Rose Face Cream Recipe For Combination Skin – Detailed Video Breakdown

Rose Herbal Infusion – Made with dried rose buds. This ingredient is packed with antioxidants to nourish dry skin and help tackle any inflammation associated with greasy skin. Sebum can become trapped in the pores, which can oxidise and cause inflammation. Rose herbal infusion helps to tame this. 

However, rose herbal infusion is a dark amber colour. This is because of the concentration of anthocyanins. So be aware that this ingredient characteristic can find its way into finished products. It gives our cream a reddish beige colour, rather than pure white. 

Subs: Can be easily subbed for Rose Hydrosol, which will provide many of the same benefits but is clear, meaning wont tint the colour of your product. But can also be subbed for regular distilled water. 

Panthenol: A powerful moisturizing humectant. It’s a great way to add more moisturizing power without adding heavy, oil based emollients. In other words, not adding to contributing to the oily parts while also moisturizing those dry patches. Is fully water soluble and can be purchased in either powder or liquid form. We’re using powder, which we recommend. If using liquid, add at cooldown phase instead of as part of the water phase. 

Subs: No great sub, but could use hyaluronic acid instead. This isn’t as good at moisturizing, but would add some temporary anti-aging benefit (plumping our fine lines and wrinkles). For me, I would rather keep the panthenol or just sub for more glycerine. 

Argan Oil: A great ‘restoring’ oil. Helps to promote elasticity, but also intensely hydrating without being comedegenic (great for moisturising dry patches without clogged those oily areas). 

Subs: Again, nothing work quite like Argan, but you can get away with subbing for sweet almond oil instead. Its a light weight, fast absorbing oil. Like many oils, it also helps to ‘dissolve’ the sebum in our pores to prevent clogging. 

Olive Squalane: A wonderful carrier oil that mimics the natural oils of our skin. Is absorbed by the skin very quickly, and helps to draw other ingredients with it, preventing a greasy feel after application. It’s great for softening the skin, too. 

Subs: No great natural substitution. You could try to use eco silk, or if natural skin care is not a concern you could add dimethicone for similar benefit. 

Mango Butter: Arguably the least comedogenic of all the cosmetic butters, mango is lightweight and fast to absorb. Its a fantastic emollient, though, and will really help tackle those dry patches. If you suffer from very oily or acne prone skin, the concentrations I’ve suggested should be fine. But if you find it a little too much or you have a breakout, you can reduce the amount or omit. 

Subs: No great sub here for a combination skin type, but can be subbed for Shea for normal skin types. If trying to reduce proreclogging potential, just replace with more argan or even up your water part, but your product will be a little thinner in consistency. 

Emulsifying system: I’ve used BTMS-25 with cetyl alcohol. This is not a natural emulsifying system, but sits within my formulation ethos. 

Subs: If you prefer all natural formulations, then consider using olivem1000. It won’t have as good conditioning power, but will still work great. I would, however, make use of a stabiliser as sometimes formulations with olivem1000 can split over time. 1 gram of xanthan gum, mixed well into your glycerine before adding to your water part, will do the trick. The cetyl alcohol is optional, and can be subbed for cetearyl alcohol if you prefer. Both will help add body to the cream without any extra weight.

Preservation and Antioxidant: The preservative system I’ve opted for is Preservative Eco (Geogrard ECT), although any broad spectrum preservative will be fine. Vitamin E will help to slow down oxidation of our oils, as it’s rich in stabilising antioxidants. However, vitamin e must be used in conjunction with a preservative, not instead of one. 

A preservative is essential for preventing microbial growth An antioxidant slows down the process of oxidation. These are different things that both contribute to product shelf life. Its not a choice between them, they are both essential. 

Subs: Saliguard/Plantaserve P or would be good choice too, but isn’t a natural preservative system like the one I’m using. Vitamin e could be subbed for Rosemary Co2 Extract if you wish, but may impact the product scent profile. 

Essential Oils: I’m using a blend of Rose Geranium and Bergamot. Not only does rose geranium fit my rose theme, but it also helps to balance oil production in the skin. It’s also packed full of antioxidants. Bergamot shares this benefits, so both can work together to tame oily zones and tackle dry patches. They also have a beautiful aroma together. 

Subs: You could just use one or the other, but together they are powerful and synergise for benefit. If you’re sensitive to strong aromas, consider reducing the contraction by half. You could also omit them altogether, but this cream would not be complete without at least one of them.