my own skin cream problems

[Molly229]

Good day,
I have been making my own skin cream for 3 years now. My ingredients are: water, grapeseed oil, shea nut butter, cocoa butter, bees wax, lecithin granules, grapeseed extract, orange essential oil, vitamin e oil, emu oil.

The past 3 times I've made my cream, it seperates. I refrigerate it and it's normal and then at room temperature begins to break down. At first I thought it was because I had used a metal bowl to mix it in when I used to use a glass bowl. I tried the glass bowl again and the same thing, it breaks down quickly.

My grapeseed oil is about 1 1/2 yrs old as I bought a bulk of it. It has never been refrigerated. This is the only thing I can think of that might cause it. Perhaps the oil is rancid? although it doesn't smell rancid.

What do you think?

Molly229

 

[soap_lady]

you need to use an emulsifier such as emulsifying wax to help blend the oils and the water together and keep them together.

If you use a preservative you will not need to keep it refrigerated to prevent mold and bacteria from growing. Also even if it's refrigerated the shelf life isn't very long because it doesn't contain a preservative.

 

[Molly229]

Are emulsifiers natural? I don't use any sort of chemicals in my cream.

 

[IanT]

yes some emulsifiers are natural, try beeswax or lecithin (maybe soy?)....

 

[soap_lady]

Sometimes the benefits out weigh the risks when it comes to additives to homemade products.

It might stay blended in the refrigerator because of the cool temperature. Even when left in the fridge it has a very short shelf life. I'm not exactly sure of the length of it's safety, but I search for some information and found that lotions made without a preservative have a shelf life of one week but must also be kept refrigerated.

The reason why it might starts to break down at room temperature is because of the science of blending oil and water together without an emulsifier it will just go back into the two ingredients of oil and water. But even with a preservative it would still separate out because your missing that key ingredient.

But sometimes the benefits outweigh any risks, chemical preservatives used in lotions is often 1% or less with some types, so the benefits outweigh any risks involved. This is a much lower percent than what is used in commercial lotions. And if your going to go to the trouble and the time of making your own lotion why not make one that will last more than a few days.

It will also help if you don't dip your fingers into the mixture, but instead use a Popsicle stick or something to that effect.

I did find this while searching.....
The beeswax also has some emulsifying properties, but not enough to keep the cream together without these precautions.



Good Luck

 

[Molly229]

Those are all great suggestions. What puzzles me is that I have used the exact same recipe for 3 years and only now am I experiencing trouble.

I never dip my fingers in the cream either because of bacteria.

I think I will re-order new supplies and start over to see what I can come up with.

Even the smallest amount of chemical, when put on the skin on a daily basis over many years can be harmful.

 

[seaysoap]

I agree with Molly I hate using anything that isn't natural

but having said that, I find we have to do what we are comfortable with. I have to use lye in my soap. I don't know how natural it is, but my choice are limited.
In the great scheme of things though, we are all just a bunch of chemicals a great artist put together and added life.

 

[IanT]

sea- if you didnt want to use lye you could make a sort of soap with this plant called soapwort