Homemade lotion/face cream recipe

A few days ago my friend asked my why I look so much older than I used to (sigh!!!) Imagine! Maybe because people get older, and when they get older they look older. Maybe because I am not 21 anymore like all of his girlfriends. Maybe because I do not wear an inch of a make-up on my face every single day. And maybe because I like the sun and I am not a vampire as most of his friends think they are ;). So those are the main reasons why I’m getting old and it’s some how visible. 🙂 Oh… and a year ago, I had a terrible labor after which I woke up with at least 10 grey hair (before I didn’t have a single one).

Not that I got very upset because of that but… hm… it made me think…

Maybe I really should start to use some sort of a face cream, anti-wrinkles/aging serum… 😉

Because it’s been a year when I bought a body lotion for the last time, I thought that I could do the same with a face cream. It’s a bit more complex thing to make a face cream than to make a body lotion. Face it more sensitive, you don’t want to clog you pores, and everybody has a different skin (oily, sensitive, dry, .etc). I do have oily face, so I was looking for something good for my skin.

So I did a research.

I have found a bunch of sites with bunch of recipes. Most of them had one or two ingredients that I don’t have, already. So I kept looking. On the bottom of my post I added a few related posts with the recipes I have found. Some of those sites have recipes for facial mask made from fresh avocado, egg yolks, honey… etc.

I recently ordered a few extra things from Mountain Rose Herbs. My last buy from them was a year ago, after I decided to try to make my body lotion. That time I bought emulsifying wax, 4 essential oils and something else… don’t remember what. I paid $35 for that package (35$ with shipping cost), my next purchase was a few days ago ($37 including shipping cost).

It’s really not that expensive when you have the bigger picture in you head. That supply of stuff last for a year or more.

1 oz to 4 oz of face cream costs from $10 to $30 and more.

Cream I made yesterday cost me about $4.50 for 6.8 oz. Next time, though, I’m going to add more great tea of some kind so juice to loosen it up more because the batch I made is too thick. At that point it will be much more than 6.8 oz for maybe about $5. In addition, everything that’s in your cream is fresh, you can pronounce its name and you know how it looks, and tastes… etc.

Right now, if you take your cream or body lotion and read the list of ingredients I wonder how many of it is understandable to you(?) hm?! What about “triethanolamine”, or “PEG-100 Sterate”, or “Propylparaben”, or “Imidazolidinyl”.

I’ll give you an example.

Pond’s cold cream. From what I remember this cream is made from: mineral oil, water, beeswax, borax, fragrance, and a few things to preserve the shelf life of this cream (you surely could skip that part)!

It costs about $7 for 3.5 oz.

Instead of buying that cream,

you can buy:

pound of borax for $3.50,

beeswax for $1.75 (1 oz)

carrier oil (from $5 to $20 for 8.5 oz)

the best carrier oil for making face cream are the grape seed and hazelnut oils.

From what I know mineral oil clog you pores so it’s not that good for face cream.

To make your own 3.5 oz ponds’ cream you will need:

1.4 oz (about 2 tablespoon) carrier oil = hazelnut oil $1.32,  grape seed oil = $3.30

1 tablespoon (0.5 oz) beeswax               = $ 0.80

1 tablespoon (o.5 oz) borax                    = $ 0.10

1/4 cup distilled water                            = $0.50 or less

                                                                     = $2.72                                                    = $ 4.70

cream like that is awesome to use on you hands, feet, face, and your entire body.

You can always add a few capsules of vitamin E. I bought my (buy one get one free in Wallgreens=$9.50), and it will take you forever to use it all.

If instead of just the distilled water you use brewed greet tea, coffee, fruit juice (grapefruit, orange, lemon) you’ll add more vitamins to the cream, and more anti-wrinkle effects 🙂

For less than $7 you could make rich, healthy, safe (for your kids to eat 😉 ) cream.

Ok, back to my mixture.

You’ll need:

4 tablespoon of hazelnut oil

2 tablespoon of emulsifying wax

1/4 cup of green tea

1 or 2 tablespoon of aloe vera juice (fresh squeezed is the best)

4 capsules of vitamin E

1 tsp. citric acid

essential oils (optional!)

