Today’s facial mist recipe was inspired by a recipe request and a cult favourite herb-spiked super-hydrating face spritz. Anuradha requested “a facial spritzer… something calming [and] refreshing,” and the product she linked to featured aloe vera and a selection of herbal extracts and humectants for all kinds of soothing, hydrating goodness, and it sounded both divine and utterly DIY-able!
Want to watch this project instead of read it?
The bulk of the mist is water, aloe vera juice, and chamomile hydrosol. Aloe vera is moisturizing and soothing, while the chamomile hydrosol contributes its beautiful scent and helps with minor skin irritations.
Propanedio and vegetable glycerin are fantastic humectants, though both at low amounts so your skin doesn’t feel sticky when you use it. Panthenol is amazeballs. From Lotion Crafter: “Studies have shown D-Panthenol promotes stimulation of epithelization, granulation, mitigation of itching and has an anti-inflammatory effect… Further, its moisturizing properties improve stratum corneum hydration, reducing transepidermal water loss and maintaining skin elasticity and softness.” As of this writing there is a world-wide shortage of panthenol (sob), so if you don’t have & can’t get any I have listed some suitable substitutions after the recipe.
Now, my stash of herbal extracts isn’t very extensive, so I’ve just used calendula extract here for its anti-inflammatory properties. If you have some other herbal extracts you could definitely include them at 0.5% each—just take care not to go overboard as too much of much of anything can give a mist like this a tacky after feel.
The end product is softly scented and heavy on the soothing-hydrating-anti-inflammatory goodness. It works well towards the end of your skin care routine before any heavier things, and throughout the day to refresh your dewy glow. Enjoy!
Want to watch this project instead of read it?
Hydrating Aloe Facial Mist
16.8g | 56% distilled water
6g | 20% aloe vera juice
6g | 20% chamomile hydrosol
0.3g | 1% Propanediol 1,3 (USA / Canada)
0.3g | 1% vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada)
0.3g | 1% panthenol powder (vitamin B5) (USA / Canada)
0.15g | 0.5% calendula extract
0.15g | 0.5% Liquid Germall Plus™ (USA / Canada)Weigh the all the ingredients into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Stir to combine.
Once the solution is uniform, transfer it to a 30mL (1 fl oz) bottle with a mister top. You’re done!
To use, mist your face whenever it’s feeling dry.
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this facial mist 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
As always, be aware that making substitutions will change the final product. While these swaps won’t break the recipe, you will get a different final product than I did.
- As I’ve provided this recipe in percentages as well as grams you can easily calculate it to any size using a simple spreadsheet as I’ve explained in this post. As written in grams this recipe will make 30g.
- You can use a different hydrosol if you prefer; I’d recommend sticking with something in the soothing category like lavender
- Sodium lactate or sodium PCA will work in place of vegetable glycerine, propanediol 1,3, and/or panthenol
- If you have a concentrated aloe vera powder (100x or 200x, that sort of thing), I recommend making an aloe vera stock with it for recipes like this. For 100x that would be 1% 100x aloe vera powder, 0.5% liquid germall plus, and water to 100%. For 200x powder you’d need 0.5% 200x aloe vera powder, 0.5% liquid germall plus, and water to 100%.
Making a series of face care items for my mother’s birthday and I needed a spray. Excited that I have all the ingredients. Will give this a whirl tonight.
I hope she loves it! Happy making 🙂
First of all thank you for this great idea! Also could you tell me please if I have to keep this in the fridge or can I can keep it in my bedroom ?
Thank you again – Good work !
You don’t need to refrigerate it, though that would be very refreshing!
I’m in the uk, what can I use instead of liquid germal plus.
Also can I add extra glycerin instead of propanediol. Thanks
Please refer to this page for more information on preservatives so you can choose one you have access to.
I don’t recommend additional glycerin lest the end product become sticky; please refer to the list of substitutions in the post 🙂
Can I combine 2 or 3 hydrosols and add a bit of glycerin and make a facial mist. Like rose, sandal and frankincense.
Definitely!
Marie, My Angel – Thank you!!!
logged into my email and saw myself referenced – Sheer Joy!
I will try this. Unless reading the recipe makes me think that this is tag above my DIY-ability!!
one question: is this the same “Provitamin B5 (d-panthenol)” as the Panthenol in the recipe?
Will keep you posted
Thanks for the request! That is the correct panthenol 🙂
See this for what happened to your comment—I got both and deleted the duplicate just now.
Thank you for both!
No worries—happy making!
Looks like a great formula. Any substitution for Propanediol? It’s on back order at Lotioncrafter. Thanks!
Please read the list of substitutions in the post 🙂
I read the list of substitutions and there is not one mentioned for Propanediol. Do you know if there is one? Thanks!
I just checked and Lotioncrafter has a small supply of Propanediol. But I’m still wondering if there is a substitution since I’m not planning to place an order right now. Just received an order recently.
It’s definitely in the substitutions list now, but you can also think of it this way: it’s a non-sticky humectant, so you’d want to replace it with another non-sticky humectant 🙂
Agh, sorry, *face palm*. There is now!
Hi… I have store bought aloe vera gel… can I use that instead of aloe vera juice??
Thanks!!
No; not only for the reasons listed here, but also because the added viscosity will mean this product won’t mist—it’ll blast out of a mister in an aggressive stream, which isn’t very nice when aimed at the face 😛
What is the shelf life??
Please read the entire post, there is a note about shelf life.
Hi Marie. Awesome mist recipe! Thank you very much for sharing this. Hydrating Aloe Facial Mist is interesting especially for dry skin. I’ll do this recipe for my mum who have dry skin. For my experience, I use Korean face masks. It works well so I addict to Korean products. By the way, I’ll also try your recipe as well.
