You probably put moisturisers on your face and body every day, so why not make your own, using essential oils, natural creams and waxes? This way, you can cut out the harsh chemicals and alcohols often contained in shop-bought products and make lotions to suit your specific needs.
Beneficial beauty
Making your own creams is simple, and they are effective and economical. You can modify them to meet unique requirements - either foryourself, or as a present for a friend. Use essential oils with reputed anti-ageing effects to create anti-wrinkle creams, or ones with healing properties to make aftersun lotions.
Modifying your creams
There's also nothing to stop you adding a few drops of essential oil to your existing moisturisers, transforming a simple face cream into a specialised beauty product for your complexion.
Choosing your Carrier Product
When making your own aromatherapy beauty products, take the time to decide which base product would best suit your skin type.
Double cream
This dairy product makes a fabulous natural alternative to cosmetic creams.
Yellow beeswax
Beeswax provides a thicker, more viscous base for your essential oils. It also has many healing properties of its own. You should be aware that beeswax may not be suitable for some sufferers of eczema, however.
Carrier oil
You can buy carrier oils from herbalists and health shops that stock essential oils.
Natural cosmetic bases
You can buy these bases from many natural cosmetic retailers, health shops and herbalists. They are generally colourless and unscented, ready for you to add your chosen essential oils.
Commercial cosmetics
You can even add a few drops of essential oils to any existing body lotion or moisturiser that you have. Dilute at a rate of 5 drops of oil per 50ml of lotion or cream.
Body Lotion Recipe
To create your own body lotion, follow this recipe:
- Melt 15g or yellow beeswax in 120ml carrier oil using a small bowl in a pan of simmering water (do not heat directly as the oil is highly flammable)
- In another pan, gently heat 50ml of spring water
- begin to add the distilled water when the beeswax has melted
- When you have added 10ml of the water, remove the beeswax and oil from the heat. Continue adding until all the water is mixed
- Add 6 drops of blended essential oils as soon as the mixture starts to set, then transfer the lotion into glass pots, label and store in cool conditions.
Face Cream Recipe
To make a thicker richer cream to use as a daily facial moisturiser.
- Heat 50ml of carrier oil with 15g of beeswax in a bowl over simmering water.
- Remove the oily mixture from the heat and leave to cool down for several minutes. Wait until it starts to set.
- Now add up to 10 drops of essential oils as the mixture starts cooling.
- Pour into a clean glass jar and seal. Allow the product to set fully before using.
Adding Oils to Ready-made Lotions
If you're adding oils to ready made lotion - a natural carrier or shop-bought moisturiser - you may still need to heat the lotion to make it runny enough to stir in the oil.
- Gently heat the lotion in a bowl inside a pan of simmering water until it becomes runny.
- Add up to 6 drops of oil to 200ml lotion
- After mixing in the oil, decant the lotion into a clean glass pot, and store in the fridge.
- Use home-modified lotions and moisturisers within two months, even if the original shelf-life of the product was longer.
Oils to Use
Oily skin
- Bergamot
- Cypress
- Juniper
- Lemon
- Jojoba carrier oil
Acne
- Cypress
- Eucalyptus
- Geranium
- Tea tree
- Rosehip carrier oil
Eczema
- Chamomile
- Geranium
- Lavender
- Jojoba carrier oil
Mature skin
- Frankincense
- Neroli
- Rosehip carrier oil
Anti-aging
- Cedarwood
- Frankincense
- Jasmine
- Palmarosa
- Sandalwood
- Avocado carrier oil