I’ve been experimenting recently with lighter lotions that are suitable for pump bottles and summery weather, and I am loving the results of these experiments. My first experiment was my Lemon Chiffon Body and Hand Lotion, and I was honestly surprised by just how much I loved it. You guys loved, it, too—Thais commented “This is my favorite lotion like… ever! It sinks in beautifully, doesn’t feel sticky and the smell… omg, I can’t stop sniffing my hands and arms. About your make a 2nd batch. Thanks Marie!!!” So, consider this Ginger Silk Summer Lotion experiment 2.0. And guys… swoon. Holy goodness moly WOWZA, I am utterly smitten with this incredibly lightweight, unbelievably silky, ginger-scented lotion, and I’m so excited to share it with you! 😍
There are two big keys to creating a lightweight lotion; the size of the oil phase (larger oil phase = heavier lotion), and the absorption speed of the oils in the oil phase. You can of course, modify feel with the inclusion of other ingredients like silicones and extracts, but if you’ve got a lotion that 40% oils that’s packed with shea butter and oat oil, that’s going to be a heavy, oily lotion no matter how you slice it (especially since there’s a good chance it would actually be thick enough to slice!).
So, step one: devise a formula with a relatively small oil phase—this one is just under 20%. Because a smaller oil phase can make for a lotion that’s a bit drooly, I’ve included some uber-silky cetyl alcohol to avoid lotion drool and contribute some luxxy thickening goodness and emolliency. For oils I’ve gone with a blend of lightweight apricot kernel oil and oh-so-lovely mango butter. Mango and shea have a lot in common in terms of consistency and melting point, but while shea butter is a bit sticky and very greasy, mango butter absorbs in a flash leaving the skin feeling silky soft with little to no greasiness. If you’ve been struggling to love shea because of the greasiness, you need yourself some mango butter!
This lotion incorporates a gift Belinda sent me—Penstia™ powder. She teased it in some comments a couple months ago, but since I can’t find it in Canada (sorry, fellow Canadians!), she sent me some (side note: my readers are the best!). According to Lotion Crafter, “Penstia™ Powder is novel polymer that imparts a silky, creamy, cushiony feel to cosmetic formulations. Their porous spheres allow for high oil loading, which is useful for active entrapment, stabilization and sebum absorption. The particles ‘roll’ rather than ‘drag’, adding exceptional slip to any formulation.” That all sounds a bit too good to be true for such an unassuming white powder, but guys—they are right! This stuff is lotion magic.
If you’ve been looking for a way to up your lotion game, Penstia™ powder is a fantastic way to do so. I can’t believe how silky and elegant this lotion is; it’s definitely not just the fancy new powder addition, but the Penstia™ adds an unbeatable luxury feel to the lotion. It glides on like a dream—like a truly professional, high end lotion. It also glistens a bit; my lotion almost sparkles in its tub. Penstia is definitely not a must, but as far as luxury ingredients go, this is one I’d definitely pick up if you’re in the States and you are a bit of a lotion connoisseur since it’s inexpensive and highly effective at 3–5%. Swoon. And sorry for introducing you to yet another wonderful thing…
For the essential oil blend I wanted something bright and a bit spicy—but spicy like sunshine and sangria, not like apple orchards and autumn. Sassy spicy, not apple pie and family spicy. The majority of the blend is bright, spicy ginger, with base notes of enchanting oak moss and a sweet flirtatious top note from michelia alba. I find the blend to be downright addictive, but not overwhelming. It’s softly spicy, and warm like the summer sun. I love it. But, if you are no lover of ginger (or just don’t have it), this lotion would be lovely with any other essential oils you have and love.
Well, now that we’ve got our balanced phases, our light oils, and our divine essential oil blend, we’re ready to make this Ginger Silk Summer Lotion. Let’s dive in!