Thanks for reading!
Hi Marie, After all the time I spent procuring the raw materials, I realize I dont have Germall plus – aaargh!! Is there a substitute that could potentially be available in the drug store?
Thanks, Anu
Sadly not—I’ve never found a broad spectrum preservative for sale anywhere that wasn’t a specialty DIY supply shop.
Thanks Marie!
😀
Thanks for this post Marie! I just made this today, with neroli and green tea hydrosols instead of chamomile hydrosol, and chamomile extract instead of calendula. I LOVE IT! It’s hydrating without being tacky. I have a slight obsession with face mists with and this is definitely one of my faves. What do you think of a face mist with a small amount of oil ( I was thinking squalane) with a solubilizer?
I’m so glad you like this recipe! I’ve already done one with oil 😉
Thanks Marie! I just received some Olivem300 so I’m excited to do some experimenting with it. I’ll start with this lovely peppermint mist you linked me too 🙂 Quick question – How much oil can Olivem300 solubilize, ratio wise?
Hey! There really aren’t set ratios for solubilizing—it varies with whatever you’re trying to solubilize, and the rest of the formula. You’ll typically need more solubilizer than whatever you’re trying to solubilize, but you’ll need to do your own experiments to determine precisely what works for each formula. Happy making!
hi! i was wondering if you have information on reliable products or brands for the concentrated aloe vera powder you use — i’ve seen it mentioned in several of your videos and tried searching the site, but all the links seem to go to amazon for an aloe vera juice. would be great to know what you recommend that is powder and that we could also possibly buy. thanks!
Of course the one I use has been discontinued for years—but 100g of 200x concentrated powder goes a LONG way! Fortunately LotionCrafter has a similar looking product and they always have great stuff 🙂 Happy making!
Hola María estoy encantada con tu página, muchas gracias por todas estas recetas maravillosas y gratuitas.
Me sabes decir si lotioncrafter sirve en España? Es que muchos de los ingredientes que utilizas aquí no hay forma de conseguirlos
Marie,
The girls who received this Mist over thanksgiving, are raving over it! Thanks again.
My daughter though, wants it to be “more refreshing, less sweet” – Any ideas on what I can add or increase?
Thanks for your help. Glad to see this on the 2018 list!
Woohoo! Perhaps try swapping some of the water for a peppermint hydrosol?
I just made this, worth a couple substitutions, thinking it sounds amazing after being in the sun a lot the past few days. And it is amazing! As long as you remember to put in the distilled water so you don’t wind up a sticky mess lol
I’m so thrilled you’re enjoying it! Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
Hey! I’m a DIY newbie, but I was wondering if I could combine the water, fresh aloe, glycerin and preservative and leave the other ingredients out? My face is extremely reactive and I’m trying to create a mixture with as few ingredients as possible. Thanks!
Hey! So, kind of, but the issue I think you’ll run into is preserving the fresh aloe. I’d recommend using a cosmetic grade aloe vera juice instead to ensure stability; if your skin is very reactive we want to be sure your mist doesn’t sprout anything 😐 Happy making!
I adapted this one a little bit. I mixed water with aloe vera juice. Then I mixed lavender water with the extracts (I added a few more extracts) with poly 80, panthenol etc. Both mixtures were clear. When I put them together it all went cloudy. Clearly the extracts reacted with the aloe vera. Can I sub out the aloe vera for something like witch hazel?
Hmm—I’m curious about the inclusion of Polysorbate 80 as it’s not called for in the original formulation. Are your extracts in an oil base? Cloudiness is usually caused by some sort of emulsion rather than extracts and aloe vera, so I would look at oily things first 🙂
hi! I have the same issue with my mist. It turned cloudy. I used an oil-based chamomile extract, waterbased bearberry extract and my rosewood essential oil. There’s also allantoin, panthenol, glycerin and sodium lactate. I used liquid germall for my preservative. Is there a way to lessen the cloudiness? Or should we use other ingredients? Thank you so much!
The oil-based extract is the cause of the cloudiness; this formulation doesn’t include any sort of solubilizer/emulsifier, so I suspect the extract will fully split out if the bottle is left undisturbed for an extended period of time. In order to get it to incorporate, you’d have to add enough solubilizer to fully solubilize it, but I do find solubilizers tend to make products like this feel quite sticky on the skin as they dry down. Happy experimenting!
Thank you so much for your swift and very helpful reply! I am so hooked with making DIY skincare right now and I can’t wait to share them to my family and friends. Your blog is my happy place. 🙂 lots of love from tropical Philippines!
Hi Marie! Would it be okay to use an oil-based botanical extract on this formula and solubilize with Polysorbate 20 or Peg 40? Would it still be like a mist type of product or it will turn out to something different? Thank you! I love your works!
You can certainly try it, but I do find that sort of thing can get tacky. Happy making!
Panthenol powder is the same as pantothenic acid correct?
Is it normal to be sticky
Thank you so much for sharing this formulation. I made this last week with rose hydrosol, willow bark extract and another preservatives (+ chelator + pH adjustors). I love it! Mine actually feels less sticky/ tacky than other mists I’ve made lately (something I don’t personally always notice). But it’s super cool feature, esspecially as I mist this on skin throughout the day. It hydrates skin well, has soothing / antiflammatory action – perfect combination! Great gift potential too! Again I noticed that my chamomile hydrosol has very unpleasant scent… I’ve noticed it more than once now and it’s due to preservative (organic salts) + time. It’s oxidation reaction, not contamination but it bothers me. 😀 I think that rose hydrosol imparts lovely mild fragance here. Lavender might have been lovely too, though. I love what you came up with here and absolutely prefer DIYing this!