It’s time for the next instalment of our cream making recipes, this one using emulsifying wax.
Emulsifying wax can be made from either vegetable wax or petroleum wax mixed with a detergent, so do ensure that you know which you are getting. I always use the vegetable derived one which is what most herbal suppliers will be selling. It comes as a flaky white solid which melts at fairly low temperatures and helps to thicken and emulsify fats and waters to make a cream. You will see from the recipe that this cream includes a much higher proportion of water compared to the last one I posted about, enabling you to make a cream that is not quite so rich and sinks in easily.
Here in the UK many herbal suppliers sell emulsifying wax including Baldwins here, Neal’s Yard here, Woodland herbs here and Aromantic here. All these will ship internationally but I’m sure most countries will have their own suppliers.
Pros to this cream include that it is simple and potentially quite cheap to make, it doesn’t involve any special equipment, just a few bowls and a whisk, and it is more stable than the cream without emulsifiers which can tend to sweat when exposed to temperature fluctuations.
Cons are that it is not completely natural and can sometimes tend to leave a slight residue behind when massaged into the skin. With this recipe it’s important to use a preservative because it has a high water content and will potentially go off quite quickly.
This recipe will make about about half the quantity of the last one incase you didn’t want to experiment with quite such a large amount.
Ingredients:
Waters:
200ml of spring water, floral water or herbal tea.
Oils and Waxes:
20g emulsifying wax
10g beeswax
50ml herbal infused oil or plain base oil
Extras
2.5ml vitamin E
1 ml essential oils
Preservative of choice according to instructions
Method:
First melt the beeswax and emulsifying wax in a bain marie or double boiler adding the oil and waiting until it is all completely melted. Whilst that is happening place the waters in another pan and heat until fairly hot but not boiling. When both are ready turn the oils off the heat and place the waters in a heat proof jug and begin to pour very slowly into the oil mixture whisking vigorously as you go.
Keep pouring and whisking until all the waters are incorporated into the oils. As they are still hot they will have a thin texture, a bit like milk.
Keep whisking until it starts to thicken, then add in your vitamin E, essential oils and preservatives (I use Preservative Eco sold by Aromantic).
Keep stirring, it should end up fairly firm and deliciously creamy, by which time your arms will be ready to fall off!
Spoon into jars, swirl the top and that’s all there is to it!
Lucinda, this is timely. After my failed attempt at a basic body lotion, (a few minutes ago) this looks like something I can really do, to boost my ego! I did try your cream without emulsifyer earlier today, using the blender, and had great success. I won’t go into details about the fight I had with the blender and the mess I made, but, I did emerge with great success. You area in the photos look so clean!!! I felt so good about my precious creams that, I decided to try a basic body lotion, next. Needless to say, It kept separating. Is there such a thing as overmixing lotions/creams?
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Hi Irma, don’t worry at all, I have more than one disaster in my time too!
I’m so glad the first cream worked out well though. 🙂
Yes you can over mix things, what recipe were you using for the body lotion? Lotions can be quite tricky as they have such a high water content.
I hope this recipe works well for you though.
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Lucinda, after reading more on the basic lotion recipe it turns out that my water phase wasn’t the right temperature when it was time to combine with the oil phase. I plan to give it another try. Thanks so much for asking. I have been reading some of your older posts and am in awe of you. Thank you ever so much for sharing your knowledge. I want to try all of your recipes and can hardly wait for the weekends, when I can play all day!
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I was looking forward to making your previous posts recipe today, but Lily spent the night and had other ideas today:D So in the queue for later this week! Thank you for sharing this other technique with the emulsifying wax, Lucinda. You are a sweetheart! Big herbal and honey hugs and much love being sent to youxx Oh and we actually have an outlet of Neal Yard in Chicago, so next time I visit brother Charles, I hope to visit it!
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Hi Leslie,
Life often gets in the way of our plans doesn’t it! I wish you successful cream making later in the week though.
