Foaming Face Cleanser - normal skin

Everything I know about creating face washes, body washes and surfactants in general I learned here.  And here.

I wanted a face wash for my acne-prone sensitive skin, and one my husband would use.  He likes scented products, so this is a fresh mango-papaya scent that is very refreshing in the morning.  As my water was already cooled, and no emulsification is needed, I made this using all room temperature ingredients.  If your water hasn't been heated and held, you'd still need to do this step- just add the heat-sensitive ingredients after it has cooled to 45*C or below.

Foaming Face Cleanser

Normal (to slightly oily) skin

50% Water (200g)

20% LSB (80g) (Gentle surfactant blend)

10% Amphosol CG (40g)

10% Aloe Vera Gel (40g)

2% Cromoist - Hydrolyzed Oat Protein (8g)

2% Panthenol (8g)

2% Glycerin (8g)

0.5% Liquid Germall Plus (2g)

2% Crothix (8g)

1% Mango Fragrance Oil 

(mixed with) 1% Polysorbate 20

5 drops of Peach soap colorant

Great foaming, not too much.  Love the scent.  Have used this every day for 5 days and really really liking it.  It ends up perfectly clear after sitting for a day.

Extra Gentle Cleanser (aka Cetaphil knock-off)

My sister is a huge fan of Cetaphil.  For those who have never used this face cleanser before, it's basically a non-foaming, very gentle cleanser for nearly every skin type except very oily.  It's unscented, contains no dyes. But it does have SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) which is a widely used surfactant/cleanser that's a little on the harsh side (at least on my skin).  I swapped the SLS for LSB (a gentle surfactant blend) simply because of all the bad things I've been reading about SLS lately.  I also added just a few drops of a special essential oil blend (mixed 50/50 with Polysorbate 20 to make it disperse in water) as I really wanted a pick-me-up in the morning.

I should mention that I used Swift's post on re-creating Cetaphil as a starter point for this recipe, with a few minor changes due to what I had, or didn't have on hand.

The finished product is pretty much identical (at least to me) to the appearance, feel, and thickness of Cetaphil. I did two variations- one without additional thickener for a basic face wash.  A second with extra thickener, a dash of colour, and 5 grams of Jojoba beads to make a gentle face exfoliant scrub.  Both are winners, and cost me a fraction of what a bottle of Cetaphil costs at the drug store.

This cleanser is essentially thickened water with a very small amount of surfactant- around 5%.  The cetyl alcohol conditions, and the humectant draws moisture to the skin.  It's a very inexpensive, basic and easy to make product.

Extra Gentle Cleanser
This made almost exactly 8 ounces.

Heated Phase:
200g Water
10g Cetyl Alcohol
10g Surfactant of choice - I used LSB here
10g Humectant of choice - I used Glycerin

Cool Phase:
0.5% Liquid Germall Plus
9 drops Valor EO blend, mixed with 9 drops Polysorbate 20

Heat and melt the Cetyl Alcohol.  Add the water (hot) and the surfactants and mix gently with a spoon or fork.  It will emulsify a bit, just like a lotion would at this stage.  Gently mix until thoroughly blended.  Add the Glycerin, continue to stir.  Once cooled to 45*C or lower, go ahead and add the fragrance and preservative.  This will be fine in a pump bottle.  If you use a different surfactant that isn't as thick as LSB, then you may want to add a bit of Crothix (1%) or salt to thicken the mixture up.  Only do this once it's reached room temp. though, or you might end up with a mixture that is way too thick.

Extra Gentle Jojoba Face Scrub
This made almost exactly 8 ounces.

Follow all directions above.  I used ALeS as my surfactant here, mostly because I wanted to see what it felt like.  Turns out I like it!  Haha.  Also, at the very end I decided that I needed the Crothix to thicken my scrub up.  I didn't want my Jojoba beads (5grams) to sink or float, but stay suspended.  So I added that at 1%.  I added a bit more fragrance, about 1g of Mango/Polysorbate blend.  Not a heavy scent by any means, but just a little somethin extra.

The end result for the face scrub- it's thick, perfectly thick to put in a jar and scoop out what you need.  It's so gentle, doesn't dry your skin out but leaves it very soft.

Photos to come soon!

Cocoa-Shea Butter Lip Balm

A treat for winter lips, all natural, and all good stuff.  After reading the ingredients for my favorite Burts Bees balm, and being disturbed that a seeming all-natural brand had so much crap in it, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

This is a nice thick lipbalm- you could sub out the castor oil if you want less shine (avocado oil would be nice).  Not too waxy, but long lasting feeling of moisture.

