This decadent, whippy lotion is in perfect keeping with our snowflake theme; it’s light and fluffy, but with the most wonderful rich, creamy consistency that feels incredibly luxurious. The scent is softly herbal, and even though it’s really thick it’s delightfully light and fast-absorbing—perfect for using on your hands without leaving smudges on your phone and every piece of paper you touch. I’ve taken this lotion with me on my recent travels and I’ve always been happy to have it in the middle of airports and busy cities as a little touch of calm and hydration. You should definitely add some Snowflake Body Lotion to your holiday making list 🙂
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A big part of the decadent consistency is the use of a new (to me) emulsifying wax—Olivem 1000. I bought a bag from Windy Point over a year ago and finally got around to using it. I owe Connie a big thanks for encouraging me to finally dig it out and play with it; she’s been making some of my lotion recipes with it and has reported great things. Olivem 1000 is a PEG-free, Ecocert emulsifying wax made from olive oil. It comes in large, flat white flakes, similar to Emulsimulse/Ritamulse, and its INCI is Cetearyl Olivate (and) Sorbitan Olivate. This is the first thing I’ve made with it (though I did make it twice to be sure it worked!), so I can’t offer a ton of formulating advice on using it, but I’ll definitely be playing with it more in the future!
In keeping with our snowflake theme, not only is this lotion thick and creamy and all kinds of creamy white luxurious goodness, but it also has a soft, herbal scent. I picked up a bottle of Chamomile Floral Water from Voyageur over the summer and I’ve been itching (not literally, though the hydrosol would likely help if that was the case!) to incorporate it into something. Made from Anthemis nobilis (Roman chamomile), this hydrosol is divine. Warm hay and apples, with a beautiful soft, herbal sweetness. It is perfection in the midst of darker, colder days. If you don’t have the hydrosol, feel free to replace it with more distilled water and add two or three drops of Roman chamomile essential oil with the cool down ingredients.
To make for an extra-awesome-for-winter lotion I’ve included a few favourite ingredients for battling dryness. Cupuacu butter can “support 440% of its weight in water” (source), which is downright insane, and also brilliant for winter skin care. I’ve also included hydrating and itch-relieving panthenol and sea kelp bioferment, which you can find starring in some astonishingly expensive creams (the $168 USD/1 oz. Crème de la Mer 😱) even though its not all that expensive itself. Sea kelp bioferment s a clear, soft gel-like substance that is a film-forming ingredient, so it helps trap in the moisture this lotion adds to our skin. It’s a great alternative to hydrolyzed silk in pretty much anything wet (take note, vegans!), and it helps give this lotion an utterly lovely feel.
If you really want to get an idea for how this lotion feels, I really recommend watching the video. Towards the end you can really see it become all kinds of beautiful and thick and whippy (😍)—it’s a thing of beauty, truly. Anywho! Let’s stop talking and start making some Snowflake Body Lotion!
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Snowflake Body Lotion
55g |1.94oz distilled water
20g | 0.71oz chamomile hydrosol
2g | 0.07oz vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada)
2g| 0.07oz sea kelp bioferment (Canada / USA)
1g | 0.03oz panthenol powder (vitamin B5) (USA / Canada)5g | 0.18oz Olivem1000 (USA / Canada)
5g| 0.18oz abyssinian oil
10g | 0.35oz cupuacu butter (USA / Canada)
3g | 0.1oz cetyl alcohol (USA / Canada)0.125g | 1 drop Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)
0.5g | 0.017oz 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, hydrosol, glycerin, bioferment, and panthenol into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Weigh the Olivem 1000, abyssinian oil, cupuacu 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 hot lotion, starting with short bursts so the still-very-liquid lotion doesn’t whirl up and spray everywhere. Blend for about four minutes, 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 thick and creamy, stir in the vitamin E and preservative and transfer it to a 100mL/4oz jar—it is much too thick for a pump-top bottle, but it does work well in a GoToob. I used this jar from YellowBee. Enjoy!
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this cream 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
- You can use a different hydrosol in place of the chamomile hydrosol, or replace it with more water and add a couple drops of Roman chamomile essential oil when you add the preservative
- Silk peptides can stand in for the sea kelp bioferment
- You can use Polawax, Emulsifying Wax NF, or BTMS-50 in place of the Olivem 1000, though all of these will make for a less luscious final product
- You can use any liquid oil you love in place of the abyssinian oil
- Shea butter or mango butter will work well instead of cupuacu butter
- You can use more of the butter instead of the cetyl alcohol, though this will result in a thinner end product
With respect to using sea kelp bioferment, my question is, are you concerned with the fact that the oceans are full of radiation now as Fukishima is still dumping huge amounts of radiation into the ocean to the point it has made its way to our west coast (Canada)?
