Let me preface this by saying I am no scientist, and this guide is definitely a quick one (and based very much on personal experience). I took 12th grade chemistry, and that’s it—and that was a while ago. I did, however, convince my brilliant friend Adrian to proofread this guide, and since he’s working towards his PhD in chemistry, I’m pretty sure nothing in here is outright wrong (and it if is, it’s my fault).
One of the most important things you should consider when you’re experimenting with your various DIY projects is solubility.
There’s a pretty wide spectrum of solubility, but the main ones we’re concerned with are:
- Water Soluble (water, some botanical extracts)
- Oil Soluble (oils, butters, essential oils)
- Insoluble (clays, micas, oxides)
Most of the ingredients you use will fall into one of these categories (it is also fully possible for something to be only slightly soluble). So, before you start devising any exciting concoctions, make sure you know the solubility of each ingredient.
Massage oil, body butter, and lip balm are all made entirely from oil soluble ingredients, so they’re nice and easy.
So, point #1 is that these categories do not mix without some coercion. Within the category you won’t have any troubles—things like body butter and lip balm (oil+oil) are super easy, all you have to do is mix everything together, and off you go!
Soap and lotion are both emulsions, and use lye and emulsifying wax (respectively) as their emulsifiers.
Emulsions (Oil + Water)
When water and oil mix, we get an emulsion (like lotion or soap). For this to happen, you will generally need an emulsifier, like emulsifying wax, borax + beeswax, solubilizer, or a high pH ingredient like sodium hydroxide.
The first emulsions I made used borax and beeswax as the emulsifier. They required a 50/50 mix of oil and water, and were quite finicky. The oil and water had to be the same temperature, and I needed to use a blender to get the emulsion to hold—without that amount of vigorous blending it would separate after a day or two.
After that I branched out to Emulsifying Wax NF. If you use emulsifying wax at about 25% of your oil phase you can create lotions with much smaller oil phases, giving you a much lighter end product.
From there, I found solubilizers, which allow you to make oil in water emulsions that are still liquid. Basically, you can just mix your solubilizer of choice and some oils of your choice (often essential oils), and then you can disperse that mixture into any volume of water. There are many different kinds of solubilizers; please read this page for more information.
There are, of course, many other things that can help you create emulsions—manufacturers are releasing new emulsifiers all the time! I would be very happy to hear about your experiences with them. I haven’t had time to try everything yet (le shock).
If you leave out your emulsifier, the mixture will, most likely, eventually separate. It may take a few days, so watch it. When lotions separate you generally end up with a totally unusable puddle of water with chunks or blobs of oil in it that will have to be thrown away.
These sprays both use solubilizer to keep the oils and essential oils evenly dispersed in water.
You can kind of get away without using solubilizer. The mixture will still separate, but you can give it a really vigorous shake before each use to attempt to disperse the oils into the water. To get an idea of how well it will work, think of your basic oil & vinegar dressing that’s just been shaken together—it separates on your salad pretty quickly, right? That’s about what you’ll get.
Suspensions (Insoluble compounds + oil and/or water)
When you disperse something insoluble in a mixture, and it stays dispersed, you get a suspension—think fruit pieces in jello, just at a different scale. This is what happens when you mix clay or mica into lip balm to make lipstick.
This body butter gets its colour from a bronze mica. You can see from the visible pour lines that I had to let this thicken quite a bit before pouring it to ensure the mica stayed in suspension because it is insoluble.
To continue with the jello metaphor—if you tried to suspend fruit pieces in a glass of water, they wouldn’t suspend particularly well. This is why, when you’re making lipsticks and other cosmetics that depend on the suspension of insoluble compounds for colour, you need to let the oils cool a bit so they have a bit of viscosity before you add the clay, mica, or oxide, otherwise they will just sink to the bottom as the mixture cools.
And, of course, particle size is very important here. Micas and oxides are quite fine powders, but clays can vary. Ensure the clay feels nice and smooth or you’ll end up with a final product that feels like it has bits of sand in it.
It’s a little hard to tell, but this is an eyeliner attempt of mine using oxides for the colour. You can see the oxide, perfectly dry, sitting on top of the water. I left it for a month and the mixture never “wet out”. The oxides just weren’t going to mix with the water, period.