Ginger Silk Summer Lotion
71.65g | 2.53oz distilled water
2g | 0.07oz vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada)
3g | 0.11oz Penstia™ powder (optional)3.75g | 0.13oz Polawax (USA / Canada)) or other complete emulsifying wax
8g | 0.28oz apricot kernel oil (USA / Canada)
5g | 0.18oz mango butter (USA / Canada)
2g | 0.07oz cetyl alcohol (USA / Canada)10 drops ginger essential oil
6 drops oak moss absolute
1 drop michelia alba (white champaca) essential oil (optional)2g | 0.07oz panthenol powder (vitamin B5) (USA / Canada)
1g | 0.04oz hydrolyzed oat protein or other hydrolyzed protein (like silk)
0.5g | 0.018oz Liquid Germall Plus™ (USA / Canada) (or other broad spectrum preservative of choice at recommended usage rate [why?])Prepare a water bath by bringing about 3cm/1″ of water to a bare simmer over low to medium-low heat in a wide, flat-bottomed sauté pan.
Weigh the water, glycerin, and Penstia™ powder into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Weigh the Polawax, apricot kernel oil, mango butter, and cetyl alcohol into a second heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Place both measuring cups in your prepared water bath to melt everything through.
After about 20–30 minutes the oil part should be completely melted and the water part should be thoroughly dissolved. Remove the water bath from the heat, and pour the water part into the oil part. Stir with a flexible silicone spatula to incorporate.
Grab your immersion blender and begin blending the lotion, starting with short bursts so the still-very-liquid lotion doesn’t whirl up and spray everywhere. Blend for about a minute, leave to cool for ten, blend for another minute or two, and repeat this blend-cool-blend cycle until the outside of the glass measuring cup is barely warm to the touch and the lotion is thick and creamy.
Once the lotion is cool, stir in the panthenol, essential oils, and preservatives.
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this lotion contains water, you must include a broad-spectrum preservative to ward off microbial growth. This is non-optional. Even with a preservative this project is likely to eventually spoil as our kitchens are not sterile laboratories, so in the event you notice any change in colour, scent, or texture, chuck it out and make a fresh batch.
Substitutions
- If you don’t have Penstia powder, replace it with more water
- You can substitute another lightweight oil like sweet almond, grapeseed, or sunflower seed for the apricot kernel oil
- You can use shea butter instead of mango, though it is heavier/greasier
- You can use more mango butter instead of cetyl alcohol
- You can use more water instead of the panthenol
Another amazing recipe – thank you! I just need the oak moss absolute. It sounds lovely. Have you used Lotionpro 165 as an emulsifier? It makes a great lotion with a light texture. I have fallen in love with it…
I haven’t! I have it downstairs (I bought it twice under two different names, derrrr haha), but I haven’t played with it yet. I must add it to the to-do list!
My scale does not say .07 oz.. it shows .7 oz… how can I calculate for the difference
You can’t, unfortunately—think of it a bit like cash. If you are trying to pay for something that costs $2, and you only have a $20 bill (and for whatever reason making change isn’t an option), you’re a bit hooped. There’s no way to get just $2 out of a $20 bill without change. In this case, you’d need to either make more (the equivalent of buying 10 of the thing) or get a more precise scale (aka getting change made). This article includes information on the scales I have 🙂
Hi Marie,
I really enjoy reading your blog posts !! Thx
I also hv penstia powder, I tried adding it to the water phase before, but it just agglomerated and couldn’t be broken up. I ended up throwing the water phase away. Did that happen to u?
Thx
Renee
Hey Renee! The penstia powder did clump in the water phase, but once I blended the ever living daylights out of the entire thing with my immersion blender all the blobs broke up and left me with nothing but loveliness 🙂
Mine clumped too, since I did the utterly stupid. I prepped my ingredients for oil and water phases in the afternoon and didn’t get around to making the lotion until that evening. So, it was a big blobby mess. I forged ahead, made the lotion, stick blended the bejesus out of it, it still was somewhat funky textured, but the next day……WOW! It was lotion heaven in a jar! I totally didn’t follow the directions on how to use it in a recipe and it still was awesome. So, I may have screwed up the process, but it was still an amazing lotion in the end!
I may try adding to the oil phase next time… if I can remember 😛
Hi, love your site and I find it inspiring.I don’t know if you have found a Penstia Powder supplier in Canada as of yet, but I have come across one. It is Windy Point in Calgary. I hope this of some help for you and your followers.