I didn’t realise Neal’s Yard had expanded to the US. I used to work in one of their shops about 8 years ago now, it was good fun.
Big hugs to you too xxx
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Hi Lucinda, I was hoping you were in contact with Brigette, who used to do the herbal blog, My Herb Corner, in NZ but took it down after the christchurch earthquake.
Anyway I just wanted to let her know that a rare book has just been reprinted.
Maori healing and herbal. Murdoch Riley. Viking Sevenseas press.
It is a beautiful book and also probably the most comprehensive review
of new Zealand medicinal plants at 550 pages and lots and lots of
photos.
Expensive at $110 but IMHO well worth it.
I think she will enjoy it very much.
If anyone else is in contact with her please pass this along as well as my warm regards.
Thankyou, Amanda in Australia
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That’s fine, I’ll email her for you.
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Thank you Lucinda for mailing me, and thank you Amanda for your nice gesture 🙂
Already purchased this marvelous book some time ago from TradeMe.
Love and hugs to both of you!
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My arm is feeling tired after reading this 🙂 Another way of making creams that I’ve never tried! You are expanding my horizons a little more each day, my dear. There is something quite satisfying about making things with your own elbow grease, isn’t there?
Hope you have a beautiful day,
D
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You too sweet-pea. 🙂 Once you get the cream making bug its hard to get rid of! Let me know how you find the recipes if you try them.
xxxx
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I don’t suppose you can get away with using an electric mixer instead? (not that I have one right now, but all the whisking…)
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Definitely! If you can get hold of one I recommend you use it and save yourself a dead arm. 🙂
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You did it again Lucinda! looks as good as the beeswax cream. This is something i will use on my body and the beeswax on my face. Have you heard of this emulsifer “Cetyl Stearyl Alcohol & Sodium Alkyl Sulphate”.
Thanks
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Hmmm I have heard of cetyl stearyl alcohol which is commonly used in creams as a stabilising agent but I don’t know the second one. Maybe it is some kind of detergent which makes an emulsifier when combined with the fatty alcohol. I will look it up and see if I can find any answers. Where did you hear of it?
I use the beeswax one for my face too and I love it. 🙂
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Hi Lucinda
The e-wax i mentioned earlier is listed on my face cream as emulsifying wax but they told me the INCI name is “Cetyl Stearyl Alcohol & Sodium Alkyl Sulphate. I find it to be a very gentle non irritating emulsifier. Most e-waxes irritate my skin except this , probably a form of lanette wax My google search turned up nothing Thanks
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Lucinda
Does it make a difference whether the liquid is poured into the oil or vice versa when making a cream?
Thank you
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Hi Rohini,
I always pour water into oil but I must admit I haven’t tried it the other way round. Waters are easier to pour because they are thinner though. Let me know how it goes if you try the oil into water.
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Hi Lucinda
What are some good choices of carrier oils to use in childrens skincare?
Thank you
Rohini
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It would depend on what it was for; for example dry cracked skin, red, itchy skin etc., but I would go for something like apricot as an all purpose oil that is very gentle for children. Calendula infused in sunflower or olive oil is easily available and can be used as a base oil for creams too.
Be careful with the nut oils like almond as there is the possibility of allergy.
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Hi, will this be possible when you mix it with ginger(herb)?I wish to make a ginger cream for anti-inflammation purposes. This is just an experiment by the way. Thanks 🙂
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Hi Teresa,
Well it all depends on how you add the ginger. There are three ways that would work that I can think of. One is to use a strong ginger tea for the water part of the cream, the second is to infuse dried ginger into the oil part of the cream and the third is to add ginger essential oil. Or all three if you want it extra gingery! Hope that answers your question.
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My cream separated into oils and water. What happened?
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Without a bit more information it is impossible for me to say. Did you keep whisking the whole time until it was properly thickened? Did you use emulsifying wax from a good quality supplier? Were your waxes properly melted and mixed with the oils? Was one of your parts very hot or very cold compared to the other? Did you stick to the quantities mentioned?
