This beginner-friendly, 100% natural face lotion is lightweight, soothing, and perfect for new lotion makers. It’s packed with hydrating humectants and skin-soothing ingredients—and I’ve taken care of all the fussy stuff so you can start emulsifying with confidence!

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The heated water phase

The bulk of the heated water phase is a blend of hydrating distilled water and fragrant rose hydrosol.

Hydrosols are one of the gentlest ways to add scent (and hydration) to facial products. I chose rose hydrosol, but you can easily swap this for another hydrosol—just be sure to smell it before committing to including it in your formula! Some don’t smell anything like their essential oil counterparts (I’m looking at you, chamomile!). If you’d prefer to use an essential oil instead you can, but I’d recommend keeping the usage rate quite low (~0.1%) to ensure the final product is as gentle as possible. If you use an essential oil, use more distilled water to keep the formulation adding up to 100%.

Learn more: How to naturally scent lotions with essential oils and natural fragrance oils

Panthenol, also known as vitamin B5, helps soothe & moisturize the skin. It’s one of my favourite skin care ingredients because it’s effective, inexpensive, and easy to use. It’s also great in haircare! I’ve used powdered panthenol; if yours is a liquid that means it’s been blended with water and you’ll need to use more. Check with your supplier to learn how concentrated it is; a 50% solution is quite common. If yours is a 50% solution, use twice as much panthenol (4% instead of 2%) and reduce the distilled water in the formula by 2% make room for it.

Two humectants help hydrate the skin: classic vegetable glycerin and (seriously under-appreciated—in my opinion, at least) sodium lactate. Sodium lactate is a kick-butt humectant! It has more than twice the water-holding power of glycerin with far lower tackiness potential, and it’s part of our skin’s natural moisturizing factor. In this formula, its also key to the pH coming out just right. The natural preservative I’ve used pulls the pH of the formulation down, while sodium lactate pulls the pH up. I’ve balanced the amounts so the pH of this formula naturally lands in a good-for-the-skin (and preservative) place without further adjusting (assuming you don’t make any changes, that is). Every time I made this formulation the pH landed between 4.8–5.

The heated oil phase

Three emollients soften and moisturize the skin: golden jojoba oil, EcoSil, and cetyl alcohol.

Jojoba oil is a long-time skincare favourite of mine; I love its silky, rich-but-not-greasy skin feel. I choose golden jojoba oil for this formulation as I love how it helps keep the finished cream from being a sterile bright white colour (which doesn’t feel ‘on brand’ for a natural lotion), but you can definitely use clear jojoba oil if that’s what you have.

EcoSil (INCI: Hydrogenated Ethylhexyl Olivate & Hydrogenated Olive Oil Unsaponifiables) is a natural silicone alternative that is a big part of the lotion’s lightweight, silky feel. I’ve found this ingredient sold in lots of different countries, but it’s often sold under all kinds of different names (like Plantsil, NatraSil, and Olive Sil), which can make it easy to miss when shopping. If you can’t find it as “EcoSil”, try googling the INCI instead.

Cetyl alcohol thickens the emulsion into a silky, spreadable, elegant-feeling lotion. Don’t let the word “alcohol” fool you! Cetyl alcohol is a moisturizing fatty alcohol—not the drying, volatile kind.

And lastly, everything is emulsified together with Olivem 1000. This olive-derived emulsifier is beginner-friendly, widely available, and completely natural—making it an ideal choice for first-time natural lotion formulators. It does have a reputation for being quite “soapy” (meaning a lotion turns white on the skin when it’s rubbed in), but the EcoSil and cetyl alcohol in the formulation help reduce that.

🌹 Spring 2026: Formula Botanica is offering a FREE formulation masterclass where you can learn how to make an all-natural botanical eye cream with jojoba seed oil, Olivem1000, and some beautiful botanicals! You can sign up here 🙂 I highly recommend it, especially if you're wanting to see how Formula Botanica works.

The cool down phase

To keep the lotion from sprouting mould, we need a preservative. I’ve used Geogard® ECT (INCI: Benzyl Alcohol, Salicylic Acid, Glycerin, Sorbic Acid); a widely available natural preservative. This is another ingredient that is sold under lots of different names (Preservative Eco is probably the most common after Geogard® ECT), so make sure you’re looking at INCIs as you shop—not just the easy-to-remember name.

