How Formulating Could Change the World

When I started making cosmetics, there wasn't a fraction of the plant-based ingredients that are available today. The list of plant oils was laughably short, the choice of natural emulsifiers was – let me think a moment – 3 (?), and hydrosols were so rare, it felt like Christmas to find a supplier who happened to carry any at all.

Things have really changed over the past couple of decades.

A New Path

While I heartily applaud seeing green beauty come ever closer to being mainstream, I find I have chosen a slightly different path for myself. In more recent years, it has become far more interesting to focus on paring back.

I am constantly asking myself 'What can I leave out of this formula without sacrificing performance or function?'

Working this way has led to my appreciation of the classic phrase “Less is More”.

Because it's true. Less really is more.

Minimalistic Gets (Somewhat) Easier When You Know What You're Doing

A formula with a short ingredient list may look like it should be easy peasy, but more often than not it has proven to be incredibly challenging for me.

To achieve the ultimate minimalistic formula, you have to get up close and personal with the limitations and capabilities of every single ingredient. And if you happen to discover an unexpected passion for learning how to make your own ingredients, this 'affliction' gets even worse.

Take emulsifiers. Did you know it is possible to produce a stable cosmetic emulsifier in an artisan setting using just plants? To date, I have one I am pretty satisfied with, but as one is not enough for me, I am working on creating some additional ones.

Extracts? I have long since stopped buying commercially made extracts. Sourcing raw materials/botanicals and making my own is much more satisfying, albeit a bit of a mouthful. It’s important to have an understanding of which actives and other components are 'harvest-able' from any given plant in any given form (dried, fresh, freeze-dried, powdered, etc) and in any given medium. (Don’t even try doing the math on that— it’s mind boggling).

When you start getting serious about what plants have to offer, it becomes clear how much botanicals contain – a veritable treasure trove of beneficial properties!

But, as no single medium will successfully extract everything, you also have to know

• which components you want to capture

• which solvent(s) are ideal for the job

• how the final extract can be used

There are numerous ways to 'get it right', but there are also many ways to get it wrong. Example: infusing oil with coffee beans will produce a beautifully coffee-fragranced oil, but if the goal is a caffeine-rich extract, expect disappointing results. Caffeine is not oil-soluble. REF

Testing Limits is Part of the Job

To successfully minimalise any formula, limits must be tested. How much can any given component be tweaked and still produce a functional product? Sometimes, the results can be quite surprising. Sometimes, changing an ingredient a mere 0.2% can make all the difference in the world.

It takes quite a bit of bench-time, batches, and in-depth study before the perfect less-is-more formulation reveals itself. My quest for minimalisation is admittedly a long and winding road, but my reasoning for following this path is quite simple.

Here it comes.

I Believe This Kind of Formulating Can Change the World

You: Seriously, Lise? (insert snicker) You think making less-is-more cosmetics can change the world?

Yes, I do.

Allow me to explain.

If you happened to have read this interview a while back, you might have noticed I describe myself as an old hippie. This is partly because I am, but also because the idea of spreading love & peace and taking good care of our planet are important to me.

And I really, truly mean it.

It's all very idealistic, and although I am fully aware it is not possible to change the world and fix everything...

somewhere...

deep inside...

I believe we really can change the world and fix everything. We all have our bit to contribute, and my little piece of this huge puzzle seems to be developing and making plant based cosmetics.

Imagine For a Moment

So, what if...

It was not necessary to transport pricey, processed ingredients all over the world in order to create effective, quality personal care products?

And what if

We could get stunning results using local materials with no need of costly equipment or fancy facilities?

And what if

Excellence could be created and produced in any neck of the woods - regardless of background or experience level?

Are you beginning to get my drift?

You Started This

You are, in fact, one of the reasons this back-to-the-roots minimalistic thing has become my main focus.

Yes, you.

You are located all over the world and speak dozens of different languages. Your tools, means, access to materials, and requirements are (in many instances) widely different from mine.