Directions:

take one (or two) leafs of aloe vera (from your garden or from your neighbour’s garden)

cut into pieces

blend it… I do not have a juicer, so I use blender and a strainer. works great.

and then, she {snapped}

separate the juice and set asaid.

in a glass container mix the oil and the wax

on the low heat over a water bath mix it until completely dissolved

meanwhile brew the green tea for about 10 minutes. one bag in 1/4 cup of hot water.

pour the tea, aloe vera juice and the wax-oil mixture into one glass container. stir every few times untill not so hot anymore.

if you add the vitamin E and essential oils to the very hot lotion they will lose their properties. That’s why you need to wait until the mixture cools down.

With a sharp knife cut vitamin E capsules and pour the liquid into the lotion mixture.

Add citric acid.

I added 5 drops of grapefruit essential oil, 3 drops of st.johns essential oil, and 5 drops of sweet orange essential oil.

Mix it well a few time until it cools down completely.

Face cream ready to use:

Because this cream came out so thick and rich I recommend add 1/2 cup of green tea instead of 1/4. Instead of just green tea you could add 1/4 lemon juice. That way you’ll get about 8 or 8.5 oz of cream.

One more thing. If you want to just try this recipe out, and do not want to spend you money on buying “special” oils, you can use olive oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil or almond oil. Those oils are easy to get in your grocery stores. If you use those oils instead of hazelnut oil, or grape seed oil, use that lotion on every part of you body except you face. It will clog your pores.

Keep your homemade lotion/cream in a glass (not plastic) jar in a fridge.

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ENJOY!!!

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71 thoughts on “Homemade lotion/face cream recipe

    1. Polish Mom Photographer Post author

      thanks, Gina 🙂
      I am not a big fan of face creams. My skin is already very oily so I try to avoid creams… but I’ve decided to try make one and see how it works. so far it’s great 🙂

      Reply
      1. mars

        hi i want to prepare this cream but i’m confuse for borax what is this? is like a backing powder or is something else?

        Reply
  1. Jill

    Oh wow! That face cream looks and sounds amazing! I’ve never tried making my own – but I’d love to! I’m going to bookmark this ‘recipe’ to try out!

    Thanks for linking to the Creating Success Worldwide blog hop!! Hope you’ll come back again next week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  2. Suzie

    I think your photos are great illustrations! Since reading recently about the additives in body and face creams (among others) I thought I would try and make my own. Your pics make it seem so easy. Just have to find the beeswax and I will try it. Thank you!

    Reply
  3. GrandMa

    I have been mucking around with face cream for years and at the risk of getting everyone off side, I have found for a quick skin tightener mix the white of 1 egg beaten thick with 1/2 tsp vit C powder.Some people condem this but I have been using it for years and so have my friends it hasn’t clogged my pores, given me a rash or any of the other things people tell me it will…..I am 70yrs old. I also have a good general moisturizer that I make myself. It works…….Cheers

    Reply
    1. Polish Mom Photographer Post author

      I just made a face cream with coconut oil, vitamin E and crushed vitamin C. It works miracles on my skin. I just love. I have an oily skin but this skin don’t clog pores nor make it even more oily. I’ll try to post a recipe this week.
      I know that egg white is great for you skin. I use it with plain yoghurt as a facial mask. I love it!

      Reply
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  5. Valerie

    I tried this recipe last night but couldn’t get it quite right. My turned out to be very pasty and gainy and no matter how much liquid I added it wouldn’t absorb. I follow your recipe but sub green tea with chamomile.

    Reply
    1. Polish Mom Photographer Post author

      Hi Valerie! Did you use only the strained aloe vera juice? That’s the only thing it comes to my mind you might did wrong… ah… and did you mix both oil-wax mixture and the tea while still hot? both of those mixtures should be hot when combining together. after you mix those two than you should add aloe vera juice and stir until lukewarm.

      Reply
      1. Valerie

        Thanks for your reply. I didn’t mix the oil-wax and tea while they are hot! I use AV gel not juice since I don’t have a blender. I will try it again.

        Reply
        1. Polish Mom Photographer Post author

          you can add the aloe after you mixed the water with oil… but those last two need to be hot and stir very often until lukewarm. I add all the additional ingredients after the mixture cools down just not to loose the “good” properties of aloe, essential oils and vitamin E in a hot temperature.

          Reply
    2. nataly

      I had the same problem with bee wax. The water substance separated from oil, so i found different emulsion. You can try lecithin, i works really good and also its good for the skin. Its natural and cost about $7.00.

      Reply
  6. Carolyn

    I am allergic to many things including hazelnuts. Can I substitute Camellia Oil for the Hazelnut oil? If not do you have a recipe using camellia oil? I have heard amazing things about camellia oil and would like to try it. This will be my first attempt to making homemade face cream. Can you recommend any books to do some research on making face cream?

