Finally! Two weeks ago, I attended our local skin cream workshop. So many people wanted to participate. I had to wait about two weeks for the possibility to visit this amazing place. When I first stepped through the door, it was sheer paradise for me…LOL! So many natural smells, so many rare extracts, oils, butters and other ingredients. I just wanted to live there!

Actually I didn’t post about this event right after i attended. I wanted to test all the creams I made there, so i could provide you with the results of my tests as a guinea pig. I want to warn you straight away that the results are amazing!

The cream workshop

During this workshop, we created two facial creams of our choice from the offered list of recipes. I chose to make one cream for acne skin and the other one for dry, sensitive and acne prone skin. I chose the acne cream as a test treatment for my own acne prone skin. I made the other cream for my friend, as she has extremely sensitive and dry skin.

The first recipe contained shea butter as a main ingredient. The idea was to thoroughly mix shea butter with the other ingredients without heating them. When it’s not heated, shea butter has the great ability to absorb water and oils, so all proportions should be strictly followed.

Homemade facial cream recipe for acne skin

Ingredients:
5.2 g. shea butter
4 ml. tamanu (foraha) oil
3 ml. evening primrose oil
3 ml. avocado oil
14 ml. lavender hydrosol
2 drops rosemary extract
1 drop tea tree essential oil
1 drop citronella essential oil
1 drop atlas cedarwood essential oil

Instructions:

It is very simple to follow the recipe for this skin cream preparation. Put shea butter, tamanu, primrose, and avocado oils into a bowl and mix till you make a homogeneous substance. Make sure the medley is smooth and lump-free. Now it’s time to add the hydrosol. WAIT not so fast! The hydrosol should be added very, very slowly. To make this process easier, you can pour the hydrosol into a syringe. Add a few drops to the medley and mix till there is no water left. Then add a few more drops. Follow this process until the water and oil are properly integrated. Then add the essential oils.

Despite the fact that the cream contains 50% oil, you will find that this mixture is very light, soft and it absorbs into a skin in a blink of an eye. It leaves my skin very soft during the whole day, also my skin’s color noticeably improved. What is even better is that this cream has a shelf life of about 4 months, and there is no need to keep it at a refrigerator! The lovely lady from a workshop told me that rosemary extract works well to preserve this cream.

Actually this method of cream preparation that I learned turned upside down all my prior knowledge about skin creams. I believed that cream could not be prepared without an emulsifier; actually that is what all the books that I read on this topic said. Yet,It turns out that this indeed is possible with the help of high quality unrefined shea butter.

Facial cream recipe for dry and problematic skin

The other recipe on the list was called chamomile cream; I guess it is because it contains lots of chamomile in a different form. As I mentioned, this cream is perfect for dry, sensitive, and vascular skin that is prone to acne. You can use it on a oily skin too. However, it may be to greasy to use it as a day cream, so it is better if you apply it before going to bed.

Ingredients:

Oily phase:
3g emulsifying wax
5 ml calendula infusion
5 ml evening primrose oil
4 ml rosehip oil
4 ml macadamia oil
20 drops of wheat germ oil

Water phase:
40 ml chamomile hydrosol

Additives:
4 drops rosemary extract
3 drops chamomile extract
1 drop bergamot essential oil
You can add different essential oils, however, it’s very important that in total essential oils equal 3 – 4 drops and no more.

Instructions:

Put all the ingredients listed above in the oily phase into the heat-resistant bowl. Pour the hydrosol into another bowl. Place these to bowls in a double boiler. Wait till the wax melts and start mixing it with the other oils in the bowl. You can mix it with a mini mixer or a simple spoon. When you see that all oils are mixed, add the hydrosol while thoroughly mixing. Remove from the double boiler and continue to stir until you receive a paste. Don’t overdo it. When you notice that the medley takes on a consistency of a slightly liquid cream, add the ingredients in the additives category. Mix for few seconds. Check that the additives have properly mixed into the rest of the cream. Put this in a glass container.