And even though you live in Pakistan, Uganda, Saudi Arabia, America, Switzerland, Peru, Australia, Malaysia (if I go on you'll stop reading, but there's much more), your comments and inspiring questions have made it abundantly clear to me that we are all seeking the same thing: to create excellence using the abundance of natural plant power this planet has to offer us - no matter where we reside.

So that's why I passionately remain on this quest.

What do you think? Can we formulators help change the world?

Do Tell

Have you ever considered that even the most modest of contributions can make a massive difference? Please share in a comment below.

PS: The books below (both in English and Spanish) are great for both beginners and minimalists.

Make Your Own Preservative Free Natural Cosmetics With 21 Ingredients

Haz tus propios productos cosméticos naturales sin conservantes con 21 ingredientes

Self Taught Cosmetics Formulation

I often get asked where I learned how to make cosmetics. I didn't attend a school or take any courses, but started by working my own way through hard-copy books (you know, like they have at libraries) and playing around with ingredients in my kitchen. When the internet came along (opening up a floodgate of new possibilities), the research got easier. After some years, my 'kitchen lab' was replaced by a separate room in my home.

In short, I am entirely self taught.

A Long and Winding Road

My path of self education has been a bit of a long and winding road and I am quite humbled and grateful that it has brought me to where I am today.

Although I had already dabbled in making some basic products for myself when I was much younger, it was many years later that my (ridiculously) sensitive skin and aversion to perfume finally prompted me to try and tackle these issues once and for all.

My definition of ridiculously sensitive: it was almost impossible to find any commercial products that didn’t bother me one way or the other. I would either end up itching, sneezing, slightly nauseous, rashy, or something else equally uncomfortable. Sometimes it was from applying a product, but sometimes it took nothing more than a trip to a beauty department to cause a reaction.

How does one find the source?

Studying ingredients labels was a good part of my detective work, and although it was educational, understanding how to pinpoint ‘culprit’ ingredients from doing label research is not an easy task.

It became increasingly clear there were 2 choices available to me: keep studying labels and searching the market to find ‘my perfect products’ or learn how to make them myself.

The choice was a no brainer.

I'll Just Do it Myself, Thank You

With a defined goal, I bought some basic ingredients and the notebook that became my first formulating journal. I chose to use plant based and natural ingredients for the simple reason that herbs and botanicals and ‘going the natural route’ resonated with me.

Understanding the ingredients was crucial to creating products my skin could benefit from. At the same time, I knew full well that I didn't have the patience to research EVERYTHING before getting busy making, so I decided to both make and research simultaneously. It was both empowering and liberating to ‘allow myself’ to do both at the same time.

The first ingredients I worked with were plant butters (cocoa and shea), basic carrier oils (almond, apricot kernel, sunflower), hydrosols (rosewater, orange blossom hydrosol), clays, and beeswax.

It goes without saying there were numerous fails but these were happily outnumbered by successes. It might have been beginners luck, but I like to think it was in large part due to my 'go-slow-and-be-sure-with-your-head-before-you-use-your-hands' approach.

Every product I made was unscented, having only the natural fragrance of the included ingredients. No perfume or added scent was allowed in my cosmetics. And they worked beautifully on my skin.

But at one point, the fragrance part changed.

Essential Oils: The Turning Point

I clearly remember experiencing essential oils for the first time. It was in a small shop with 'everything for natural health and beauty'. The little tester bottles on display looked intriguing.

The first one I sniffed was rosemary. It was lovely! I tried a few more - lavender, lemon, palma rosa, orange, they were exquisite! The best part: no irritation, headache or shortness of breath.

It began to dawn on me right then that it was probably not perfume, but synthetic perfume that bothered me.

Essential oils suddenly had my full and undivided attention.

In my excitement over my new discovery, I made the classic newbie mistake of buying far more essential oils than I could possibly use within date of expiration, but that led to even more happy discoveries.

Discovering that these precious drops were not merely plant fragrances, but also powerful actives was the beginning of a long and tumultuous love affair that has (admittedly) presented me with delights as well as frustrations.

Working with essential oils is an art and science (and at times, a bucket of worms!).

And when you have finally created the perfect blend, incorporating it into a product without compromising any of the other ingredients or product stability has produced a full range of reactions in my modest lab: from squeals of delight to stamping the floor in frustration.

