Mixed Butter Balm - Next Batch

Pictured: the ingredients for a mixed butter balm I have been tweaking since last year. The featured butters are cocoa butter, mango butter, murumuru butter, and kombo butter. I’ve also included a few handcrafted herb-infused oils.

Why so much tweaking?

Getting plant butters to play nice together can be a bit trickier than expected. Each butter has its own melt point and fatty acid profile.

What does this mean?

It means if the butters aren’t treated optimally (despite their varying requirements for butter happiness) the resulting balm could crystallise (develop unwanted graininess) over time.

Getting them all to play nice and stay happy with each other may sound like boring work to some, but I find this part of formulation development quite fascinating and educational.

Do Tell

Are you a tweaker? Which types of formulas are your favorites to tinker with?

If you love making balms as much as I do, you might find the book below interesting.

Book of Natural Balms - Volume 1

Cocoa Butter vs Cocoa Butter

Pictured: 2 examples of cocoa butter. On the left, bleached cocoa butter chips from a cosmetic ingredients supplier. On the right, raw cocoa butter chips from a local health food shop.

I will often try a formula with ingredients (in different formats) from different suppliers before giving it a stamp of approval for release (be it a formulation developed for a client or a formulation intended for a publication). Not everyone can source the exact same ingredient - even something as universal as cocoa butter. So I like to be sure.

These 2 butters have been trialled in a series of products I am working on and both have passed muster.

TIP: Both food grade and cosmetic grade cocoa butter are suitable for skincare products.

The books below both include formulations that feature cocoa butter.

Make Your Own Preservative Free Natural Cosmetics With 21 Ingredients

Book of Natural Balms - Volume 1

Solid Skincare

Here’s a peek at something I have been working on since last Fall. This is a solid serum/stick/balm that contains a very short ingredients list.

One would think a short ingredients list is equal to easy peasy, but sometimes achieving perfection with very few ingredients is much harder than expected. I have been testing the limits of the chosen ingredients to try and make them all play nice together and stay that way.

The ‘stay that way’ part has been the biggest challenge, but it’s getting there.

Just a few more batches, and I think this will be good to go. When it’s ready, I plan to add the formula to an upcoming publication.

Book of Natural Balms - Volume 1

How to Make Soap Free Cranberry Cleansers

If you think these look like white chocolate with a berry cream filling, I would absolutely agree with you. But I am pretty sure you would rather use these no soap cleansers to gently and effectively cleanse your face rather than take a bite.

The simple mix of clay and fats makes these cleansers great for all skin types (even sensitive) and will leave your skin feeing clean, refreshed, and moisturised. If you tend to have drier skin in the winter months (or your skin normally feels 'taut' after cleansing), these cranberry hearts might just become your faves.

Although these are ‘layered’, it isn't strictly necessary to do the layering part. The batch is split up and half is tinted with violet clay – just for fun.

Top Tip: Use a mold that is generally used for chocolates to make single-use sized cleansers. Molds for small guest soaps can also be used.

This is an updated version of my original formula (developed 10 years ago). Holy moly time flies when you’re having fun formulating!

This batch size will fill a single tray

LisaLise's No-Soap Cranberry Cleansers

Ingredient	Grams
Cocoa Butter	22.0
Shea Butter (raw or refined)	20.0
Castor Oil	18.5
Sweet Almond Oil or Apricot Kernel Oil	18.5
Cranberry Powder	5.0
Kaolin White Clay	26.0
Violet Clay	13.0

Method

1. Melt the cocoa butter and castor oil slowly over low heat (a water bath is ideal). Remove from heat

2. Add shea and sweet almond oil and stir until the shea is melted.

3. Pour half of the mixture in another container.

4. Add cranberry powder, violet clay and 6 g of the kaolin clay to one half, and the remaining kaolin clay to the other half.

5. Stir each until homogenous.

6. Pour a thin layer of the white clay mixture into the mold and chill for a few minutes.

7. Pour a layer of the violet clay mixture (use the entire portion) and chill again for about 5 minutes.

8. Finish by adding the remaining white clay mixture.

9. Chill a few hours (or overnight) until fully set.

10. Unmold.

Your cleansers are ready to use.

Ingredients Tips

• The shea in this formula is either raw or refined shea butter. If you want to substitute with shea nilotica (which is quite a bit softer than shea butter), lower the amount of shea to 14 g and increase the cocoa butter to 28 g.

• Both the violet clay and cranberry powder can be bought right here. (If you don't speak French, you may want to go through Google translate). This supplier ships worldwide.

Storage Tip

Store dry and dark (some prefer storing in an airtight container in a cool place)

These cleansers are anhydrous and as such do not require a preservative but will need to be kept free of moisture for optimal shelf life.