I used organic beeswax and candelilla wax, but you can use whatever you want.  Apparently carnauba wax is a good alternative to candelilla.

I made a big enough batch of this so that I can test some with colour- I have nude and pink shades of lip safe mica to try out for a nice tinted lip balm.


Cocoa-Shea Butter Lip Balm
100% = 100 grams, and got enough to make quite a few tubes.  
I poured two, saved the rest in a jar to tint with mica later on.

8% Candelilla Wax
9% Beeswax
11% Shea Butter
19% Cocoa Butter
52% Castor Oil
1% Vitamin E Oil

1% optional- Oil soluble flavour
I probably used more like 0.5% for a very subtle effect.


Melt all ingredients in a double boiler until fully incorporated.  The waxes took the longest to melt.  Even without any flavouring added, this lip balm has a lovely scent of beeswax and cocoa butter.

Mineral Makeup

This morning I blended my first ever batch of mineral makeup foundation, from scratch, in about 20 minutes.  Not only was it easy, but looking at the amount of ingredients I used ended up costing a matter of pennies.

The basic ingredients, along with the finished product (jar pictured is 2 oz)

As this is my first attempt and I was just winging it, I didn't really follow a recipe.  I've done a bit of reading on this subject, and knew the basics.  To make most skin tones, you need three or four oxide shades- yellow, red, brown, and black. You can buy a sample pack of each shade HERE for under $10, and this will make a TON of product.  Titanium dioxide (oil soluble) to lighten and make opaque.  Sericite mica (the untreated matte kind) to disperse the pigment and as a base.  Corn starch for a silky feeling and oil absorption.

The full sizes of all except the corn starch (which you can get anywhere) cost me about $17.40 and will make tons and tons of makeup.  The colour base can be added to lotion for a tinted mosturizer or foundation, to a powder base for just a setting powder, or a thicker wax based product for concealer.  I'm going to attempt all of these things.  For under $20 there is enough pigment to make all of these products many times over.

I have a set of tiny measuring spoons- 1/4 tsp, 1/8 tsp, and 1/16 tsp.  I'll call these large, med, and small.  I started with two large scoops of titanium dioxide.  Added 1 med and 1 small yellow oxide, 1 small red, and 1/2 small brown.  Smush smush smush in a little ziplock bag.  Then I added 4 heaping large scoops of sericite, and two heaping scoops of corn starch.

Finished powder, perfect shade and blendable perfect coverage.

I'm happy with the finished product- Looking forward to experimenting more and adding some additional ingredients the next time around.  The finish is quite good, not too matte or shiney.  Very good coverage- FULL coverage if you use a little kabuki brush as I have pictured, but you could get softer coverage using a fluffier less dense brush.  The colour is an incredible match for my skin- with all honesty, this is better than pretty much anything I have purchased.  Goes to show that even with minimal knowledge, you can make department store quality stuff at home- faster, cheaper, and only put what you want in it.  Next time I'm going to make a finishing powder (something silky to set the mineral makeup and provide a matte finish) and a blush.

Super Toner

This toner is packed with everything I had on hand...  Witch hazel and lavender to soothe and calm the skin, lots of extracts and a dose of AHA to boot.

I like to use this at night, as it does leave a slight barrier on the skin (due to the allantoin).  The extracts might have been a bit too much, as I noticed the solids kinda started to settle in the bottom.  I just shake, shake, shake and then use.  It's a deep colour but doesn't leave any on your face or pillow in my experience so far.

The extra boost of AHA (Lactic Acid) and Multifruit BSC (another AHA from fruit acids) have left my skin very soft and smooth.  I noticed a difference after one night.  This might be too harsh for some skin types, so beware that this toner is pretty heavily packed.  You might want to start with just one extract and see where it takes you, or leave out the AHA till you know how you will react.

Super Toner
I wouldn't say all skin types- mine is slightly oily, sensitive, aging (30+) and acne prone.  
I doubled the % and ended up with two 3oz spritzer bottles.