There are many variables but the most likely is probably not whisking long enough. I have never experienced this recipe separating as the emulsifying wax is quite efficient at holding it together, You’ll need to give me some more details if I am to be of any real assistance though.
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I followed your instrution for making this cream but when it mixed the wax / oils and water it stayed as a milk and did not go creamy. I am using steareth-21 emulsifying wax. Please help.
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Hi Nilesh,
I have never used steareth-21 so I don’t know how much help I can be as I don’t have any experience of it. However as far as I know it is an emulsifier but not a thickener which you need in emulsifying wax to create a cream rather than a lotion.
This is the one I generally use:
http://www.aromantic.co.uk/buy-emulsifying-wax-uk.htm
There isn’t much in the way of thickening ingredients in this recipe so you are relying on the emulsifying wax to create the thicker consistency which steareth 21 won’t do.
Hope you have more success next time.
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Thanks Lucinda. I kind of did some research and released that I am missing Cetearyl Alcohol and Stearic Acid. So I have ordered these items. Do you know if I can use this on my face and if it will block pores. I have some bad skin so wanted to make a natural moisturiser. Also I am going to use parabens as a preservative, do you know if this is a good preservative to use.
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Hi Nilesh,
It will depend what other ingredients you use as to whether it will block pores but generally it is a light cream so it should be fine.
I personally don’t use parabens as there is a lot of evidence indicating they are potentially harmful. Some say it depends on whether the parabens are long or short chain but I prefer to avoid them altogether and use either preservative 12 or preservative eco in creams that need a synthetic preservative.
If you do some research into parabens you’ll be able to decide whether they are right for you or not. 🙂
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Ok thanks I will try these instead. Have you made any creams for acne and eczema? Also I would like to get rid of scaring and dark circles any recommendations?
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Hi Nilesh,
Rosehip base oil and neroli essential oil are my favourites for reducing scaring.
Are the acne and eczema occurring simultaneously? If so is it a dry or weeping eczema and how does the acne present? These are all considerations when choosing your oils.
Gentle oils like lavender and chamomile blue can be used for both skin conditions as lavender is very balancing and anti-microbial and chamomile will help with inflammation.
All the best.
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Hi Lucinda,
I have been making and selling a body buttercream with beeswax for several years now. When summertime rolls around I can no longer make/ship it because the mixture will melt and separate. I would love to give your recipe a try but was wondering if it was heat tolerable and stay emulsified in extreme summer conditions? If not, is it a matter of increasing the amount of e-wax in the formula?
Thanks in advance,
Crystal
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Hi Crystal,
Yes this is pretty heat stable. I have never had a problem with it separating in hot weather but then I do live in the UK where it never gets that hot! Where are you? You could try increasing the emulsifying wax a little but I wouldn’t add too much because it will make the consistency a bit sticky I think.
Certainly the creams without emulsifier tend to separate or change consistency in extremes of temperature but I haven’t had that experience with this one.
Hope it goes well. 🙂
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Thank you for your reply. I live on the East Coast of the US. Summer time here can get quite humid with the temps in the 80s, 90s and even into the low 100s. I tried your recipe with 1.5oz e-wax & 1/2oz of soy wax. I like the feel and consistency. I’m hoping it holds. Thanks again and I love your blog.
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Hi Lucinda,
Another question…If I wanted to make double the amount can I just double your ingredients above? Thanks again in advance – Crystal
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Yes that’s right. Just double all the ingredients so proportions stay the same. 🙂
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Hey there, Lucinda! I made this lotion today using almond oil and jojoba oil. Turned out great! Thanks so much. Can I make it using melted coconut oil as the oil? And have you ever tried using melted shea butter or Coco butter? Thanks so much!
Jen
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Hi Jen,
I have never done it with a melted solid oil but I am sure you could and it would just make a much firmer end product. I would maybe recommend doing a 50/50 mix with a liquid oil first and seeing how it turns ou. Do let me know as I’d be interested in your findings. 🙂
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Lucinda – I made this using half coconut oil and half grapeseed oil and added zinc oxide powder to make a beautiful sunblock! Turned out great!
