DIY Rose Petal Skin Cream Recipe

Homemade rose petal skin cream recipe that you can make with fresh flowers, rich oils, and beautifully scented essential oil. This is a nourishing skin cream that tones and smooths while plumping the skin.

Recipe + instructions for making Rose Petal Body Cream. Made with fresh flowers, rich oils, and beautifully scented essential oil. A body cream that tones and smooths while plumping the skin #lovelygreens #beautydiy #diybeauty #roserecipe #lotionrecipe #bblogger #selfsufficient
This page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Roses have many skin beneficial properties and extracts from their petals are shown to be anti-inflammatory and moisturizing. That means that while it’s working to soothe redness, it locks moisture in making your skin appear just as smooth and soft as the rose petals themselves. Rose extract also works as a gentle toner, balancing your skin’s pH while leaving a lingering rosy fragrance.

Using I’m going to show you how to make your rose petal skin cream using homemade rose water and a few other ingredients. It’s light pink in color, thick like a mousse, and feels incredible as you massage it in. From start to finish it will take you about thirty minutes and can be very inexpensive to make.

Make Homemade Rose Water

The first thing that you’ll need to do is make a batch of homemade rose water. It’s very easy to do and is essentially an infusion of fresh rose petals. You gently heat them with water and when they’ve lost their color you strain the pink liquid from them.

Recipe + instructions for making Rose Petal Body Cream. Made with fresh flowers, rich oils, and beautifully scented essential oil. A body cream that tones and smooths while plumping the skin #beautyrecipe #roses #makelotion

If roses are blooming for you right now, pluck some from your own garden to make the rose water. My favourite type to use are deeply scented wild roses. Alternatively you can invest in a gorgeous bottle of genuine rose water. It will have a lot more natural rose fragrance than your homemade versions and the rose extracts will be more intense.

Recipe + instructions for making Rose Petal Body Cream. Made with fresh flowers, rich oils, and beautifully scented essential oil. A body cream that tones and smooths while plumping the skin #lovelygreens #beautydiy #diybeauty #roserecipe #lotionrecipe #bblogger #selfsufficient
Rose water gives this body cream a light pink color

What You’ll Need to Make Skin Cream

Most of the equipment you’ll need is likely already in your kitchen. I highly recommend you invest in the digital scale to ensure your recipe is accurate. I’ve included volume measurements though for if you’re not able to get a hold of one.

Up to 30% off in the Herbal Academy's Back to School Sale
Recipe + instructions for making Rose Petal Body Cream
Recipe + instructions for making Rose Petal Body Cream

Rose Petal Skin Cream Recipe

The oils I’ve chosen for this recipe are jojoba and sweet almond. Jojoba is very close in structure to human sebum so makes an excellent base for a natural cream. Sweet almond is much lighter and will balance any potential oily feeling. This recipe makes about 200ml, or two pots of rose skin cream.

Oil phase

Water phase

Cooling phase

  • 1/8 tsp (0.5g) Vitamin E oil
  • 50 drops (1/2 tsp) Rose-Geranium or Rose Absolute essential oil
  • Broad Spectrum preservative. I’m using 1.5g (1/2 tsp) Geogard Ultra, also known as Microgard, mixed with 3g (3/4 tsp) of hot water. Another one to use is Leucidal
  • 1/16 tsp (0.25g) Baking soda (Bicarbonate of soda in the UK) mixed with 3g of hot water
Recipe + instructions for making Rose Petal Body Cream. Made with fresh flowers, rich oils, and beautifully scented essential oil. A body cream that tones and smooths while plumping the skin #lovelygreens #beautydiy #diybeauty #roserecipe #lotionrecipe #bblogger #selfsufficient
Rose petal skin cream is thick and nourishing

More Skincare Recipes

Step 1: Measure and Heat

Measure all of the oil phase ingredients into a small sauce pan and the rose water into a heat-proof jar or container. The milk frother or immersion blender should be able to fit inside the container. Heat both using the double boiler technique — float the pan inside another one filled with hot water. Heat on medium to medium-high until the oils and wax have melted. The oils in the pan and the rose water should be about 150°F / 66°C.