I’m still learning, and don't expect that will ever stop.

Using Botanicals More Ways

While essential oils are undeniably powerful concentrates, they cannot not include every plant constituent due to the production process. To broaden the plant power (and follow yet another fascinating path), I began incorporating whole botanicals and herbs (as well as foods) into my products.

This grew into a passion for understanding more about the therapeutic uses of botanicals and to capture ‘more plant magic’ in extracts. Macerations, infusions, tinctures, and glycerites have all become an integrated part of my formulation process as a result.

My most recent addition to this is distilling hydrosols (I have only been at it a couple of years so am but a mere newbie).

On my to-do list is learning more about seaweeds (via a course from my lovely colleague Vivienne Campbell).

Marrying Different Fields of Expertise

So what does one do with a passion for ‘just about everything plants’ and formulating? My constant goal is to combine all of these things optimally into every product I make. And that, as you might guess, is a bit of a challenge.

In order to marry cosmetic formulation with essential oil blending and herbalism, it is absolutely necessary to respect the art and science of each field equally. And when you can do that, the real magic starts happening. Sometimes, ingredients that may not initially want to play nice together can become best friends in a stunning and truly unique and powerful product.

Teaching Natural Cosmetic Formulation

A few years ago, when Robert and Hana Tisserand asked me to create formulation courses for Tisserand Institute, I silently rejoiced over all the pitfalls I have stepped into and batch fails I have learned from over the years. Collectively, they have provided me with the knowledge and experience to point my students in the direction of successful results while (hopefully) passing on my ongoing passion for the learning process.

This is how I teach others to formulate - as a journey of discovery with endless possibilities - because that’s exactly what it is.

Thanks for reading.

Pictured at the top: a bit of pH color fun while experimenting with naturally colored botanical ingredients and surfactants. And if you think this looks like I stopped to take a picture while cleaning up, you would be absolutely correct.

Below: a few of my ebooks

Why I am Leaving Facebook

I’ve been doing some social media housecleaning over the past several weeks, and it’s now finally time to address the platform that has kept me in a persistent state of discomfort since I joined in 2016.

There are several reasons I have not been enamored with this application, but it is not for lack of effort on my part. I do generally try to give things (and people) a few chances before passing judgement.

Some of these collected impressions are minor compared to others— but they have all played a part in my decision to bid Facebook farewell.

Stay in Touch With Family

I joined initially to keep in touch with a family member who was going abroad for an extended period and suggested it would be easier for her to post to Facebook than send out group mails.

Fair enough.

I was somewhat reluctant, but could see her point and decided to give the platform a chance.

After 6 years, I’d say I’ve given it a fair shot, and can honestly conclude that it hasn’t managed to win me over - quite the contrary.

Navigating Through a House of Mirrors

I am convinced the platform is purposefully designed to be confusing and non-intuitive. It’s like trying to navigate your way through a house of mirrors that keep changing position – it just never seems to get easier.

For example: logging in presents you with a mish mash of impressions where it is not immediately apparent whether you are viewing a post from a friend, an announcement from a group, a random reel ‘Facebook thinks you might be interested in’ or a cleverly designed advertisement.

This seems entirely intentional.

Another example is the constant change of features; new are rolled out, then removed, and maybe brought back again. Despite numerous concentrated efforts, I have never been able to find any useful, helpful, or clear instruction on how things work.

A Paradise For Trolls

Trolls and fake accounts seem to thrive on Facebook, and I think I might know why.

It is possible (and apparently very easy) for any single user to create an entire catalogue of false profiles.

Really, Facebook?

One has to wonder why is this even possible.

The Targeted Advertising Lure

If you have a small business (like I do), money is tight, time is (always) precious, and results are pretty much life-necessary when it comes to marketing and advertising.

Enter Facebook’s ‘created-to-help-you-succeed-targeted-advertising’.

I’ve seen a plethora of struggling artisan businesses fall for the lure of ‘growing their audience’ and ‘increasing sales’ with these targeted ads.

I did a little research on that.

