To celebrate World Breastfeeding Week 1st – 7th August, I’m sharing how to make a healing breast milk lotion with calendula and orange. I’ve been perfecting this recipe for about a month, and I’m so excited to share it after several failures!
Just want to read the recipe? Skip straight to it!
My homemade breast milk lotion means a lot to me, since I made it using the last of Jonah’s expressed breast milk. My milk dried up about 4 months into my current pregnancy – sob!
I know how much you mamas love to make things with your milk. My most popular post explains how to make a breast milk bath – an easy way to enjoy the skincare benefits of breast milk without too much effort.
This DIY breast milk lotion goes a step further, but I promise it’s really simple to make. Also, the ingredients are easy to find from UK suppliers. I’m completely new to making my own skincare, so I break it all down into easy steps.
I’ve followed so many DIYs where my attempt went completely wrong and the instructions just weren’t detailed enough. I hope this DIY is detailed enough to help you get it right. If it’s not working for you, please comment on this post – I reply to all comments.
So, on to the breast milk lotion. It combines breast milk with soothing aloe, luscious shea butter, silky cocoa butter, healing calendula, balancing jojoba, beeswax, and orange and lavender essential oils, which are completely optional.
This is a powerhouse of a lotion. It can be used to treat a range of skin complaints or just as a lovely moisturiser, and works complete wonders for dry skin. My psoriasis has improved so much through using this body lotion.
It has a whipped texture that melts into the skin. Give it a few minutes to sink in because it’s so rich. And it smells amazing – the cocoa butter and orange make it smell edible! The breast milk doesn’t come through too strongly.
Now you may be wondering why breast milk is so good for skin. I will try to answer that question!
Why is breast milk so good for skin?
Breast milk contains several fatty acids. The most notable of these is lauric acid, which is the same fatty acid found in coconut oil. It’s moisturising, but it also fights acne due to its anti-microbial qualities. As well as preventing and treating spots, it can also help with inflammation, too.
Breast milk also contains palmitic acid, a moisturising and occlusive agent that locks moisture into the skin.
Add moisturising and anti-ageing oleic acid, and finally conjugated linoleic acid, which moisturises, soothes inflammation, and lightens the skin tone.
So you see, you can use breast milk to treat a wide range of skin conditions for mama and baby:
- Dry skin
- Sore and cracked nipples
- Nappy rash
- Bites and stings
- Cuts
- Eczema
- Psoriasis
- Cradle cap
- Sunburn
I bet you can think of many more uses, too. It really is a wonder substance that helps the body to heal.
Now, let’s look at the other ingredients.
Why are the ingredients in this lotion so good for skin?
Here are all the bought ingredients I used in my lotion, and links to buy them if you wish. I sourced many of my bought ingredients from Naissance. The quality is excellent, and delivery is really fast.
Aloe vera gel
Soothing and cooling, aloe vera helps wounds to heal and reduces inflammation, so is helpful for all kinds of skin conditions and complaints. I use Seven Minerals Aloe Vera Gel as it’s high quality and contains no cheap fillers.
Seven Minerals Aloe Vera Gel
Buy Now – £11 at Amazon.co.uk
Shea butter
This luscious ingredient boosts healing, aids collagen production, and is anti-ageing. Shea butter is an intensive moisturiser rich in vitamins A, E, and F, and offers some UV protection. I like to pay more for an excellent grade of shea butter since over-processing can reduce its beneficial properties. I use Akoma Shea Million which is amazing quality and food grade.
Akoma Shea Million
Buy Now – £9.95 at Akoma
Cocoa butter
This butter is full of saturated fatty acids with great moisturising properties. Cocoa butter gives my lotion a boost of polyphenols and flavonoids, an amazing chocolate aroma, and a silky feel.
Naissance Unrefined Organic Cocoa Butter
Buy Now – £3.99 at Naissance
Calendula infused oil
The herb calendula has been used for centuries to heal and soothe with its high vitamin and mineral content. It appears in so many amazing recipes for skincare and baby care.
Naissance Calendula Infused Oil
Buy Now – £4.99 at Naissance
Jojoba oil
Rich in fatty acids and vitamin E, readily-absorbed jojoba oil moisturises while helping to balance skin’s sebum production.