When combining insoluble powders with oils, you’ll find some (like oxides), have absolutely no interest in going anywhere near the water. With clays, you’ll get a paste (perfect for face masks), and then a more obvious suspension, depending on how much water you add. (The reason I don’t use water and clay to make lipsticks or lip stains is because the clay dries out when you use water, the colour changes unevenly & it cracks as it dries, and it also draws moisture out of your lips.)
Water Soluble Solids in Oil, and Vice Versa (plus larger-grain insoluble solids)
This is a great way to add a bit of exfoliation to something. When I say solids I’m talking about anything from salt and sugar to beetroot extract, coarse clay, and jojoba beads. Some are water soluble, some are oil soluble, and some are insoluble. If you cross boundaries (i.e. salt [water soluble]+ olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada) [oil soluble]), you’ll get a gritty mixture that makes for a nice exfoliating scrub.
Here’s an example: beetroot lipstick. It sounded like a nice idea, and despite knowing better, I tried anyways, just in case. Beetroot extract is water soluble, and the lipstick base is totally oil based.
It doesn’t look too bad, right? Well… let’s try it on the skin…
The dark lipstick on the far left is my Red Rose Lipstick, made using Australian Red Reef Clay. The other two streaks are the beetroot “lipstick”. Notice how poor the coverage is, and how you can see all kinds of gritty-looking particles in it?
This is what the beetroot “lipstick” looked like on. You can see it’s mostly just bits of dark red/pink grainy stuff unevenly spread about.
This would likely work better if I infused an oil with the beetroot, strained out the powder, and then made the lipstick from there, but I would probably get more of a lip tint than a lipstick at that concentration (just a hypothesis, I haven’t tried it yet).
Ok! That’s that for my quick guide—what solubility tips do you have? If you’ve got a chemistry degree, please feel free to chime in with some expert knowledge 😉
Thanks so much for this! And thank you for introducing me to the concept of solubilizer (in one of your recipes)… My son LOVES the smell of pine tar soap. I use cade essential oil to get the smell of pine tar, but cade is very tarry and dislikes blending with other oils. Polysorbate 20 has been the only way I can get it to dissolve into things (e.g., castile liquid soap base).
No problem, Annie 🙂 I’m glad you found it useful. I, too, am a massive fan of pine and other tree scented EOs. They just smell like summer in the Canadian Rockies to me 🙂 Have you ever tried Birch Tar essential oil? It’s very tarry as well, but it smells exactly like a campfire. A hint of it is wonderful for evoking memories of s’mores and camping.
Will bacteria form if I mix oil and powder? For example, soy bean oil with matcha powder?
Hi Marie,
Thank you for this information. I read and enjoy your posts and have been so helped by all the DIY information you share. Blessings from Colorado.
Thanks so much for reading, Kimberly 🙂 If you’re looking for similar articles, check out my “Basics” section—I’ve tried to stuff all my most helpful articles in there 🙂
I am trying to create a body shimmer oil wear the highlight powder and oil will stay infused and not continue to separate. Do you have any tips on how to do so? They would be extremely helpful. Thanks in advance!
Something like Gel Maker or Thickening Clay from TKB Trading is perfectly suited to this task 🙂
Take your oil and put your mica in it at 1 tsp mica to 1 TBS oil I use jojoba. Mix well then add 1/4 tsp candellila wax or beeswax stir well. Add 2 TBS polysorbate 20. Stir well, use microwave or double boiler to melt waxes and oils to same temperature add poly-20. This will make your shimmer hi lighter
Thanks for sharing! Why did you include polysorbate 20?
Thanks so much for this quick lesson. I will find it extremely useful in my next experiments.
I do have a question about shampoo bars. I am trying to go natural with my hair and find that my hair stays wet a very long time. It also absorbs moisture so, on humid days it feels damp and I wake up in the morning with wet hair. Have you had this problem?
Thanks again, so much for your knowledge of DIY. I love it!
Janelle
I answered your question where you first asked it, Janelle. No need to ask twice unless I answer your first comment and totally forget to answer your question, haha. I work full time (and keep myself stupidly busy otherwise as I am, apparently, insane) and can’t always answer questions and comments immediately.
Sorry for asking twice. I thought that you may not see it in the older posts. Any how, I do use ACV rinse and thought the same thing about the silicone. It is helping my hair absorb the moisture and natural oils which is a good thing (I think). But the dampness it kinda of irritating. Thanks again for your insight.