Recipe + instructions for making Rose Petal Body Cream. Made with fresh flowers, rich oils, and beautifully scented essential oil. A body cream that tones and smooths while plumping the skin #lovelygreens #beautydiy #diybeauty #roserecipe #lotionrecipe #bblogger #selfsufficient
Using a double boiler to heat the oils and emulsifying wax

Through experience I’ve found that you don’t necessarily need to measure the temperature. Leaving the oil to heat in the pan for a few minutes after it’s melted suffices. The water should be heating at the same time. If you want to be accurate though, invest in an infrared thermometer. They’re not too expensive.

Recipe + instructions for making Rose Petal Body Cream. Made with fresh flowers, rich oils, and beautifully scented essential oil. A body cream that tones and smooths while plumping the skin #lovelygreens #beautydiy #diybeauty #roserecipe #lotionrecipe #bblogger #selfsufficient
Emulsifying the oil, e-wax, and rose water

Step 2: Emulsify the Skin Cream

Pour the melted oil phase ingredients into the container of rose water. I love using this metal travel mug that I nabbed off my partner. You’ll notice that the water will go opaque very quickly.

Recipe + instructions for making Rose Petal Body Cream. Made with fresh flowers, rich oils, and beautifully scented essential oil. A body cream that tones and smooths while plumping the skin #lovelygreens #beautydiy #diybeauty #roserecipe #lotionrecipe #bblogger #selfsufficient
The cream will be relatively runny at first

Now submerge the immersion blender into the mug. You can also use a small milk frother for this but the former will speed up the process. Blend until the mixture thickens up and it will literally take only about a minute or less. It will still be a bit runny. Think slightly beaten double cream. The thickening will tell you that the emulsifier has done its job of bonding the oil and water together. Blending with a spoon also works but will take longer.

Recipe + instructions for making Rose Petal Body Cream. Made with fresh flowers, rich oils, and beautifully scented essential oil. A body cream that tones and smooths while plumping the skin #lovelygreens #beautydiy #diybeauty #roserecipe #lotionrecipe #bblogger #selfsufficient
It will thicken up as it cools

Step 3: Cooling Phase Ingredients

Let the lotion cool down to about 122˚F (45˚C ) before stirring in your essential oil, vitamin e, and preservative. It will have thickened quite a bit more by this time and you’ll be able to spoon it up.

Step 4: Balance the pH

With lotions and creams you really need to make sure that the pH is in the appropriate range of 4.5-5.5. pH measures how acidic or alkaline a solution is and if your beauty cream is out of that range then it can make your skin feel dry and tight.

Recipe + instructions for making Rose Petal Body Cream. Made with fresh flowers, rich oils, and beautifully scented essential oil. A body cream that tones and smooths while plumping the skin #lovelygreens #beautydiy #diybeauty #roserecipe #lotionrecipe #bblogger #selfsufficient
Test the pH of the skin cream to ensure that it’s in a good range

Oftentimes it’s the preservative that can lower the pH in a recipe. If you use a preservative other than Geogard Ultra then testing with pH strips is going to be very important. When I tested my recipe it gave me a reading of about 3.5 so I adjusted it by adding a tiny amount of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda).

I mixed 1/16tsp (0.25g) of baking soda with 3/4 tsp water (3g) and stirred it into my lotion. Afterwards I got a much better reading. If you find that for some reason your lotion has a higher pH, you can bring it back down by mixing in a tiny amount of citric acid. Make sure to mix any powders in a tiny amount of hot water before you stir it in though.

Recipe + instructions for making Rose Petal Body Cream. Made with fresh flowers, rich oils, and beautifully scented essential oil. A body cream that tones and smooths while plumping the skin #lovelygreens #beautydiy #diybeauty #roserecipe #lotionrecipe #bblogger #selfsufficient
Rose petal skin cream is great for hands and body

Rose Petal Skin Cream

Once you finish making the skin cream and pot it up, it will have a shelf-life of up to 18 months. It’s longevity is dependent on the preservative you use though — refer to your product’s details. If you choose not to use a preservative, you should really aim to use the cream within a week and ensure that it’s refrigerated. Any longer than that and bacteria and microbes will start colonizing the skin cream. You really don’t want to be putting them on your skin.

