BUTTER-C
Signature ingredients
Solid body lotion bar OEM/ODM manufacturing
Solid Body Lotion Bar · OEM/ODM
A body lotion bar is a hand-sized solid block made of plant butters, wax and oil, with not a single drop of water. At room temperature it holds its shape like a bar of soap; glided over warm skin after a shower, its surface melts into a thin film of lipids that helps dry skin feel softer. Because there is no water, the product needs no preservative system for a water phase and can be packed in paper or tins instead of plastic bottles — a genuine sustainability story, as long as it only states what is true of the chosen pack, without promising "zero waste" in numbers. The evidence should be stated plainly: human evidence isolating the moisturizing effect of cocoa butter, shea butter or beeswax is limited, and two placebo-controlled trials of cocoa butter products found no reduction in pregnancy stretch marks. Claims therefore stop at softening and surface moisturizing, tested on the finished product. The hard part is fat physics in Vietnam's climate: cocoa butter melts around 33.5 °C and has six crystal forms, so a bar can soften and sweat oil in summer transport, or turn grainy with a white bloom if cooled the wrong way. Butter-C offers turnkey OEM/ODM manufacturing, from formula development and testing to labeled finished goods and the notification dossier.
Formula base
Butter, wax, oil — and a little powder to cut greasiness
In a formulation study of anhydrous lotion bars (Kulawik-Pioro et al., 2025), the base was 50% cocoa butter, 34% sunflower oil, 15% beeswax and starch combined, and 1% tocopheryl acetate. That is a laboratory model, not a standard formula; actual ratios are set by hardness, melting point and skin feel.
Plant butters
Cocoa butter: more than half saturated fatty acids, melting point 33.5 °C according to one source in CIR 2017 — gives a firm bar that melts on rubbing. Shea butter: stearic 28–56%, oleic 34–61%, softer, with composition varying by growing region (Akihisa 2010). Cocoa butter is not in Butter-C's current raw-material data — source and COA per order.
Structuring wax
Beeswax (Cera Alba) melts at 62–65 °C (CIR 1984); the 2022 survey lists 1.5–12% in hand and body products (reported levels, not recommendations); not in current raw-material data — sourced per order. Vegan version: carnauba wax (82–86 °C, very hard and brittle according to CIR) and hydrogenated castor oil (78–90 °C).
Liquid oils
Sunflower oil (the high-oleic type is more stable), jojoba, rice bran, MCT oil — soften the bar so it glides easily. The more oil, the softer the bar and the more it tends to sweat oil in the heat (formulation experience).
Powder to cut greasiness, antioxidant
Tapioca or corn starch: in Kulawik-Pioro's study, 2.5% starch (all sources tested) gave the balance between consistency and ease of application the authors judged suitable; no formula was stable at 15%. Tapioca starch is not in current raw-material data — sourced per order. Tocopherol protects the oil phase from rancidity.
Key technical points
Melting point, fat crystals and oil sweating
A lotion bar must be firm enough to hold, soft enough to glide on as a thin layer at skin temperature, and stay that way from the factory through trucks, warehouses and store shelves to the user's bathroom.
Melting point for Vietnam's climate
Cocoa butter starts to melt around body temperature; warehouses, trucks and non-air-conditioned stores can be hotter than that in summer. Kulawik-Pioro's study followed bars at 25 °C — not representative of tropical transport. Wax and butter ratios are set by holding tests at 40 °C and 45 °C and freeze–thaw cycling; a higher melting point means a harder bar that glides less easily (formulation experience).
Graininess and white bloom
Cocoa butter has six crystal forms; in chocolate, temperature swings partly melt the fat, which then recrystallizes into the stable form that causes "bloom" (Stobbs 2025, food science). Shea butter can also recrystallize into small grains (manufacturing experience). The fat phase is melted completely, cooled on a fixed profile and put through thermal cycling.
Oil sweating, starch settling, cracking
Signs of instability recorded by Kulawik-Pioro: oil seeping to the surface, starch settling at the bottom of the bar, bars hardening and crumbling, oil soaking into the wrapping paper. Wax–oil–powder ratios are balanced, and the mass is stirred until cool enough before pouring so the powder does not settle (formulation experience).
