Category: Cosmetics (Page 5 of 10)

How to make homemade body Lotion
I have made lotions for several months now, but until now I have been following recipes. The following one is the first one I’ve planned out by myself. Alas, I haven’t made it yet and I’m not going to make it until I run out of the many other lotions I have – but I’m writing it down here so I don’t lose it. This recipe should give you a bit over 10 oz of lotion.
As for the instructions, they are the usual ones. Mix the oils and waxes and heat until they emulsify. Wait until they cool down or heat the waters until they are the same temperature as the oils. Pour the oils into the water, slowly and gradually with a stick blender, until they emulsify and thicken, then add the vitamin E, preservative and fragrance and blend well.

• 1/2 oz Apricot seed oil
• 1/2 oz Shea butter
• 1/2 oz Jojoba oil
• 1/2 oz Avocado oil
• 1/2 oz Stearic acid
• 1/2 oz Emulsifying wax
• 6 oz water
• 1 oz aloe vera
• 1/4 tsp. glycerin
• 1/2 tsp. vitamin E oil
• 1/2 tsp. phenonip (preservative, skip if you want)
• 4-10 drops essential or fragrance oils
• colorant (optional)

Update: I’ve been using this cream for a couple of days now and I love it. It’s very light and silky, not at all oily, it absorbs quickly and leaves my skin very soft. I’ll definitely make this lotion again when I’m done with what I have.

I made this recipe for my friend Lola’s birthday. It makes a nice and light lotion, with a silky/creamy consistency. This version has no preservatives, but it should be good for several weeks if you make sure to sterilize your pots and containers before using them. Otherwise store it in the fridge, and it should last for several months. Given how hot it is, I like keeping mine cold anyway. The cream is light enough that you can use a lotion pump for it, but it’s OK for a wide-mouth jar as well.
This recipe makes a little over 5 oz. I used three types of oils, but you can use one or more in whatever proportions you want – just make sure they come up to 6 tablespoons or so. I used chamomile infusion (tea), but you can use regular distilled water or a different infusion. If you do use an infusion, let it seep for at least 2 hours.
It takes a while for this mixture to thicken up, but don’t despair, it will. Just blend (at intervals, so that your blender does not burn out) until it cools down.

• 2 Tbsp. Jojoba oil
• 2 Tbsp. Avocado oil
• 2 Tbsp. Coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp. Stearic acid
• 1/4 tsp. Emulsifying wax
• 1/4 cup herbal infusion or distilled water
• 1/4 tsp. Borax
• 1 tsp. Vitamin E oil
• 3-4 drops Essential or Fragrance oil

Put the carrier oils in a small microwave-safe bowl (I used a pyrex ramekin) and add the stearic acid and emulsifying wax. Microwave in high until the wax melts 30 to 90 seconds, depending on your microwave.
Mix the infusion/water with the borax in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave until it boils, 30 to 60 seconds, depending on your microwave.
Pour the oils into the water, slowly and gradually, while blending all the time with an electric stick/hand blender. Blend until the mixture emulsifies, and then continue blending, 20 seconds at the time, until it cools down and thickens.
Add the vitamin E and blend until incorporated. Add the fragrance or essential oil and blend until incorporated again.
Transfer the lotion to bottles/jars.
Note: To transfer thickened lotions into bottles with a small aperture, I first spoon them into squeeze bottles and then I squirt them into the final container. A funnel may work just as well, but I don’t have one 🙂
Recipe adapted from Article Base.

Today I gave Mika a full manicure: hand soak, scrub massage (it tickled), lotion and nail polish. She, of course, loved it. I made the hand soaking solution and the hand scrub myself, following recipes I found online (that I’m posting below). I think both worked reasonably well. I used a lotion I had made previously, but I have another recipe for a hand lotion that I want to try. I first want to get rid of most of the other bottles of lotions that I’ve made, however. If you live in San Leandro and want some all-natural lotion, I’ll be happy to give you some (I have extra Tropical Sun lotion available now).
As for the nail polish, I bought a set with 10 bottles of nail polish at Grocery Outlet for $5. The nail polishes are Sally Hansen brand, a low-end brand for what I understand. Most of them are in the pinkish-to-reddish spectrum, there are a couple beige/cream ones and a blue one. The kit seems to have been put together from bottles that were being sold individually, as some of the bottles have a 50% off sticker on them and/or price stickers (original price $4.29 per bottle!). In any case, we’ll now have nail polish for the rest of our lives.
Cinnamon Milk Hand Soak Recipe
From Skin Care Recipes and Remedies.com

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup milk
• 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
• pinch cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high until warm (30-60 seconds). Soak your hands in the liquid for 10 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.
Olive & Lemon Hand Scrub Recipe
From Good Life (eats)
Note: I halved this recipe as I don’t know how long it’ll keep and will refrigerate just in case. I also added more sugar and salt than required as it otherwise was too wet. This recipe is very similar to the face scrub I made a couple of months ago – however, the addition of coarse salt will probably make it too rough to use on your face.

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• zest of 1/2 a lemon, grated
• 1/8 tsp. lemon extract (optional)

Mix all ingredients and spoon into a lidded container. When ready to use, massage a tablespoon or so on/with your hands.

I’ve began naming my lotions and making little cards listing the name and the ingredients (I don’t think labels look anywhere as good). The names will help me differentiate them in the future, when I go back and look at the recipes, in case I want to repeat one. But I’ve noticed that I don’t actually want to do that – just like with food, what I want is to create something different each time. Though, I must say, lotions don’t differ from each other anywhere as much as dishes.
I got this recipe from Snowdrift Farm, an online merchant of cosmetic-making products. I haven’t bought from then yet – and who knows when I’ll get bored of this hobby. I was looking for a cocoa butter recipe, so that I could use some of the cocoa butter I bought, and this fit the bill perfectly as I had almost all the other ingredients (I substituted the recommended preservative for the one I have at home).
I’m quite happy with the results. The lotion is creamy and silky, perhaps a little too oily, but I seem to say that about all the lotions I make. I like it quite a bit. My only complaint is that the fragrance I added cannot hide the smell of the cocoa butter (they sell deodorized cocoa butter if you want to avoid this problem). It’s not a major issue, though, I just smell somewhat chocolaty 🙂 Indeed, I named the lotion Tropical Sun because it has cocoa and coconut oil (we’ll forget about the jojoba for now).
Here is the recipe: all the measures, except for those specified as ml, are in weights.
Tropical Sun Body Lotion

5 ml phenonip
Put the cocoa butter, jojoba oil, emulsifying wax and coconut oil in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Mix and continue microwaving, for 30 seconds at the time, until the mixture is completely melted. Set aside
Put the water and glycerin in a medium size bowl. Mix and microwave for 1’30”.
Mix the water solution with your stick blender and very slowly start pouring in the oils into the water. Continue blending. Add the fragrance oil and the phenonip and blend for 3 minutes, until well emulsified.
Pour the lotion into bottles while still warm and liquid – it will thicken as it cools down.