Heated Phase:
11.5% Water (23g)
30% Witch Hazel (hydrosol, no alcohol) (60g)
25% Lavender Hydrosol (50g)
10% Aloe Vera Gel (20g)
2% Sodium Lactate (4g)
2% Cromoist Hydrolyzed Oat Proteins (4g)
0.5% Allantoin powder (1g)

Cool Phase:
5% Multifruit BSC (10g) - You could cut this in half if you're sensitive.
3% Acai Botanical - liquid (6g) -This is what gave it a darker colour.
2% AHA Lactic Acid (4g)
2% Panthenol (4g)
3% Honeyquat (6g)
0.5% Liquid Germall Plus (1g)
Extracts- each of these measured out and added to the liquids, mixed and mixed until dissolved.
Chamomile Powdered Extract (1/8 tsp)
Cucumber Powdered Extract (1/8 tsp)
Green Tea Powdered Extract (1/8 tsp)
Honeysuckle Powdered Extract (1/4 tsp)

Warm the heated phase in a double boiler until it reaches 70*C and hold it there for 20 minutes.  I wouldn't let it get much hotter than this.  Once finished, double check the weight, and top up with hot water (boiled separately) as needed.  What I like to do is put all of my heated phase ingredients in a pyrex measuring cup together, except my water.  I boil my water separately and once the 20 minutes has been reached I put my cup back onto the scale, set to zero, and add the appropriate amount of hot water.  This way you never have to worry about evaporation.

I like this toner a lot, and have been using it for over a week now.  It has definitely helped with turning over new skin on a few problem areas on my face including a few pimples.  It helped to dry them out and took the redness down (thanks to the lavender I think).

Kokum Butter Eye/Face Cream

Lovely, but not as thick as I had hoped.  Light, but slightly greasier than my other lotions.  It could be packaged in a pump or a jar if you're not tossing it in a purse or bag.  Kokum butter is apparently non-comedogenic so it's safe to use on the face.  It definitely adds a slightly greasier feel than I am used to, but I usually use oil free, or very light lotions on my face.  This is not a bad thing- by any means.  Dryer skinned people will certainly like it better than oily skinned.  I am certainly still using it, and liking it although I use a little powder on my face to make up for the extra oil.  Next batch I would probably use BTMS-50 as my emulsifyer, and just skip the Multifruit BSC as they do not work well together.  That alone may completely change the texture of this cream/lotion.  I would also up the Cetyl alcohol by just a tad- to make a real cream texture that would stay in a jar properly.

Kokum Butter Face/Eye Cream

For dryer-skinned people
I x'd the percentages by 3 and it yielded about 9ish oz

Heated Water Phase:
34.5% Water (103.5g)
20% Aloe Vera (60g)
15% Rose Hydrosol- you can use any here (45g)
2% Sodium Lactate (6g)
2% Hydrolyzed Oat Protein (6g)

Heated Oil Phase:
4% Jojoba Oil (12g)
4% Macadamia Oil (12g)
2% Kokum Butter (6g)
4% Polawax (12g)
3% Cetyl Alcohol (9g)

Cool Phase:
2% Panthenol (6g)
5% Multifruit BSC, Natural AHA (15g)
3% Acai Liquid Extract (9g)
3% Honeyquat (9g)
0.5% Green Tea powdered extract (1.5g)
0.5% Cucumber powdered extract (1.5g)
0.5% Liquid Germall Plus (1.5g)
And about 15 drops of grapefruit essential oil.

Very light smell- slightly nutty, slightly grapefruit.  Off-white shade of cream that melts into skin.  I'll post more about it as I use it more.

*Update Feb. 7*
I have been using this for eye cream, not all over my face.  And I'm really liking it.  A little goes a long way, but it helps under eye concealer go on more smoothly.  Feels nice.  Overall, better than my initial thoughts on it.

Hazelnut AHA Body Lotion

This is a variation on my Camellia AHA Body Lotion as I wanted to make another batch but ran low on Camellia Seed Oil.  I've used Hazelnut Oil as my main oil in this lotion, I like how light and non-greasy it is.

I ran a knife through the cream to show how thick it is.  REALLY thick!

Hazelnut & Cocoa Butter AHA Body Lotion
Thick, more of a cream but still pump-able.
I x'd the percentages by 6, and this made about 20oz.

Heated Water Phase:
34% Water (202g plus top up)
15% Hydrosol (or water, your preference) (90g)
2% Cromoist - Hydrolyzed Oat Protein (12g)

Heated Oil Phase:
10% Hazelnut Oil (60g)
2% Camellia Seed Oil (12g)
<2% Rosehip Oil (10g)(ran out)
2% Avocado Oil (12g)
5% Cocoa Butter (30g)
5% Polawax (30g)
3% Cetyl Alcohol (18g)

Cool Down Phase:
2% Silk Amino Acid (12g)
3% Honeyquat (18g)
2% Panthenol (12g)
3% AHA Lactic Acid (18g)
2% Cyclomethicone (12g)
0.5% Liquid Germall Plus (about 3ml)
1% Coconut Scent (6g)
1 pipette Vitamin E Oil

Just as wonderful as the previous version, but a slightly dryer feeling.  To be honest, this is thick enough to be a cream.  I have a small tupperware container at my desk at work and use it on my  hands during the day.  I am really loving it!