My results: buying ads on Facebook only really seems to work if you have unlimited resources. For smaller businesses, it is mostly a bottomless pit of expenses (and precious time wasted).

My own experience of buying targeted ads was – to put it diplomatically – educational. I began with a modest effort (in an attempt to get an idea and feel for how it all worked), but I spent oodles of time struggling to find any useful instruction and the end results were so disappointing, I felt certain I had done something completely wrong.

Instead of hiding the fact in embarrassment (as we humans tend to do when things don't succeed), I decided to reach out to my fellow artisan business colleagues and ask about their experiences.

The negatives outweighed the positives in spades.

I started asking in 2017 and continued asking folks regularly. Admittedly, I didn’t keep records, but a guesstimate is roughly 2500 indie beauty businesses contacted/asked with direct feedback from between 450 - 500. As I recall it (and I’m being real generous here), less than 10 indie beauty folks/companies reported a positive experience.

Sometimes I would create a small poll in a group — sometimes just post a question, and sometimes join an ongoing discussion.

Close to everyone had the same experience: too much time wasted and money spent with no results to speak of — all accompanied by a feeling of failure.

The most common comment: ’I probably did something wrong’.

Funny how we tend to blame ourselves first, isn’t it? I can’t help wondering if Facebook is aware of that.

Out of curiosity, I also asked folks with larger businesses (also in other fields). The feedback was markedly different. One fellow (with a rather large company) was kind enough to share with me that they saw optimal results when they used about 15k (USD) a month.

Fifteen thousand dollars a month.

That's an annual budget of $180.000 for advertising on ONE platform.

I'll just leave that tidbit of information right there for all you artisan businesses contemplating Facebook’s targeted advertising.

Because We Care About You (Well, Not Really - Just Your Data)

Facebook’s constant prompts to congratulate friends, explore other groups or sign up for events ‘that may interest’ coupled with pop-up memories and the signature ‘we care about you’ have, of course, always been an expertly designed illusion.

Regardless of what you may choose to click on, Facebook keeps careful track.

In fact, every visit is meticulously monitored with detailed logs of every single comment or ‘like’ - all archived and ‘stored safely’ in a place where users have limited access and no easy way of reviewing their data, let alone removing it.

If I were the cynical type, I’d view collecting this much detailed information as a massive study in human behavior more than anything else. One has to wonder how much data a social media platform really needs to collect from its users.

But then again, if I wanted to offer tailored, targeted advertising to those with a big enough pocketbook, perhaps I’d be collecting everything and the kitchen sink.

Logging Every Move — Even After You Log Out

The app conveniently updates automatically, but somewhere along the line, new features have been (quietly) introduced that I can only perceive as an extreme invasion of privacy.

I recently learned that, apart from monitoring every move while you are logged in, Facebook continues tracking all of your “off Facebook activity” after you have left the platform.

Read that last sentence again.

If you don’t believe me, go into your settings and look for “off Facebook activity”.

I wonder how in the world that is even legal.

We’ll Protect You From Anything We Don’t Agree With - For Your Own Safety

Finally - much to my consternation - it has over these past 2-3 years become increasingly necessary to communicate in code (!!) when it comes to certain subjects/words for fear of being put in ‘Facebook jail’ (a term for being denied access to ones account for a period of time) or if you ‘transgress’ repeatedly, being shut out completely.

Some people might categorise this level of monitoring and control as flagrant censorship.

I am some people.

Now, I understand the need of careful monitoring of profiles and groups that may be inciting hatred and violence or are cyber bullying others, but Facebook has taken it upon itself to ‘fact-check’ and selectively censor

• Cancer survivors discussing their own health care

• Therapists and formulators discussing cannabis-based ingredients

• Scientists discussing and sharing documented facts and studies

• Any mention of the word vaccine in any context

Facebook even admitted (in court) that their ‘fact-checking’ was based solely on their opinion. (REF) (REF) (REF) (REF) (REF) (REF)

If they were a little more up front about things, they might at least call it ‘opinion-checking’, but to me, they really don’t seem to be very up front about a lot of things.

