If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know I can’t say enough wonderful things about clay when it comes to skin care (and especially acne). It’s an amazing pore-vacuuming, healing-encouraging, skin detoxing powdered miracle. I always do a weekly face mask, but sometimes I need a quick and easy spot treatment. That’s where this lotion comes in.
This creamy lotion is infused with anti-acne goodness from head-to-toe, and it’s so easy to use and apply that you’ve got no excuse not to. You can use it as a spot treatment or a quick, low-impact face mask. Because it’s pre-mixed, it’s easier to use on-the-go (though the colour does rather discourage one from going too far…). It’s just the type of thing you could quickly apply in the morning while you’re making breakfast and packing a lunch, and then rinse off before heading to school or work.
The liquid base is white willow bark infused water. I first used white willow bark in my anti-acne toner, which has had some great reviews, so I knew I had to use it here. White willow bark is a natural source of salicin content (grandfather to salicylic acid), and it helps encourage healing, discourage infection, and reduce inflammation. Perfect for all things anti-acne, basically.
The oils are also renown for their zit-busting properties. Seabuckthorn oil is loaded with vitamins, reduces scarring, boosts healing, and has even been endorsed by Dr. Oz for it’s anti-acne wonders (if that means anything to you at all).
Rosehip oil is a favourite with supermodels (according to something I saw on Pinterest, at least), but beyond that it’s fantastic for healing. Now, the data on rosehip oil + acne is a bit conflicting. Some say it’s been amazing for acne, and some say it has made theirs worse. I can’t say it’s made mine worse, but I have very mild acne anyways. If you are worried, I would recommend swapping it out for argan oil (USA / Canada) instead, which has always stood me (and my zits) in good stead.
Clay and a bit of zinc oxide team up to help detox the skin and add some anti-bacterial properties. And last, but not least, a medley of anti-acne essential oils.
This lotion comes together like a dream and is a fantastic thing to have in your acne war chest. Give it a go!
Zinc & Clay Anti-Acne Lotion
73g | 2.6oz white-willow infused water (2 tsp white willow bark + 100mL boiling water)
2g | 0.07oz vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada)7g | 0.25oz emulsimulse/ritamulse (or other complete emulsifying wax—not beeswax!)
8g | 0.28oz sea buckthorn seed oil (seed is recommended; this much fruit oil would likely stain the skin)
10g | 0.34oz rosehip oil (or argan oil (USA / Canada))1 tsp French green clay (or multani mitti clay)
1 tsp zinc oxide3 drop cedarwood essential oil
2 drop litsea cubeba essential oil
1 drop lavender essential oil
1 drop black pepper essential oilBroad spectrum preservative of choice (why?)
Start by infusing the water & white willow bark as if you’re making a cup of tea. Let steep for 15–20 minutes before straining out the solid bark and reserving the water.
Weigh the oils and emulsifying wax into a small saucepan and melt over medium heat.
While the oils are melting, weigh out 73g (2.6oz) of the white willow bark water into a small glass measuring cup and add the glycerin. Heat in the microwave for 20 seconds and stir to combine.
Once the oils have melted, add the water mixture and heat through to ensure everything is melted.
Remove from the heat and whisk as the lotion cools. The mixture will thicken up as it cools (the thickening will take a few days if you are using a different emulsifying wax than emulsimulse/ritamulse).
Whisk in the clay, zinc oxide, essential oils, and preservative. Decant into a wide-mouthed jar. Normally I’d recommend a pump-top bottle for homemade lotions to avoid contaminating them with your fingers, but this one is too thick to use a pump.
Use either as a spot treatment or a light face mask. Rinse off after letting it dry for 10–15 minutes.
Wonderful recipe I would like to substitute jojoba oil for the rosehip and calamine powder for the zinc as it also contains zinc in its ingredients I will let you know how it works out I am sure using your base recipe it will be awesome oh I will also use aloe juice for the water phase to see how my skin reacts cannot what are your opinion in the substitutions I cannot wait to make this treatment thank you so much I had been looking for something like this for a while I will keep you posted on how it worked out .
Hi Blanca! With the substitutions you mentioned you will be eliminating most of the acne fighting powers of this recipe, which is sort of the entire point. Using calamine powder instead of zinc oxide should be ok as calamine is mostly zinc oxide, but I would leave the rosehip oil and white willow bark infused water alone as they’re two of the main active ingredients in the recipe. That’s sort of like leaving the sugar and chocolate chips out of a recipe for chocolate chip cookies 😛
Thank you for letting me know I will follow your recipe then and let you know how it works out . Have a great day.
No worries 🙂 Have fun!
I always get excited when I see your emails come into my inbox because I know I’ll be testing out new recipes this weekend! Your blog is my absolute favorite place to get ideas. My daughter had been begging me to make her a lotion because the products I make to sell are all just oils and butters because I don’t use preservatives so I finally purchased ingredients for lotions and made my first this past week. After a failed batch, my second turned out great (your labdanum & petigrain lotion) and this morning I made the airbrush cream which I’m wearing right now and some bronzing powder. I just love all your ideas. You’ve also been really helpful as I figure out new ingredients to test out because I already order from New Directions. I will often visit your blog for ideas on essential oils to order before I place orders there. My next DIY is the mascara as soon as I get some sort of tube to put it in because I just got in the clays:). THANKS for all these great posts!
