Oils Only Recipes & Methods

Turn your favorite ingredients into custom skincare recipes & formulas

Summer Special 50% off

Get Oils Only for $97

Ready to create deeply nourishing, handcrafted skincare without the complexity of emulsifiers or preservatives?

In Oils Only: Recipes & Methods, you'll learn the art and science of making herbal salves, balms, whipped butters, and body oils using only pure lipid ingredients.

This is your guide to mastering natural formulation, simple, clean, and deeply effective.

Put your herbal and botanical infusions to use in recipes and formulas

In the Oils Only Recipes & Methods course, you'll learn how to:

  • Master oil-based skincare – Create balms, salves, whipped butters, massage oils, cleansing oils, and solid lotion bars using stable, time-tested methods.
  • Work with plant-based ingredients – Use botanical waxes, carrier oils, butters, and antioxidant-rich CO2 extracts for effective, skin-supportive formulations.
  • Incorporate herbal infusions – Work with calendula, violet leaf, and other botanicals to bring added nourishment and plant magic into your products.
  • Formulate with or without beeswax – Explore vegan lotion bars, soft containerless balms, and non-wax options using rich butters and lecithin.
  • Work with animal fats – Learn how to formulate with tallow and other animal fats for their unique skin feel and traditional benefits.
  •  Make effective cleansing oils – Understand how the oil cleansing method works and how to formulate oils that leave the skin clean and soft.
  • Understand key formulation concepts – Learn ratios, melt points, absorption, texture, and how to use vitamin E to support shelf life.
  • Use natural scent and color – Create beautiful products using fragrant waxes, essential oils, botanical infusions, and CO2s.
  • Create customized formulas – Adapt your creations for different skin types, seasonal needs, and personal preferences.
  • Build your toolkit – Get updated tools checklists, dilution guides, melt point charts, and printable reference materials to support your process.

Learn by doing with video lessons, tips and methods

Here’s what we cover inside the course. 

From choosing your core ingredients to scenting, coloring, and shaping your final products. Whether you’re making a simple salve or a sculpted lotion bar, these lessons walk you through the methods, materials, and techniques that make it all work.

Core lessons 

Foundations: Waxes, Butters & Carrier Oils

  • Choosing carrier oils based on function, absorption, and feel 
  • Using botanical waxes and beeswax in natural skincare
  • Understanding melt points, shelf life, and formulation roles
  • Working with lecithin, sterols, and unsaponifiables
  •  INCI names and how to read ingredient labels

Core Lessons

Tools, Techniques & Getting Started

  • What you need to get started — essential tools and workspace setup
  • Pouring, shaping, and cooling salves, balms, and solid bars
  • Methods for whipping oils and butters into soft, spreadable textures
  • Tips for avoiding graininess and separation in whipped recipes
  • Choosing molds and containers for different types of oil-based skincare

Core lessons

Balms, Salves & Solid Lotion Bars

  • How to formulate traditional 3:3:3 balms (wax:butter:oil)
  • Creating no-wax balms using rich butters and pseudo-waxes
  • Making stand-alone balm bars — no jars required
  • Adapting balm textures for climate, skin type, or application style

Core lessons

Working with Plant Butters

  • How to use saturated butters to create structure in oil-based products
  • When to choose “dry” butters for a lighter skin feel
  • Using butters in place of waxes — what works and what doesn’t
  • Creating stable, creamy “melts” without emulsifiers
  • Tips for combining butters and oils to get the texture you want

Core lessons

Making Body & Massage Oils

  • Choosing carrier oils based on absorption, skin type, and season 
  • Creating lightweight or richly emollient oil formulations
  • How to formulate non-greasy finishes for daily use
  •  When and how to add essential oils, CO₂ extracts, or antioxidants

Core lessons

Cleansing Oils & Methods

  • How oil cleansing works — dissolving buildup without stripping skin 
  • Choosing the right oils for different skin types and conditions
  • Simple cleansing oil formulas with just one or two ingredients
  •  Optional add-ins like essential oils or emulsifiers (when desired)

Core lessons

Animal Fats in Skincare

  • How to work with tallow and other rendered fats in your formulas
  • When animal fats can substitute for tropical butters
  • When animal fats can substitute for tropical butters
  • Honoring traditional ingredients in modern anhydrous skincare

Core lessons

Body Butters & Whipped Butters

  • Techniques for creating successful whipped butters
  • Temperature and how to prepare your base oils
  • Adding color and scent to whipped body butters 
  • Making soft spreadable body butters
  • Storage, temperature and melt points
  • Making soft body balms 

Core lessons

Scent & Fragrant Waxes

  • Fragrant waxes offer gentle, lasting scent — and they’re lipids, not essential oils
  • How to add scent without overwhelming your formula
  • Create solid perfumes and subtly aromatic balms using rose, mimosa, jasmine, and more
  •  When to bring in essential oils, and when to skip them
  • Includes bonus melt point guide for waxes and pseudo-waxes

Core lessons

Color & Antioxidants

  • Use pigmented CO₂ extracts like sea buckthorn, turmeric, and calendula for natural color and antioxidant boost
  • Add texture and tone with powdered botanicals and clays
  • Enhance vibrancy with oil infusions — like violet leaf or alkanet root
  • Tap into the natural pigments found in unrefined butters and carrier oils
  • Explore stability tips to keep your formulas colorful and shelf-stable

33 Page Bonus Recipe Book Included!

33 page Bonus recipe book included!

