Homemade Face Cream

Last ye ar I started taking an online herbalism course and as part of that started making my own homemade facial products. My skin has always been a little iffy, so I wasn’t sure what to expect going in. I started using my own face wash, toner, and cream and before I realized it I had been using it for months and my skin had never looked clearer!

I’ve now been using my own products for a year and decided to do a cost comparison of the last six months of my own products vs. this time frame last year… Over a six-month period, I’ve saved $412 making and using my own products! Not only is it healthier, it’s actually saving a decent amount of money! The next few blog posts will be my experiences and recipes that I’ve found that works for me. I hope you attempt to make your own!

Making Your Own Face Cream

My basic recipe comes from Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health which I highly recommend if you’re interested in expanding into all homemade products. Cream is basically a combination of oil and water in a variety of forms depending on what you want. For your ingredients you want the highest quality you can find and ideally organic! This is the best part about making your own products, you know exactly what’s going into it and you can customize it for you.

For the oil its generally 3/4-part liquid oil to 1/4-part solid oil. On the spectrum of oils olive oil is the most moisturizing, with grape seed on the drier end. My skin is a combination, but I personally hate a greasy feeling from my face lotion, so I use grape seed oil. Apricot oil is a nice half way between the two, use what you prefer.

For the water portion you can use a combination of distilled water, aloe, an herbal hydrosol of some sort, or some combination you prefer. The first batch I made I used equal parts rose hydrosol and aloe which came out really nice. For this batch I was out of hydrosol, so I used distilled water. You can also add some Vitamin E oil and/or essential oils of your choice. For this batch I tried something new, I borrowed my husband’s beard oil and used a dropper full of that. (Revive from Barrel Brands) This particular oil is a vitamin E oil blended with sage, bergamot, coriander, and tobacco and aged in a barrel for a year. Yum!

Ingredients:

4 tbsp grape seed oil
4 tsp shea butter
1/2 oz. beeswax
6 tsp aloe
10 tsp distilled water
Vitamin E oil and/or essential oils of choice

Makes about 5 oz.

Combine the oil, butter, and beeswax in a double boiler heating until everything is melted together. Put it in a blender or food processor and let it come to room temperature.
Combine the aloe, distilled water, and essential oils. Once the oil is room temperature (very important), turn the blender on and slowly add the water/aloe mixture, letting the oil and water emolliate until a texture and color of white frosting.
Pour into a container and enjoy!

The mixing together of the oil and water can be the hardest part to get right. I’ve found I prefer a food processor to a blender but use whatever works for you. In a few days, if the lotion starts to have little balls of hardened oil in it, it’s only a sign that the mixture wasn’t fully mixed together. This is fine! You can still use it, just rub the oil into your skin! My biggest mistake is being impatient and not letting the oil return to room temperature, that’s an important step in getting the water and oil to fully mix.

I hope you enjoy the process and freedom to make your own customized face cream. Play around and find what works best for your skin!