    Best wishes,
    Carolyn

    Reply
    1. Polish Mom Photographer Post author

      Hi Carolyn.

      Camellia Oil is a liquid oil so it should be good in this recipe. I don’t see anything against using it. In this case you can substitute the oils I used in all of my recipes with camellia oil. Feel free to use olive oil, sunflower or avocado oil as well.

      Here is a link to the list of cosmetics I’ve made so far:
      http://momphotographer.wordpress.com/category/homemade-cosmetics-3/

      As for the books try this link:
      https://www.google.com/search?q=homemade+beauty+products&tbm=bks&tbo=1&oq=homemade

      There is a list of books about homemade beauty products and you can read part of them online and see if you like it or not before buying.

      I hope that helped. If you have more questions feel free to ask. And thank you for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!

      Reply
    2. Jen

      Carolyn, I’ve also read that apricot oil is good for the face as it has anti-aging properties. I use it in my homemade body oils and lotions. I’ve never made a face cream before. I’ve been scared because I have combination skin that tends to break out easily. I am going to try a modified version of this recipe and see how it works. I will probably use a mixture of hazelnut, apricot, and grapeseed oils.

      Reply
  7. Teddy

    Hello,

    I ran across your recipe for face cream. I just wanted to give you a heads up that almost all emulsifying waxes contain chemicals. All of the emulsifiers at Mountain Rose are in this category.

    I have been researching for a very long time to find one that at the end of the chain, isn’t chemical as I don’t use these emulsifiers in my skin care.

    Best,
    Teddy

    Reply
    1. Polish Mom Photographer Post author

      The only substitute for e. was is beeswax+borax but it takes a big amount of time and tries to figure out the percentages.
      E. wax is : Cetearyl Alcohol, Polysorbate 60, PEG-150 Stearate & Steareth-20 – non of them are really irritants or unsafe to use. Compare to what is mixed into a store bought cosmetics e.wax is nothing to which people should consider as dangerous.

      If you don’t want to use it you should stick to oil based lotions where you don’t use water at all. In thise case you can use beeswax and oils and you do not have to use borax or e.wax.

      Reply
  8. Dasha

    The reason your face cream spoils so fast is because you add juices and/or teas. When you use anything besides distilled (read: no bacteria) water, you are introducing bacteria into your cream. Even the aloe vera mix you make will do this. Try adding some grapefruit seed extract into into it to kill the bacteria, or avoid any food-like ingredients

    Reply
        1. Ewa "Mom Photographer" Post author

          that’s why it is better to put e. wax instead beeswax, then you don’t have to use the borax.
          e. wax or borax + beeswax wax are needed as emulsifiers to make the oil combine well (and not separate) with the water. without those ingredients you won’t be able to achieve the creamy consistence.

          Reply
  9. Leanna

    Your friend (who asked you why you looked older than you used to) is a dumb-a**, but your recipe and pictures are great, so I’m glad he is! Just hope you don’t have to hang out with him too often – he sounds kinda depressing.

    Reply
    1. Polish Mom Photographer Post author

      don’t worry.
      i do not see him anymore, He lives in Poland. I live in California 🙂 I do too, think it was kind of weird to say that. Thank you so much for your comment and the visit to my blog 🙂 have a wonderful weekend!

      Reply
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  11. Rachel

    Hey, love the recipes! I just recently decided to try out the ‘no poo’ thing, and have decided not to stop at just hair care. I am very excited about trying out the cold creme recipe. Your instructions look very thorough and helpful. So thank you for sharing this!

    However, just a warning about the grapefruit and St John’s oils: they can make your skin more sensitive to UV damage and sunburn. So it is best to not use them in a facial lotion, or body lotion if you plan on being out in the sun for up to 4 days after their use. Otherwise they are indeed great for your skin, and St. John’s Wort, ironically, can help to repair sun damage.

    http://www.aromantic.co.uk/buy-st-johns-wort-oil-organic-uk.htm

    http://www.essentialoils.co.za/sun-sensitivity.htm

    Again, thanks for sharing your recipes and annotations!!

    -Rachel

    Reply
    1. Mom Photographer Post author

      Hi Rachel. Thanks for your input about the grapefruit and St John’s oil. I do use St. J oil for headaches very often. As for being out in the sun I do not have problem with that as these days I do not use this lotion (I made a new batch using only coconut oil and cocoa butter) and while I was using this lotion I was never in the sun for too long… .
      have a wonderful day!