This rose petal skin cream is thick and creamy and perfect for moisturizing hands and body. It may be a bit too thick to use on your face but I’ve just tried and like the feeling. If your skin is feeling tired and dry, this is the cream for you.

Lovely Greens Natural Soapmaking for Beginners Course

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

20 Comments

  1. Hi,
    Thankyou for all your lovely recipes.. Could you tell me is emulsifying wax the same as BTMS 50 or is it just called emulsifying wax?
    Thankyou
    Regards Nicole

    1. Hi Nicole, BTMS 50 is a type of emulsifier, but one that’s used for wash-off creams like hair conditioner.

  2. This is my first time trying this and just wanted to clarify when measuring liquids or oils are you including the weight of the container you are using?

  3. Mia (Australia) says:

    Hi Tanya, thanks for the lovely recipe. Made it once now making my 2nd batch as I type this.
    Great as a face cream too!

  4. Christine says:

    Hi Tanya, do you weigh your finish product to work out your % of preservative and essential oils?

    1. The percentage used takes into account the entire recipe, if that’s your question.

  5. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Can beeswax be substituted for the emulsifying was?

    1. Only if you also add Borax, which is actually not recommended in skincare anymore. Otherwise it wouldn’t create a truly stable emulsion.

  6. Thanks for such a detailed tutorial. This cream looks really effective.

  7. Claire Goucher says:

    Hi, Tanya.
    Thank you so much for sharing your recipes. There was a giant rugosa rose in the garden when I was growing up and I’ve always loved the scent so I’m looking forward to making this body cream.
    My question is what oil could I substitute for the jojoba oil? My skin doesn’t like it. lol

    Thank you, again.
    Claire =)

  8. Lisa Mackey says:

    Hi again Tanya : )…Another question…if you have to raise the pH for a moisturizer you are selling what do you use? You mentioned lye…how would you use it? Is there anything else you can use given that baking soda is for home use products? Also, in what proportion would you use it to raise the pH of the formula?

    Same with the citric acid to lower the pH…in what proportion would you use it in the formula?

    1. I can’t give you advice on adjusting for commercial use — I don’t sell preserved creams and lotions and tend to only make them for home. For commercial products in the EU you have to send a sample of your product to a 3rd party analyst to test for microbes after certain periods of time. Without this test, you’re not legally able to insure or sell water-based cosmetic products. I’d hope it were the same in north america but somehow I doubt it?

      As for how much to use in adjusting. I mix a tiny amount into warm water as indicated in the recipe. Measure and pour a little in, mix it, and after a few minutes take the pH again. It’s the same for bicarbonate (baking soda), citric acid and sodium hydroxide. With the latter you need to be especially careful though. It’s much stronger a base than the bicarbonate. Make sure to always keep notes of how much you use so that you can make the recipe again. It’s through trial and error that you create a recipe that you can whip up time and time again.

  9. Lisa Mackey says:

    Hi Tanya ☺… I have Leucidal preservative. Can you tell me what they mean when they say “use between 2% to 4%”? 2 to 4 % of what specifically?

      1. Great detail and explaining. Thank you. I made this recipe yesterday using roses my husband bought me for our anniversary. Love that they don’t get tossed like they used to. Also question: can I quadruple this recipe? Or should I make all four batches individually?

        1. Hi Sherry, it’s not advisable to make anything edible or for skin with roses/flowers from bouquets. Unless they’re growing organically, they will be sprayed in insecticides and fungicides to keep them looking their best. Use homegrown roses that you know are not contaminated for this recipe. As for quadrupling — yes, feel free!

  10. Kristina Heisey says:

    Thank you Tanya! I’m so glad that you talked about pH, and relieved that I’m not the only one getting readings under 4! I had been planning on trying the baking soda method to bring it up a bit, and you did it for me, yay! Have a beautiful day :)) Kristina

    1. You’re so welcome :) There are a few ingredients you can use to bring the pH up a bit. Baking soda (Bicarbonate) is one that you can use for home use — probably not for skincare that you sell though. Another one is NaOH — Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye. You’ll see that in the ingredients list of some commercial creams and lotions. To lower the pH you can use lactic acid or citric acid.