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Ahh fantastic. You have inspired me to try something similar now we finally have some brighter weather. Thank you. 🙂
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Add 2 tbsp of zinc oxide powder and you have an SPF of 30! I like the grapeseed oil as it’s non greasy for the face. Thanks for your recipe!
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Hi Lucinda,
If I were to add honey agents, would I definitely need to use preservative 12? Thanks, I am having so much fun with all this information 🙂 I finally found a cream that moisturizes me!
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Hi Summer,
It depends how long you wanted it to last. Honey is a mild preservative but wouldn’t prolong shelf life much in the small quantities we would use in a cream. It should last a couple of months without but if you wanted it to last longer then it’s best to add preservative.
So glad you are enjoying the cream. 🙂
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I made some cream today from your recipe. It turned out great. I followed your directions and added some shea butter. I put mine in my kitchen aid mixer on low with the whisk attachment and it did all the work for me. I enjoy your site and your directions are great.
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Hi Lucinda,
My name is Aura, i live in Japan/Tokyo. I found your blog yesterday and fall in love with this body cream texture. Today i have tried your recipe, i just finished. I mixed it with several instrument, i’ve even tried the electrical mixer but it doesn’t thicken up. At the end the water and oil are completely incorporated but it looks more like a body lotion. I used argan oil and chamomile tea. Do you have any idea what i did wrong? Both phases had the same temperature when i first mixed them.
Thank you very much for your recipe!
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Hi Aura,
Did you add the beeswax? That is usually what thickens the recipe along with the solid oils (coconut, cacao or shea) did you add these in the right quantities?
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Hi, I just made this cream for myself and it is great !!!! Thank you so much…
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Great, I’m really glad you liked it.
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Question: can I use beeswax ONLY? 30g? Would it still work the same? I don’t feel like getting yet another ingredient, I’ve spend so much money and have not one cream yet… I have a local beekeeper for beeswax.
Anyway, Thank You so much for taking the time to do the series. I bought books and even they lack information about emulsifying creams.
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Sorry I didn’t see this in time Laura. Here is the recipe without any emulsifiers for future reference:
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Oh boy…I made this cream with 30 beeswax, and not 20 g emulsifying wax. I wanted an all natural version. The mass didn’t emulsify at all, It kept looking like sweating whipped oil. I pored out the loose liquid, heated the mass a bit more, and blended some more. It did emulsify just enough to be a rich ‘night’ type cream.
What should be the temperature of both oils and waters? I measured both of mine at around 125F with candy thermometer.
Better luck next time I suppose 😉
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Hi Laura, This cream has too high a water content to be able to combine without some kind of emulsifier but have you seen my post previous to this one? That is an all natural cream without emulsifiers.
For this recipe you don’t need to measure the temperature exactly, just as long as both parts are hot to the touch but not boiling it will be fine.
All the best.
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I made this using the steareth-21 emulsifier – and it doesn’t thicken at all.It seems to be the same problem as people mentioned above and I suspect that this recipe only works with BP or NF varieties of emulsifying wax. It seems that with steareth 21 you need to use another thickener such as Cetearyl Alcohol. See this recipe from the Soap Kitchen http://www.thesoapkitchen.co.uk/recipe_moisturising_cream.htm
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Thanks for your input. I have never used steareth 21 before so that is useful to know.
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I am going to make this tonight but I have a couple questions.
1. I want to use preservative. I have Germall plus, how much should I put in. I know it says 2% but can you tell me an exact measurement for your recipe?
2. Would a hand mixer work for this recipe?
Thank you, I have been looking for a good face cream recipe! 🙂
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A hand mixer should work fine for this. I have never used Germall so cannot advise on its use.
I hope your cream making went well!
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Hey! I make a simple makeup remover of grapeseed oil and water, and wanted to emulsify it for easier use.