Thank you.
Not in the slightest; this chart does a good job of putting it in perspective 🙂 You can see the extra dose to Tokyo following Fukishima was equivalent to two chest x-rays, and is less than living in a brick house for a year, and including 1–3% seakelp bioferment in a lotion is nowhere close to living in Tokyo following Fukishima!
Thank you for another great recipe and for the list of subxtitutions. Especially for the bioferment as I am not a fan of the preservatives manufacturers use for it. Many of my personal creations have been inspired by you, so keep on creating and we’ll keep on making!
Thanks so much! Happy making 🙂
Too many great recipes Marie… just placed my order at Windy Point! So excited to try the Olivem 1000 + the sea kelp bioferment. I might even be looking forward to winter this year to try out all of the lotions I’m making 🙂 Store bought lotions, even the $$$ ones haven’t been working for me the last few winters. I love the Winter Solstice cream used as a hand cream though. Hard to top that recipe!
Exciting! My house is basically littered in lotions and I do find it makes keeping my skin hydrated easier simply because there’s always one it reach lol 😛 Be sure you’re drinking enough water, too—no amount of lotion will counter interior dehydration 🙂 Happy making and I’m so glad you’re loving the Winter Solstice cream!
I’ve been working with Olivem 1000 for a while, it is great and very forgiving. Have you tried combining it with simulgreen18:2, it’s even more fabulous then.
I haven’t! I’m not even sure if I have simulgreen18:2. I feel like my ingredients are taking over my house lol 😛
I made this and am in love. I think this is the most outstanding lotion of all the ones I’ve made from your blog!!
Thank you Marie.
YAY! I’m so glad you are loving it 😀 Enjoy and thanks for DIYing with me 🙂
Yup! It’s fine for 100g batches (see it in action); I wouldn’t do much smaller than that, though.
Marie after reading the instructions on how to make the foaming handwash and adding water back after removing it from the heat to make up the lost water weight, are we supposed to be doing the same with the lotions once we remove them from the heat and hold stage? or are the recipes written to account for lost water?
I add an extra 10% to the water phase to account for water loss, but if you happen to leave your lotion parts in the water bath for much longer than 20–30 minutes adjusting would be a good idea 🙂
Thank you for all you wonderful blogs, recipes, videos,& tutorials! You. are. AWESOME.!!!
Thank you so much! 😀
Hi Marie. If I didn’t have the Chamomile hydrosol, or the EO, could I infuse the oil part with chamomile tea to get the scent? Or would this be a mold growing party?
I wouldn’t—it’ll decrease the shelf life and won’t contribute any meaningful scent the way the hydrosol or EO would.
Hi, Marie. I will definitive try this cream. I have olivem 1000 at home. I am also a fan of Winter solstice cream, its the best one. Can you create a special one for women in menopause? Something really rich for this time that we dont produce our hormones? Please?
I’ll put it on my list 🙂 Thanks for reading & DIYing with me!
I made this yesterday and was AMAZED at how this just sinks in- no greasiness what so ever but you can tell you just put lotion on. Very interesting… I was not expecting that because the lotion is so thick. This is yet another lotion recipe on my list of faves. I now need to order more Olivem 1000! I heard some people had some issues with it as an emulsifier so I didn’t order a ton- that was a mistake. It emulsified quickly and I didn’t have to do much to get the final consistency.
I’m so glad! I can’t get over how luxurious this lotion is, and yeah—it looks like it should be heavy but it’s all light and whippy and lovely. SWOON!
Hi Marie,
Instead of hand blender, can I use milk frother?Is it work well for lotion?
Most milk frothers are extremely weak compared to hand blenders; I have one that’s supposed to be quite strong but it really struggles with lotions. I wouldn’t recommend it.
Hi Marie. Thanks for this lotion it looks great and I can’t wait to make it. I even got some cupuacu butter to try it . But I have a question, you mention “You can use Polawax, Emulsifying Wax NF, or BTMS-50 in place of the Olivem 1000” Is there any reason you don’t mention using emulsimusle/ritamulse as an option. I would like to try Olivem 1000 and it’s on my list to order! However, What would say would be your “go to” emulsifier(s)? Thanks for the info and all the great recipes. I wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season!!
