Coffee Glycerite

Here is a peek at a batch of coffee glycerite - inspired by a lovely client. I have been making several batches and trying out some different infusion methods to see how much I can maximize the result.

Since a lot of the components of coffee are oil soluble, infusing the beans into a water-soluble ingredient such as glycerine can be more or less successful. I am zeroing in on a few additional steps/methods and expect to be able to share the information in a coming project.

Meantime, I can reveal that this smells absolutely divine and makes me want to bake and eat ice cream all at the same time.

You Can Too

Want to make your own glycerites and use them in a series of self-preserving cleansers? There’s a bundle offer in the shop that has you covered! Click the picture below for more information

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How to Make Conkers Powder

Last Fall, I got busy collecting and drying conkers so I could play around with some of the different possibilites these all natural saponin-rich plants have to offer.

In this post, I showed you how to use the fresh (or dried) nuts as a laundry detergent. Today, we’re going to make conkers powder. Why do we need conkers powder? Think cleansing bars, shampoo bars, cleansers, masks, scrubs and more.

Although this is a teensy bit labour intensive, it is the kind of thing you can make in ‘larger amounts’ and then store to be used as needed.

Not to Be Confused with Chestnuts

Conkers are also known as Horse Chestnuts. Their botanical name is Aesculus hippocastanum. TIP: Don’t confuse conkers with edible chestnuts: castenea sativa. These are not the same plant and cannot be interchanged.

Step 1: Shell and Dry Conkers

To make conkers powder, you will need thoroughly dried conkers. This can be done by removing the outer hull, lightly crushing/breaking up the conkers, and placing them on a baking tray. Leave in the oven on low heat for a few hours until fully dry.

I have found that the thin brown outer layer can to some degree be peeled away during the initial processing, but this is not strictly necessary. In some instances, it will fall away as the nuts dry, but some can be almost impossible to remove. The more of the brown layer that can be removed, the smoother the result. If you can’t get the brown off, don’t worry about it — much can be sifted out at the end.

Above: lightly crushed dried conkers - ready to be processed.

Step 2: Whack Conkers

This can be done with any number of whacking implements. In this batch, I have employed my husband and his precision-whacking hammer.

To contain as much as possible, place the conkers in a tightly woven clean cloth, twist shut, place on a hard surface. Note: dried conkers are VERY hard and the act of whacking them can mar kitchen surfaces, so do take care to protect your tables/countertops.

The conkers need to be broken up as much as possible without pulverising them completely. Here’s what this batch looked like after whacking.

Step 3: Grind Conkers

If you happen to have a home-sized flour mill of some type, you might try placing the wacked conkers in the mill for final processing. This is something I have been trying to find in a decent (read: small enough) size for my own needs). If you don’t have a flour mill, use a dedicated coffee grinder for this next step.

Place the whacked conkers in the grinder. Start by pulsing several times, then grind as finely as possible.

Step 4: Sift Conkers

Depending on how much of the brown layer was attached to your conkers, this step may take a shorter or longer time.

Finish by passing the ground conkers through a sieve a couple of times to get as smooth a powder as possible. Any leftovers (like you see pictured below) can be used as a laundry detergent (see this post)

Step 5: Store Conkers Powder

Find a suitable airtight container for your and store the powder dry and out of direct sunlight.

Next Up

Next time we look at conkers, we’ll use the powder to make a shampoo bar.

Want to read more about natural cleansers on the blog? Check the selection of posts below.

When Rhassoul Isn't Quite Rhassoul

This happened a while back, but is a great example of how important it is to know your ingredients.

In an online meeting with a (lovely) client, we were chatting about the rhassoul clay she was working with and her comments caused raised eyebrows. She said she was using 'white rhassoul’.

White rhassoul?

I'd never heard of white rhassoul before.

I asked her to read the INCI on the packaging. It said 'white rhassoul'

I then asked where she had purchased it.

'Amazon'.