Thank you so much, Toni! I’m glad to have taken over your weekends 😀 Enjoy your new lotions—I hope your daughter likes them as well 🙂 Thank you so much for reading & supporting my wee blog, it is much appreciated!
Thank you Marie. I love your concoctions and usually can’t wait to try them. Also want to copy someone who thanked you for the pictures. These really help. Great ideas and please keep them coming.
Thanks so much, Danni 🙂 I put a lot of time & effort into these recipes and taking good photos, so it’s always wonderful to know they’re appreciated by people like you!
I just love reading all your blog posts! I personally don’t struggle with acne, but my sister does so I might make this for her. I love trying out your recipes, they are always huge successes! 🙂
Thanks so much, Sophia 🙂 Do let me know if you give this a go for your sister!
I’m of the wary camp when it comes to rosehip oil. I guess for those with milder acne it’s probably worth the risk, but I’m too paranoid to try a product/oil that has such mixed reviews in that regard. I did buy some, but that was before reading enough “internet literature” to scare me from using it on my face. I used it to make an herb-infused oil that I’ll use for… something else! I will try Argan for this, I think 🙂 You mention washing it off after it dries. Do you mean just if you’re using it as a mask, or do you wash it off as a spot treatment as well?
Fair enough—I would be wary, too, if my skin was irritable. I do wash it off for spot treatments and masks, but if you feel like the green smudge look suits you, you’re more than welcome to leave it on 😉
Maybe green smudges can be the new style? They’re certainly spring-like in colour… ANYTHING to make this interminable winter feel more unwelcome 😉
Ha! No no, those aren’t zits, those are tulips sprouting… on my face…
Hahaha, if only that would be believable 😛 I’m about to make this finally. I’ll let you know how it goes! Today is going to be a DIY day and a SB ordering day so I can have even more DIY days 😀 So excited! I can’t say my wallet feels the same enthusiasm though…
Sweet! Enjoy your new impending goodies 😀
Yeah, so I STILL didn’t make my SB order. Leave it to me to wait until the last possible day of the promotion. I’m so indecisive! I’m trying to decide on whether or not to order more tins/bottles. My wallet says NO, but my dwindling supply says YES. Wahhh.
I did at least make this creamy mask! Once again, my radioactive-looking seabuckthorn oil dominated, and my final product is neon carrot orange, but at least it doesn’t seem to stain. I did look rather Oompa Loompa-like, which may come in handy if I ever decide to dress as one for Halloween? I tried mixing in some of your silver powder to make it a little more potent as a mask. It was soooooooo creamy. Even when it dried it wasn’t tight at all. So, it makes a great base of powder masks if a boost is needed 🙂
I cracked and placed some ingredient orders as well… many bottles and tins are headed my way! Now I hope I don’t have to order anything new until November. Gaahhh, damn this pricey hobby and it’s addictiveness!
Yay for über creamy masks! Did it actually help anything other than being super creamy and lovely?
Ok, let’s make a pact: No orders until November! Perhaps the withdrawal won’t be so bad if we have a support group 😛
As for the mask, I honestly can’t say if the creamy base superior or not after being rinsed off, but they definitely feel better while on! I can actually watch Whose Line is it Anyway? without my face cracking into a million pieces, haha.
Ehh… but I’ve already thought of a bunch of things I want… 🙁 I really should sign that pact, though! Make do with what I’ve got and all… it’s not like I’m going to run out any time soon LOL!
Creamy base or not, the fact that we can watch new WLIIA episodes at all is a reason to rejoice.
Hi, is there a reason why you prefer White Willow Bark over Black Willow Bark? I read up on both, and found they had the same qualities. Is it because of the dark color possibly or availability? Thanks for your Great blogs and I love your photography!
Hi Margo! It’s all about availability 🙂 I’ve never found Black Willow Bark, so I’ve never been able to try any. Let me know if you give it a go, though, I’d love to hear how it is. Thanks for reading!
Hi! Love your blog! What do you think about adding salicylic acid powder to the lotion to increase the anti-acne power?
You definitely could, I’d just be wary of adding too much and ending up with a final product that is irritating to the skin. I’d try it as written first, and go from there if you find you need more of a punch 🙂 You could also try steeping a stronger white willow bark solution, as that’s the natural source of salicylic acid here.
Hi Marie, I too love your blog, always happy to hear the new email come in!
I made this acne lotion, mine is a lot more orange than the pics, I was hoping the clay and zinc would lighten it and it did a bit, but still not close to the photo. I know sea buckthorn is dark, I only used half of it and did argan for the balance ( fearing the colour), and still orange, I even doubled the clay and zinc, still orange, maybe a bit lighter, but not like your pic. What do you think?
