The Making Of A Facial Cleanser And Lotion Recipe

Part One

My Aunt asked me for some advice since she has Rosacea and wants to try some natural remedies to help.  So I offered to make her a cleanser and lotion that have some ingredients that may help sooth her condition.  And of course I though well why not blog about it. :)

Ingredients I want to use: 

Now for the cleanser I really wanted to use my cream soap but it isn't ready yet and is still more drying to the skin than I would like.  If she where to use the cream soap now it would only make her condition worse since she is already inflamed.  So I decided to use the gentlest surfactant that I have.  Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate in combination with Amphosol CG to make it even more gentle to the skin.

I'm using Lavender Hydrosol  because it is an anti-inflammatory that may help calm the redness and help to heal the damaged skin. Calendula Hydrosol because it also is a powerful anti-inflammatory. It also helps to heal wounds and sooth the skin. Aloe Vera extract because of all the yummy ingredient's that help to heal and nourish the skin.  I want to include as many moisturizing ingredients as I can because the retention of moisture is important when healing inflamed skin but also because my aunt has dry skin.  These ingredients include humectants like glycerin and sodium lactate.  I'm going to use them both because I want to maximize the moisturizing properties.  I'm only using a small amount of sodium lactate though since at higher concentrations it can be used as an alpha hydroxy acid and I don't want to irritate the skin.  I'm going to use Hydrolyzed proteins of oat and silk.  Cromoist is my hydrolysed oat protein and it helps to retain and add moisture to the skin.  It also a provides a "cushion feeling on the skin and a near velvet smooth texture on the skin" when dry. Silk Amino Acids, which is my liquid silk protein, are powerful moisturizers that bind to the skin and leave a silky feel on the skin after use.  Panthenol is  an emollient, moisturizer and humectant as well.  The extracts I'm using are chamomile and licorice root.  Chamomile is a wonderful anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and wound healer.  Licorice root is also an anti-inflammatory and may help to reduce the symptoms of skin irritations.  I'm using Allantoin because it's good for healing dry and chapped skin and has barrier abilities.  And of course a small amount of Zinc oxide for barrier abilities as well.  I would like to say that it would be a sunscreen but the truth is I'm not adding enough for it to really be a good sunscreen.  Someday I'll get some ingredients and make a good sunscreen but I don't have anything right now for that purpose.  It's too bad too because the sun really aggravates conditions like rosacea so a sunscreen would be a real asset.  

My oils include Avocado and Vitamin E.  Avocado oil is full of footstool's which help with itchy or inflamed skin.  It absorbs easily and is a medium weight oil that has Vitamin's A, D, and E. And Vitamin E is an awesome anti-oxidant for helping to fight free radicals and increasing the shelf life of our lotions.

I'm on the fence about the emulsifier.  I could use either Polowax or BTMS-50.  I have both.  The problem is I haven't used BTMS-50 on a skin product yet so I'm not sure if I personally will like the feel of it.  On the other hand Polowax is a bit greasier and a facial product and I could use something that is more emollient and conditioning as well as has a dryer feel.  So I think I'm going to go with BTMS-50.  I'm using cetyl alcohol for a nice glide and feel on the skin and to thicken up the lotion.  I'm using Lavender Essential oil in a small amount for the lotion only instead of the hydrosol.  Lastly my preservative will be Germaben Plus.  It is a paraben free preservative.  I wish it wasn't a formaldehyde producer but it's what I have for now.

I am not making any claims on this product.  I'm just trying to help out a friend and family member.  I'll have to let you know how well they work out once she has used them for at least 3 weeks.   These are just recipes based on the knowledge I've gained so far and with the help of the Point of interest blog here http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.ca/2009/03/facial-cleansers.html and her post here http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.ca/2009/04/lotions-facial-moisturizers.html  I absolutely love this blog so if you have the chance check it out.  :)


So here are the recipes so far

Facial Cleanser

33% Distilled Water
20% Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate
10% Amphosol CG
15% Lavender Hydrosol
15% Calendula Hydrosol (made it myself and yes I preserved it )
10% Aloe Vera Extract (liquid form mixed with water and glycerin)
2% Glycerin
2% Sodium Lactate

2% Cromoist
2% Silk Protien (liquid)
2% Panthenol
0.5% Chamomile Extract (powdered)
0.5% Licroice Root Extract (made it myself with a hot method and glycerin so liquid)
0.5% Germaben Plus

up to 2% Crothix

Facial Lotion

Water Phase
41% Distilled Water
15% Aloe Vera Extract
15% Calendula Hydrosol (Home made)
2% Sodium Lactate
2% Glycerine
2% Cromoist
1% Allantoin

Oil Phase
6% Avocado Oil
2% Vitamin E
4% BTMS-50
2% Cetyl Alcohol
1% Zinc Oxide

Cool Down Phase
2% Silk Protein (liquid)
2% Panthenol
0.5% Chamomile Extract (powdered)
2% Licorice Root Extract (I made it myself with glycerin)
0.5% Germaben Plus
up to 0.5% Lavender Essential Oil

I'm just finishing up the making of my licorice root glycerin extract and my Calendula hydrosol then it will be time to make the cleanser and lotion.  I'm super excited to make these.  I have been meaning to make these for awhile actually since I have Rosacea as well as Eczema.  It's difficult to change once you have a facial lotion and cleanser that works though so I've been putting it off.  But since I'm making it now I will be using it myself to see how it works also.  I'll post a video of the making of.  :)