Love, Janelle
No problem! I’ve got a handy plug in installed that holds all comments I haven’t responded to in a special category so I don’t miss anything 🙂 Otherwise, I probably would! Another idea—have you dyed or bleached your hair? That can make it more porous, and without the silicone coating, that might explain the large change you’re noticing.
Hi Marie,
Yes, I have dyed my hair (trying to cover the grey). I don’t do it often.
Is there anything I can do at this point?
Thanks so much, yet again,
Janelle
Hmmm. I know bleaching/processing can make hair porous, dry, and angry. I found a great article on hair porosity here. This paragraph stuck out to me:
Perhaps you’ll identify with something in there? If you want to try out a protein treatment, I have a hair mist recipe coming out soon that should help 🙂
Hi Marie
A very helpful guide. Inspired by this, I will be producing more diy balms and oils in my London kitchen. Many thanks.
I’m thrilled to hear it, Clive 🙂
Beet root powder doesn’t infuse either. It just kinda sits there in the oil. But alkanet root infuses really well. I use it to tint all of my lip balms. I love how they feel so much, I’ve totally abandoned lipstick in their favor!
I’m really enjoying your blog. I am interested in learning to make soap, and followed a link here. You have a wonderful blog, and I’m sure I’ll lose a good many hours perusing the archives. 🙂 Thanks for all the great information you share here!
Well, bummer, but thanks for saving me the time, effort, and ingredients! I have played with alkanet powder a bit, and it’s definitely on my list for a naturally infused/coloured lip balm, and for soap as well. So many things to make and try! I need a DIY vacation, lol.
Thanks for reading and have fun with your upcoming soap endeavors 🙂 I’m pretty sure you’ll get hooked, just like I did.
Hi Marie!
Great posts on essential oils (substitution, solubility, butters, etc).. The information you gave are extremely helpful in my quest of making my very own home-made Dead Sea salt scrub!
Would appreciate if you could give me your opinion about the formula I have in mind now:
Dead Sea salt (Israel) + Extra Virgin Olive oil (Spain) + Organic Lavender oil (Bulgaria) + Shea Butter (Ghana) OR Kokum Butter (India)
Do I need to add water? How long do you think my mixture would last before getting spoiled?
Feel free also to modify my formula if you think something doesnt add up…
Thank you so much and more power to your blog!
Archie
Hi Archie! Your recipe sounds like it will make a great scrub 🙂 You won’t want to add water as the salt will dissolve in it and you won’t have a scrub anymore. You’d also have to add an emulsifier as well. Since your recipe is entirely oil based it will last quite a long time (think lip balm or cooking oil in your kitchen). It’s only when you add water that imminent spoilage (a matter of weeks or months) becomes a problem—when it’s just oils you’re generally looking at years before something in it goes rancid, though some oils spoil faster than others (rice bran is an example). Have fun with your scrub!
Thanks for your inputs Marie! I really appreciate it since it’ll be my first time to make my own scrub and still is in the dark about what to look out for…
More power to your blog!
Archie
No worries, let me know how it goes! You can share a photo via Facebook or Instagram if you like (links at the top of the left column).
Hello Marie!
I’ve been enjoying your site the past few days and have been trying to make a few things at home as I gather more and more products to make some of your recipes (I feel an addiction coming on). If I wanted to mix aloe vera gel with shea butter and jojoba oil would I need a solubilizer or other emulsifier for this? Is aloe vera gel categorized as a water? I tried mixing without a solubilizer and once it cooled and then brought out of the fridge it separated 🙁 .
Thanks!
-Staci
Hi Staci! Since aloe vera is water soluble, you will need an emulsifier of some kind if you want to combine it with oils. It is worth noting, however, that storebought aloe vera gel is to aloe vera as packaged instant chocolate pudding is to chocolate—it’s got a bunch of other stuff in it. Preservatives, thickeners, fragrances, artificial colours and dyes, and pH adjusters. These things (especially the pH adjusters) usually bust an emulsion, even with an emulsifier. They’re also kind of gross :/ I’d recommend buying straight aloe vera juice (or powder) and using that—I’ve had great luck with it in lotions. My Manly Winter Lotion would be a good place to start 🙂
I saw this lip gloss recipe that uses beet root as a colourant by infusing beet root powder in oil. It’s more of a soft lip balm, though I’m sure you could add a bit more beeswax and it would be fine. Here is the link if you’re interested: http://diybeautydiva.com/recipe-items/pretty-in-pink-lip-gloss/
It’s such a pretty pink shade 🙂
Very cool—I definitely have more than my fair share of pink plant things, so this is definitely worth a try 🙂
This doesn’t apply to lip gloss does it? where you would just be mixing the clay with glycerin, no water? I get that for lip stains with the water added you can’t use clays because it will dry on your lips but clay mixed with glycerin doesn’t do the same thing, right?