As a result of this work, you will receive 50 ml of skin cream that smells like heavenly chamomile. The shelf life of this cream is also about 4 month without refrigeration. When you apply the cream onto your skin, you might first feel that it’s too greasy. However in less then a minute, the skin cream absorbs and leaves you with very soft and moisturized skin.

I have provided you with lots of facial cream recipes during last few weeks. Have you tried any? I’m very curious about the results .

Today I’m going to share with you my secret for creating homemade skin cream based on lecithin with the help of the “cold” method. I love this method because you don’t need to heat the oils and water in order to mix them as in the traditional method, so it will save you time. You can simply add all of the ingredients to the bowl at once and mix, and there is no need to add them step by step, which makes it very simple. So now, here is a little about the benefits of lecithin, and later, I will reveal to you the secret recipe:

What are lecithin benefits for skin?

Lecithin is extracted for cosmetic purposes from the egg yolks of chicken, sunflower seeds, and soybeans. More widely available is soy lecithin, which is a mixture of 65% natural phospholipids, 30 to 35% soybean oil, a small amount of glycerol, ethanolamine, galactose, B vitamins, biotin, and choline.

In skin care products, lecithin is used as an active additive and an emulsifier. As an active additive in cosmetics, lecithin is used for softening, toning, and moisturizing, which will promote the restoration of the barrier function of the skin to prevent moisture loss from the deeper layers of the complexion. Lecithin is especially effective in combination with vitamins A, D, F, B1, B6, and PP.

Lecithin promotes the deeper penetration of fat and biologically active substances into the epidermis. It also reduces inflammation and irritation in the skin, stimulates cell regeneration, improves skin texture, and prevents the formation of wrinkles. The lecithin is an antioxidant, which also protects the skin from the negative effects of free radical damage.

Lecithin can be used for all skin types. As an active additive, it should be used in 0.5% to 3% concentrations, and as an emulsifier at 3% to 20%.

In skin creams, lecithin can be somewhat sticky and oily, but it absorbs well. Some do not find the smell of lecithin pleasing, but the smell will disappear after you add a few drops of essential oil.

So that’s it for the theory, let’s prepare our working space for the practice!

Here is the recipe on how to use lecithin for your beauty purposes:

IMPORTANT: Before you begin making a homemade product, make sure that you thoroughly clean the area that you are working in. Wash your hands completely. Make sure to also wash any dishes, mixing utensils, spoons, or other tools that you may use. This should be done when you begin creating the product, as well as afterward.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon lecithin
• 6 teaspoons watery phase (hydrosols, herbal teas, etc.)
• 2 teaspoons oil (Any you like or appropriate for you skin type: olive, almond, grape seed oil, etc.)

Instructions:
Begin with the water phase, and if you have granulated lecithin, steep it in the water and wait until it boils. I have lecithin in capsules, so I just squeeze them into the water and move onto the next step. The same goes for liquid lecithin in bottles. After adding the lecithin, stir it gently with a mixing utensil and add the oil. Shake well with a mixer. Continue to mix until you get the consistency of a normal cream, which will take roughly 5 to 8 minutes.

You can feel free to modify this recipe to meet your needs by adding essential oils, powders, hydrosols, infusions, etc. All active ingredients in this recipe can be added right away to the water phase. Since we know that most of the active ingredients are killed by the heat, none of the ingredients should be heated in this recipe, so you can add them to the water phase without any worry. You can also add butters, in this case all phases should be heated and mixed as in traditional method.

I also have included more recipes for you:

Homemade Face Cream for Dry Skin

• 1 teaspoon lecithin
• 6 teaspoons rose water
• 2 teaspoons jojoba oil
• 2 drops of geranium essential oil

Homemade Face Cream for Sensitive Skin

• 1 teaspoon lecithin
• 6 teaspoons geranium hydrosol
• 2 teaspoons avocado oil
• 2 drops of lavender essential oil

Homemade Face Cream for Oily Skin

• 1 teaspoon lecithin
• 6 teaspoons rose water
• 2 teaspoons almond oil
• 2 drops of manuka essential oil

P.S. I will continue to update you with great homemade skin cream recipes! The best way to be notified about my new posts is by following MyHomemadeBeauty.

