Simple Face Cream Recipe
How to make simple face cream for normal to dry skin using liquid oil, water, emulsifying wax, and essential oil. If you wish, you can also reduce the emulsifying wax amount to 4g, or 8g, for thinner lotion.
Servings 120 ml
Cost $5
Equipment
Ingredients
Water Phase
- 70 g distilled water 2.47 oz
Oil Phase
- 10 g emulsifying wax NF (or BP) 0.35 oz
- 5 g jojoba oil 0.18 oz
- 15 g sweet almond oil 0.53 oz
Cooling Phase
- broad spectrum preservative* Such as Leucidal SF Complete*
- 10-20 drops rose geranium essential oil Optional
Instructions
Prepare the Oil & Water Phases
- Sterilize your equipment by running it through the dishwasher. Wash your hands thoroughly, and consider wearing disposable gloves while making the face cream recipe. Microbes on your hands and equipment can make their way into your skin cream and spoil it.
- Measure the ingredients of the oil phase into one heat-proof glass jar. Measure the distilled water amount for the water phase in a second jar. Next, place both jars in a large saucepan, and fill the pan with an inch of hot water.
- Bring the water to a boil, and reduce the heat to a simmer. You're ready for the next step when the contents of both jars are 75°C/165°F. Take the jars out, and place them on a kitchen towel on the counter.
- Next, pour the heated distilled water into the oil-phase jar. You'll see it immediately turn an opaque creamy color. Gently stir with a spoon for several minutes, then let it cool. Leave the spoon inside the jar since you'll need to return to it five minutes later to give it another stir.
Cooling Phase
- As the face cream cools, it will thicken. Return every five minutes to stir gently.
- Once the cream is 45°C/110°F or slightly cooler, add the preservative and essential oil. If the preservative you use comes as a powder, mix it with a small amount of distilled water before adding it to the cream.
- Now we need to test for pH. Stir a half teaspoon of cream in 1-2 tsp distilled water. Dip one of your pH papers into liquid and then compare the color to the ones on the pack. Skin creams need to match the pH of your skin, or they can be irritating and affect the effectiveness of preservatives. If the pH is between 4.5-5.5, you're spot on. You can make the face cream more acidic (lower the pH) up by adding tiny amounts of lactic acid or citric acid dissolved in a small amount of warm, distilled water. Make it more alkaline (increase the pH) with triethanolamine or by dissolving a small amount of L-Arginine or bicarbonate (baking soda) in water and adding it. Pass it through the sieve and into the lotion. Take the pH reading again and adjust again if needed.
- Using a rubber spatula, spoon the face cream into a dark glass container and seal it. You can begin using it immediately.
Notes
* I use 1/2 tsp (1.5 g) Geogard Ultra preservative, but you can use another broad-spectrum preservative for skin creams, such as Leucidal SF Complete. If you do, follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
If you make this hand cream without a preservative, it will last up to one week in the refrigerator. After that time, invisible bacteria and fungi will begin colonizing it, and using the cream on your skin could cause infections.