Working with Extvolat - Preservative Free Skincare

If you’re a follower of this blog, you may have read this post about pine trunk extract and how it can replace both water and preservatives in cosmetics. The idea of being able to do this with an all natural, sustainably produced ingredient sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?

Well, guess what.

Not only is it doable, but Extvolat has surpassed my wildest expectations - even when I pulled out all the stops to test the limits of its preservative power.

But before we get busy with my tests, I’ll answer a couple of questions you’ve been asking me.

1. What Does it Smell Like?

Several have asked me about the scent – whether it is necessary to mask or if it smells like “household cleaner”. I am happy to report the scent is quite discreet and pleasant. It is not at all dominant and easily disappears into a mix.

In the product you see pictured above, it was paired with a simple herbal infusion of mallow (which has a relatively mild fragrance) and is not even detectable.

2. Is it Hard to Work With?

Not in the least. It’s as easy as working with water.

3. Does it Give a Different Feel?

Without having done side by side test batches, I can only answer with my general impressions. It doesn’t seem to change the feel of any product I have used it in.

The manufacturer says you can use it straight up as a toner, skin tonic or skin mist and it really feels both refreshing and hydrating. The subtle pine fragrance does come through when you use it solo and I find it quite pleasant.

Testing Limits

The makers of Extvolat suggest replacing all of the water in a formula with their pine trunk extract, and I’ve done that successfully in a couple of small batches of emulsions. The product you see pictured above was made to both test limits and to create a real hydrating gel mask that would provide a powerful moisture boost.

Pictured above is a relatively minimalistic gel with freshly made (but unpreserved) infusion of mallow, handcrafted self preserving rose glycerite, marine algae extract, and Extvolat. (Check this post to learn a bit more about mallow for skincare). I thickened the liquids with a combination of natural gelling agents.

Packaging included bottle, serum bottle, and a sample placed in the bottom half of a small jar (pictured above). Leaving air ‘headroom’ in the jar was deliberate and helps create a more challenging environment for an unpreserved water-based product. Additionally, the jar has been exposed to direct sun and daylight (it’s standing on a windowsill). I have dipped into it a few times with (not recently washed) fingers, opened it and sniffed frequently and pretty much dared it to go bad.

Even though I did replace all water with Extvolat, a generous portion of this formula is herbal infusion (made with distilled water) – and that’s like asking for trouble. Usually an unpreserved herbal infusion will grow mould and all kids of other visible nastiness within a few short days. At the time of writing this, the sample is still going strong at 2 months.

And as a moisturizing mask? This is definitely a winner!

More updates to come!

Want to learn more about this ingredient? Check this post (which also has links to the manufacturer)

Do Tell

Have you worked with Extvolat? What were your impressions? Please leave in a comment below.

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Distilling Plants at Home

For the past many years, I have flirted with the idea of doing my own hydrosols. This year, I finally got started with it, and I have decided to share this home-crafted hydrosol making journey with you in case you decide you want to give this a try too.

What you see above is the beginning of a distillation of homegrown helichrysum.

The container on the left is the base of the still with some stainless steel cooking equipment placed to create a raised base for the steamer with herbs. The bag on the right holds helichrysum stems and leaves that will be placed on top of the blossoms. The reddish ‘birds-nest’ is a handcrafted copper wire ‘net’ that will be placed on top of the herbs before closing the lid.

The Still

The still I am using is quite compact (about the size of a large thermos) and does not require running water. Instead, it cools using air - hence the name it is sold under: Air Still. I bought mine from a local brewery shop that specializes in all kinds of brewing equipment, but have seen them available online. It was a helpful tip from a lovely member of my Facebook group that brought this apparatus to my attention. The Air Still is made for distilling alcohol (which I may try at one point), but for making (most) hydrosols, there were a couple of small adjustments needed.

i filled the spout cover with copper wiring so the hydrosol passes through copper on its way out of the still.

Moderations and Additions

For a home-crafting scenario, this still is absolutely perfect for my needs (so far). It doesn’t take up very much room, is easy to clean, easy to use, and produces beautiful hydrosols (some even with a bit of essential oil — more on that in a future post).

I had to get a little creative with a few moderations (the steamer insert and the rings to raise the herbs above the water level), but these were minor. As this still is stainless steel and many classic stills are all or part copper, I wanted to add a bit of copper ‘somewhere’ for the general benefits it offers. (for distillers of spirits, copper is said to produce a better flavor, and for many distillers of hydrosols/essential oils, it is said to provide a purer product). My first few hydrosols were without copper and there was a tangible difference as soon as I added the little birds nest and outfitted the spout cover with copper wiring.