so if i wanted to add rose clay to a lip balm I would wait for it to be semi solid and then mix in the clay? and it won’t be grainy, because rose clay is such a smooth light clay? it feels smooth to me at least, haha. it’s a kaolin if I’m remembering correctly. I’m going to order some carmine powder and liquid dye soon, I’m loving the colors you’re able to mix with it! But I LOVE the mauve color I’m getting from straight rose clay- once I get some kaolin I’m going to try lightening it.
Sorry, which part doesn’t apply? Plain glycerin will still dry out, just not as quickly. If you add clay to a lip balm you’ll basically be making a clay based lipstick (which are awesome). And yes, you will want to be sure the clay is light and fine otherwise you’ll get a scrub stick instead haha. Do keep in mind that the clays wet out darker when combined with oils 🙂
I’m a little dense… So if I buy antioxidants like retinyl palmitate and ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate (both oil soluble) how do I use them?
Do I just put them in some oil and viola…?
Can I just mix them with a serum or a cream I already have?
How do I know what ratios they should be in?
I’m so clueless…
Hi Ally! Basically, if you want to include anything oil soluble, your formula will need an oil part. If you want to include anything water soluble, you must have a water part. So lip balm (entirely oil based) + beetroot powder (water soluble) does not work, but lip gloss (an oil + water emulsion) + beetroot powder does work. You don’t need a certain amount of either part beyond needing enough to dissolve the additive—after that it’s more about the formula and the final product you’re looking to achieve.
I’ve infused beet root powder with oil, it was a very light pink. not enough to work as a lip tint :/
That’s been my general experience with botanical-infused oils as well. They sure look pretty in the tube, though 🙂
Love Your page! quick question im new to all this. i have my own oil/wax based pomade but want to create one that washes off easy but still keeping those natural ingredients on my list like beewax and essential oils. what would be the best ingredient to make beeswax wash off easy from the hair? thanks! greatly appreciate it!
Hi Francesco! I have found nothing natural will easily wash beeswax out of the hair—I would recommend using as little beeswax as possible.
Using an oil like jojoba or a wax like cetyl alcohol helps mix waters and oils together. It’s tricky though. Indeed, if you’re using something that can be infused either in oil or water do it in oil if you want a lipstick made from it. Mixing the oil and water is only needed if you’re stuck with an ingredient that won’t infuse correctly with oil.
While it’s true that both jojoba oil and cetyl alcohol have some emulsifying properties, neither are complete emulsifiers and require co-emulsifiers to create a stable emulsion.
Hello,
I have been experimenting with making deodorant bars. I would love to incorporate Himalayan rock salt or True Lemon dehydrated (crystallized) lemon juice. My problem is that my deodorant bars are completely oil based (beeswax, coconut oil, avocado oil, tea tree oil, plus some arrowroot powder, etc.).
Will the salt and the lemon crystals dissolve in melted emulsifying wax without first being dissolved in water? Obviously if I’m making bars I don’t want to use water, if possible. Any help is very appreciated!
Lindsay
Hmm. I’d recommend dissolving the water soluble ingredients in some vegetable glycerin, and then beating that into your oils while they cool to room temperature. I’ve found incorporating glycerin into otherwise all-oil concoctions doesn’t seem to shorten shelf life (I have some experiments that are 4+ years old with no mould or funny smells) 🙂
Hi, thank you for the great info. I make a body wash with Castile soap, coconut oil, almond oil, castor oil, honey, vitamin e oil, vegetable glycerin, citric acid and kelp powder.. I seem to get little tiny chunks in the finished product. I’m thinking it’s the kelp not dissolving. I warm the oils in a dble boiler and put the kelp powder in and mix and let it temper for a bit. I also have found the finished product separates a bit.. The first time i made this i never had these issues and I’m not sure what I did different. Can you offer any advice?