How to Use a Soap Free Cleanser

For one application to face and neck you will need approx 3-4 g (1 heart).

1. Soften the cleansing bar by rubbing it between your palms, then apply the softened mixture to face and neck and massage gently. (Optional: some prefer to moisten the skin lightly before applying)

2. Wipe off with a moistened cotton round or washcloth.

3. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry.

4. Enjoy your fabulous skin

Make a Whole Collection of Products

If you want to make more preservative free skincare, there’s an entire collection of beginner free formulas in the e-book below.

Make Your Own Preservative Free Natural Cosmetics With 21 Ingredients

Sneak Preview for 2022

Here’s a little sneak preview of something coming up in the new year. Pictured: a matcha and mint cleansing balm that smells absolutely stunning. This is a variation of the cleansing balm featured on page 92 of the book linked below.

Are you a little curious?

I promise to follow up and give you more hints soon, but for now, you’ll have to make do with this.

Make Your Own Preservative Free Natural Cosmetics With 21 Ingredients

How to Make Lotion Bars

Has it been a while since we've done a how-to around here?

Yes!

Shall we make something quick and easy that won't break the budget?

Yes!

How about a soothing, moisturizing lotion bar?

Yay!

Why Lotion Bars?

Lotion bars are often described as 'solid lotion'. They are easy to use; simply rub the bar between hands. The bar will soften slightly and start to melt. The softened mixture is then applied to arms, legs, feet, hands - anywhere you need a moisture boost.

The multi-functionality of a lotion bar makes it great for all climates, seasons, places, and purposes. A lotion bar is long-lasting, compact, and water-free – perfect for popping into your purse or baggage.

Lotion Bar Basic Guideline

This basic guideline will give you a range of textures (depending on the climate you live in and time of year it is).

LisaLise's Lotion Bar Ingredient Guideline

Ingredient	Percent
Oils	30 - 45
Waxes	20 - 25
Butters	30 - 40
Antioxidant	0.5 - 1.0

NOTE: It is important that your total adds up to 100%.

For an all-round solid texture that doesn’t feel too draggy, you might start with a formula that looks something like this:

LisaLise’s All-Round Lotion Bar

Ingredient	Percent
Oils of choice	41.0
Beeswax	23.0
Shea Butter	18.0
Mango Butter	17.0
Vitamin E Antioxidant	1.0

Method

1. Weigh ingredients and add oils and wax to beaker or other heatproof container

2. Melt waxes and oils slowly over low heat until thoroughly melted (water bath is ideal)

3. Remove from heat, add butters (which are at room temperature and have been cut into small uniform pieces so they melt evenly) and stir until fully melted

4. Add antioxidant

5. Continue stirring until the mixture turns opaque and starts to thicken.

6. Pour into molds and let set in a refrigerator for about 30 - 60 minutes (or until fully set)

7. Unmold and enjoy!

Tip: Experiment with different ingredient combinations and make very small batches at a time. Remember to keep notes so you can recreate your successes.

Extra Tip: Do NOT measure cosmetics ingredients by volume. A 'teaspoon' of wax is not an accurate measurement. Measuring by weight is the only way to be sure of exactly how much of each ingredient is in your product.

Get Creative

Lotion bars can be fancied up or simplified to your hearts (and skins) desire.

For the bars pictured above, I used a very simple combination of beeswax, coffee-infused jojoba, and shea butter with e-vitamin as my chosen antioxidant.

Note that butters have different hardnesses. Feel free to mix the butters you prefer. Harder butters will give you a more solid bar, softer butters will (obviously) result in a softer bar.

You can substitute beeswax with rice bran wax, berry wax, or any other skin-friendly wax. Using other waxes is going to require a bit of experimentation to get the consistency to your desire. With vegan waxes, I find a combination usually works best.

The oil doesn’t have to be one oil - it can be a blend of different oils.

Tip: if you are using heat-sensitive oils, do not heat them, but add them as the mixture is cooling (pour in a slow steady stream while stirring constantly to avoid lumping)

Warning: If you do not keep detailed notes on your experiments and batches, this is going to happen: your very first batch will be the most perfect, luxurious lotion bar on the planet. It will make your skin sing and be pure unadulterated pleasure to use. People will flock to you asking to buy. News will spread and several major cosmetics companies will beg you to let them mass produce and sell your fabulous creation. You will then spend the next 10 years trying to recreate your formula because you were convinced you would be able to remember exactly what you did.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Do Tell

Do you make lotion bars? What’s your favorite ingredient combination?

For more anhydrous formulas, check out the book below.

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