      Reply
  12. Henriette

    Hi Denmark Scandinavia calling!! Just want to get this straught: you are only listing ingredients for 1 cream and not 2 in your piece right? Just wanted to make sure before I venture out in cream making 😉 thanks!!
    Henriette, Copenhagen

    Reply
    1. Mom Photographer Post author

      yes!! it is only one cream. I need to mention that you should add about 1 tsp of citric acid to this mixture to prevent it from going bad fast! thanks for stopping bye 🙂

      Reply
  13. L

    If you don’t mind, would you give the recipe for the cream you are using coconut oil and cocoa butter in? Right now I use a mixture of coconut, grape seed, olive and Vit E oils. But I would like to incorporate something with Vit C also.

    Reply
    1. Mom Photographer Post author

      here is one:
      http://momphotographer.wordpress.com/2012/05/16/whipped-coconut-oil-cocoa-butter-body-cream/

      this one, though when kept in the fridge gets hard. When kept in room temperature it melts.
      A few days ago I made very similar one that gets a little less hard when store in the fridge. I haven’t posted it yet.
      But you made it in a very similar way as the coconut oil cocoa butter one.
      first you whip 4 oz coconut oil until it looks like whipped cream than add melted and chilled cocoa butter (about 2 oz). After that you add gradually 6 oz cold (but fresh brewed) coffee or green tea, if you don’t like coffee. whip it until everything is well incorporated. At the end add vitamin E and mix it well again. Store in the fridge.

      You might want to try this recipe as well:
      http://momphotographer.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/my-experience-with-oil-cleansing-method-plus-homemade-face-cream-recipe/

      This cream I use for my daughter as a body lotion. It’s great.

      Reply
  14. Comfort Abasi

    I think part of the reason the mixture goes rancid quickly is due to your water-based ingredient (your green tea) not being offset by any true anti-microbial or anti-fungal preservative (like, as controversial as they are, the parabens). Anything with water in mixtures such as this provide a breeding ground for bacteria, so even if you kept it in the fridge, constant dipping-in of hands and fingers – which, collectively, are a teeming madhouse for bacteria – will rapidly reduce the cream or lotion’s shelf-life. Sure, you have your Vitamin E but that only inhibits oxidation and doesn’t do anything major and I think the same goes for your citric acid.

    Reply
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  16. Christina

    I make my own face cream but I put a small amount in a glass pump bottle and store in the refrigerator and the rest in a glass jar and store in the freezer. This way, you don’t have to worry about it going rancid. Thaw out a little each time you need to refill the pump bottle. 🙂

    Reply
  17. farhana xox

    heyy…itz sounds so interesting to me..i wanna try dis out..but i dont hav aloe Vera gel..can try out orange or papaya or grape..smthing like dat???? plz let me knw..

    Reply
  18. Caitlyn

    I tried doing this mixture tonight and used beeswax instead of emulsifying wax and for some reason, the mixture just wouldn’t combine together, and stayed liquid instead of thickening up. Any suggestions?

    Reply
  19. Rabia

    Hi, I was just wondering that the benefits/side effects of citric acid are? Is it necessary for this recipe or can I make it without it?

    Reply
        1. Ewa "Mom Photographer" Post author

          it does not stay good for as long as most of my homemade cosmetics, I think because of the fresh juice from aloe vera. it was good for about a month. that’s why I recommend to make this cream from only a half of the recipe in order ti be able to use it up within a month without having to throw away the rest of it.

          Reply
  20. Rakhia

    Hello,

    Just across your website as I was looking for ways to persevere face wash and cleaneacesr I made few years ago and I have been using and want make now .

    Could you let me know what I need to buy to persevere it?

    Reply
  21. Marla

    Hi! I just came across your site and I love the idea of making my own face cream! Before seeing your site I tried vitamin E and C together and put that on my face – ouch! It was so scratchy and I had vitamin C powder all over my face. Does vitamin c dissolve – is it suppose to? Is this only suppose to be used at night? HELP Please :-). I love everything I’ve learned from your site. I see I need to added more things to my cream. Thanks for the advice.

    Reply
    1. Ewa "Mom Photographer" Post author

      hi Marla.

      you could use vitamin C in liquid drops, because the kind I used didn’t dissolve well. I use this cream before I go to bed but it would be ok to use it all day long. It depends on your skin needs.

      Reply
  22. Lili Fras

    Hey! I just found your blog… I am making my own lip balms and deodorants…. 🙂 In about a month I am going to make my own soap, and am searching for some good cream recepies.

    Reply
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