Thanks
Hi Kelly! Thanks so much for reading 🙂 Honestly, the colour here really doesn’t matter. As long as it’s not staining your skin orange, who cares? I doubt you were planning on going out with this on (I certainly don’t, lol, it’s a bedroom mask & wash off thing), so the colour really doesn’t matter at all.
I can’t wait to try this… just as soon as I can get some white willow bark.
From what I understand, it’s the linoleic/oleic acid that affects acne differently. Since acne can have so many root causes, it all depends upon the person and their specific issues.
Rosehip Seed oil is great because it’s higher in Linoleic acid (44-48%) yet, the refining process can really affect this, so it’s good to know your supplier. It also varies in this content due to where it’s grown. Argan oil, on the other hand, is higher in Oleic acid, yet still somewhat balanced. Seabuckthorn is 28% Oleic and 6% Linoleic, so it can can potentially cause some flareups for some. Hemp Seed, Pumpkin Seed, and Evening Primrose are good for their Linoleic Acid content.
I had never heard of litsea cubeba and thought I was going to have to purchase some, but I have it! AKA: May Chang. I’ve been waiting for a good recipe to use it in, too. 🙂
Hi Claire! Thanks so much for your cool insights into the effects that linoleic & oleic acids can have on acne—I’d never stumbled upon that info before 🙂 I just got my first bottle of Evening Primrose oil and I just made a facial serum with it—LOVE!
I just made this and am loving it! I was curious if you’ve ever made it without the green clay and used it just as a face lotion. Just curious if it’d still be effective.
Awesome! I haven’t tried it sans-clay as a lotion, but it’s definitely worth giving a try 🙂 It’ll still have some anti-acne punch from the other ingredients.
Hi I was wondering how much lotion does this make? I was wondering so I could get the right container. P.S. This is my favorite website!!
Hi Em! This recipe makes roughly 100mL of lotion. The jar I have it in is a 125mL jar and you can see how it is filled in the photos. Thanks for reading! 🙂
Hi Marie! I’m so glad to have found your blog. It’s so much fun to read through! I’ve been encouraged lately at the positive impact the OCM and DIY masks have had on my stubborn acne/rosacea, and I look forward to trying this recipe. My question is this: in your experience is there a way to know if (or request that) the vegetable glycerin from NDA is purely from coconut oil and not Palm oil? Do you know if there’s a way to find out how they source some if their other products (I’m thinking mainly of Argan oil here)? Thank you for any insight you can provide. Keep up the good work and stay curious!
Hi Laura! Thanks so much for reading 🙂 When it comes to ingredient sourcing, I’d really recommend just asking them if the individual product page and MSDS doesn’t give you the details you want. I’ve found Silvia on their Facebook page to be very helpful and prompt 🙂
Thanks Marie! This was very helpful. I’ll go check it out. If you don’t mind another question, I was also wondering it might be possible to sub silk aminos for the the glycerin and guar gum for the emulsimulse? Thanks again for answering! I’m making some of these recipes for Christmas gifts this year and can’t wait to get started.
Hi Laura! So, neither of nether substitutions you’ve mentioned are particularly good. You could include silk and not include glycerin, and you likely won’t notice much of a difference in this particular recipe, but that is not a good swap in just any application. One is liquid, the other is a powder, and their properties are quite different beyond both having humectant properties and both tasting sweet.
You definitely won’t want to use guar gum instead of a true emulsifying wax. I’ve tried it. The emulsion will split in a few hours if it holds at all, the texture is like that of a giant booger, and the lotion will mould in a matter of a days. Yuck!
Hi, How much preservative would you add to your recipe? I have liquid germall plus and optiphen and phenonip?
Thank you
Hope I didn’t miss this question
Hi Tamy! With preservatives you should always follow the manufacturer’s recommended usage 🙂
This is a great recipe and i have all the ingredients except Seabuckthorn oil. Is there other alternatives besides using this oil? Thank you for the reply
You can just use more rosehip oil instead 🙂
hello, im wondering if this could be used on the daily? you do say spot treatment so i’m not 100% sure. i’m mainly looking for a daily lotion to keep acne at bay and help with scarring. would you say this fits the bill?
Hi Saya! You could definitely use this daily if you wanted to, but it is green… so maybe not a great daily lotion, persay 😉 You’ll definitely want to wash it off!
Hi I was wondering how much of the preservative do you need to add to it? you didnt mention it in the recipe, thank you!
Click on the links with the preservative line in the recipe, it’s all covered in the linked article.
Marie, what if you have white willow bark liquid extract? It’s water based, so can I mix a bit of the extract with water?
Yup! I’d add about 2g of it to the water phase and subtract 2g from the water 🙂
I don’t have a big acne problem but will get the occasional zit that I can feel coming on and be tempted to pop it. I love doing face masks but have noticed that I struggle with doing them regularly. So I loved the idea of having a face mask lotion that is ready to go when I need/want it. But I have followed your blog enough to know that clay is a preservative nightmare so even with adding a preservative, I am storing this in my refrigerator.
I hope this helps! And you are 100% right about the preservation nightmare; I often think I should go through all my recipes and add notes to this effect on some of them, but with nearly 1k of them and the need to continue to put out new recipes that is a very daunting task!