epsom Salt Foot Bath with Lavender. After the soak, apply this lotion to your feet – especially if you have cracked heels.
Put some of this homemade peppermint lotion on before you add a pair of fuzzy and warm winter socks, and your feet will get some pampering at night while you are sleeping.
You can use this as a whole body lotion too.
I added just a bit of red jojoba beads (I found them on Etsy) in this image. It may be fun to add if you are giving this as a gift, but by no means is it a mandatory ingredient.
When you try this homemade peppermint lotion, come back and let us know what you think!
It is a thick, luxurious, and intense moisturizer that is both natural and healing. It smells amazing with the peppermint, eucalyptus, lavender combo and is a must-have in your personal supply cabinet this winter!
Looking for more winter season essential oil DIY ideas? Check out these posts:
Enjoy more essential oils with this free 2-page Christmas diffuser blends printable ↓↓
More DIYs With Peppermint
- Homemade Foot Cream With Peppermint
- Homemade Peppermint Sugar Scrub
- DIY Peppermint Lip Balm
- Homemade Peppermint Goat Milk Soap
Ashlee says
I’m concerned that mine is more yellow and harder than yours looks. I’m making it as last minute gifts, but I’ve checked the recipe many times and I did all the step correct. It just doesn’t look right.
Any advice
Ashlee says
I think I might have discoverer the Problem. You said your bars were .5oz, mine (ordered from your link above) are 5 – 1oz bars and I used two.
Are your bars .5oz or is that a typo?
Maura R White says
You found the answer! You did end up doubling the amount of beeswax. But I hope you didn’t throw out that batch – just add double of all of the ingredients and none of it goes to waste and you get twice the amount! 😉
Maura R White says
Actually Ashlee – did you get all of your ingredients from the links above? Because now that I’m thinking about it – I did use 2 bars – so that must mean I used 2 oz and not 1. The darker yellow could just be the color of the beeswax was more yellow than the kind I had. Does the lotion melt in your hand and is it easy to rub in once you have it on your skin?
Ashlee says
Hey, I did get almost everything from your list except the Shea butter I got a different brand from a local store. I did end up doubling everything except the bees wax… but not it is too oily & not lotion. So I’m warming up 2 more bars of wax and going to combine the other mixture to it in hopes it brings it close to the first consistency and just a doubled batch. Thank you for the tip on coconut oil.
Fingers crossed it works 🤞🏻 I’m suppose to mail everything out tomorrow 😂
And yes my bars are very yellow
Maura says
And Ashlee – if the lotion is too hard for your liking, remelt the batch, add in a tablespoon of coconut oil, and let it harden again. That will soften it for sure! You can add coconut oil until it is as soft as you would like it.