Yes! They started carrying it shortly after this recipe was released—I love Windy Point 🙂
Woww Marie, thank you so much for this recipe! 🙂
Lemon chiffon body and hand cream was already my favorite lotion… I imagine I will fall in love with this one too. 😉
Just wondering… Can I substitute the Penstia™ powder with silica microspheres?
Thank you and keep up with the good work 🙂
Hmmm… it’s worth a try? I think it will make for a less moisturizing product, but that’s just a hypothesis Let me know how it goes if you try it!
Apricot Kernel Oil. You beautiful thing you! This sounds like it would be heavenly! I think one of the best things about your recipes Marie, is you don’t always think you have to use shea butter in everything for dry skin. It’s so refreshing!
I cannot wait for cooler weather to play in the kitchen!
I think I may’ve OD’d on shea butter in my early days, lol. I remember slathering myself in the stuff head-to-toe in December 2010 and then all my sheets were greasy and smelly LOL 😛
I KNOW!!!
When I first started, I slathered up in the shea goodness and walked around slip sliding around and wondering why my skin wasn’t glowing like a nuclear reactor in overdrive like all the naturals said I would. I ruined LOTS of clothing back then! It was crazy!
Ahahahahaah, my poor socks LOL. And sheets. And carpet… 😛
I still love shea butter, I’m not gonna lie to you! It is greasy goodness for my picky skin! But, kokum, babassu, cupuacu, and sal seed butter are also ones I love. Too bad I’m not like you and Marie and perpetually making things. Stuff’s starting to expire around here and I need to use it up!! That is not easy to do when you’re entertaining a young child during summer break. Just a couple more weeks……
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking I actually use all my ingredients either! I also lose stuff ’cause I have so much. For shame. I just bought a bunch more olive oil because I put an entire CASE of it on a shelf in another room and forgot about it. DERRRRRR.
BWHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!!! Oh the countless times I have done this!!! I feel your pain! Have you started inventory yet?
Pssssht, why would I do something sensible like that?!
Hi Marie, Thank you for all all you do. I have learnt so much from you and my skin and hair is evidently better than it has been in the past.
Quick question. My lotion keeps separating. I have tried to keep temperatures as close to each other before adding oil to water. I have increased emulsifying wax and have still had no luck. The emulsifying wax I use is from aussiesoapsupplies as I live in Australia. I have had no luck in finding BTMS 50. When I have found a site the shipping has been so high :/. Any suggestions will be much appreciated.
What do you use to blend your water and oul phase? I tried to mix my last cream by hand and it wouldn’t really get thick at all so I used my stick blender and it thickened up nicely. Some emulsifiers take longer to thicken but you should see some change when using the stick blender,
Hmmm. Which of their e-waxes are you using? Veg-Emulse should be the same as Emulsimulse, so that should work. The Emulsifying Wax NF is a bit confusing, as there is no INCI listed, and they say it’s also called Polawax, but those are two completely different products so… I’m unsure what that is. Emulsifying Wax CA/C20 wouldn’t work as a complete emulsifier, so if that’s what you’re using, that’s likely the issue.
Isn’t Penstia powder THE BEST?!?! I’ve only made one lotion with it so far and was absolutely wowed by it! The feel of the lotion is just incredible! I’m so glad you’re enjoying it as much as I am Marie!
Since you’re always raving about mango butter, I bought more even though I didn’t like it the first time I bought it. I think I’ve figured out why. It’s because of the fact that it does sink in so quickly! I know that sounds weird, but I guess my brain equates oily lotion with moisturization. I’m trying to “retrain” it because it’s nice not leaving oily marks all over stuff. Haha! I’m glad I gave it another shot in lotion. Plus, I do like it in CP soap recipes.
Now, I need to go and buy some michelia alba essential oil so I can make this lotion. Awesome recipe, as always, Marie!!
IT’S MAGIC!!! Which pretty much makes you my fairly godmother, haha. Here’s hoping you fall head over heels with that mango butter—if I liked greasy lotions I don’t think I’d ever be able to touch anything given how much I need up here in the winter. Ich!
Thanks! I will take my fairy godmother crown! Maybe it will impress my daughter. Haha!