And because the invasive surveillance and increasing censorship seems to be getting more heinous with each update, it’s high time for me to exit.

We Hate to See You Go, So We’ll Just Hold on to Your Data as a Memento

As I write this, I have already been into my settings and clicked ‘delete this account’. I also ticked ‘Continue’ when met with the message ‘this will permanently delete your content and messages’.

Yes please, permanently delete my account, content, and messages.

And one would think that would be the end of it, wouldn’t one?

But no.

After going through all the necessary steps to remove myself and my data from the platform, here is the mail I received from Facebook.

In case you are reading this on a small device and can’t read the text in the photo, here it is:

Lise,

Your account is scheduled for permanent deletion.

Facebook will start deleting your account in 30 days. After XX XX, 2022, you won’t be able to access the account or any of the content you’ve added.

To cancel the deletion of your account and retrieve any of the content or information you’ve added, go to Facebook.

Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t see where it says Facebook is going to permanently delete my content or messages at all. All I see is that I will no longer have access to the content or information I added.

Wouldn’t one assume from this wording that the content will still be there?

This is a typical example of what has been my Facebook experience. They seem to specialise in unclear information, first stating one thing, then stating another – ultimately creating doubt.

Some people might even go so far as to describe this kind of communication as gaslighting, because the result is the same.

• ‘I probably did something wrong’

• ‘I probably forgot something’

• ‘I must be a bit slow’

• ‘It’s probably me’

Looking Back

Looking back, I think the best way to describe my experience with Facebook is that it has felt like being in an abusive relationship — empty promises and mixed messages (that create confusion and doubt) coupled with an increasingly suffocating feeling of being monitored and spied on.

They say Facebook is ‘free’, but their price is unacceptably high for me.

I know I won’t be missing it the teensiest tiniest bit.

---

Hindsight is notably cleverer than foresight.

Chester W. Nimitz

---

Why I Didn’t Leave Sooner

The LisaLise group on Facebook was the reason I stayed much longer than I expected to. The group was full of wonderful, helpful, and inspiring people where we discussed formulating cosmetics, making extracts, and working with botanicals in all kinds of ways.

Happily, many of the group members have decided to join me and continue the discussion in our online community at Formulators Kitchen, (where no one is tracked, bombarded with ads, monitored or censored).

If you think this kind of community sounds interesting, please click here to read more about becoming a member.

Thanks for reading.

LisaLise Newsletter

Sign up for the LisaLise Newsletter to stay in the loop about ingredients and processes. You’ll also get formulating tips & tricks, free formulas and how-to’s and loads of natural cosmetic inspiration.

Tip-ins and Fairy Dust

We're going to talk about ingredients and fractions today. I am in my cynical corner, but I'll try to be nice. (Come to think of it, no, I probably won’t).

Some ingredients are added to commercially manufactured products solely for one purpose, and that is to make the marketing and legal departments happy.

The marketing and legal departments are happy when they can advertise Cosmetic Product X now contains ingredient Y without the risk of being sued for false advertising:

• 'Now With Real Essential Oils'

• 'Contains Argan Oil'

• ‘With Soothing Aloe Vera’

This practice is nothing new.

The ingredients in question are often referred to amongst folks in the industry as tip-ins or fairy dust.

Tip-ins are present in such minuscule amounts that they would never in a million years be able to 'make hair softer' or 'skin smoother' or do anything else useful to the consumer.

In order to meet legal requirements, tip-ins are added at a minimum of 0.05% of the total formula.

Yes, you read that correctly: 0.05%

Shall we spell that out for clarity? Five hundredths of one percent.

That’s about the same as adding a grain of sugar to a pot of tea and pawning it off as ‘sugar sweetened’.

Is five hundredths of a percent of argan oil in a conditioner going to have any effect at all?

Nope.

If your hair does feel silkier after trying the 'now with genuine argan oil' conditioner, what you are in all likelihood experiencing is the (much cheaper and 100% synthetic) silicone listed on the ingredients label waaaay before you see argan oil listed.

Ingredients used as tip-ins are (as you may imagine) often on the pricier end of the scale, so the manufacturer is also happy about being able to generate sales with legal claims while keeping production costs at an absolute minimum.