Jojoba Golden Certified Organic Oil
Buy Now – £4.99 at Naissance
Beeswax
A natural protectant, beeswax soothes itching, and helps lock moisture into the skin.
Naissance Natural Golden Beeswax Beads
Buy Now – £3.69 at Naissance
Orange essential oil
I think orange essential oil is so cheerful, and of course it smells amazing. But it’s also a useful ingredient in preventing infection, which makes it ideal for skincare.
Orange can cause photosensitivity, but not in the ratios I’ve suggested here. If in doubt, you can leave it out. I’m using Essential Oils Online Orange Essential Oil here, since it’s excellent value for money and good quality.
Essential Oils Online Orange Essential Oil
Buy Now – £1.53 at Essential Oils Online
Lavender essential oil
I chose to add just a small amount of lavender essential oil to help everything smell good. I like it for its emotionally soothing qualities. Again, I used Essential Oils Online Lavender Oil.
Essential Oils Online Lavender Essential Oil
Buy Now – £4.50 at Essential Oils Online
Breast milk lotion ingredients
Here are the ingredients and quantities you will need.
- Breast milk, 5 tablespoons – can be fresh, or defrosted, but must be at room temperature
- Aloe vera gel, 5 tablespoons – room temperature
- Shea butter, 5 tablespoons
- Cocoa butter, 1 tablespoon
- Calendula infused oil, 2 tablespoons
- Jojoba oil, or other oil of your choice, 2 tablespoons
- Beeswax pellets, 1 tablespoon
- Essential oils, 15 drops – optional – I used 10 orange and 5 lavender. Make sure you choose with caution according to your needs. For children I suggest not using any essential oils.
- A natural preservative of your choice – see note below
Next, let’s look at what equipment you’ll need.
Equipment
I recommend sterilising all your equipment first. There are several ways to do this, I find boiling water sufficient.
- Small jug
- Heatproof bowl
- Saucepan
- Immersion blender
- Spoons, wooden or metal
- A suitable container with lid – this body lotion won’t dispense from a pump as it’s too thick – I used a jar with a screw lid
You really don’t need much to make this lotion!
How to make breast milk lotion
Here are detailed instructions on how to make your breast milk lotion. Please comment if you need to know anything about the process, I’d love to help you!
1. Assemble your ingredients.
2. Combine the breast milk with the aloe vera in a small jug.
3. Set up a double boiler on a low heat. A double boiler is a heatproof bowl set over some hot water in a saucepan on the hob. The bowl shouldn’t touch the water.
4. To the bowl, add all the butter, oil, and wax based ingredients.
5. Heat gently until everything is melted. The beeswax will be last to melt.
6. Once the last of the beeswax is melted, turn off the heat and remove the bowl from the pan.
7. Allow the bowl to cool enough so that you can handle the bowl.
8. Get the immersion blender ready!
9. Once the bowl is cool enough, add a small amount of your breast milk and aloe mixture to the bowl, and blast with the immersion blender.
10. Keep adding the milk and aloe mixture in splashes while pulsing all the time.
11. Keep whipping until the lotion is cool, then stir in your essentials oils.
12. Follow the manufacturer instructions for including a preservative of your choice.
13. Pour into your container.
I hope that wasn’t too hard! I was so stoked when my immersion blender finally got me the results I wanted and I saw this beautiful whipped lotion in my bowl. Happy days!
A note about shelf life, safety, and preservatives
Always store this breast milk lotion in the fridge. Mine lasts a couple of weeks stored this way.
For complete safety, I recommend including a suitable natural preservative in your recipe. Why? All skincare and beauty products containing water should be preserved unless you can use it all within a few days. Learn more about why you need to use a preservative.
I’m taking a risk by choosing not to preserve my body lotion, but I’m being observant as to signs it may be beyond its best.
I take no responsibility for illness caused by using spoiled breast milk lotion. Use at your own risk!
Final thoughts on breast milk lotion
I hope this gorgeous rich breast milk lotion helps your skin as much as it has helped mine. I love it! The combination of wonder substance breast milk with soothing aloe, luscious shea butter, silky cocoa butter, and healing calendula is so nourishing.
What do you think to my breast milk lotion recipe? Will you try it?
I’d love to hear about it if you do! Let me know in the comments section below.