You know, if the postage was cheaper between the States and Canada, I could keep you supplied in all kinds of goodies! I’m always buying stuff (no comments from you two, Twin and Penny!!) and it takes me forever to use some of this stuff up since I’m not making things as frequently as you are. But that postage!! Geez!! I ordered something from Portugal a few weeks ago, got it in TWO DAYS, and it cost $11USD. To Canada it’s quadruple (To ship to China even more $$$….sorry Penny). Sigh…..I’d be both yours and Penny’s fairy godmother if I only had to pay $11 to ship things to you!
I’m still sort of on the fence about mango butter being my personal preference (I really do like a greasy feel to lotion….weird but true) but I will use it because the lack of oily prints in the house and car is nice for a change. Also, it’s summer and my skin doesn’t like anything heavy feeling on it during these hot, humid months. So, mango’s perfect for that!
Hmm… if you are serious, I currently use a service that does border couriering. Basically, you can ship a box to a depot in Montana. They’ll pick it up and drive it to Calgary, where I’d pay the cross border fees on that—a minimum of $13 CAD, depending on weight and the value of the contents, but that’s still obviously WAY less than the cost of sending the box straight over the border! You can read more about it here 🙂
Weldone Marie. Can I replace the Panstia powder with allantoin.
Thanks! No, that would be like swapping ham for ketchup in a sandwich… both things that can go in a sandwich, but otherwise they’re very different! You can drop the penstia, make up the difference with water, and then incorporate 1% allantoin (removing that from the water) if you like, but they’re in no way substitutes for one another.
Just when i think i’ve purchased *everything* i could ever want from lotioncrafter you show me an ingredient i missed! Ordered it today 🙂
Sorry
ohhh, I hate to cave and buy from lotioncrafter but between you and Susan my cart is full. ugh…I wish it was cheaper to get it here! Belinda if you figure that out, I want on the mailing list 😛
If you live near the border most US towns have businesses that will let you ship to them so you can just pick it up across the border, and there are also courier companies. I think I’d rather go to NYC and have a vacation + sweet souvenirs for my return haha.
Hi, Marie. Love your stuff! I’ve made several things but the rose salve is my hands down favorite so far.
Just wondering if you really meant straight ginger essential oil or if you have ginger CO2. It seems like I read in one of your recipes that you didn’t care for the regular ginger eo. Or am I mixing you up with someone else?
At any rate, I have both but am not enamoured of the plain eo. The CO2 extract is a lot stronger; if I use that, would it still be 10 drops?
Thanks.
Hey Joan! You’re right, you want the CO2 extracted essential oil; that’s what I used. The steam distilled variety smells like socks, haha. My CO2 variety was sold to me as an essential oil made using CO2 extraction, though, not as a “CO2 extract”—I don’t notice it to be any stronger than steam distilled, it just smells nicer. Here’s what NDA says about the method:
“CO2 Extraction. Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction is done at less than 35 degrees Celsius, and only 99.9% of food grade carbon dioxide is used. In certain conditions at a low temperature, Carbon Dioxide can be pressurized to become a liquid. This liquid then acts as a solvent and is used to extract the oil from plants. After the extraction is completed, it is brought back to normal temperature. The CO2 rapidly converts to gas leaving behind high quality oil that is free of solvents. CO2 extracted essential oils may have slight gelling or clouding when oils are cold, but when the product is warmed the oil will become a clear liquid again. This method of extraction method yields a greater number of aromatic compounds from the plant than any other distillation process, and it leaves no residual or chemical changes from the extraction process as with other solvents used.”
Hope that helps!
Sure does! I’m making this today!
Thanks.
What about using Isopropyl Myristate? In this recipe.
While you could use some in place of some of the liquid oil this recipe, you really don’t need to. I’d typically use IPM to make something feel lighter and less greasy, but this lotion is already super light and non-greasy!
