Botanical Skincare is an age old tradition. It is deceptively simple though. You start with a base cream or lotion, and add modifiers to it.All botanical lotions or skincreams are Emulsions, An Emulsion is a Mixture of Both water and oil. normally water and oil don’t mix, but in an emulsion they do. that is what makes emulsifiers special.
There are generally at least 4 parts to any botanical lotion. A water , An Oil, an Emulsifier, and a Preservative (or it will go bad) The basic idea is It’s very similar to making mayonnaise.To make mayo you Add water and oil with eggs and soy lecithin. to make your botanical skincream or lotion you will want to use an oil listed here along with water infused with one of the herbs in the list, and top it off with a preservative and an emulsifier.
Oils -
Olive Oil – Used for thousands of years to clean and enhance the skin
Calendula infused Olive oil – With benefits that include soothing inflammation, controlling bleeding and healing damaged tissue.
Almond oil – Almond oil is an excellent emollient and moisturizer. As an emollient it nourishes and softens the skin helping to keep it smooth to the touch.
Emu oil – extracted from the liver of the Emu and is being used increasingly to treat inflammatory conditions.
Grape seed and Sunflower oils – high Omega 6 and omega 9 fatty acids are good for your skin
Beeswax – Beeswax locks in moisture, fosters cells and protects skin from damaging environmental factors. beeswax softens your skin and creates a long-lasting protective coating against the elements. Beeswax is a naturally nourishing moisturizer as well as being anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-allergenic and a germicidal antioxidant.
Jojoba oil – it’s actually a wax that comes from the jojoba plant jojoba’s similarity to sebum can trick the skin into balancing oil production.
Herbs to infuse in the Water phase -
Chamomile Flower – A chamomile Infusion is Recommended for the delicate skin around the eyes, Chamomile has Antifungal properties and is both soothing and cleansing, it also helps to reduce inflammation as well
Elder Flower – A gentle cleanser, toner, and astringent, elder flower may also be used to reduce inflammation.
Lavender Flowers – Lavender calms, reduces inflammation, cleanses,and has slight drying properties
Mallow – Gentle anti-inflammatory properties make Marsh Mallow a wonderful way to soothe and calm irritated skin.
Rosemary – Antiseptic, toning and vitalizing, rosemary improves blood circulation in the capillaries.
Thyme – for acne or eczema because of it’s anti-bacterial properties Use alone or in equal parts with chamomile or calendula to soothe and heal.
Preservatives -
Bergamot - it’s refreshing, cooling nature is ideally suited to help calm inflamed skin, It also has antiseptic properties which help ward off infection and aid recovery.
Grapefruit oil – a mild disinfectant.
Emulsifiers -
Emulsifying Wax NF – It is used to bind oil and water together in creams, lotions etc. It is a white waxy solid with a low fatty alcohol odor.
Lecithin – Lecithin is an awesome emulsifier, can make anything from a dense cream to a creamy lotion with it. it can take some experimentation to get it to perform to meet your specifications but it holds emulsions together well.
Egg Yolk – Many proteins in egg yolk can act as emulsifiers because they have some amino acids that repel water and some amino acids that attract water.
Acacia Gum – a low viscosity, multifunctional natural emulsifier and stabilizer
Now you have your ingredients and basic recipe
Feel free to experiment with the formula and make a great botanical skincare lotion!