As I’m planning to update you with some homemade skin cream recipes, I decided to post some general rules on how to whip up a homemade cream. Just follow the rules, and I’m sure you will become a great cream-maker.

Background:

Creams are semi-solid emulsions, which is a mixture of oil and water. They are categorized into two types: oil-in-water (O/W) creams composed of small droplets of oil dispersed in a continuous aqueous phase, or water-in-oil (W/O) creams composed of small droplets of water dispersed in a continuous oily phase.

To make a homemade skin cream, you need three components:

• Water Phase: water, hydrosol, juice, milk, etc.
• Oily Phase: vegetable oil, animal fats, lanolin, silicones, waxes, etc.
• Emulsifier: special emulsifier for creams or wax, lanolin, lethicin, etc. The cream with a special emulsifier is easier to make, has a better texture, and creates a more stable emulsion so that oils do not separate from the water.
• Additionally, the cream may also contain: preservatives (which I never use in my creams), active ingredients, extracts, essential oils, etc. In order to stabilize the emulsion (so the cream will not break), you can use less emulsifiers and instead use gel formers, alike xanthan, guar, or thickeners. More about beauty ingredients in green ingredients section.

Keeping Homemade Facial Creams:

• It is highly important to make sure the product is protected from bacteria, so check that the container is thoroughly closed.
• After making a product, immediately place it into the refrigerator.
• Label the container with the date. This will help you to remember when the product was made so that it does not spoil.
• Remove the cream from the product container with a spatula and not your fingers. Dipping your hands into the homemade cream will cause it to spoil faster because of the spread of bacteria.
• When you do create a homemade facial cream, you can freeze it by placing small bottles in the freezer. When you are ready to use it, you can simply defrost for a wonderful beauty treat!

Advice Before Getting Started:

• It is easier to create water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion. On your first try, it is better to create fatty creams where the amount of oil used is more than the water content.
• Start with only 3 to 4 ingredients. It will be easier to understand and prevent mistakes.
• It is important not to be lazy. Wait to mix until the product has cooled completely, which you can do with very short breaks.
• Mix water and oils of the same temperature.
• Instead of hydrosols, you can use brewed teas, chamomile, calendula, green tea, etc.
• Almost all additional components should be added at the last after the cream has cooled.

Practice Makes Perfect!

IMPORTANT: Before you begin making a homemade product, make sure that you thoroughly clean the area that you are working in. Wash your hands completely. Make sure to also wash any dishes, mixing utensils, spoons, or other tools that you may use. This should be done when you begin creating the product, as well as afterward.

So now we will make a test recipe, so you could better understand the technique of creating homemade skin creams. I took the easiest recipe i could imagine, so here we go. You will need:

Tools:

• Container – I always choose glass containers over plastic, because plastic containers are not completely safe and can bring many harmful germs and bacteria to your skin.
• Double boiler
• Mini mixer – i recently purchased great mini mixer from Amazon, you can check it here
• Spoons – 1 teaspoon, 1 tablespoon
• Mixing utensils – spoons, chopsticks etc.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon of beeswax
• 3 tablespoons of almond oil
• 3 tablespoons of mineral water

Instructions:

Step 1. Melt beeswax in a double boiler.