Hmmm.

This needed to be examined further, so she sent me a small amount so I could check out her clay. It wasn't long before I received a sample in the mail. That's it up there on the right. My own rhassoul is pictured on the left.

The ‘white rhassoul’ is definitely lighter than the clay I know and have worked with for years.

Here's how I put the white rhassoul to the test.

The Nose Test

A careful nose test revealed no discernible scent of any kind. It was as scentless as my rhassoul.

The Eye Test

The color is obviously lighter, but looking closely revealed something else.

See it?

There are pure white bits here and there.

I drew rings around a few of them below:

Hmmm.

I've worked with rhassoul from numerous suppliers – and never have I seen pure white bits in rhassoul, regardless of whether it was in chunks or powdered form.

The Touchy Feely Test

I rubbed a bit of the white rhassoul between my thumb and index finger. It felt quite a bit grittier than expected. When I noticed the powdery residue on my finger, the niggle of doubt I had about this product got worse.

My rhassoul was tested in the same fashion with middle finger. It felt smooth – not a trace of grittiness – and there was barely any residue on the finger. Here's a pic of my unrinsed fingers.

The Rinse Test

Finally, I rinsed the rhassoul off, and discovered 2 things:

1. If you are very careful, it is actually possible to rinse off a finger at a time.

2. There was a tangible difference in the 'afterfeel'. The white rhassoul left my skin feeling dry. The dark rhassoul left my finger feeling clean and normal.

Never Ignore a Niggle

Even though I had never heard of white rhassoul before, I'm willing to hazard a guess based on the highly scientific comparative test you have just been witness to that there is no such thing as white rhassoul.

I suspect the company selling this product mixes some portion of Fuller's Earth or Diatomaceous Clay (or some other less pricey and more readily available clay that may or may not be cosmetic grade) with rhassoul (which is not among the cheapest clays), labels it 'white rhassoul', and charges an arm and a leg for it.

But hey, I could be wrong.

It has happened.

On occasion.

The Moral?

Buy cosmetics ingredients from suppliers who specialize in cosmetics ingredients - not from massive all-in-one shopping sites that offer everything under the sun with no regard for authenticity or quality. Can you tell I am not a fan of sites that focus more on quantity than quality?

Do Tell

Have you ever seen or worked with 'white rhassoul'? Where did you buy it?

More Clay Stuff by LisaLise

Rhassoul - Cleansing with Mud

LisaLise Guide to Cosmetics Clays

How to Distinguish Between Moroccan Soap Clay and Moroccan Red Clay

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Cranberry for Skincare

The botanical name for cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon almost sounds medicinal, doesn't it? That association might not be too far off the mark, because cranberries are categorized as superfruits, so they are more than just pretty red berries with a tangy taste.

Let's take a closer look at what cranberries have to offer.

The Crane Bird - The Plant

The cranberry name comes from 'craneberry', named so by early European settlers in America who were reminded of the crane bird when they saw the flower, stem, and petals. I thought this sounded a little odd until I went hunting for pictures. I'm sure you agree – there's some resemblance.

The Hardiness of Cranberry

The cranberry plant has an efficient means of defense against the elements, and because of this, it does well in harsher northern climes such as Finland and the Eastern part of North America – growing all the way from Canada to North Carolina.

Cranberries have long been recognised for their versatility. The native New Englanders used them for food as well as fabric dye.

They were also a staple in the household medicinal stock as treatment for blood poisoning as well as in poultices for wounds.

Antiaging and Antioxidant

The cranberry is one of a very few fruits that contains both anti-aging polyphenols and antioxidant tocotrienols (Vitamin E). Essential fatty acids omega 3 and omega 6 offer protective and cell regenerative properties. They are also rich in tannins. Finally, they offer natural cleansing properties.

What’s not to love?

