How to Make Homemade Herbal Creams

Making homemade herbal creams is fun and rewarding.

Creams, made mostly of water and oil, are rich and provide nutrition, moisture and emollients to skin. Water hydrates, whilst oil lubricates.

The easiest way for beginners to make herbal creams is through the use of essential oils. The oils not only add fragrance, but they offer antimicrobial properties and also act as preservatives. A good combination is lavender and sandalwood essential oils.

Things You'll Need

• 9 oz. of distilled water
• 1 oz. of beeswax
• 3 oz. of solid oil, such as coconut oil, cocoa butter or shea butter
• 6 oz. of liquid oil, such as olive, jojoba or peanut
• Optional (but recommended):
• Essential oils, such as lavender and sandalwood
• Powdered vitamins A, C and/or E

Instructions

1. Pour six oz. of the liquid oil into a 16-oz. heat-proof measuring cup.

2. Add pieces of solid oil to the liquid oil until the total volume reaches nine oz. in the measuring cup.

3. Add pieces of beeswax to the measuring cup until it reaches 10 oz.

4. Put the cup with the oils and beeswax into a pot partly filled with water. Place over medium heat and stir until the oils and beeswax melt and dissolve into a uniform liquid.

5. Remove the oils from the hot water and allow them to cool to room temperature. Test by touching the measuring cup to skin. Stir the mixture as it cools to keep it from separating.

6. Pour the 9 oz. of distilled water into a measuring cup and heat to body temperature. Do this while the oils are cooling.

7. Wait until both the water and the oils are room temperature. Pour the water into a blender, food processor with a whipping cream attachment, or pour into a mixing bowl. Add optional ingredients such as vitamins A, C and E to the water.

8. Process the water mixture at high speed if using a hand mixer, or a food processor, if using an attachment. If you are using a high-powered blender, be sure to place it on a low setting.

9. Slowly drizzle the oil into the water while processing.

10. Continue to process until the oil and water have blended, or emulsified, into one liquid. This emulsification is the key to creams.

11. Scoop the cream into a 32-oz. measuring cup with a spout, to make pouring easy. If you plan on adding essential oils, now is the time to do so. For lavender sandalwood cream, use two tsp. of lavender essential oil and ¾ tsp. of sandalwood essential oil. Stir them in well.

12. Pour the cream into clean, dry jars with lids. FIll the jaws as close to the top as possible to prevent excess air space.

13. Put the lids on and leave the cream to settle overnight.

Tips & Warnings

• Use distilled water. Other additions to the water portion can be floral waters, such as lavender water, distilled witch hazel, aloe gel, herb tinctures and glycerin. Whatever the combination used, it should equal nine oz.

• Optional but suggested ingredients are grapefruit seed extract and vitamins A, C and E as preservatives. Three tsp. of essential oil per 19-oz. batch also acts as an excellent preservative.

• Processing with a high-powered blender may only take 20 to 30 seconds. If you are using a hand mixer, use it at the highest speed for about 15 minutes.

• When applying natural creams, ensure fingers are clean to minimize bacterial contamination.

References

• Earthly Bodies & Heavenly Hair; Dina Falconi; 1998