A homemade face cream for all weather conditions will protect your skin from impurities in the air. You can prepare your day face cream from the comfort of your home as well. Try the beginner’s recipe, which combines the basic raw materials necessary to create a creamy emulsion, or get inspired by suggestions on how to vary the homemade face cream or enrich it with active ingredients.
About this recipe
The recipe for the homemade face cream uses only the basic raw materials necessary to create an emulsion, which is why it is also suitable for beginners. Knowing the properties of the individual raw materials will help you understand their role in the face cream, and with it the ways in which you can vary them.
Main benefits
- Protection for your skin
A face cream for all weather conditions will protect your skin from impurities in the air.
- A recipe for beginners
It combines only the basic raw materials necessary to create a creamy emulsion.
- Hydration and regeneration
Pistachio oil is rich in minerals and vitamin E; it helps hydrate the skin and fight the signs of ageing.
- The consistency you want
With the emulsifier you can slightly regulate the firmness and fluidity of your cream.
- Plenty of room for variations
The oil, emulsifier, hydrolates, fragrances and active ingredients can all be adapted to your own needs.
Product characteristics
Key raw materials in the recipe
Below we go through the individual raw materials and their role in the face cream. Knowing their properties will help you understand why they are in the recipe, and with it the ways in which you can vary them.
Glycerin
Among the substances that naturally moisturise the skin is glycerin. It is a syrupy, clear liquid that is a common component of many types of cosmetics, including the homemade face cream. Since it is an alcohol, glycerin is well soluble in water and is added to the water phase.
Olivem 1000
A very common emulsifier for a homemade face cream, as well as for other products, is Olivem 1000. Its role is to bind the water and oil components of the product together and create a stable emulsion. In appearance it resembles grated wax and it is always added to the oil phase, where it must be dissolved at higher temperatures.
With the emulsifier you can slightly regulate the firmness and fluidity of your cream. If you want a homemade face cream whose consistency is more like a lotion, use lower doses of emulsifier. Conversely, higher percentages of Olivem 1000 will thicken your product.
Pistachio oil
Oil from pistachio nuts is known for its high content of vitamin E. This vitamin serves as an antioxidant and helps regenerate the skin. In addition, pistachio oil is rich in minerals, and the homemade face cream contains it also because it helps hydrate the skin and fight the signs of ageing. Dry skin in particular will appreciate it, but it is suitable for other skin types as well.
If the face cream seems too greasy to you, simply reduce the oil content to roughly 8 %. A certain amount of oil must be present in the cream, though; without it, it would no longer be a cream. On the other hand, if your skin would benefit from more intensive nourishment, you can increase the share of oil in the recipe. Try a variant with 15 %, or possibly 20 %.
Euxyl PE 9010
The homemade face cream contains Euxyl PE 9010 as a preservative. It is added in the cooling phase, so that higher temperatures do not cause its deactivation. It works against moulds, yeasts and fungi over a wide pH range, which is why it is also suitable for a homemade face cream.
Without a preservative, your homemade face cream would last only a few days before it spoils and microorganisms multiply in it. In addition to the preservative, you can prolong the freshness of the product by storing it in the refrigerator and out of direct sunlight. Contact with the air and with the rest of the product can be minimised with airless bottles, which can be used for lighter creams. That way you will not scoop your homemade face cream out with your fingers and you will reduce contamination of the remaining product.
Other raw materials
Demineralised water makes up the largest part of the recipe — the homemade face cream contains a relatively large amount of water, which is mixed with the glycerin to form the water phase. You can replace part of it, or all of it, with a hydrolate.
Formulation (100 g)
The raw materials are given in percentages by weight, so they correspond to a batch of 100 g of finished cream. The formulation is divided into water phase A, oil phase B and cooling phase C with the preservative, which is added only once the temperature drops below 30 °C.
Shop the ingredients for this recipe
Untick what you already have- Olivem 1000, 500 guses 4 gin stock€60.89
| Phase / raw material | Content | Function |
|---|---|---|
| A – water phase | ||
| Glycerin | 5.00 % | humectant |
| Demineralised water | 80.00 % | water component |
| B – oil phase | ||
| Pistachio oil | 10.00 % | oil component |
| Olivem 1000 | 4.00 % | emulsifier |
| C – cooling phase | ||
| Euxyl PE 9010 | 1.00 % | preservative |
Method
- Disinfection
All tools and containers that will come into contact with the raw materials or the product must be disinfected.
- Preparing the phases Phase A + B
In one container, mix the weighed water and glycerin. In a second container, mix the oil and the emulsifier.
- Water bath roughly 70 °C
Cover the containers with aluminium foil and heat them in a water bath until the emulsifier has dissolved. Olivem 1000 melts at roughly 70 °C.
- Combining the phases and blending 1 minute
Check that both phases are at approximately the same temperature and pour the water phase into the oil phase. Immediately start blending with an immersion stick blender for roughly 1 minute.
- Cooling
During cooling, you can blend the homemade face cream again every few minutes; as it cools, the cream will slightly thicken.
- Preservative Phase Cbelow 30 °C
Add the preservative only after the temperature of the mixture has dropped below 30 °C, and stir thoroughly.
Tips for making it
Before you place the water phase into the water bath, note down its weight. During heating, even though the container is covered, part of the water may evaporate, so you can top up the missing water once heating is finished. Do not, however, place the hot beaker or other container directly on the scales; the heat could damage them or cause deviations in measurement. Use a mat or a small plate to stand the hot container on.
