Good Enough To Eat?

Well.............almost.

 

 

Did you know that your skin is actually your largest body organ? The average person has around 35 billion skin cells &, overall, the total area of your skin amounts to approximately two square metres. With such a vast, absorbent surface what you put on your skin is an important consideration. If, like me, you want a non-toxic but inexpensive moisturiser, the good news is that you can make your own at home.

My recipe makes a nourishing cream that is easily absorbed, & is gentle enough to use on sensitive skins. It’s incredibly easy, takes only half an hour, & many of the ingredients are edible! Healthy skin is slightly acidic, with a Ph or about 5.5, so my secret ingredient is a little Kombucha to raise the acidity level of the base ingredients.

If you’d like to try for yourself, here’s my recipe……….but of course you can easily adjust it to suit your own preference.

20g Avocado butter

20g Cocoa butter

20g Calendula oil (home grown calendula heads infused in olive oil)

6g Jojoba oil

13g Emulsifying wax

5g Cetearyl alcohol

5g Lecithin

 

10ml Kombucha

150ml Water

 

2.5ml Eco preservative

30 Drops chamomile essential oil

30 Drops lavender essential oil

 

The principal is really simple. All you are doing is combining fats (butters & oils) with liquid (Kombucha & water), with the addition of emulsifiers (emulsifying wax, cetearyl alcohol & lecithin) so that the fats & water mix together into a stable cream that does not separate. Emulsifiers all have slightly different properties, so using a combination helps to produce a cream with a smooth texture. The addition of essential oils & preservative is optional, but preservative free creams need to be used quickly & kept in the fridge to keep them free of moulds.

To make your cream melt the fats, oils & emulsifiers in a basin steeped in water on a low heat until they reach a temperature of about 75 degrees C. Maintain this temperature for 15 minutes to kill any bacteria that may be present. In the meanwhile, boil the water, add the Kombucha & set it aside to cool a little whilst the oils are warming. Slowly pour the water/Kombucha mix into the oil, stirring all the time.   I use an electric whisk at this stage to ensure it is thoroughly mixed.

Once the cream has cooled enough to feel comfortable on the skin you can add preservative & essential oils, remix thoroughly & pour into clean jars.