Anhydrous, yet still micro- and oxidation-tested
With no water, the main risk is rancid oil: tocopherol and a peroxide value per lot. But the bar is handled with wet hands and kept in a humid bathroom, and starch is a nutrient for microbes once wet. Risk is assessed under ISO 29621, with micro testing of powdered raw materials and every finished lot.
Three formulation directions
Three kinds of lotion bar
Unlike whipped body butter (a soft mass in a jar, scooped with a finger) and cleansing balm (contains emulsifiers to rinse off), a lotion bar is a hand-held solid block, left on the skin, with no emulsifier.
Classic cocoa butter – beeswax bar
Cocoa butter, shea butter, beeswax, sunflower oil. Firm and slow-melting, with a light cocoa scent if unrefined butter is used; deodorized butter suits a fragrance-free version.
Vegan plant-wax bar
Beeswax replaced with carnauba wax combined with hydrogenated castor oil. Carnauba is hard, brittle and melts much higher than beeswax — use less and blend with oil to reduce brittleness; changing the wax means a new formula and full stability retesting. Claim "vegan" only with supplier documentation for the whole formula.
Dry-touch bar with starch
Low levels of tapioca or corn starch reduce greasiness so clothes can go on sooner after applying. The powder needs a COA for moisture and micro; too much powder makes the bar settle and crumble.
Packaging is designed with the formula
Tins, paper boxes with an oil-resistant layer, or paper push-up tubes. Plain paper lets oil bleed through; the case should stay dry and may come with a tray so the bar drains after each use (formulation experience). Mold pouring and boxing: depends on equipment and order scale, to be discussed.
Parameters we monitor
What our R&D lab measures on every sample
Below is the set of parameters Butter-C tracks during formula development and scale-up. Specific limits are agreed with you on the approved sample and then written into the product's in-house specification.
- Appearance & surface
- Color, odor, smooth surface with no dips, cracks, oil droplets or white bloom — compared with the reference sample in our R&D lab.
- Melting point
- Drop point or softening point by a standard method; the parameter that decides whether the bar survives summer storage and transport.
- Hardness
- Measured by needle penetrometer at 25°C and 35°C; compared with the approved sample.
- Freeze–thaw cycling
- Catches graininess, white bloom, oil sweating, starch settling and cracking; holding at 40°C and 45°C defines the melting limit.
- Acid value & peroxide value
- Oil phase on incoming raw materials and on the finished product across stability time points, with rancid-odor checks.
- Microbiology
- Tested at a GLP / ISO 17025-accredited laboratory on every lot; plant powder raw materials checked separately.
- Net weight
- Checked on every lot by weighing; bars shrink as they cool, so fill is controlled by weight, not by mold volume.
- Skin feel & packaging compatibility
- Glide, greasiness, dry-down time; oil bleeding through paper, rust or staining of tins, lid fit.
Claims
Claims matched to the evidence
Cocoa butter: two randomized placebo-controlled trials in pregnant women (Osman 2008, 175 completers; Buchanan 2010, 300 women) found no significant difference in stretch mark rates. Shea butter and beeswax: human evidence isolating their moisturizing effect is limited. Lotion bar claims stop at softening, surface moisturizing and testing on the finished product. Butter-C reviews label and marketing wording as soon as the notification dossier is prepared.
Moisturizes, helps dry skin feel softer and smoother
Instead of: repairs skin, claims about cracked skin, prevents or erases stretch marks.
Water-free bar, no mixing with water needed
Describes the format. Instead of: preservative-free so completely safe, completely bacteria-free.
Plastic-free packaging
Only when the box, liner and labels are truly plastic-free. Instead of: zero waste, fully biodegradable, unsupported plastic-saving figures.
Plant-origin, vegan ingredients
A bar with beeswax is not vegan; the plant-wax version only with supplier documentation. Instead of: non-allergenic, safe for people with nut allergy.