If you want to prolong the freshness of the plant oil used and delay its oxidation, you can add vitamin E to the cream after it has cooled. Thanks to its antioxidant properties, vitamin E helps slow down the oxidation process; it is not a preservative, though (it does not act against microorganisms). If you plan to make the homemade face cream in smaller batches that you can use up quickly, you do not need to add vitamin E unless you happen to have it in stock.
If you want to speed up the cooling process, you can place the beaker with the blended emulsion into a cold water bath to cool it down. There is a risk, however, that the sudden drop in temperature may cause the cream to curdle and the emulsion to break, so only use this method if you are certain that the emulsion is stable (already after the first blending the homemade face cream has slightly thickened and the water is not separating from the oil).
Variations on the recipe
Although the recipe for the homemade face cream contains only basic raw materials, that leaves all the more room for you to adjust it to your needs. You can adapt the homemade face cream to your skin type or add active ingredients for skin care.
Plant oils
Pistachio oil is not the only one you can use when making a face cream. There is a wide range of facial oils available, from refined to organic variants. You can choose the oil for your homemade face cream according to its content of essential fatty acids, vitamin E or minerals. You can also combine several types of oil.
Emulsifier
There are several different emulsifiers on the market that are suitable for making homemade cosmetics. When changing an emulsifier, find out the information about its dosage (in the product description) and its melting point. Different emulsifiers also thicken cream products differently, so you may achieve a slightly different consistency and viscosity if you reach for another emulsifier.
Hydrolates
Among the simplest substitutions in recipes is replacing water with hydrolates. The homemade face cream contains a relatively large amount of water, so you can replace all or part of it with a hydrolate. When heating, however, there is a risk of losing the volatile substances that give hydrolates their scent and effects.
Fragrances
If you like fragranced cosmetic products, you can turn your homemade face cream into one of them too. Just add a small amount of essential oil in the cooling phase. Again, follow the dosage for the respective oils, as these are highly concentrated plant substances that can be irritating in the wrong doses.
Essential oils offer a more limited range of scents, as not all plants produce these fragrant oils. If you want fruity or various tropical fragrances, you can reach for synthetically prepared fragrance oils. They are added in the cooling phase as well and are often very intensely scented, so a lower dose than the maximum recommended will often be enough.
Active ingredients
Last but not least, there are the active ingredients, thanks to which many cosmetic preparations earn their name. In this case it really is a very broad palette of substances with various properties and effects. Many of them are often added in the cooling phase; it may happen that some are not compatible with use in creams, so study the information on their use and dosage before you include them in the recipe for your homemade face cream.
Preservatives
Because of its high water content, the homemade face cream requires a preservative, as such products are very prone to microbial contamination. If you want to substitute the preservative, make sure that it will be active at the product’s pH and that it is broad-spectrum, i.e. that it provides protection against bacteria, yeasts and moulds.
Warning
As mentioned, you can experiment with homemade recipes to achieve the properties you want. The final result, however, can be influenced by many factors, such as humidity, temperature, the quality of the raw materials or the way they are stored.
Before you use any raw material to make a cosmetic product, familiarise yourself with its properties, recommended dosage, storage conditions and safe handling. Every raw material may have the potential to trigger an allergic reaction in sensitive individuals, so before using the product we recommend finding out whether you are allergic to any of the raw materials or to the product as a whole, e.g. by means of a patch test.
If you have very sensitive or very acne-prone skin, or other skin and health problems, we recommend that you consult a medical professional before applying a new product to your skin, whether it is a homemade cosmetic product, a pure raw material or a commercially available product.
Frequently asked questions about the recipe
Practical questions about the homemade face cream — preservation, oil content, replacing water with a hydrolate and storing the finished product.
Is the recipe suitable for beginners too?
Yes. The recipe uses only the basic raw materials necessary to create an emulsion, which is why this homemade face cream is also suitable for beginners. Knowing the properties of the individual raw materials will also help you understand their role in the cream and how to vary them.
Why does a homemade face cream need a preservative?
Because of its high water content, the cream requires a preservative, as such products are very prone to microbial contamination. Without a preservative, your homemade face cream would last only a few days before it spoils and microorganisms multiply in it.
When is the preservative added?
Euxyl PE 9010 is added in the cooling phase, so that higher temperatures do not cause its deactivation — specifically, only once the temperature of the mixture has dropped below 30 °C. Then stir the mixture thoroughly.
The cream seems too greasy to me, what can I do?
Simply reduce the oil content to roughly 8 %. A certain amount of oil must be present in the cream, though; without it, it would no longer be a cream. On the other hand, if your skin would benefit from more intensive nourishment, try a variant with 15 %, or possibly 20 %.
Can I replace the water with a hydrolate?
Yes — replacing water with hydrolates is one of the simplest substitutions in recipes, and you can replace all of the water or just part of it. When heating, however, there is a risk of losing the volatile substances that give hydrolates their scent and effects.
How can I prolong the freshness of the finished cream?
In addition to the preservative, you can prolong the freshness of the product by storing it in the refrigerator and out of direct sunlight. Airless bottles minimise contact with the air and with the rest of the product, as you do not scoop the cream out with your fingers. Vitamin E added after cooling also helps slow down oxidation of the oil used, but it is not a preservative.
Conclusion
Which of you already has this face cream at home? No one? Then make it with us following this guide. In the winter months, extra hydration is nothing but an advantage.
If you have tried this guide for making a homemade face cream, let us know how you got on. We would love to hear from you.
Until soaping again, friends.
You will find the glycerin, the Olivem 1000 emulsifier, the pistachio oil and the Euxyl PE 9010 preservative from this recipe among the Handymade raw materials.