Hi Leah! The seaweed powder is only alcohol soluble, so if yours is the same, no matter how long you heat it in oil, it will never dissolve. The separation is likely caused by adding more additives to the soap than it can keep in emulsion—try cutting back 🙂
How can I mix vinegar, sunflower oil and a touch of tea tree oil together so’s they won’t separate?
And if I want to water that down can I just go right ahead or I need to change things?
Be lovely if you can answer that for me.
I searched the FAQ but couldn’t seem to find the answer there.
Hi Anne! You’ll need an emulsifier. Which one will depend on the texture you are looking the achieve. If you want to make something with a lotion like consistency, you’ll need an emulsifying wax. If you want more of a liquid, polysorbate 20 (aka solubilizer) is a good choice. You will likely need to water down the vinegar before emulsifying everything, especially if you use the e-wax approach, as I’ve found the low pH of vinegar can break the emulsion if it is too concentrated. The water and vinegar would be your “water” part, and the sunflower & tea tree would be your “oil” part. The e-wax article I linked above contains some good basic recipes if that’s the way you want to go. For poylsobate 20 you just need to blend an equal amount of polysorbate 20 with your oils before adding that mixture to the water part.
Have fun!
Thanks for you I need to mix aloevera juice with olive oil, citrus oil, jojoba oil, white germ oil and castor oil but the mixture separate aloevera at the button below
That’s because you aren’t using an emulsifier and you have both water based and oil based ingredients in your concoction. Try adding an emulsifier 🙂 This article discusses why you might choose one over the other if you read it again.
can u post the beetroot & Australian clay lipstick recipe
You’ll find lots of lipstick recipes (including many clay ones) here 🙂 I will never post that beetroot lipstick recipe… it is in this article to illustrate why it is a terrible idea and makes a terrible lipstick, and as a rule, I don’t post recipes that were complete failures 😉
Hello,
I am a bit late to this article but I have a couple of questions if you don’t mind. I have been working on mixing mica’s to oil but they separate. What can I add to this to fix the problem? Also, if I am making a cleansing balm do I need to add something to recipe with Argan, Shea butter,coconut oil,vit e and honey to make it last longer?
Thank you very much,
Jessica
Hi Jessica! Read this for some more info on the mica 🙂 And read this for more info on preservatives!
Hello Jessica
My Mother, (84 yo and bedbound), has begun developing bed sores. Initially I treated them with over the counter products such as zinc oxide 40%, or a tube of ‘triple anitbiotic’, (the type you find in first-aid kits. Both of these individually were moderately effective at protecting the pressure sores but very slow to heal.
My next plan was to reach out to my local pharmacist to see what topicals were available for bed sores…STICKER SHOCK. The pharmacist, (being a long time friend, and a pharmacist for nearly 40 years), suggested I make my own preps. He said that most, if not all, of the ingredients would be easy to obtain.
Ok, took his advise, went online, discovered the most effective ingredients for this type of wound care. Turns out he was right as I already had most of the them at hand. They include 1. aloe vera, 2. zinc oxide 40%, 3. the triple antibiotic mentioned above, 4 and one more ‘magic ingredient’ called ‘allantoin’ 0.5%, also known as ‘scar gel’ which was available at WalMart.
Harvested the aloe from my garden, scraped enough from one leaf to make a 7 day supply, then tried to mix the other ingredients, (in the same proportions found on those extremely expensive treatments). Only to find that the aloe would not blend very well with the other ingredients very well. I am tenacious though, and after much effort, was able to produce something that looked like a ‘cream’. Hah. not really.
But the ‘cream’ worked – in only 3 days the bedsores had all healed over to the point that they no longer drained and formed scab-free tissue over each of the wounds.
So, now knowing this concoction works, what I really wish, (actually NEED), to know is how to get that aloe to emulsify together with those other ingredients
You have seen my list of ingredients-any suggestions?
Postscript to this post: I first consulted with her physicians regarding her bedsores. I also took the precaution of covering the wounds with ‘Tagaderm’ sterile dressings, (both to contain the homemade cream and to keep the wounds both sterile and moist).