As far as natural preservatives go, Geogard® ECT is quite easy to work with. It’s not known to cause pH drift (like Geogard Ultra™) and is effective across a wider pH range than many natural preservatives. There are a couple things you’ll want to be aware of, though.

The first is its solubility; Geogard® ECT is best suited for use in emulsified products. This is because it is comprised of 77–86% benzyl alcohol, and benzyl alcohol isn’t very water soluble. So while it works well in this formula, it’s not a great choice for watery products like body mists or hydrous facial serums.

The second is its smell. Benzyl alcohol is the same chemical compound that gives almonds their characteristic marzipan-y smell, and I do find that almond-y smell comes through in products preserved with Geogard® ECT. For that reason, I don’t recommend leaving this formulation unscented (unless you want a marzipan-scented lotion, of course!).

The third is that benzyl alcohol is an IFRA fragrance sensitizer, so if your skin is sensitive to fragrances, this preservative might not work well for you.

And fourth; Geogard® ECT is quite acidic and will pull the pH of your formulations down. This can be an asset as we generally want our skincare products to be mildly acidic, but depending on what else is going on in your formula, it might get too acidic. For this reason, I like to include something that’ll pull the pH up in formulations I preserve with Geogard® ECT—like sodium lactate!

The last two ingredients in the cool down phase are vitamin E (for antioxidant goodness) and skin-soothing allantoin.

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Relevant links & further reading

• Distilled water in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
• Panthenol (Vitamin B5) in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
• Vegetable Glycerin in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
• Sodium Lactate in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
• Olivem 1000 in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
• Jojoba Oil in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
• Hydrogenated Ethylhexyl Olivate (and) Hydrogenated Olive Oil Unsaponifiables in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
• Cetyl Alcohol in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
• Geogard® ECT in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
• Tocopherol (Vitamin E) in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
• Allantoin in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
• What’s up with hydrosols, distillates, and floral waters? in the Humblebee & Me FAQ
• How long will ______ last? What is its shelf life? in the Humblebee & Me FAQ
• Can I use a different preservative than the one you’ve used? in the Humblebee & Me FAQ
• pH
  • pH meter in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
  • pH measurement in cosmetic lab: why we dilute samples? from Skin Chakra
  • How to adjust the pH of your cosmetic products from Skin Chakra
  • Why do you create a 10% dilution of a formulation before measuring the pH? in the Humblebee & Me FAQ

Rose & Jojoba Natural Face Lotion

Heated water phase
44.7g | 44.7% distilled water
30g | 30% rose hydrosol (USA / Canada)
2g | 2% panthenol powder (vitamin B5) (USA / Canada)
4g | 4% vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada)
1.5g | 1.5% sodium lactate (USA / Canada)

Heated oil phase
2.5g | 2.5% Olivem1000 (USA / Canada / UK / Germany / Aus / NZ)
4.5g | 4.5% jojoba oil (USA / Canada)
5g | 5% Hydrogenated Ethylhexyl Olivate (and) Hydrogenated Olive Oil Unsaponifiables (USA / Canada / Germany / Aus)
3.5g | 3.5% cetyl alcohol (USA / Canada / UK / Germany / Aus / NZ)

Cool down phase
1g | 1% Geogard® ECT (USA / Canada / UK / Germany / Aus / NZ)
1g | 1% Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)
0.3g | 0.3% allantoin (USA / Canada)

Prepare a water bath by bringing about 3cm/1″ of water to a bare simmer over low to medium-low heat in a wide, flat-bottomed sauté pan.

Weigh the heated water phase into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup or glass beaker. Weigh the entire lot (measuring cup + ingredients) and note that weight for use later. Weigh the heated oil phase into a second heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Place both measuring cups in your prepared water bath to melt everything through.

After about 20–30 minutes the oil part should be completely melted and the water part should be thoroughly dissolved. Remove the water bath from the heat and weigh the water phase. Add enough hot distilled water to the heated water phase to bring the weight back up to what it was before heating, and then pour the water part into the oil part. Stir with a flexible silicone spatula to incorporate.

Grab your immersion blender and begin blending the lotion, starting with short bursts so the still-very-liquid lotion doesn’t whirl up and spray everywhere. Blend for about a minute before switching to hand stirring. You’ll need to be fairly diligent with the stirring at first, but once the mixture has thickened up a bit and is uniform you can switch to stirring occasionally. Once the outside of the glass measuring cup is just warm to the touch (40°C or cooler, if you have a thermometer) we’re ready to proceed.

