Solid lotion bars (again, because they are so fabulous)

Do you remember my solid body lotion bars without beeswax? 

These are among my favourite DIY products because they are so easy to make, so handy, and oh so fun to use. Don't you agree? I especially love them when I have to pack my bags to travel and they are so convenient and take up almost no space. 

Over the last few months though I've grown a bit tired with my recipes and decided to experiment a bit and see what I could change to improve these lovely lotion bars.

(original recipes:

http://plainandpure.blogspot.be/2013/09/solid-body-lotion-bar-recipe-without.html

http://plainandpure.blogspot.be/2014/02/cocoa-coconut-solid-lotion-bars.html)

I have come up with the following ideas:

- Adding a macerated oil which has been infused with dried flowers (I used a mixture of hibiscus, camomile, lavender, calendula and elderberry flower in organic olive oil left for 3 weeks). A few drops of the macerated oil can be used instead of the almond oil in the original recipe. Now I can have a lotion bar packed with all sort of goodies for my skin. You can also prepare a herbal macerated oil if you wish. 

Here a picture of my macerated organic olive oil (in progress)

- By using molds with various shapes (for example with bumps on them) these lotion bars can turn into great massage bars! You can also try adding beans or almonds to make them into massage lotion bars.

- One downside of these lotion bars is that they do tend to be pretty greasy (like any body butter or other product prepared just with butter/oil). To reduce this I have observed that adding just a bit or corn starch to the lotion bar mixture before it starts hardening works perfectly. The solid lotion bar fells even smoother and nicer on your skin. I have also read that tapioca powder starch is great for adding to butters so I guess it would also be ideal for these lotion bars (I have not tested it myself yet). 

Do you have any additional ideas? I would love to hear them!