I’ll be getting into the details of my hydrosol making experiences in future posts.

Meantime, I better warn you right now: if you are a little intrigued at the idea of making your own hydrosols and want to try this too, it’s just as addictive as making your own glycerites, tinctures, and macerations.

The glass container pictured next to the still holds about half a liter. By chance, it fits perfectly below the spout and is my go-to container for collecting the precious waters.

Do Tell

Have you ever considered making your own herbal distillates?

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Vinegar tinctures are included as ingredients in these naturally balanced shampoo bars and there’s a section that shows you how to make your own.

Rich Rose Cleanser

I seem to have a thing for developing cleansers. There’s something about the ritual of cleansing the face that makes me feel luxuriously pampered - whether it’s a morning or evening cleanse.

Above is an experiment that includes a medley of rose ingredients: rose powder, rose essential oil and rose-infused oil. To round out the rosiness, I also added rose clay (which does not include rose but gets its name from the color). I probably don’t need to describe the fragrance for you, but if you are a fan of all natural rose, then I’m pretty sure you’d love this.

This is an anhydrous product that rinses away without leaving the skin dry. And even though it ‘lives’ in my bathroom and is – in effect – exposed to moisture to some degree, I have not included a preservative. The packaging is carefully selected to ensure the product is squeezed out and not dipped into.

Do Tell

Do you take packaging into consideration when you formulate preservative free products? Please share in a comment below.

Psst! Enrollment for this course closes on August 22nd and classes start on August 24.

Will you be joining me at Tisserand Institute? Click the button below to learn more and to sign up

Solid Oil Cleansing Balls

Pictured: a formulation idea in progress. This is ‘a kind of take’ on an oil cleanser that is preservative free, effective, easy to make, and easy to use. It can also be customized dozens of ways with almost any botanical you fancy, but before I start ‘selling’ it too much, there’s still some testing to be done.

The little bowl of water is to show you what the water looks like after you have used ‘a blue one’. That stunning deep blue is all natural and from blue spirulina.

I’ve also made batches with wheatgrass, coconut, and banana and have a few fruity ideas in the making as well.

My favorite thing about this concept is how wonderful it makes the skin feel. I’ve always liked the idea of oil cleansers, but somehow they can seem too fiddly to use. These little handy dandy spheres are not fiddly at all and even make the water look at pretty too.

More to come!

Do Tell

Do you get ideas for products that you simply have to make and test or you will get no rest? Please share in a comment below.

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Below is a peek at some of the products we'll be making in the brand new course at Tisserand Institute Essential Gels and Serums. Are you signed up yet? Don’t wait too long because classes start on August 24. Click here (or the picture below) to learn more.

The Mother of Invention

They say ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ and I quite agree.

This highly scientific-looking setup ‘happened’ as I was in need of a bit of help straining an herbal infusion. Lifting the bag above the funnel allows gravity to do it’s work a little faster. Because the mass in the bag was quite heavy, extra equipment was in order, so I went for the pink clip as a nice contrast to the green.

That deep dark green oil started out as a very pale yellow (organic sunflower oil) and is infused with a triple herb combo that is very hair loving. More on that part later!

Do Tell

Do you have unique and fanciful setups to carry out important scientific labwork? Please feel free to share in a comment below.

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Alcohol-Based Gels with Biopolymers

Did you know it is possible to make stable alcohol-based gels using natural gelling agents?

For decades, carbomer has been the go-to texture and gelling agent for the entire cosmetics industry - it’s used in thousands of cosmetics products around the globe. And while there is (happily) no evidence that carbomer bioaccumulates, there’s no denying it is a 100% synthetic, man-made ingredient.

One of the lessons in the brand new upcoming course on making gels focuses entirely on making stable alcohol based gels – with biopolymers!

We’re also going to bust a myth or two about what natural gelling agents are capable of.

If you want to learn how to create and make your own natural gels and serums, you’re going to love this upcoming course at Tisserand Institute!

Here’s some preview information:

• The course consists of 4 lessons

• You’ll learn how to create, tweak, customize, and develop your own gels from scratch with easily accessible ingredients

• Enrollment opens at the beginning of August

• Lessons start August 24th

• The course will be live (but every lesson is recorded so you will be able to view lessons as often as you want)

• The course includes handouts, notes, and loads of extra reading materials so you can get busy with what interests you the most right away.

• The course will be at the Tisserand Institute Learning Platform

Please stay tuned for more info!

Self Preserving BUNDLE