Hi Marie,
Have you got any tips in getting the correct amount of liquid, especially preservatives – I’ve been using Liquid Germall Plus (LGP)? I tend to take more than I need, especially thick liquid such as vegetable glycerine . And once I’ve got them out of the bottles it’s almost impossible (for me) to put back as the amount is usually quite little . I’ve ordered some pipettes and am going to stick them onto the oil bottles (got this tip from you too of course) so that I can get the correct amount of oil, but that wouldn’t work with Liquid Germall Plus and vegetable glycerine I think.
Look forward to your reply,
Huong
Pipettes are great, as is an accurate scale and a steady hand (stop pouring before you think you should as scales can be a bit slow to register). Try measuring into an empty dish for things like preservatives, where an extra 0.1g is meaningful—that’s less of a concern for glycerin. Sometimes I’ll use a spatula to scoop out teeny amounts and scrape them back into the bottle if there’s too much. The video I’m releasing on the 11th may also help with seeing how I incorporate preservatives 🙂 Hope that helps!
Thanks a lot Marie
Hi Marie, thank you so much for sharing the recipe and your vast knowledge. I purchased silica for another recipe of yours and I was wondering if I could use it instead of Penstia powder.
Hmmm… it’s worth a try? I think it will make for a less moisturizing product, but that’s just a hypothesis. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
I’m making more lotion today since you got me hooked on the process and results.
I like them so much more than what I’ve tried from the store. I wonder, how many essential oils do you have?? I’ve been using your recipes to mix them, I don’t feel confident trying this myself. I can’t tell what goes together well and hate to mess up since they’re so $$. Is there any resource that you know of that could guide me? Thank you for all your information and inspiration!
I’m so glad I’ve got you hooked on DIY lotions! As for EOs… I have way too many LOL. Somewhere between 80–100, I think. My essential oil blending process is entirely nose-guided, which I’m aware is very unhelpful if you don’t have all the things around to sniff; I just hold bottles together and waft. I usually aim to have good contrast; a deeper note, a lighter note, a darker note, a brighter note… that sort of thing. It’s a lot like cooking that way. You are making me think I should write more about scent blending, though 🙂 Happy making!
Hello, another question: I want to make more than 1 bottle of lotion at a time but I’m afraid if I mess up, yikes. What would you consider a reasonable multiplication of one of your recipes?
Most of my newer recipes are originally developed in percentages, and it’s especially easy to see in lotion recipes—just change the “g” to a “%” and then you can scale away. A spreadsheet will come in very useful 🙂
Hi Marie,
Ok so I have used the Panthenol suggested a couple times. It is grainy and does not break down very well. I do add this to the heat process of water concoction of the recipe. Any suggestions or substitutes? Thx!
How entirely odd—where is yours from? Does the supplier have it listed as being water soluble?
I’m always adding new ingredients to my wish list faster than I can cross them off and in the mean time I need to use some up a bunch of old stuff to free up space for the new. I have all these extracts that if I had to go back and do things over again, I would have bought in much smaller quantities. It will probably be a while before I get to add pens Tina powder to my collection.
Agh, I so agree about extracts! When you’re using them at 1–2% in things AND I rarely notice huge differences in end products… they feel like a bit of a waste, especially the powdered ones. 100g of a powdered extract is SO much!
HI!
I love all your recipes and I have tried a few with excellent results! I’m dying to make this, I want a lotion that isn’t greasy, I hate that feeling on my skin. My question is, how much does this make? What size container did you use?
Thanks again for all your great recipes and information!
This is a lovely, light lotion, so I bet it will be right up your alley 🙂 This one is also great! I have an FAQ to answer your question 🙂
hi, we do not get hydrolyzed silk protein in my home country. the available options are silk protein extract – oil /water soluble. would that be an appropriate substitute??
Water soluble silk protein is hydrolyzed silk protein 😉
Hi Marie! I have done this amazing Lotion but it was so liquid. So I add corn starch (about 6%) to firm and it was a nice idea until I use at the next day and I felt very little my fingers like a paste (when after doing a bread, that dry flour stay at you hands, but not too much of course). I like the matte effect of the starch anyway..
Do you have something to recommend to use less starch and a little bit of gum? Or some other recipe?
Thank you!
Hi Nataly! I suspect if you’d waited a day or two after making the lotion you would’ve found it thickened up on its own 🙂 Perhaps give that a try next time? Happy making!