Oils Only Recipe Book

Inside the Oils Only Recipe Book you'll find recipes and recipe templates, charts, tutorials and diagrams for formulating and making skincare using only carrier oils, lipid oils, plant butters and fragrant lipid waxes. 

  • Calendula Salve – A soothing balm with calendula-infused oil, shea butter, and beeswax, great for cuts, burns, and rashes.
  • Wild Weeds Balm – A nourishing blend of helichrysum, comfrey, violet, lemon balm, yarrow, and dandelion-infused oils with rich butters.
  • Violet Leaf Salve – A gentle balm with violet and calendula oils, plus rose wax, ideal for pain relief and skin repair.
  • Cayenne Balm – A warming salve with cayenne oleoresin and chili-infused oil to ease muscle and joint discomfort.
  • Rose Salve & Solid Perfume – A floral balm with rose wax and rose-infused oil, scented with rose otto essential oil.
  • Whipped Body Butters – Light, airy butters made with mango, shea, cocoa, and cupuaçu butter for soft, spreadable hydration.
  • Solid Lotion Bars – A mess-free blend of beeswax, butters, and oils, molded into convenient bars.
  • Violet Leaf Infused Oil – A botanical infusion known for its soothing and skin-repairing properties in balms and serums.
  • Herbal Infused Oils – Instructions for infusing calendula, rose, dandelion, comfrey, and lemon balm into oils.
  • Massage Oils – Blends for relaxation, skin repair, and inflammation relief using oils like pumpkin seed, meadowfoam, and jojoba.

Bonus Guide & Downloadable Charts

Waxes & Butters Guide

Get this printable guide to melt points for waxes and butters with charts and tables for easy reference. Keep a copy on hand for all your formulating projects. 

  • Wax and Butter Melt Points – A comprehensive chart detailing the melting points of beeswax, plant waxes, pseudo-waxes, and plant butters for formulation stability.
  • Essential Oil Dilution & Measurement Charts – Easy-to-follow dilution guides for essential oils, including drop-percentage equivalencies for different formulation sizes.
  • Storage & Packaging Best Practices – Guidelines for properly storing bulk ingredients and finished products using glass, plastic, and other containers.
  • Tools of the Trade – A list of essential equipment for making skincare and body care products, from saucepans and spatulas to measuring cups and stirring sticks.
  • Cleaning and Sanitization Methods – Instructions on maintaining hygiene when working with waxes, oils, and butters, including alcohol sanitization techniques.
  • Useful Extras & Workspace Setup – Recommendations for deli paper, parchment, and other workspace organization tools to ensure efficiency and cleanliness in formulations.

Exclusive BonUs! ($27 value)

Illustrated Guide to Herbal Oil Infusing

Take advantage of our Exclusive Bonus: the Illustrated Guide to Herbal Oil Infusing, featuring:

  • Choosing the Right Oils for Infusions – A detailed guide on selecting stable oils and butters for effective and long-lasting infusions.
  • Infusion Techniques – Covers heat, cold, and solar methods for extracting beneficial plant compounds into oils
  • Fresh vs. Dried Botanicals – A comparison of the pros and cons of using fresh or dried plant material and best practices for each.
  • Step-by-Step Infusion Process – Instructions on preparing, macerating, and pouring off infused oils for optimal potency. 
  • Troubleshooting Infusions – Solutions for common issues like mold growth, oxidation, and unwanted residues in infused oils.
  • Enfleurage and Aromatic Infusions – An introduction to capturing plant scents in oils through the ancient enfleurage method.
  • Selecting Botanicals for Skincare and Wellness – A curated list of beneficial herbs, flowers, and roots for therapeutic oil infusions.

Join us now and get the newly updated Oils Only course for 50% off during our summer special.

This is one of our foundational programs, rooted in traditional, oil-based skincare and it’s just been refreshed with new recipes, expanded lessons, and updated methods for the season.

One Payment
online course

Oils Only Recipes & Methods

Turn your favorite ingredients, infused oil, botanical waxes, lipid oils and butters into herbal salves, fragrant balms, whipped body butters, massage and body oils, cleansing oils and lotion bars.

  • 12 core video lessons 
  • Recipe downloads & tutorials
  • 33 Page Recipe Book
  • Recipes & Formulas
  • Permanent course access
  • Certificate upon completion 
  • 7 day money back guarantee
  •  Bonus Guide to Butters & Waxes

$

97

$197

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7 Day Money Back Guarantee

I really enjoyed studying the Oils Only Recipes & Methods course with Susan. 

Amy Scott - Oils Only Student

I really enjoyed studying the Oils Only Recipes & Methods course with Susan. It gathers together all the core information on getting to know the plant characteristics and chemistry of a wide range of oils and it provides helpful tips on how to formulate different oily products. The course has lots of valuable references, descriptions and comparisons. 

I liked the opportunity to study at my own pace. Some of the exotic oils sound wonderful and I hope to explore all the oils further!"



We're susan & Olivia 

We’re Susan and Olivia — a mother-daughter team passionate about helping you discover the vast and beautiful world of plant oils and lipid-based skincare.

Susan, researcher and author of Power of the Seed, brings decades of study, teaching, and hands-on experience with oils, butters, and botanical formulations.
Olivia handles the behind-the-scenes magic — supporting students, managing the tech, and helping everything run smoothly so you can focus on learning and creating.

Together, we’re here to guide you as you explore the art and science of working with natural oils —
creating skincare that’s simple, nourishing, and deeply rooted in the beauty of plants.

Happy making,
Susan & Olivia

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