Nope, emulsimulse should work as well! I simply haven’t been using it as much these days—no real reason, really, I just find I seem to latch onto some ingredients more than others for random reasons 😛
Hi there, i love all your diy lotions and creams, especially the videos. But i have a question, couldn’t i just use all 75g of chamomile hydrosol instead of using 55g of distilled water and a 20g of chamomile hydrosol? And what’s the importance of the panthenol and cetyl alcohol in this recipe? And could i substitute the oils and butters for ones i have on hand like almond, olive, avocado,or calendula oils and mango, shea, or cocoa butters? Thanks! I’m new to this, but i want to get it just right.
Hey!
1) I don’t recommend this as it creates a larger preservation challenge.
2) Panthenol is a wonderful humectant and anti-irritation ingredient. You can google “panthenol for skin” to learn more.
3) Cetyl alcohol helps thicken and lend a wonderful silky feel
4) Read this on carrier oil substitutions 🙂
Hi Marie
Can this recipe be doubled?
I always pass around my “concoctions” to family members and love to hear them ooh and ahh, you make me look good!
Thanks,
Debbie
Definitely! Your friends and family sound very spoiled 🙂
Hi Marie
I was able to find the answer I was looking for at how to double up this recipe at the “Making Skin Care” website. Thankyou for the referral.
I am no chemist by any stretch of the imagination, and always follow your recipes to the letter. The site has a wealth of information and has helped me have a better understanding in formulating (albeit somewhat) a lotion. I am gearing up to formulating my own recipe. Imagination that!
Following your blog has been an exciting journey, from soap to skin care, I sometimes go into overload mode…something like my ingredient pantry. (appreciate the supplier info, although my pocket book doesn’t agree)
My family and friends have benefited from so many of your formulations.
I have your “Make It Up” book, and look forward to any more publications you have on the horizon
Keep on truckin !
Debbie
Thanks Debbie! It sounds like you are becoming more confident and knowledgeable by the day 🙂 Soon you’ll be formulating lotions as comfortably as I imagine you make sandwiches! Thanks so much for reading and for your support
Hi Marie, I just made this 🙂 I did not have any Olivem 1000, but even with BTMS 50 this is wonderful. Thanks so much.
Awesome, I’m so glad! Thanks so much for reading & DIYing with me 🙂
Hi Marie, I would like to add Lavender EO to this recipe. I will substitute Lavender for The chamomile hydrosol. How many grams can I add without changing the lotion? Thanks.
I’d keep the lavender EO at 1% or less, removing an equivalent amount from the abyssinian oil to keep the recipe in balance 🙂
Hi there! i am allergic to cetylstearyl alcohol ( and all variations) and have been looking into making my own lotions. I found the olive emulsifier in my research (the only e wax that doesn’t have the c/s alcohols.) Have you had any success using the OliveM 1000 in your simple DIY lotion recipe, or have you any other E wax suggestions that don’t have the cetyl or stearyl alcohols in them?
I’ve had great success with Olivem1000 in all kinds of lotions 🙂 I’ve read that it can be more finicky than other ewaxes, but I’ve yet to break anything with it. My only side note on it is that it is very prone to soaping, which is an aesthetic thing, but worth noting 🙂 You should be able to use it instead of any other ewax in my recipes without issue—though you may want to incorporate 0.3% xanthan gum to further stabilize the emulsion 🙂
Hi Dawn,
Apparently, glyceryl stearate or glyceryl stearate se are also good stabilizers/thickeners to work with Olivem 1000.
You’re right! I also recently saw olive wax recommended 🙂
Thank you Sarah!
Now I’ve got to add the O-1000 to my shopping list. Just watched the YouTube video and looking forward to trying this. Instead of the hydrosol I’m going to follow your instructions and replace it with more distilled water and then a few drops of a fragrance oil at the end. Maybe peppermint.
Oooh, lovely! I think you’ll love the consistency that Olivem 1000 gives to projects 🙂
My husband’s poor old leg (literally) is so happy with this cream, after he almost lost this leg after a bad bacterial infection. He loves this cream more than me. (just kidding)
Thank you Marie
I am so thrilled to hear it! ❤️