Today we’re creating a Rich Lavender Shower Cleansing Cream—a luxuriously creamy body wash that still kicks off some lovely bubbles. It’s part lotion, part body wash, and all-around lovely. I’ve scented it with lavender essential oil, but you could easily customize the scent to something you love. Let’s dive in!
Happy new year, and happy 2021! I decided to kick off this new year with an evolution of the formulation that kicked off 2020—my much-loved Moisturizing Repair Cream (please read that post, too—there’s lots of good background information in it!). This lotion-y evolution features Glyceryl Stearate (and) PEG-100 Stearate as the emulsifier instead of Glyceryl Stearate SE or Polawax, creating a lighter, more glossy finished product that is more lotion than cream but still has all the gorgeous richness of the cream version. I am loving it to bits, and I hope you will too!
Today we’re re-visiting this summer’s Super Simple Moisturizing Lotion to learn how to adapt formulations to use the emulsifier Glyceryl Stearate (and) PEG-100 Stearate instead of emulsifying waxes like Polawax, Emulsifying Wax NF, Olivem 1000, BTMS-50, or Ritamulse SCG. I’ll also be showing you what happens when you swap them one-for-one and walking you through why you’ll want to make two changes to your formulations rather than just one. It’s all pretty simple, and will help you better understand why Glyceryl Stearate (and) PEG-100 Stearate is so unique and awesome ❤️ Let’s dive in!
This gorgeous Nourishing Hand Rescue Lotion is another “riff” project—taking inspiration from April’s much-loved Intense Hand Rescue Cream with the aim of creating something similar, but lighter and more pump-top/squeeze tube friendly. I positively adore April’s Intense Hand Rescue Cream—I’ve got nearly-empty tubs on my desk and bedside table, and I still use it every day to counter all the hand washing I’ve been doing. Knowing I’d need more soon, I opted to adapt the formulation to create a thinner version that could be packaged up in more portable packaging, and here we are!
Today’s Silk & Camellia Seed Leave-In Hair Conditioner stars lightweight camellia seed oil and luxurious hydrolyzed silk peptides. They work together to moisturize and smooth the hair, while a trio of conditioning ingredients smooth the hair cuticle, leaving hair more manageable. The finished conditioner feels thick and sumptuous as you apply it, but it won’t weigh your hair down or leave it looking greasy. Let’s dive in 🙂
Cetearyl alcohol certainly isn’t the most exciting ingredient in my DIY pantry, but it is easily one of my hardest working ingredients! If you don’t already have some on hand, I hope this post can convince you to invest in some 😊 These unassuming white pellets are crazy useful—I use cetearyl alcohol in everything from conditioner bars to sugar scrubs to lotions to facial cleansers. Cetearyl alcohol is inexpensive, versatile, and pretty dang shelf-stable. I think you should have some. Not convinced? Keep reading!
Make it Up: The Essential Guide to DIY Makeup and Skin Care is now available at booksellers all over the world!