How To Make Creams Part IV – With VE and MF Emulsifiers

31 January, 2012 by Lucinda

At last, here is the final instalment in our cream making series, apologies that it’s over a month late!

Of the three recipes I have shared this one is the most complicated as it requires precise temperatures and the use of not one, but two emulsifiers. Once you have done it a couple of times though it’s fairly straightforward and it is a reliable cream that I have never had any problems with.

This method is taught by Aromantic in their course which I attended a couple of years ago and is very popular amongst herbalists that I have spoken to.

Pros are that it makes a light and professional looking cream with a very good finish. Cons are that it involves processed ingredients like emulsifiers and cetyl alcohol and that it does really need a preservative due to the very high water content. The high water to oil ratio could be a pro or a con depending on what you want to achieve. If your key ingredients are water based, for example a strong infusion or floral water, this would be an ideal recipe to follow but if they are oil based, such as infused calendula or St. John’s Wort, then one of the previous recipes would suit your needs better.

Ingredients:

Fats:
25 ml vegetable oil/ infused oil
4 g cocoa butter
4 g cetyl alcohol
5 g VE emulsifier

Waters:
140 ml spring water/ herbal infusion/ floral water
4 ml glycerine
9 g MF emulsifier

Extras:
2 ml Vitamin E
1-2 ml Essential oils
Preservative of choice

VE and MF emulsifiers are both available from Aromantic, see the link above, and are vegetable derived, usually from coconut or palm oil.
I used only Rosemary Antioxidant extract as a preservative which doesn’t protect well against bacteria and fungi so they won’t keep for longer that two or three months. If you require a longer shelf life then a synthetic preservative such as the mysteriously named preservative 12 would be better.

Method:
Begin by melting all the fat based ingredients in a bain marie or double boiler. At the same time heat the water/ infusion in a separate pan or double boiler and then add the other water based ingredients, whisking well to ensure the MF powder is completely dissolved in the liquid and no lumps remain. Continue heating until both mixtures have reached between 75 and 80 C.

When both parts are at temperature, turn them off the heat but leave the water part above the bain marie to ensure it remains hot. Pour the oils in a steady stream into the waters whilst whisking gently from side to side. Don’t beat the cream too vigorously or too much air will be introduced. Continue whisking in this way for five minutes to ensure everything is well mixed then remove from above the hot pan to allow for quicker cooling. At this stage I place the container in a pan of cool water to allow it to set quicker and continue gently whisking until it is cooled to below 30 C and nicely thickened.

At this point I stir in the essential oils, vitamin E and preservative and spoon into jars. Keep this cream in the fridge when it’s not being used unless you have added synthetic preservatives.

And that my friends is all there is to it. Happy cream making and a very happy Imbolc to all for tomorrow.

Posted in Medicine Making Guides, Natural Beauty | 15 Comments

15 Responses

on 31 January, 2012 at 10:39 pm | Reply Danielle Charles

Thank you for yet another new cream recipe to try out!! This one sounds a little bit tricky, but I’m up for the challenge! I think I will officially dub you the cream making diva

XOXO
D
- on 1 February, 2012 at 10:51 am | Reply Lucinda
  
  Cream making diva, I like it! Though I feel I need something more glamourous than my pjs to wear in the kitchen to fully embody the name.
  xxxx
on 1 February, 2012 at 4:08 pm | Reply Rohini

Hi Lucinda
They all look beautiful but my favourite is the beeswas cream – equal proportions of oil and water. Did you ever get to find out about this emulsifier –
“Cetyl Stearyl Alcohol & Sodium Alkyl Sulphate”.
I think it will be easier to work with than the other two emulsifiers. Thank you
- on 1 February, 2012 at 6:21 pm | Reply Lucinda
  
  Hi Rohini,
  Yes that is my favourite too. You can pack it full of medicinal oils and teas and no need for anything unnatural.
  I’m not 100% sure as I can’t find any info on it but I would think it is a type of emulsifying wax as the cetyl alcohol is a kind of fatty alcohol wax derived from plant or petroleum products and sodium alkyl sulphate sunds like a detergent to me. That’s my guess anyway!
- on 22 October, 2012 at 9:26 am | Reply Jeannie
  
  Sodium alkyl sulfate is a surfactant made from coconut oil. It is pearlescent and makes a product opaque.
  It would be similar to using an emulsifier made with sodium laurel/laureate sulphate, as the one supplied by Baldwins in the UK.
  Whilst it is in the scope of ingredients allowable in a BP(British pharmacopeia) or NF(National formulary) emulsifier, I personally would look for an emulsifier without a surfactant in it, which is more difficult than one would think.
  The surfactant makes the product disperse and soak in quicker on the skin by altering the acid mantle temporarily.
  If the intention is to sell creams then you may well find that with intensive marketing etc people’s expectations of a cream are different from the reality of using cream made more naturally.
  I liken it to people wanting more natural ingredients in shampoos but not liking using it. Bar soap being also a good example as no chemicals left in finished product, no packaging, excellent green credentials etc but people reluctant to use.
  - on 23 October, 2012 at 2:39 pm Lucinda
    
    Thanks for your input Jeannie!
on 1 February, 2012 at 8:23 pm | Reply leslie postin

Thank you for another beautifully crafted cream post, Lucinda!xx
- on 1 February, 2012 at 9:56 pm | Reply Lucinda
  
  Thanks Leslie, i hope they are useful to you! xx
on 2 February, 2012 at 7:07 pm | Reply cheryl

Happy imbolc Lucinda…….

You are right, that is way too complicated for me.
I must say that cream looks good enough to eat
It could almost be part of a banoffee pie !!
on 2 February, 2012 at 7:08 pm | Reply cheryl

Why is that face unhappy……..I meant
- on 3 February, 2012 at 6:31 pm | Reply Lucinda
  
  Maybe the face was sad because you didn’t have any banoffee pie close at hand!
  I suspect the cream looks better than it would taste though.
  x
on 3 February, 2012 at 9:12 pm | Reply madcrowherbals

Great stuff! I’m so printing and saving this series. Very inspiring.

Now I need to secure some more free time to play around with them.

- Michael
- on 5 February, 2012 at 5:08 pm | Reply Lucinda
  
  Hi Michael, I’m so glad they were useful to you. Let me know if you have any queries when you get round to having a go at the recipes.
on 14 February, 2013 at 6:46 am | Reply Santosh Kumar

what is VE and MF emulsifiers? i am starting to make a cream…i got jojoba oil and other ingredients…
- on 18 February, 2013 at 10:04 pm | Reply Lucinda
  
  VE emulsifier is glycerol sterate and MF is Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate. You can buy both from Aromantic, see the link in the post.
  Or you could make the recipe for a cream without emulsifiers if you prefer which is here:
  http://whisperingearth.co.uk/2011/12/07/how-to-make-creams-part-ii-without-emulsifiers/
  Good luck!