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. Preservative 12 and Preservative Eco are also available here.
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.
And that my friends is all there is to it. Happy cream making and a very happy Imbolc to all for tomorrow.
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 π
XOXO
D
LikeLike
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. π
xxxx
LikeLike
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
LikeLike
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!
LikeLike
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.
LikeLike
Thanks for your input Jeannie!
LikeLike
Thank you for another beautifully crafted cream post, Lucinda!xx
LikeLike
Thanks Leslie, i hope they are useful to you! xx
LikeLike
Happy imbolc Lucinda…….
You are right, that is way too complicated for me.
I must say that cream looks good enough to eat π¦
It could almost be part of a banoffee pie !!
LikeLike
Why is that face unhappy……..I meant π
LikeLike
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. π
x
LikeLike
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
LikeLike
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.
LikeLike
what is VE and MF emulsifiers? i am starting to make a cream…i got jojoba oil and other ingredients…
LikeLike
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:
Good luck!
LikeLike
You don’t need any alcohol with these emulsifiers. I use them all the time, and have for a few years now and I never use alcohol. I went to a class where I was showed how to use it and they never mentioned needing alcohol.
LikeLike
Hello Lucinda π
I have been experimenting with all of these recipes for months now. They are so natural and delicious. I am trying to find one that stays blended together and isn’t too oily. I have since bought the vegetable emulsifying wax and it blends together wonderfully. However, I noticed that it is drying to my already dry, California skin. I also read mixed reviews on it’s “purity”, or safety rather. What on earth are all these (supposedly organic and natural) cream makers using that blends the oil and water together that doesn’t have a chemical in it? I would love to think there’s a solution other than having to have shiny face all the time π It’s been so hot out here, it just melts right off your face but being that we have so many pollutants and much sunshine, I need the moisture desperately! Thank you so much!
From a mom who loves making everything with love by hand, I much appreciate you, and your love of all things natural and good π
Summer
LikeLike
It’s difficult to get a completely natural one than doesn’t separate in my experience because as soon as you raise the water content more than about half it won’t hold together without emulsifier. I think natural creams are allowed a very small percentage of not natural ingredients. They will often use something like a vegetable derived emulsifier and then say something like, ‘from coconut oil’ which is true but it has been highly processed so is not what I would call completely natural.
The solution I have found is to use the same cream but apply only a very small amount on to slightly wet skin after I wash my face. It is a bit like mixing the cream with more water but actually on your face rather than in the blender. I still feel hydrated but it stops the oil slick effect that I also experience in the summer!
I’m sorry I can’t give you a better answer, if I come up with a lighter recipe I will let you know.
Blessings to you and your family. x
LikeLike
Hello again my cream maker π Well, I am at stage 18 of this delightful experiment and I have now decided to give the ‘preservative 12’ a shot. If I dare leave my cream out for more than a few days, it molds here. I think it may be the heat? How much Pre-12 would call for the recipe above? I really tried to read up on the Aromatics website but to be honest, I’m missing something π
Much appreciated!
LikeLike
I just looked on their website too and they seem to be saying to use 20-25 drops per 100ml of cream which is double what they used to say which was 12 drops. I have always used the 12 drops before and it’s been fine but I expect this is recommended for commercial products that have to have a long shelf life and cope with all sorts of conditions. I would start with 12 if it’s just for you and progress to 20 if you find it isn’t lasting as long as you’d like. If it’s very hot with you then maybe go somewhere in the middle, say 16 drops and see how you go? Are you making to sell or just for personal use? If it’s to sell then I guess it’s best to go with the new recommendations. Sorry for the vague reply!! x
LikeLike
It’s for me, so I will try your recommendation first and see how long it can last out of fridge without molding. Thanks Lucinda, I’ll keep you posted π
LikeLike
Hi Lucinda,
I wanted to congratulate you on your wonderful blog, it’s such a pleasure to read and the information is so invaluable.
I wanted to fill you in a bit on emulsifiers and preservatives. I don’t work for Aromantic, but I sometimes facilitate on their courses and will be writing a blog for them soon. I thought it might be helpful to know that VE and MF emulsifiers have their origins in the Scandinavian vegan, ice cream industry. (Kolbjorn Borseth, the owner of Aromantic is from Norway, though his skincare business was originally in Sweden). They are both natural products and can be used in certified organic products. Aromantic is an Organic Certified company (Organic Farmers & Growers Ltd, credited by Defra)
When it comes to preservatives, people are immediately, naturally suspicious, which is totally understandable.
Some more information might help though: just as some naturual things are harmful (ricinus is one of the most poisonous things on earth), not everything that has a ‘process’ to it is bad either.
Preservative Eco for example is based on salicylic acid – think willow bark, think aspirin, it is actually quite beneficial for some skin conditions. This is from Mike Harmon’s excellent “Creating Organic Skincare” – he is the main teacher for Aromantic:
“Preservative Eco is a broad spectrum preservative that has been certified by EcoCert for use in organic products, with global acceptance. It is effective against gram negative and gram positive bacteria as well as yeasts and moulds. ” The recommended dosage for this is 1% of the product, unless you are using herbal waters or products (which contain a bit more bacteria), in which case you use 1.1% of it. If you label and date your product, it should now keep for 18 months. Because of the salicylic acid it is suitable for wash-off products for babies under 3 years – (babies have under-developed and smaller livers than adults), but you should use one of the other preservatives for leave on products like Preservative 12 for babies. Preservative Eco is a great general purpose preservative because it can be used in creams and also products that have detergent in them, like shampoo. The other preservatives that Aromantic sells are more suited to creams.
I hope that has helped. I would highly recommend Mike Harmon’s book.
So many books and people who make creams on TV, don’t tell you that if you add water to a product you are creating a bug magnet… you must use a preservative if you want to keep a product – even if you can’t see that your product is going off, it is!
Making creams is very easy, as you say, you just have to get the hang of it a couple of times and then it becomes a joy to do. I haven’t bought any toiletries from shops for a number of years now!
Looking forward to reading more in this great blog, it’s an inspiration.
Best, Lila
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for your input and information Lila, it’s very interesting. All best wishes.
LikeLike
wow, these articles are the best ones ever I found about making creams!! Thank you so much!! Now I feel much more comfortable creating my own cream recipe!! π
LikeLike
Hi Lucinda, Thanks for the fantastic posts on cream. I could only find cerearyl alcohol on aromantics website. is that ok and do I use it in the same way you described for the cetyl alcohol?
Warmly
Claire
LikeLike
Ps is it ok to use an electric whisk for this recipe
LikeLike
Hi Claire,
Yes, the recent aromantics recipes use Cetearyl Alcohol in the creams with VE and MF emulsifiers. Apparently it is a little more gentle than cetyl alcohol so should be good. I haven’t tried it yet but once I have I will update the recipe here. π
LikeLike
You could try an electric whisk but it might be a bit ferocious! If it has a low speed that would probably work well.
LikeLike
Hi! Just found your blog today & I am loving it!!
Quick question about any of these creams (the ones that include the high water content) if I wanted to put these in a squeeze jar, could I pour the still liquid/not yet whipped mixture into the squeeze tubes, and then will it still set up creamy in the bottles? Or would I need to whip it, then somehow get the finished product into the small mouth of the squeeze tubes?
Thanks for your thoughts! And great info on here!!
LikeLike
thank you so much for sharing this..you helped me keep from ripping my hair out trying to use the emulsifiers and alcohol =)
LikeLike
So glad it was helpful. π
LikeLike