People allergic to bee products
Beeswax allergy is rare and mainly linked to lip balms; people with a confirmed beeswax allergy should choose the plant-wax version; people allergic to propolis need not avoid every beeswax product but should patch test (de Groot 2026). Cocoa butter was comedogenic in the rabbit ear and in a small study on human backs: users with breakout-prone backs or chests should test first.
Directions and storage
Glide over skin after the shower; keep the bar dry, close the case, avoid sun and hot places; do not apply to broken skin, stop use if redness or itching occurs. Pregnancy: insufficient data for the individual ingredients, ask a doctor.
Manufacturing specifications
Current capabilities
- Texture
- Anhydrous solid bar; firm and slow-melting, soft and easy-gliding, or dry-touch with starch.
- Pack formats
- Tins, paper boxes with an oil-resistant layer, paper push-up tubes. Weight and mold shape agreed when packaging is selected.
- Mold pouring, boxing
- Depends on equipment and order scale; to be discussed before bar shape and packaging are finalized.
- Minimum order quantity
- Agreed per order — depends on molds, packaging and butter and wax sourcing.
- Testing
- Tested at a GLP / ISO 17025-accredited laboratory, with a certificate of analysis delivered with every lot.
- Dossier
- Product Information File (PIF) and cosmetic product notification dossier prepared by Butter-C, with a microbiological risk assessment for the anhydrous product.
Suggested product concept
Cocoa butter – shea lotion bar for dry skin, fragrance-free
A product concept to help you picture the possibilities — not a ready-made product for sale. The actual formula is built around your brand's positioning and price range.
Deodorized cocoa butter and shea butter
Firmness and a rich, smooth feel; deodorized butter for the fragrance-free version.
Beeswax and high-oleic sunflower oil
Wax keeps the bar's shape in hot weather; oil lets it glide. Ratio set by melting point and hardness at 35°C.
Tapioca starch, tocopherol
Starch at a low level to cut greasiness; tocopherol protects the oil phase.
60 g tin
A dry case with an oil-resistant paper liner; the label says to let the bar drain and avoid hot places.
Customization options
What you can specify
The same product type can serve very different customers. Tell us your requirements in the areas below and our pharmacists will build the formula to match.
Butter type
Cocoa, shea, mango butter; unrefined or deodorized.
Wax type
Beeswax, or carnauba wax and hydrogenated castor oil for a vegan version.
Hardness
Firm and slow-melting for hot climates, or soft and easy-gliding for users who like a richer layer.
Greasiness
With or without starch; light or rich oils.
Fragrance
Fragrance-free, the natural cocoa scent of the butter, vanilla, citrus; fragrance per IFRA certificate for leave-on products.
Packaging and shape
Tin, paper box, push-up tube; round, rectangular or embossed — depending on equipment and order scale.
Further reading
Related knowledge
Beeswax (Cera Alba) in cosmetics
Structuring role, contact allergy, paraffin adulteration and plant-wax alternatives (in Vietnamese).
Cocoa butter in cosmetics
Six crystal forms, melting point, pregnancy stretch mark trials (in Vietnamese).
Shea butter in cosmetics
Composition, level of evidence and the nut allergy question (in Vietnamese).
Tapioca starch in cosmetics
The anhydrous lotion bar study with five starches (in Vietnamese).
Carnauba wax in cosmetics
A very hard plant wax for vegan versions (in Vietnamese).
Body butter OEM/ODM manufacturing
Dense or whipped butter in a jar — the same graininess and heat-melting issues.
Body lotion OEM/ODM manufacturing
Water-based lotion that absorbs quickly for daily use.
How we work
From idea to finished batch
Eight steps and three milestones signed off by both sides: approved sample, notification number, finished batch. Step-by-step details (in Vietnamese) →
Get started
Tell us about the product you plan to launch
Send us your product direction and expected volume. Our team will get back to you during business hours (Vietnam time, GMT+7).
Head office: Huu Le village, Dai Thanh commune, Hanoi · Factory: Thanh Oai Industrial Cluster, Binh Minh commune, Hanoi, Vietnam
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