Now it’s time to incorporate our cool down ingredients. Because cool down ingredients are typically present at very low amounts you’ll need to use an accurate scale—preferably one accurate to 0.01g. As these more accurate scales tend to have fairly low (100–200g) maximum weights you won’t be able to put the entire batch of lotion on that scale without blowing it out. So—grab a smaller dish. Add a scoop or two of lotion, and then weigh the cool down ingredients into that, using the more accurate scale. Stir to thoroughly incorporate, and then stir all of that back into the master batch of lotion. Doing it this way minimizes the amount of cool down ingredients lost to the secondary container.

To test and adjust the pH: create a 10% dilution by weighing 2g product and 18g distilled water into a small bowl or beaker and whisk to combine (wondering why we create a dilution to check the pH?). Check the pH with your pH meter. Depending on the shape of your bowl/beaker you may need to tilt it in order to fully submerge the sensor on your pH meter. The pH should fall in the 4.5–5.5 range. If it is lower than 4.5 you’ll want to raise it; if it’s higher than 6, you’ll want to lower it. Please read this article from Skin Chakra to learn more about pH adjusting.

If you’ve made this formulation as written, the pH should be in a good place—every time I made this formulation the pH fell in the 4.8–5 range. So, if you don’t have a way to test the pH, it should be ok.

Now all that’s left to do is package it up! This formula has a lovely lightweight texture that works beautifully in treatment pumps, regular pump bottles, or squeeze tubes. I used a 100mL (3.3fl oz) airless pump bottle with a treatment pump cap from YellowBee.

Use after cleansing and any serums, but before sunscreen and/or makeup. Enjoy!

Shelf Life & Storage

Because this lotion contains water, you must include a broad-spectrum preservative to ward off microbial growth. This is non-optional. With good manufacturing practice and proper preservation, this formulation should last at least a year. Even with a preservative, this project may eventually spoil as our kitchens are not sterile laboratories, so in the event you notice any change in colour, scent, or texture, chuck it out and make a fresh batch.

Substitutions

As always, be aware that making substitutions will change the final product. While these swaps won’t break the formulation, you will get a different final product than I did.

• As I’ve provided this formulation in percentages as well as grams you can easily calculate it to any size using a simple spreadsheet as I’ve explained in this post. As written in grams, this formulation will make 100g.
• To learn more about the ingredients used in this formulation, including why they’re included and what you can substitute them with, please visit the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia. It doesn’t have everything in it yet, but there’s lots of good information there! If I have not given a specific substitution suggestion in this list (panthenol, allantoin) please look up the ingredient in the encyclopedia before asking.
• If you change anything about this formulation, you’ll need to test the pH to confirm it’s in a good place for your skin and preservative.
• You can use a different hydrosol for a different scent.
• You can use more hydrosol (and less distilled water) for a stronger scent, or vice versa for a weaker scent.
• Propanediol 1,3 is a good alternative for vegetable glycerin.
• Don’t change the sodium lactate unless you can test & adjust the pH as it’s part of the pH balance of the formulation.
• If you want to use a different emulsifying wax, my top choice would be Ritamulse SCG (Emulsimulse, ECOMulse).
  • Montanov 68 should work, but I find it’s much more soapy than Olivem 1000.
  • I’d tread carefully with PolyAquol-2W as it is sensitive to electrolytes (like sodium lactate).
  • Non-natural options like Emulsifying Wax NF, BTMS-50, or BTMS-25 will also work.
• You can substitute another lightweight oil like meadowfoam oil, sweet almond, grapeseed, or sunflower seed instead of jojoba oil.
• If you don’t have EcoSil, I suggest swapping it or a different natural lightweight ester/emollient like Isoamyl cocoate, Isoamyl laurate, Neossance® Hemisqualane, or Coco-Caprylate.
• You can use cetearyl alcohol instead of cetyl alcohol, but this will reduce the slip of the lotion.
• If you’d like to use a different preservative, please review this FAQ and this chart. Changing the preservative will impact the pH of the formulation and will require you to test and adjust as needed.
• If you’d like to incorporate an essential oil, please read this.

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