Welcome To The Herbal How To Guide
Home
Advertise
Ad Guidelines
Herbal Information Herbal Index
Books and More Shop
Care For Herbs Drying Herbs
Storing Herbs
How To Make Making Herbal Tea
Making Infusions
Making Decoctions
Creams and Lotions
Make Essential Oils
Herb Gardening Wild Herb Garden
Composting
For Soap Makers Make Blender Soap
Fixed Oil Information
SAP Value Chart
For Your Health E.L.F. Diet
Site Navigation Site News Blog
Contact Me
Privacy Policy
My Only Herb Supplier
Mountain Rose Herbs
.
Wildcraft Board Game


Making Herbal Creams and Lotions:
Take the mystery out of the process.

I call making Herbal Creams and Lotions, Kitchen Chemistry.  You start with a basic recipe and, from there, make adjustments depending on the ingredients you use.  There are three basic ingredients to consider:

The Water
Yes, you can use tap water, however the quality of your water will affect the creams and lotions you make.  Many people immediately think of buying bottled water.  However, I don't know if I trust most bottled waters either as many of them have had to add chemicals to keep it clean.  What's even worse is that they don't have to list those chemicals on the bottle.  So your best source of perfect water is to collect clean rain water.  Put a clean bowl out in your yard when it's raining, don't collect the water that's come off the roof.

The Oils
There are many, many vegetable and nut butters and oils you can pick, and each of them has properties based on what they are made from.  For creams and lotions you want skin loving oils (read information here).  Don't limit yourself to just one, combining a few will give you an awesome end product.  I usually try to combine a thick oil or butter (like Shea or Cocoa Butter) with a thinner one (like Rosehip Seed or JoJoba).

Emulsifying Wax
You want a vegetable based emulsifying wax made from naturally occurring fats and esters.  This is NECESSARY to blend oil and water together.  There are also many chemical based emulsifying waxes out there and I stay away from them.  If the company doesn't say that it's natural - I don't buy it.  To me, the whole purpose of making my own creams and lotions is to get away from the chemicals.

The ABSOLUTE BEST source for your oils, butters and emulsifying wax
is Mountain Rose Herbs.
Bulk organic herbs, spices and essential oils. Sin

Basic Cream
2 - 3 Parts Water
2 Parts Oil
1 Part Emulsifying Wax		 Basic Lotion
3 - 4 Parts Water
2 Parts Oil
1 Part Emulsifying Wax

ABSOLUTELY EVERY recipe you make is going to be a little different.  So, get out your note cards while you are playing so you can write down exactly what you've done.  By taking good notes you won't forget the best recipe when you find it.

Before you start adding herbs, essential oils and / or fragrances - perfect your recipe with the oils you want to use.  Trust me, the creams and lotions you make, without scent, will go just as fast as the ones with scent.  Homemade creams and lotions are SO LUXURIOUS that you'll want to smother your whole body with them.

Adding Herbs and Essential Oils
Before you start adding herbs to your creams and lotions do some research on the herbs you want to use.  Don't forget to take into account if you are allergic (do an allergy test) and if the herb could cause sun sensitivity (like St. John's Wort). Adding a few drops of Essential Oil is the easiest way to get herbal properties into your creations, however there are times when you may want to add the properties from a base of the dried herb (an example might be Chamomile or Rose as the Essential Oil is very expensive but the dried herb is much more cost effective).  The simplest way to add herb to a cream or lotion is to make a very strong infusion or decoction and use that water instead of rain water.  Adding fragrance oils is another fun way to make your creams and lotions more enjoyable.
Don't Limit Yourself To Hand Cream, Here's Some Ideas
Tanning lotion or butter.
Bug repellent.
Hair conditioner.
Shaving cream.
Scented cream sachets.
Make-up Remover.
Warming Muscle Cream.
Menthol Cream.
Message Lotions.

FUNNY:  A friend of mine was bragging about her Father's natural bug repellent and how it lasted very long and did the job better than commercial stuff.  I wanted to know what natural ingredients he was using and asked her to ask him.  For years he wouldn't share his recipe, but finally DID share the recipe, including his secret ingredient.  DEET!  Well, it was back to the drawing board for me.
All information, shared on this web site, is for enjoyment and study only and is NOT meant to diagnose or treat any medical condition.  Only your health care professional is qualified to diagnose or treat medical conditions.  Do not risk your health!  Just because something is 'natural' does NOT make it safe.  Do not, under any circumstance, ingest or use herbs in any form without consulting your Doctor.  If you do, you do so at your OWN RISK.
Web Site Content (text, graphics, look and feel) are Copyright Protected © All Rights Reserved 2009, Sandy Marie.
[?] Subscribe To The Herbal How To Guide

XML RSS
Add to Google
Add to My Yahoo!
Add to My MSN
Subscribe with Bloglines
Blogs
Site News Blog
Stay up to date on new pages added and information about the site.
Instead of an 'About Me' page this blog covers my  herbal adventures.
.
This website is made
possible & successful
because of Site Build It
.
.