Hey Gene! I’m glad you’ve been able to help your mum heal her sores with some DIYing 🙂 Unfortunately the list of ingredients you’ve mentioned are, well… not really ingredients. They’re all complete, complex products. It’s sort of like saying “a sandwich”—I’ve got a very general idea of what you’re working with, but no clue about any specifics. Have you tried putting everything in a blender? I honestly cannot recommend much of anything without a working familiarity with all of the products you mentioned, and I don’t have that. Chances are they all have different emulsifiers included in them, which further complicates things. Sorry!
I ordered Kaolin powder and Calamine powder which turned out be of pharma grade and insoluble in water. The seller is not replying to my emails and messages. I bought these products to use as a home made face packs. Can you help me what should I use these two products for? I am based from India.
Both kaolin and calamine will always be insoluble, regardless of what grade they are. Calamine is really just zinc oxide with a wee bit of red iron oxide added. Check out the related encyclopedia entries for links to recipes that use them and a better understanding of what they are for 🙂
I want to make my own vegetable crayons for my son. I’m using carnauba and beeswax. I’m having problems adding a natural blue colour from a flower that can o let be extracted using water (butterfly pea). Is there anyway I can add the blue water to the melted wax to make the crayon?
I’m afraid you’re likely going to need a much stronger pigment (oxides & ultramarines) than anything from a flower for a functioning crayon—check out my colourants guide for more info 🙂 It’s also going to have to be powdered, unfortunately.
Hi
Thank you so much for your tutorials and information, but can you advise what to reduce as you say 75% water and 25% oil for your basic lotion receipe but that’s 100% before the emulsion. Should I reduce the water by 6-10% or the oil? Many thanks
Christina
The emulsifying wax is always part of the oil phase as it is oil soluble—it is part of that 25%.
Hi Humble Bee and Me
Is there a standard ratio for the amount of emulsifier to use to get a medium density face cream? i.e. ratio of oil and ratio of water equals ratio of emulsifier?Thank you so much if you are able to reply.
Regards
Christina
No, not really. For starters, “medium density” doesn’t mean much. The amount of emulsifier you’ll need for any given concoction varies with the emulsifier—emulsifiying waxes are usually about 20% of the oil phase. Also, the amount of emulsifier wouldn’t be your thickener, or at least not your sole thickener; that would also vary with many other elements in your formula like water percentage, ingredients, thickeners, etc. On the whole, that’s a bit like saying “is there a standard amount of sugar to get something average sweet?”… that will depend on other ingredients (if there are bitter ingredients you’d need more, etc.) and personal taste on sweetness. For this sort of thing I cannot give you a hard and fast rule, you will have to do the experiments yourself with your particular formula 🙂 That’s the fun part!
I am new to all of this and just discovered your web site- love it! I heard about a face serum that is supposed to be quite miraculous. With a price tag of close to $200 it would take a miracle for me to buy it. I did find a list of oils that is in the serum. A few seem to be “carrier oils” with the majority being essential oils. Can I concoct my own version by just adding all these oils together or is there some ratio of carrier to essential oils that I must respect or I’d hurt myself? I would like to just add equal amounts of all the oils.
Hey Barbara! Is it, by chance, this serum? Essential oils should be kept to 2-5% of the blend, but carrier oils are typically safe to work with in any concentrations (exceptions would be something like neem, which isn’t so much unsafe as STINKY, or sea buckthorn oil, which might turn you into an oompa loompa haha). Happy making!
Hello Marie,
I am super new and super excited to start experimenting with essential oils. I want to make a linen spray and have tried all the recipes circulating on the internet using various ratios 20 drops EO per 1oz. mixed with straight vodka, and combinations of water & alcohol, water & witch hazel. The problem is the scent does not last. What would the correct ratios be to make a linen spray for a 4oz bottle. Do I need to add an additional soluble even though I am using alcohol (Vodka)? If so were do I purchase it. Thank You
Hey Lynn! Essential oils are very volatile and generally do not last long on anything—skin, linens, hair, whatever. If you are used to fragrance oils, you will never find essential oils to measure up in the scent-lasting department. For example, if I make a shampoo bar with a fragrance oil, my hair will smell like that fragrance oil until I wash it next. A shampoo bar made with an equal amount of essential oils will not scent my hair at all. So, the issue here isn’t your solvent—it’s the scent. I would stick to the pure alcohol for the longest shelf life, though 🙂
Hi Marie. Thank you for a great website with so much helpfull information! I’m rather new to the diy beauty departement but am determined to learn.