In short, tip-ins and fairy dust are only win win win for the manufacturer. The consumer is duped and shortchanged every time.

Can you tell I find the practice distasteful, dishonest, and unethical?

To me, using tip-ins and fairy dust has nothing to do with producing quality products and everything to do with misleading consumers for the sole purpose of profit.

If this was a once in a while occurrence, I might not be writing about it (again) but tip-ins are unfortunately (still) common practice in the industry.

Do Indie Companies?

In stark contrast, most artisan companies will bend over backwards and do everything they can to avoid cutting back on the most expensive ingredients ‘just’ to lower production costs.

How do I know?

Because many of my clients struggle with this exact issue and ask me for guidance. I have yet to meet one who isn't in personal agony over not being able to include more of 'the good stuff' if they need to adjust their formula to lower production costs.

If you didn’t think indie beauty companies were that passionate about their products and their work, I can assure you they are.

Perhaps that's part of the reason the green beauty movement continues to grow. Consumers seem to prefer quality products to mass-manufactured fairy tales.

I can only hope the continued growth of green beauty companies and increasing number of label-reading-savvy consumers will eventually cause mainstream manufacturers to stop their practice of tip-ins and fairy dust altogether.

I think after all these years, it’s about time.

Do Tell

Have you had to adjust your formulation to meet a lower production cost? Please share in a comment below.

PS: The book below was written for artisan cosmetic makers and helps you get set up, sanitised and organised.

Good Manufacturing Practice for the Artisan Lab

LisaLise Newsletter

Sign up for the LisaLise Newsletter to stay in the loop about ingredients and processes. You’ll also get formulating tips & tricks, free formulas and how-to’s and loads of natural cosmetic inspiration.

Why Get Started Making Plant Extracts for Cosmetics

Learning how to make your own extracts for cosmetics is both super easy and at the same time not as easy as it might appear. The basics can quickly be outlined, but it takes dedicated practice to master.

I have been making all kinds of herbal extracts (specifically for cosmetics) for many years, but would still not call myself a master. Maybe I will in a few more years or so, but meantime, I am constantly learning and discovering new plant synergies, refining my methods and trying different raw materials.

In truth, learning how to make extracts of all kinds has proven to be as involved, multifaceted, and fascinating as learning how to formulate natural cosmetics.

All You Need is to Want To

While making extracts could be described as 'a journey with no end in sight', it really is easy to get started – it doesn't require much more than raw desire (and no special equipment is needed).

And it can't be dismissed that having the ability to compose and produce your own botanical extracts with confidence is truly empowering.

So where does one begin?

There are countless fabulous raw materials to work with - from botanicals to spices to fresh vegetables and fruits. There are numerous solvents to choose from: oil, vinegar, alcohol, glycerine, water – and it's even possible to combine solvents in different ways.

There is also an entire range of method options; from a simple infusion that is ready within an hour to an overnight slow-heat maceration to a several-step multi-medium process that takes weeks.

Which is best? Or most correct?

They might all be.

It depends entirely on what you want to achieve

• an all natural colorant for your emulsion?

• a powerful antioxidant for your face serum?

• a natural fragrance for your balm?

• a skin soothing addition to a shower gel?

All of these (and much much more) are possible with the right extract.

Can you see what I mean by a journey with no end in sight?

The Perfect Extract Starts in Your Mind (and Notebook)

Allow me to give you a tip about getting started: It's much easier to approach extract making if you know the intended end use before you start pulling out equipment and raw materials.

When you have a clear vision of what you expect your extract to do and (where you expect it to function), you will have laid the groundwork for which solvent, production method, and raw materials to focus on.

Example: a (water-soluble) glycerite is going to be a much better match for a skin mist than an anhydrous product that would require additional ingredients in order to be incorporated into the formulation.

Why Don’t You Tell me Everything?

One of the reasons I wrote the book Get Started Making Plant Extracts for your Cosmetics was to offer an overall introduction to the vast world of extract making - because it is truly an area where the possibilities are endless.

