Lotion For Dry & Mature Skin

So last month when I shared my posts on how to make homemade body lotion, along with that lovely DIY lotion bar. I didn’t mention that I’ve not long graduated with a diploma in Organic Skin Care Formulation. During my time on the course, I learned how to formulate all sorts of different skincare products.

For the final project, you had to make your own lotion from scratch. I worked hard to get this recipe just right and I think it was my very best emulsion so far.

Introduction

So, today’s DIY skincare tutorial was my final project, a homemade lotion that will nourish any part of your skin!

I felt it was about time I shared it with you, and I really do think it’s a great product! This body lotion is formulated with great ingredients that will keep your skin feeling fresh, hydrated and younger for longer.

When it comes to anti-aging, I always feel like so many people focus on the face. Have you ever heard that old Hollywood saying, about how you can tell someone’s age from their hands, their neck or some other part of their body? I feel that came about because so many people only care about how their face looks! The body needs some anti-aging love too, you know!

Great For Dry and Mature Skin Types

The ingredients I have chosen for this body lotion are tailored for dry and mature skin types. While the ingredients are excellent for nourishing and rehydrating skin, many of them have dual functions, in that they also possess anti-aging benefits in a skincare product! More on the ingredients shortly.

A DIY lotion That Feels Great, Doesn’t Cost The Earth!

When applied to the skin, this lotion has a very creamy consistency and smooth texture, more like a homemade body cream. It feels quite expensive to me, despite our chosen ingredients being reasonably priced. That’s right, you can get most of these ingredients pretty cheaply.

When devising this product for my course, I wanted one that the everyday woman could afford. While formulating an extremely expensive, luxurious product might be fun, I ultimately wanted to make a product that I might go into a store and consider buying myself.

But even if it is a good DIY lotion for someone on a budget, It still makes my skin feel great! After applying this to my skin, it feels immediately softer. When using over a period of weeks, I noticed my skin felt softer, healthier and more supple all the time. I even noticed a change in the consistency of my skin, as it looked so much smoother.

I also found this to be a great everyday body lotion. Have you ever bought a new lotion, put it on in the morning and waited for aaaaaaaages for it to sink in? I mean, I just want a product that doesn’t need me to wait an hour before I can put my damn clothes on. This lotion fits that bill. While it doesn’t sink in immediately, it does absorb very quickly. Learn more about how carrier oils behave and which sink in quickly here in my guide to The Best Organic Carrier Oils & Their Uses.

This Lotion Smells Gorgeously Grown-up

The blend of essential oils in this homemade body lotion is strong but also very pleasant. The floral notes of the Lavender and Geranium are very apparent in the top and middle notes, and then the scent profile finishes with an oriental twist from the Frankincense in the base. I adore this fragrance, as well as the powerful benefits and properties these essential oils bring to this formulation.

When I was doing my course, the target audience I chose for this product was middle-aged women. Why? Because I’m a middle-aged woman too and thought I have a good idea of what she wanted. So when I was choosing the essential oils, fragrance was a big deal to me.

I wanted one that smelled relatively grown-up. I don’t want to smell like a woman in her 20s. While I want to look young for as long as possible, I did want a fragrance that I personally (and hopefully the consumer) could take seriously. After all, I didn’t want to smell like a reality tv star’s perfume range! I think I succeeded with this.

It’s important to understand the benefits of different oils, as well as how they smell together. Smell and properties should be harmonious, and neither is more important than the other. Take a look at my Essential Oils Use Chart to learn a bit more about essential oils.

Anyway, let’s take a closer look at our ingredients.

Lotion Ingredients

Oil & Water Ingredients

• 9g Rice bran oil
• 9g Macadamia nut oil
• 4g Olivem1000
• 67.7g Chamomile hydrosol
• 5g Glycerine
• 0.3g Xanthan gum

Cooldown Ingredients

• 2g Green tea glycerite
• 1g Vitamin E
• 0.5g Lavender essential oil
• 0.25g Geranium essential oil
• 0.25g Frankincense essential oil
• 1g Preservative

Notes

Rice Bran Oil: Possibly one of the best carrier oils for someone with dry skin, its hydrating and moisturizing properties are almost unparalleled. One of the best things about this oil, too, is that it is so cheap to buy! A lot of people are sleeping on rice bran right now, for sure.

Macadamia Nut Oil: This spectacular oil has been selected to nourish, rehydrate and rejuvenate dry and mature skin. This is the only natural, plant-based oil in the world that contains palmitoleic acid, a naturally occurring fatty acid found in our skin. As our skin ages, we lose this important compound, which may lead to the visible signs of aging. Perhaps this ingredient alone could help restore your youthful glow.

Chamomile Hydrosol: Dry skin doesn’t just affect our appearance, it can also be quite painful. Chamomile hydrosol will help soothe irritation of the skin caused by dryness. Cracked, flaky skin will never bother you again.

Essential Oils: The powerful combination of lavender, geranium and frankincense essential oils will penetrate and hydrate some of the deepest levels of your skin. And while it’s there, it will help to stop the visible signs of aging in their tracks with its abundance of antioxidants and anti-free radicals.

Green Tea Extract: Green tea extract is the key to younger looking skin for longer! There are few antioxidants in this world that are as high performing as this gorgeous tea. But if it couldn’t get better, this extract will help keep your skin strong, giving you armor to weather the storms of everyday life.

Olivem 1000: This is an emulsifying wax that I’ve recently started using. It’s a natural alternative to BTMS-50 or NF. While it’s an all in one emulsifier, I have found it needs stabilizing, which is why I’ve added a small amount of xanthan gum. On the whole, I quite like this emulsifier, especially as it’s completely natural. However, it can have a bit of a soapy feel to it.

Method

Step 1: Place the Rice bran oil, Macadamia nut oil, and Olivem1000 in a heat-proof beaker, weighing as we go with a jewelry scale. Place the Chamomile hydrosol in a second heat-proof beaker.

Step 2: Combine the glycerine with the xanthan gum in a small separate beaker.

Step 3: Place the two beakers containing your oils and water into a water bath (using both the hot plate and metal container) preheated to 70C. The laser thermometer should be used to ensure the correct temperature and to monitor the temperature every 5 minutes until the beakers are removed from the water bath. The beakers may be removed once the emulsifying wax has completely melted.

Step 4: The oil phase must now be added to the water phase beaker. It should be whisked with the metal whisk as the oil is pouring and after pouring has ceased. Note that it will begin to emulsify rapidly.

Step 5: The glycerine-gum mix may now be stirred in using the glass rod.

Step 6: Once the mixture has reached a temperature of below 40C, the cooldown ingredients can be added, excluding the Preservative Eco. Stir the mixture thoroughly with the glass rod once the ingredients have been added.

Step 7: Using a pH indicator strip, check the pH of the product and ensure that it is compatible with Preservative Eco. To check the pH, make a 10% dilution of the emulsion with distilled water. Then, dip the pH indicator strip in the dilution. Compare the strip to the chart on the packaging to ensure a safe pH.

Step 8: Add the Preservative Eco to the mixture and stir thoroughly once more with the glass rod. Check the pH in the same way we did before to ensure the preservative has not changed the pH of the product.

Step 9: Transfer to the pump bottle, add the cosmetics label and apply any further packaging as required.

This is one of many DIY lotions that I’ve made from scratch, hope you enjoy it, I know that I do.