I’ve spent all summer (Norway) growing, harvesting and drying calendula flowers and now finally have a jar of calendula infused almond oil. I’ve also dried some stinging nettles and infused it in some hemp oil. I’ve tried making a salve, thinking all oil ingredients with the same solubility should be ok. I’ve made a couple of small batches trying to find the correct dencity. My problem (other than realizing I might have been to brave and over my head making my own mix) is that after a few days of looking nice and smooth, the salve starts separating. Or rather, it gets these small lumps. Looks like the Shea Butter clumps up. I don’t expect you to spend lots of time on this, but maybe you know right away what I’m doing wrong?
I mixed 9ml calendula infused almond oil, 6ml nettle infused hemp oil, 7grams Shea Butter, 4grams beeswax and melted together before I added 5drops of frankincense and 1drop of vitaminE oil.
Would be very grateful if I hear from you.
Regard Mariann
I’ve got an FAQ on this 🙂
HI, COULD YOU PLEASE TELL ME WHICH EMULSIFIER IS BEST FOR WATER BASED PERFUMES, ROOM SPRAY. CURRENTLY, AM USING POLYSORBATE 20 & 80. PLEASE SUGGEST ME SOME ORGANIC DIFFUSERS. E-WAX, ALOVERA GEL, EPSOM SALT, ETC WHICH ONE IS GOOD AND GOES WELL?
The ones you’re using are good; the other things you’ve listed mostly aren’t even emulsifiers (epsom salts…?!). E-wax is not good for sprays; we use it for lotions and creams.
Hi Marie,
I hope you’re having a great time in Australia!! I hope to cross that off of my bucket list at some point as well 🙂
I was wondering if you knew whether it’s safe to use Club House Red Food Coloring in lip balms/tints. I thought it would be a safe way to pigment my lip balm, but after reading the ingredients, I was a little perplexed regarding the actual safety of the product. Your advice is greatly appreciated!
P.s. I bought your book and it’s fantastic!
Thanks
Australia was amazing! I’m pretty bummed to be home 😛 I would stick with cosmetic grade pigments; that way you can be entirely sure what you are using and have more control over the final product. The fact that food colourings typically include water further complicates things; most coloured lip products I make are anhydrous because the inclusion of water necessitates lip safe emulsifiers and preservatives, and I generally find it simpler not to fuss with those things, especially when it isn’t at all necessary to achieve the end product you want 🙂
If I were to buy a water soluble powder and mixed it with vegetable glycerin, would it then be miscible with carrier oils like grapeseed oil?
OR if I were to buy an extract with an alcohol solvent, would I be able to use glycerin as an emulsifier to combine the alcohol-based extract and carrier oils?
I’ve searched high and low and can’t seem to find any solid answers! Thanks so much!
No—glycerin isn’t oil soluble, and isn’t an emulsifier. In some specific circumstances I’ve been able to get it to self-emulsify, but it is by no means a sure thing and doesn’t work with plain liquid oils.
Hello Marie!
Thank you for your post, I wanted to ask how i could achieve mixture of aloevera and oil CO2’s without separation? I would like to make a lightweight moisturizer with this base.
Thank you!
-L.
You’ll need an emulsifier if you wish to combine water soluble and oil soluble ingredients—check out the encyclopedia for information on quite a few different options!
For a stable suspension, how much borax might you suggest I use in this salve recipe
1 cup olive oil
1 oz beeswax
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cedar essential oil
Previously I used a hand blender while still warm to emulsify and it stayed suspended for a while but after a couple of days the ACV began to pool up on top of the salve.
Thanks!!
I’m afraid I wouldn’t/couldn’t. With all those volume measurements I don’t know how much of anything you are using, and given a beeswax/borax emulsion is effectively a saponification reaction (resulting in a positive pH) I worry the acidic ACV would completely destabilize or even ruin it. I recommend giving this article a read.
Also, whatever you’re making very definitely needs a preservative to be safe for use 🙂
Hi Marie
I find it difficult to mix aloe vera gel into my oils and butter in my formulation. I use a complete emulsifier. Is there a special way of blending these two so I don’t get precipitates? Also the butters melt at higher room temperature unless I use beeswax to stop it from melting. What else can I do? Lastly, where can I buy optiphen plus in the UK?
Many thanks
I want to make a brightening oil and l would like to reduce the shine and also add some actives. I decided to add a small percentage of water. What can l use to mix