I haven't bought mass-producted lotion or moisturizer in decades, or have any interest in doing so. Most of it, even the "good" stuff is made with mostly soybean or safflower or sunflower or some cheap, shitty oil and a drop of argan or jojoba or some specialty oil in it so they can put "Argan oil!" or something on the label.
This came up in a convo elsewhere here about trying to prevent loose skin. My lotion does not prevent loose skin, because no lotion can do that and the ones that say they can are lying. It DOES, however, moisturize very well and goes on silky and not greasy. I don't and will never sell it, because in the US, lotion is considered a "cosmetic" and is subject to FDA oversight, and no thank you to all that.
I learned lotion crafting mostly from Oh The Things We'll Make, Humblebee and Me, Swifty Crafty Monkey, and Brambleberry. (Google them). Most of the crunchy-girl blogs use a double boiler, but I use the microwave. I'm not going to rewrite the how-to of lotion crafting just to give my recipe, but wholesalesuppliesplus (where I get a LOT of my stuff) has a decent "how to make lotion page here:
https://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/education/how-to-make/lotions-from-scratch.aspx
I don't mess with "heat and hold", because it's not really necessary for me; basic sanitary practices and a preservative do me fine. I mix up my lotion as I need it, and make about a month at a time.
My lotion recipe ingredients and where I usually get them are:
65% Distilled Water (anywhere)
20% nice oil, your choice of any combination. I favor moringa, macadamia nut, and jojoba, argan from wholesalesuppliesplus, sometimes rosehip, sometimes emu oil from Montana Emu Ranch (no more than 10% of the total oil for that one), sometimes avocado oil out of the cupboard, just experiment with what you like.
4% vegetable glycerine, amazon
4% BTMS-25, wholesalesuppliesplus
1% BTMS-50, wholesalesuppliesplus (if you don't feel like getting both, you can just do 5 of the 25 but I like a little of the 50)
1% fragrance or essential oil. I get both from wholesalesuppliesplus. This month is "Cashmere Woods and Tonka Bean," an old favorite, but you can use whatever you like.
3% protein or aminos. Silk peptides are fine, plant keratin is my usual. At some point, I might try 1% of it being reconned ghk.
1% Jeequat ndcs (I like it because it makes my eyelashes noticeably thicker. It's optional, if you don't want to go look for it, add another 1% of btms-25. I get mine at Windy City Soap in Canada)
0.25% DL-panthenol (you can leave it out if you want, it's the vitamin in Pantene. I get mine at wholesalesuppliesplus)
0.75% Optiphen plus (do not leave this out. Just don't. Your lotion will get bacteria and be gross.)
Everything by weight. If you do 100g of this, it makes about 3.5 oz. Use a scale that weights a tenth of a gram, the little drug-dealer or jewelry scales on amazon work fine.
In one container:
The oil, the btms 25 and 50.
In the other container:
The water, the DL Panthenol, the protein or aminos, the jeequat, and the glycerine
Alternate heating both containers in the microwave in ten seconds bursts (for the oil one) and twenty seconds bursts (for the water one). Check temps with your thermometer as you go. Try to get both of them to 165-175 at the same time. Try not to overheat the water one. Try HARD not to overheat the oil one.
When they're both at the right temp or higher, give the water one a quick stir and dump it in the oil one. Give THAT a quick stir, and make sure it's still over 165. If it's not, pop it back in the microwave in ten seconds bursts, quick stir and check, repeat til it's at 165. Then hit it with your mixer for 40-50 seconds or until it turns white (maybe beige, if your aminos are beige).
Make sure your temp has dropped below 175, and as long as it has, add the optiphen and the fragrance. Hit it again with the mixer, around a minute, maybe less. If you're new, wait about ten minutes before pouring it into the container to make sure it's not separating. If it is, then you got your heat wrong; let it cool all the way and THEN mix again; it won't be perfect but it'll be useable. If the emulsion is stable and not separating, pour it into your container and let it cool before you put the lid on.
I think if you mix in ghk, which I haven't done yet cause I just go the idea last night from @desinr-gal , you probably shouldn't add that til after you're done microwaving; I don't actually know how a copper peptide would act in the microwave. Maybe fine, maybe not, but I will not be chancing it.
It'll thicken when it cools all the way and gets a few hours to set. Use it and then reflect on how you are free from the clutches of expensive body care vendors forever and the price of good lotion is no longer the price of YOUR good lotion, and yours isn't full of silicone and soybean oil.
