Ingredients 101: Refillable Natural Body Lotion

This post first appeared in our weekly Make Waves Mondays email series on February 24, 2025.

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Okay SO. Last week I used a name-brand body lotion.

I was out and about, my hands were dry, and there was a bottle of lotion in the bathroom I was in, so I pumped a ‘lil dab into my hands and began to rub it in.

My friend - this stuff was TERRIBLE. Like, I couldn’t believe how truly terrible it was.

“Intensive care” and “advanced repair” my booty.

It felt like little more than thick, milky water on my hands. It was runny and didn’t absorb AT ALL, which left my hands basically feeling sweaty and slippery, and exactly zero percent more moisturized than before I used the lotion. 

‘Twas truly awful.

Here’s the important thing you need to know here: every product you see in our online shop has been tested, approved, and used regularly by moi. My bathroom vanity is packed full of A Drop in the Ocean products - including our refillable body lotion.

Our body lotion was one of the very first products we added to our lineup when we launched (6 years ago tomorrow! 🎉), so I’ve been using this stuff for a long time now.

And apparently because I’ve been using it for so long I started to take for granted how freaking phenomenal this stuff is.

But instead of just sitting here raving about this amazing zero waste body lotion, I wanted to take a look at WHY this body lotion rocks so much.

AKA - what the heck is in it and what on earth do the ingredients actually DO?

So let’s dive into it 👇

Quick disclaimer: this information is for educational purposes only. It has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

What’s in our zero waste refillable body lotion?

As with all the rest of our refillable products, our body lotion is packaged in a reusable [glass] bottle that you can return to us when empty to wash, sanitize, and reuse again and again.

But what goes into that bottle, exactly, and are the ingredients as clean as the packaging?

🌿 Mango Butter. Mango butter being the main ingredient in our body lotion is one of the biggest reasons it’s so dang luxurious. With a similar texture to shea or cocoa butter but packed full of fatty acids, the mango butter is lightweight but deeply moisturizing for dry skin, naturally. According to dermatologist Dr. Jodi LoGerfo, mango butter actually forms a natural protective barrier on your skin that can actually help boost your own skin’s natural barrier and heal it from the inside out! It’s also full of vitamins that can help protect you from UV rays and pollution.

🌿 Emulsifying Wax (Vegan). The emulsifying wax in our body lotion boosts the fatty acid content of the lotion even more, and helps bind all of the ingredients together, creating the thick, luxurious texture our EcoWarriors rave about.

🌿 Stearic Acid. While stearic acid is often used as a thickener, it also smooths and softens your skin’s surface and helps to maintain its natural barrier (another boost to the benefits of the mango butter!).

🌿 Sweet Almond Oil. Rich in a plethora of vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids, sweet almond oil is hypoallergenic and noncomedogenic, absorbing completely into your skin without clogging your pores. Sweet almond oil can also help to reverse the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, as well as treat rashes and skin ailments such as eczema and psoriasis.

🌿 Apricot Oil. Even more fatty acids! Apricot oil is a rich, soothing oil that softens and moisturizes skin, and can also help reduce wrinkles and fine lines - all while still leaving your skin feeling beautifully non-greasy.

🌿 Avocado Oil. With about a zillion vitamins, proteins, antioxidants, and fatty acids, avocado oil is a true hero in our body lotion - not just moisturizing your skin, but also boosting its collagen production and protecting it from harmful UV rays.

🌿 Jojoba Oil. Jojoba is actually a liquid wax (who knew?!) that not only moisturizes but also coats the insides of your pores, regulating oil production. It acts as a humectant - so its moisturizing properties last. Jojoba also helps to lessen the appearance of skin ailments such as eczema and psoriasis with its anti-inflammatory and healing properties.

🌿 Raspberry Seed Oil. Raspberry seed oil is absolutely packed with fatty acids (like, 50-60% fatty acids!), keeping your skin super soft and hydrated. Plus, it acts as a natural sun protectant with a natural SPF rating around 50.

🌿 Sesame Oil. With its naturally high zinc levels, sesame oil is great for boosting your skin’s natural collagen production, giving your skin more elasticity and less wrinkles and fine lines, while also repairing damage. And the high Vitamin E levels also act as a natural sun protectant!

🌿 Pure Essential Oils. The magical little oils that make our lotion smell so dang good.

🌿 Optiphen ND. A natural preservative to protect the lotion against mold and bacteria.

What’s so great about fatty acids in skincare and body care products?

One of my favorite things about writing blog posts is that I always learn something new in the process.

Doing the research into each of these ingredients and seeing how many of them are high in fatty acids had me wondering…why is it so great to have fatty acids in body lotion?

So it turns out, the human body can’t produce its own fatty acids, even though they play a really important role in our bodies.

Protecting us from germs and other bad stuff

Without fatty acids, our skin can become dry, flaky, and irritated. Which isn’t just a nuisance - it’s actually really important to keep our skin hydrated so that it can do its job properly of protecting us against bacteria, germs, and infections.

I had no idea about any of this and I am FASCINATED right now writing this. WHO KNEW that dry skin is actually a health concern and not just super annoying??

Protecting us from the sun

Fatty acids themselves are also apparently a natural SPF. According to some studies, whether you supplement with things like fish oil or apply fatty acids topically, they can give you a pretty significant sun protection boost.

Keeping our skin youthful

Studies have shown that higher use of fatty acids over time thickens the skin’s epidermis, increases collagen, and lessens wrinkles, even in regularly-sun-exposed areas such as hands. Fatty acids can also reduce inflammation by regulating sebum production, which in turn can help reduce acne breakouts.

How long does one bottle of our body lotion last?

Okay so now that we know what makes our zero waste body lotion so dang GOOD for your skin, let’s talk about the logistics of it all. How long does one bottle actually last?

‘Cause let’s be real, friend...the stuff ain’t cheap.

Doing some real basic math, our EcoWarriors reorder their body lotion from us every 5 months.

Now, this real basic math is so basic that it includes both 8oz and 16oz bottles, so this is just the average between the two. So the 8oz bottles are likely ordered a little more frequently and the 16oz bottles are likely ordered a little less frequently.

But I’ll also tell you that personally, even in the dark and cold depths of winter, I need just a little baby pea-sized dollop of lotion for my hands. 🤏 Like, maayyybbeee a quarter of a pump of lotion. 

Obviously, for full body moisturization, I need a little more than that, but honestly not much. This stuff is so thick and so full of all those skin-loving ingredients that a wee little bit goes a real long way.

So in summary…

I have loved our refillable body lotion from the very beginning of A Drop in the Ocean. I knew the ingredients - like all of the ingredients in all of our products - are so carefully chosen by our makers to be the best stuff on the market, but I had no idea just how good this lotion truly is for your skin.

And now that I’ve done this deep dive (and learned all about fatty acids in the process! 😅) I’m even more sold on it - if that’s even possible.

So when you’re in the market for some new, ultra-moisturizing and skin-soothing body lotion (with SPF and great for sensitive skin!), give ours a try.

I promise you won’t regret it.

Now, I gotta know, since this is the second in our Ingredients 101 series… Which of our natural zero waste products do you want us to do an ingredient breakdown for next?? Comment below and lemme know! 💙