Camellia AHA Body Lotion

This body cream has left me so smooth- AHA,  wonderful oils and a delightful fragrance have this one becoming my go-to cream every day.  I'm in love with it!  I wanted something that would be a real treat for my winter skin.  Camellia Seed Oil is a great alternative to Olive Oil but much lighter.  Rosehip Oil is great for aging skin, and Avocado Oil is a heavier oil that I find very soothing on my skin.  Cocoa Butter is occlusive and I love how it smells.  With all of these oils, combined with AHA, my hope is to make my skin softer over time.









Camellia AHA Body Lotion
Thick, almost more of a cream but still pump-able.
I x'd the percentages by 6, and this made about 20oz.

Heated Water Phase:
29% Water (174g plus top up)
5% Aloe Vera (30g)
15% Hydrosol (or water, your preference) (90g)
2% Cromoist - Hydrolyzed Oat Protein (12g)

Heated Oil Phase:
10% Camellia Seed Oil (60g)
2% Rosehip Oil (12g)
3% Avocado Oil (15g)
5% Cocoa Butter (30g)
5% Polawax (30g)
3% Cetyl Alcohol (18g)

Cool Down Phase:
2% Silk Amino Acid (12g)
3% Honeyquat (18g)
2% Panthenol (12g)
3% AHA Lactic Acid (18g)
2% Cyclomethicone (12g)
0.5% Liquid Germall Plus (about 3ml)
Scented to 'taste' with Mango Fragrance Oil - about 5 pipettes, or 8.5ml
1 pipette Vitamin E Oil

Packaged in pump bottles, but could definitely go into jars as well.  It's wonderfully thick, but soaks in well enough to get dressed within 5 minutes (at least with my winter skin!).

Rose-Lavender-Chamomile Toner

This toner smells wonderful!  A great second step to cleansing, or for a pick me up during the day.  I bottled these in spritz bottles, as well as flip-top ones and both work great!

Gentle Floral Toner 
For all skin types -makes about 14oz
Heated Water Phase:
30% Rose Hydrosol (150g)
25% Lavender Hydrosol (125g)
25% Purified Water (125g)
10% Aloe (50g)
2% Sodium Lactate (10g)
2% Cromoist - Hydrolyzed Oat Protein (10g)

Cool Phase:
3% Honeyquat (15g)
2% Panthenol (10g)
0.5% Chamomile Extract (2.5g)
0.5% Liquid Germall Plus (2.5g)


A non-drying clean feeling toner. A soft honey colour, and the smell is like honey and roses.  Very nice all around. I've been using this to remove a bit of eye makeup left behind after cleansing, as well as a pick-me-up in the evening when I get home from work.  I love the smell- it's wonderful.  Honestly there's nothing I would change about this recipe.

Worth the effort...

There are a few reasons to go through the hassle of making your own bath and body products.  If you're like me, it's really no hassle at all- in fact it's a ton of fun!  It's like art-meets-science class in the kitchen and you get a great reward in the end.

The first and foremost reason behind creating your own products (at least for me) is knowing each and every single thing that is in it.  You know if it's fresh, organic, locally harvested.  You know all the things it does not contain- possible allergens or irritants, or simply stuff that is straight up bad for you.  You can make educated decisions on what to use for preservatives (a definite must).

I love the creative science behind making things like lotions and creams.  Testing oils and other ingredients and making discoveries for myself as to what works for my body.  I feel like a kid in a candy store when I start to pick out fragrances or essential oils.  I love pulling up my sleeve at work and making people touch my super soft elbows (haha).  It makes me feel good that I can make something that I can't get in a store.  It's way better than anything I could get at the store!!

Tonight I'm planning on whipping up some eye/face cream using Kokum Butter and Jojoba and whatever other nice oils I have around that are safe for my tempermental skin.  I have slightly sensitive, slightly acne prone skin.  If I'm careful with the oils I choose I don't seem to have problems.  But as it is winter, and just out of plain old curiosity- I'd like to see what kind of eye cream I can come up with.  I made toner last night with AHA, which turned out great.  I'll post up recipes tomorrow and take some pictures this time!


I'm once again gonna suggest to anyone who hasn't - please go check out Point of Interest! I have suggested pretty much everywhere I could to go read her blog.  It's fascinating stuff, science and fun all mixed together.  

