For an in-depth introduction to lotion making, read INTRODUCTION TO LOTION MAKING by Susan Barclay-Nichols at Point of Interest
SUMMARY OF STEPS
Consistency and texture of lotions and creams:
According to Go Native NZ's experiments, they have shown these formulations to make the following:
Light lotion: water phase 80% | oil phase 16% | Emulsifier-O 4%. Initially this is very milky but it firms up over 48 hours.
Face cream: water phase 80% | oil phase 14% | Emulsifier-O 6%.
Body cream: water phase 75% | oil phase 15% | Emulsifier-O 8%.
Body butter: water phase 60% | oil phase 30% | Emulsifier-O 10%.
Because everyone is different, our preference of consistency and texture of skincare products will also be different in terms of having it in a lotion, cream or butter form. We also use different types of skincare products for different reasons e.g, seasonal changes. So do play around with these formulations to tweek it to your preference. I am constantly changing, refining and experimenting with new recipes and ingredients.
FULL STEPS IN DETAIL
Steps I usually take in making my lotions and creams:
- Figure out how much lotion, cream, or butter I want and find a sterilized container for it.
- Figure out what ingredients I need to use for oil and water phases and the type of consistency and texture of the cream you would like (refer to above section "Consistency and texture of lotions and creams")
- Assign a % to each ingredient, making sure the total of oil and liquid ingredients add up to 100% (usually additives like preservatives and fragrance/essential oils are NOT added to the 100% total)
- For example a body butter recipe may something like this:
- Oil phase (30%): hemp oil (10%), shea butter (10%), cocoa butter (10%)
- Emulsifier (10%): emulsifier-o wax
- Water phase (60%): purified water (you can use any liquid e.g., herbal tea, aloe vera juice, flower hydrosols etc)
- Preservative (0.5%): geogard 221 (liquid form)
- Essential oils (0.5%): lavender and tea tree oil
- Calculate the exact amount of each ingredient by multiplying the % in recipe to the total volume of your container or preferred final weight of cream
- For example a 250g pot of body butter recipe may look like this:
- Oil phase (75g): hemp oil (25g), shea butter (25g), cocoa butter (25g)
- Emulsifier (25g): emulsifier-o wax (25g)
- Water phase (150g): purified water (150g)
- Preservative (1.25ml): geogard 221 (1.25ml)
- Essential oils (1.25ml): lavender (0.8ml/16 drops) and tea tree oil (0.45ml/9 drops)
- Heat up the oil ingredients (including butters and waxes) in double boiler to 75°C
- Heat up the liquid ingredients in a double boiler to 75°C
- Combine the oil and liquid ingredients together I make sure they are still around the same temperature or it won't mix well
- I now weigh the combined ingredients to see if it is the same as the total weight of my original recipe. If it is less it means that some of the water may have evaporated during the heat up phase. In this case, add some pre-boiled water to it weighs up to the original recipe amount. Some people like to add 10% extra water to their liquid phase to avoid this issue at the beginning.
- Add in my preservative. This is optional but I highly recommended as a blend of oils and water together will be contaminated over time even if you leave it in the fridge. I usually use Geogard 221 (liquid form) but there are many preservatives and each has a different % of use, double check with the company you get it from. Read more about preservatives at MakingSkincare.com
- (Optional, if you want it scent free). I wait till your cream, lotion, or butter is cooled down to around 45°C before I add essential/fragrance oil. Each essential/fragrance oil has its own flashpoint (see Essential Oils - Flashpoints). Different brands may differ in flashpoint temperatures too, double check with the company you got it from.
- Pour/spoon in sterilized container.
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