Handmade Bath & Body with Lilith’s Apothecary

Fortunately for me, my love of herbal medicine coincided with a need for more nourishing, non-irritating products for my sensitive skin. I was more than delighted when one of my first teachers taught me the relatively simple process of making facial or body creams at home with simple kitchen tools. It seemed such an esoteric art, but happily, it’s not. Women have been making their own facial creams for centuries, benefiting from the gifts of the botanical world all around them! You too can benefit from the healing properties of herbs, the nutritive power of our botanical allies, and the pure luxury of chemical-free facial products.

The following outlines the procedure for making a simple facial cream that is made more special by the addition of infused herbs.

First: Choose your herb! Fortunately, there are lots of herbal allies for making a skin cream that will be helpful in addressing any skin care issues you might have. The world of botanical allies in skincare products has really reached the forefront of mainstream products in recent years, including the use of medicinal mushrooms, antioxidants like green tea, and the healing powers of herbs like calendula.

Chamomile

To help you in this journey, I’ll point out a couple of great herbs to use in facial care products. Click the photo to learn more.

Tools You’ll Need

Clean, sterilized equipment will ensure that your cream is mold & bacteria free from the start, and will thus prolong the shelf-life. Try to keep in mind how easy it is to introduce unwanted organisms into a facial cream just by the use of unsterilized tools!

For this project, you will need a double boiler (or a clean saucepan or two to mimic this process), spoons for stirring, a glass or stainless liquid measuring cup, a glass or stainless bowl for the water phase, a stick blender or upright blender (more difficult to adequately clean and sterilize), a small bowl for essential oils, if using, and a glass mason jar for preparing the infused water and/or for the infused oil.

I have tried to provide measurements in ‘cups’ as most of you may not have a scale in your kitchen, but keep in mind that the best way to craft skincare products is to use measurements by weight rather than by volume. In the photos, take note that I am measuring my ingredients using a small soap-making scale, easily available on-line. Also realize that the photos are for a much larger batch of cream than you will be making, so don’t be alarmed or expect that you will have as much product!

Step One: Oil Phase

Measure out the following oils and waxes, combine in a saucepan, and melt over the lowest possible heat. The use of a double boiler is best, but if not using, just be careful not to overcook or ‘burn’ the oils. Using cold-processed, unrefined oils is always preferable, as you will be more likely to reap the nutritive benefits of these beneficial oils. (Note: if you are planning ahead and want to double the potency of your cream, try infusing some of the herb in a clean jar with the sweet almond, sunflower, or grapeseed oil for 2 weeks or so OR gently heat infuse on the lowest possible setting or over a double boiler, strain, and proceed)

¾ cup sweet almond, sunflower, or grapeseed oil
½ cup coconut oil
½ oz. beeswax (you can often purchase beeswax in little 1 oz. bars and just use half the bar)

Step Two: Water Phase

Put your measured herb of choice into a clean, sterile mason jar. Boil the distilled water (below) and pour over the herb to steep. Allow herb to steep for 15-30 minutes, strain thoroughly using a stainless strainer, cheese cloth, muslin cloth or bag, etc, to make sure all the particles have been strained out. Add the other ingredients listed below and proceed to step Three.

2/3 cup distilled water OR distilled flower waters (hydrosols) + 4 Tbsp dried herb or 8 Tbsp fresh herb
1/3 cup aloe vera (as chemical free and ‘pure’ as possible, avoiding brands with added gelling agents if you can)
essential oils – a few drops of your favorites (optional)
Vitamin E (5 – 1,000unit capsules or ¼ tsp) or 2 tsp wheat germ oil
Optional: Nutritive ingredients such as Carrot Seed oil (10 drops), wheat protein (10 drops) OR sea buckthorn berry oil (10 drops)

Step Three: Combine

After oils group has been melted and allowed to cool a bit, drizzle the oils group into the water group at a slow stream while running the stick (or regular) blender. The final product will still be very thin if the oils were still pretty warm. It will look like mayonnaise if the oils cooled considerably. Pour your cream into a dry, sterilized jar. Label with the ingredients and date and keep at room temperature or refrigerate for a longer shelf life. Enjoy! A little goes a long way, so use sparingly.

Note on Preservation & Shelf Life

I must point out two important issues in the use and shelf-life of this cream: 1) be sure you know the external, topical, or skincare specific properties of the herbs you are using, if not from the list above. Jeanne Rose’s Herbal Body Book is a great source for this kind of information. 2) The use of chemical or laboratory proven natural preservative systems are very important in the sale of commercial facial creams. While it is important to choose preservatives that are neither parabens nor formaldelhyde-releasing agents, there are chemical preservatives that are indeed non-irritating and safe. As powerful antioxidants, Vitamin E, Rosemary Oil Extract, and Grapefruitseed extract do NOT prevent mold, fungus, and bacteria growth, but only help prevent oil rancidity. That said, this cream will be preservative-free, and contains only Vitamin E, which does no more than prevent against oil rancidity. For that reason, you must be well-aware of the fact that the cream will keep longer if refrigerated, as un-preserved creams are more susceptible to mold and the introduction of bacteria. Always use a clean utensil or clean, washed hands when using your cream. If you decide to introduce a chemical preservative, be sure to research it thoroughly.

REF: Jeanne Rose, Herbal Body Book: The Herbal Way to Natural Beauty for Men and Women (1976), Perigee Books, New York.

This blog post was written by Sarah Powell, medical anthropologist, herbalist, and proprietor of Lilith’s Apothecary, a natural bath, body, and herbal tea business. She is a wife and mother of two and a half year old daughter, Maeve, and lives in Philadelphia, where she is a proud member of HandmadeinPA and Handmade Philly. She also blogs at lilithsapothecary.wordpress.com.