Obviously I would want it much thinner than a traditional lotion- probably the consistency of dairy half and half.
Do you think that would be possible with emulsifying wax and such a high water content (usually 4-5 parts water to one part oil)?
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Cor! Beginners luck I think, but Ive just made this using wheatgerm and grapeseed oils, chamomile infusion (aka tea), cardamom, palmarosa and neroli essential oils. Its was very easy to make and feels lovely! Perhaps a touch rich for the face (would less beeswax work….perhaps worth an experiment) but marvellous for hands and legs and feet. Thank you for posting the recipe!
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I have just finished making this cream. Thank you so much for sharing! It has turned out great. My arm is ready to drop off! Lol
Can’t wait to try it out.
Are you able to tell me what the shelf life would be?
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Hi Rebecca,
So glad your cream turned out well and hope your arm has recovered! Did you use a preservative in your mix? This will determine the shelf life. If there is no preservative it will only last a few weeks as it has a very high water content.
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Hi Lucinda, I have just had the weirdest thing happen. I made a lovely rich emulsion cream of shea butter, other oils, water, glycerin, magnesium oil and essential oils. It started out as a heavy whipped cream texture.
I wanted to make a deodorant so I folded arrowroot powder, bicarb powder in when it was cooled completely, still fine but stiffer. Good texture for fairly solid cream deodorant. Let it rest for a few minutes then started putting it into glass jars. All good.
Then I started noticing the mix was expanding slowly and emerging out of the jars! Its definitely gassing, slowly, and I can’t figure out what has reacted with the bicarb. It seems so strange. I don’t think there was anything acidic added to it. Any clues? Cheers, Ann
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Hi Ann,
So sorry for the delayed reply!
How interesting. I’m not really sure is the answer. What form was the magnesium in? If it was magnesium citrate it could possibly have been that.
Sadly I am not much of a chemist and most of what I know is from the experience of making things so I am of limited help I’m afraid. Let me know if you figure it out though!
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Hi Lucinda,
Joining in the fun of making creams a little late! I tried the recipe for the cream without emulsifying wax three times but could not get it to work! The last attempt I tried your recipe (had tried similar recipes before but with no success) and got the closest to a good result – the ingredients bound together in a lovely smooth cream until…. I put the cream in the fridge overnight and bergh! a squishy mess of separated oil and water in the morning! Boo ) ; Don’t know what’s going wrong so now I’m going to try with the emulsifying wax, fingers crossed! Any ideas what’s going wrong with the other cream? I followed the instructions as closely as I could, heating the oil and beeswax, allowing to cool until there was a little ridge of firmness, blending in the water part very slowly at a low speed… am mystified! I used a combination of grapeseed oil and coconut, not sure if that was the problem?
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Hi Jody,
What temperature was the water part of your cream? I find it needs to be fairly close to room temperature, luke warm at the most. If it is too hot the cream won’t blend well, the times I have had problems with separation have always been when I have added the water part too hot. I also avoid putting in the fridge straight away. Leave it out the first night till it is completely set and then see if that makes the difference. Also what blender are you using? I add the waters at a steady rate and blend on fairly high at the end.
Hope that helps, let me know!
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very good, i want you to send me materiál for hand and leg cream
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[…] loosely adapted from Whispering Earth […]
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Hiya I made this first time round no problems 🙂 could I use this with lavender infused water ans oil and chamomile infused water and oil to make 2 other scented creams? Thanks x
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Hello,
I found your blog about 3 years ago when I started making natural products for my skin, i googled how to make lotion from scratch and your website along with others came up, but I chose your site to venture into simple becasue of the name:) I did make my first lotion from your lotion making instructions using emulsyfyig wax and was amazed at how easy it wa, but my arm did get a work out…
I am now venturing nto making hair cream and have not being having much success with my formula, i am not sure if I am adding the water too hot, i am generally adding it around the same temp as the melted oils and butter which are about 175, I would appreciate your thoughts on what i maybe doing wrong.
Thank you so much.
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