Leave-in Conditioner

I have really dry ends on my hair- and I'm guilty of not using product after I wash it to keep it soft and smooth.  This is a first attempt to make leave-in spray conditioner based on Swift's recipe here.


A note: I had to modify it as I didn't have some of the ingredients.


First Time Leave-in Conditioner
Heated Phase:
80% Water
2% Incroquat BTMS
4% glycerin
1% aloe vera
2% hydrolyzed oat protein

Cool Phase:
2% honeyquat
2% panthenol
2% cyclomethicone
2% dimethicone
2% Silk Amino Acids
1% Mango Fragrance
0.5% Liquid Germall Plus

Mild AHA Lotion w/ Extracts

I wanted to create a face lotion with a bit of AHA in it.  For this recipe, I started out very mild.  Next time I will definitely go higher- probably more like 5% of the Multifruit BSC.  The goal for this lotion was to have something very very light- something that would sink right into the skin without leaving any greasiness or waxy feeling behind.  Normally my choice for an emulsifier would be BTMS-50 as it is drier feeling and almost powdery in finish.  BUT Multifruit BSC doesn't work well with this emulsifier so I had to go the route of Polawax.  Much to my surprise (due to my lack of experience) the Polawax did not impart any waxy feeling at all to this lotion.  In fact, it sinks in even better than the Sea Buckthorn lotion I previously posted.
All in all, I am a very happy camper with this lotion.  Next batch can only get better!


Face Lotion for Aging Acne Prone Skin
Water Phase:
144g water (48%)
545g aloe gel (15%)
45g neroli hydrosol (15%)
10g sodium lactate - humectant (2%)
10g cromoist hydrolyzed oat protein (2%)


Oil Phase:
12g Jojoba (4%)
6g Sea Buckthorn (2%)
6g Macadamia (2%)
12g Polawax (4%)
3g Cetyl Alcohol (1%)
1 pipette Vitamin E Oil


Cool Phase:
6g Panthenol (2%)
1 tsp honeysuckle powder (0.5%)
9g Multifruit BSC (Natural AHA) (3%)
6g Acai Botanical Extract (2%)
2 pipettes Liquid Germall Plus (about 2g or 0.75% which is a teeny bit high)
3 drops Jasmine EO - very mild scent


Yield about 16 ounces.  WONDERFUL texture.  Pale yellow colour with just a hint of mild fragrance.  It soaks in and leaves skin very soft.  Next time I am double the Multifruit BSC for a little more AHA power.  This would work well with any type of hydrosol as well.  I have been using this everyday for a week and I am really loving it.

Seabuckthorn & Extracts

Face Lotion for Most Skin Types (except very dry)


Water Phase:
240g water (48%)
50g aloe gel (15%)
25g neroli hydrosol (7.5%)
25g lavender hydrosol (7.5%)
10g sodium lactate - humectant (2%)
10g cromoist hydrolyzed oat protein (2%)


Oil Phase:
20g sunflower oil (4%)
20g jojoba (4%)
10g seabuckthorn (2%)
20g BTMS-50 emulsifyer (4%)
10g cetyl alcohol - thickener (2%)


Cool Phase:
10g Panthenol (2%)
1tsp Chamomile powdered extract (0.5%)
1.5tsp Honeysuckle powdered extract (0.5%)
2.5g Liquid Germall Plus - preservative (0.5-1%)


Pale yellow, smells slightly herbal.  Silky smooth, non greasy, suitable for all skin types except very dry.  Thicker texture than I expected- could be adjusted with the amount of cetyl alcohol (more for a cream, less for more liquidy).

New shipment of oils arrived!

Today I received my latest order from Voyageur Soap & Candle Company.
I ordered Camellia See Oil (To make a divine body lotion that I will put up shortly), some Kokum butter (gonna test this out in a face cream/eye cream as it's supposed to be non-comedogenic), some more Sea Buckthorn oil which I love, and a few other treats. Yay!

A note...

Most of my recipes, at one time or another, started with a basic recipe from this woman:   http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/

To put it simply, she is a genius when it comes to chemistry and concocting delightful lotions, creams, and just about everything else.

If you have never made a lotion at home before, it is very simple.  But please before you start, read Susan's tutorial here:  http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1020026/introductiontolotionmakingthingie.pdf  She also has many other tutorials, lists, and references on her site.  Truly worth every minute of reading.  

If you do make your way to her site, and find it as useful as I did, please support her youth groups by donating.  You will be rewarded with a 305 page book about making lotions and creams AND the knowledge that you are helping a truly worthy cause.