Not long ago, a customer wrote and asked me why there aren't there any specific amounts listed or detailed method instructions in the book.

It's a perfectly understandable question.

One would imagine it shouldn't be all that much effort to include an easy peasy guideline for each type of extract as the book includes a description of different solvents.

Here's what I replied:

"When it comes to making extracts (regardless of whether they are oil, water, vinegar, glycerine, alcohol or mixed medium), ingredient quantities are going to vary greatly and will always depend on which raw material (as well as the condition of the raw material), which solvent(s), and which extraction method or combination of methods is used. A 'general guideline' with listed amounts would have to include so many exceptions-to-the-rule that it would quite simply not be useful.

I am guessing it would take me a few years to write a comprehensive guide to extract making for cosmetics (and that probably wouldn't even cover everything)."

She wrote me back that she 'appreciated learning that there was more to this than meets the eye' and 'that's probably why so many of the things that you try on the internet turn out with mixed results'.

Explaining the complexities of extract making without making everything seem too arduous is a bit of a balancing act I still struggle with, because making extracts for cosmetics it is not difficult when you are confident about what you're doing. The best news? It doesn't take too terribly much effort to get to the point where you do feel confident.

Want to Get Started?

If you are an absolute beginner to extract making and want an overview, this e-book is for you.

If you want to get started with an overview as well as get busy making right away, this e-book bundle offer is for you.

Additionally, you will find specific listed amounts, calculation charts, and detailed information on the complete process of some different extract types in the books below.

I’d like to extend my kind gratitude to Lorena for inspiring me to write this article.

LisaLise Books With Specific Extract Formulations

The shampoo book has a section on making vinegar tinctures (that are used in the formulas in the book)

Make Your Own Naturally Balanced Shampoo Bars

The book below has a section on making vinegar tinctures (used in the formulas in the book), and it’s also available in Spanish here

Make Your Own Preservative Free Natural Cosmetics With 21 Ingredients

The bath book has a section on making aromatic powders (used in the formulas in the book)

Create Your Own Bath Products With Essential Oils

The balm book has oil infusion and (some) glycerine infusion instruction for the formulas in the book

Book of Natural Balms - Volume 1

The glycerites book is a complete guideline to making glycerites

The Art of Making Glycerites for Cosmetics

Shower Shakers With Added Color

Pictured above is a shower shaker with ingredients list.

These are easy and fun to make with endless possibilties for variations. I’ve been making and using them a while now, and because I go through quite a lot, I am continually experimenting with ingredients.

On a whim a few batches ago, I added a tiny bit of green and blue spirulina to color the salts – thinking it would be a good idea, but I immediately regretted it after mixing everything together. The whole look just wasn’t very appealing and looked almost ‘dirty’.

While wondering whether I should toss the batch or just go ahead and use it, I added water to try it as a hand scrub.

It turned it into this absolutely stunning summertime teal color.

Because spirulina rinses away easily without staining either the skin or the shower, the whole experience ended up being a happy discovery, and I have been adding a little pop of color to my shakers ever since.

TIP: If you want to do this too, add powdered ingredients that will not stain either skin or skin or shower. I’ve had good results with green spirulina, blue spirulina, rose powder, and handcrafted green leaf powders.

Shower Shakers Explained

If you have only recently started reading my blog and haven’t even heard of a shower shaker before, then here’s a quick explanation (and there are links to more below). A shower shaker is a dry mix of ingredients used as an in-shower exfoliating scrub.

Dry ingredients in a shower?

Not a good idea - because you have to turn off the water to apply.

But that’s exactly what makes a shower shaker a good idea.

To use one correctly, you save water while smoothing and exfoliating your skin, so it’s both a skin and planet friendly thing to do.

Are you ready to make your own? It’s easy peasy! Check the links below for how-to’s and inspiration.

The idea behind shower shakers

Sustainable skincare in the shower

How to Make an Exfoliating Shower Shaker

Salt and Pepper Shower Shaker

Herbal Shower Shaker

Pink Shower Shaker

Shower Shaker Tips and Tricks

For more bath products, check the book below

Create Your Own Bath Products With Essential Oils