Step 2. When beeswax will melt completly add 3 tablespoons of almond oil. Don’t forget to stir all the time

Step 3. Heat the water and add very very slowly 3 tablespoons of hot (!) water to beeswax mixed with almond oil

Step 4. Intensively mix the medley for 10 minutes and pure it out to a prepared container

Step 5. Mix the cream with mini mixer until it cool completely. I was mixing mine for about 20 minutes

Step 6. And here is what i’ve got

Here are some other recipes for practicing:

Homemade Face Cream For Dry Skin

3 tablespoons of cacao butter
120 ml of avocado oil
2 tablespoons of orange tea
4 drops of geranium rose essential oil

Homemade Cream For Sensitive Skin

2 tablespoons of cacao butter
90 ml of sunflower oil
4 tablespoons of rose water
6 drops of sandal essential oil

Homemade Face Cream for Oily Skin

2 tablespoons of cacao butter
90 ml of almond oil
4 tablespoons of rosemary tea
3 drops of lavender essential oil

And for every type of skin

40 gr. of almond oil
40 gr. of beeswax
40 ml of rose water
10 drops of rose essential oil

So here is the basic technique of creating homemade skin cream. If you have any questions, thoughts or maybe you want to share your experience please leave your comment bellow.

P.S. I will continue to update you with some great homemade skin cream recipes in a few days! The best way to be notified about my new posts is by following MyHomemadeBeauty.

My previous homemade facial cream for pimples was based on beeswax and it turned out to be great though it was very thick. So my today’s facial cream i decided to make on the base of lanolin so I could receive more gentle consistency.

Please check my Yahoo Flickr page if you want step by step guide with photos here .

Preparation time: about 30 minutes

Difficulty: 2 of 5

Ingredients:
* 2 teaspoons of lanolin
* 4 teaspoons of calendula oil
* 4 teaspoons of almond oil
* 10 teaspoons of chamomile tea
* 2 drops of tea tree essential oil
* 2 drops of lavender essential oil

Instructions:
Melt lanolin in a double boiler. Add calendula and almond oils to the melted lanolin. Then slowly fill the chamomile tea. Shake the medley thoroughly with a mixer, so water and oils could make up a paste. Shake till cream get cold. Received medley pour out to a glass jar. If you are going to add essential oils to the cream, jar should be made of a glass. After you pored out the medley to a jar and add 2 drops of tea tree oil and 2 drops of lavender oil.

hurray! Cream came out to be very gentle and rapidly soaking.

P.S. Please check the Facial Cream Category for more homemade cream recipes.

Today I had a huge craving for making my own homemade facial cream, since mine has finished yesterday. So I made up these cream for oily/combination prone to blemishes and acne skin. That just turned out to be amazing enough to share with you! So here we go!

Preparation time: about 20 minutes

Difficulty: 2 of 5

Ingredients:
* 10 grams of beeswax
* 1 tablespoon of shea butter (ignore, if you don’t have it)
* 2 tablespoons of rose water
* 2 tablespoons of almond oil
* 10 drops of tea tree oil
* 10 drops of lavender essential oil

Instructions:

Step 1.
Take two double boilers, mixing utensil, table spoons, mixer and cream container. Before you begin to make a homemade product, make sure that you thoroughly clean the area that you are working in, and wash your hands completely. Make sure to also wash and sterilize tools that you may use.

Step 2.
Melt beeswax and shea butter in a double boiler. Meanwhile heat the rouse water in a separate double boiler.

Beeswax with shea butter are melting in a double boiler

Rose water is heating in a separate double boiler

While beeswax and shea butter are melting, slowly stir them with the mixing utensil.

Woohoo! Everything is melted

When the beeswax and shea butter are melted completely, time to pour in 2 tablespoons of almond oil and remove beeswax from a heater (don’t stop to stir). And now is a very important moment. Shake with a mixer previously mixed ingredients (beeswax, shea, almond oil) and very very slowly start to pour in the rose water. Again very very slowly (!) drop by drop. Otherwise water can separate from the oils and you will receive thick, incomprehensible substance. Continue to shake with a mixer and you should receive creamy medley, something like this:

Creamy medley, but not the cream

After the medley get cooler drop essential oils. In our case 10 drops of lavender and 10 drops of tea tree oils. Remember essential oils are always goes last. Care the cream in a fridge by all means. AND NOW!!! (Fanfare and drum roll…) creeeeam!

Result of hard work

So here is my homemade facial cream for oily/combination skin. Don’t forget to leave your comments especially if you dare to try it