An additional reason cranberries have been dubbed superfruit: they seem to have the ability to interfere with the adhesion of some bacteria to some cell types and surfaces. This may be why they function well for the prevention of urinary tract infections and stomach ulcers. They are also recognised for improved oral hygiene.

As for topical use, cranberry has the following to offer:

• Moisturising

• Astringent

• Purifying

• Cleansing

• Anti-oxidant

Cranberry is suitable for problem or irritated skin and is an ingredient worth considering for helping soothe away stress from exposure to unclean air (think pollution, smoking etc).

The idea of using a superfruit as a multifunctional skincare ingredient (that also offers a popping punch of pinky red color) was enough to get me experimenting with it years ago and I have worked with it in numerous ways.

Fresh or frozen cranberries make an absolutely gorgeous glycerite (which I’ll be showing you how to do on this blog soon), but you’ll also find cranberries available in powdered form for cosmetics use where it can be a great addition to cleansers and more.

Color Stability

As a coloring agent, cranberry can be a bit difficult and does require a specific pH range to remain color stable. And even if you give it optimal conditions all the way through, it will have a tendency to fade over time when added to aqueous products.

Do Tell

Have you ever worked with cranberries in your skincare? Please feel free to leave a comment below.

Psst: A cranberry glycerite would be a great addition to a self preserving cleanser. The book below shows you how to make your own.

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Fresh Food Glycerites for Cosmetics

A simple question from a reader started my work with fresh food glycerites several years ago. "Why can’t we formulate with fresh food?" (read the article here)

Although it is technically possible to preserve and use some fresh foods in cosmetics (links below), it is generally neither viable nor practical.

Enter glycerites!

Glycerites are extracts made using glycerine as the main solvent.

Herbal Glycerites Have History, Fresh Food Glycerites Not so Much

Traditionally, glycerites have been made by adding fresh (or dried) plant material to glycerine, letting the mixture infuse for a period of time, then straining the contents and bottling the liquid.

Herbs of all types have been used to produce medicinal glycerites for numerous years: lavender, lemon balm, rose, calendula - the list goes on. While many medicinal herbs are also excellent ingredients for skincare and cosmetics, medicinal glycerites are made with consumption in mind - not topical application.

When I started making fresh food glycerites, my interest was solely for topical use.

So I started researching, but there didn't seem to be any history or documentation on making glycerine extracts with fresh food (let alone for topical use) that I was able to find.

I ended up having to carve out my own path to figure out what worked and what didn't.

It has been a fascinating journey and I am (still) hopelessly addicted to making and using glycerites in cosmetics. It has become such an integrated part of my formulating, I am no longer able to visit any fruit or vegetable section of a supermarket (or any market) without considering a glycerine extract.

My trials, testing, and experiences resulted in a book that was published in 2018: The Art of Making Glycerites for Cosmetics. (see more below)

Glycerine's Power

Fresh food glycerites bring a plethora of additional possibilities to cosmetics. Not only are they powerful and effective, but they are also quite versatile ingredients.

Producing stable, stunning glycerine extracts for cosmetics using fresh fruits and vegetables is fun and easier than you might imagine.

There's an additional advantage to using glycerine as a solvent: it has a unique ability to not only capture, but retain the scent (and often colour) of foods (and herbs) – even those with delicate and otherwise hard-to capture fragrances.

Once you've experienced that extra dimension of natural freshness from a handcrafted strawberry or cucumber glycerite in your skin tonic, cleanser or lotion, I'm betting you'll be hooked too.

Another bonus: it's not even the priciest 'addiction' you could have.

A Glycerine Myth – Busted

In skincare, glycerine functions as a humectant – drawing moisture to the skin. Glycerine is traditionally added at around 5 - 10% of a formula - depending on the product.

It is a myth that glycerine can draw moisture FROM the skin and cause dryness if used at higher percentages.

Glycerine isn’t drying to the skin.

In a humid environment, glycerine will ‘draw’ moisture from the air. But much of the time, glycerin ‘takes’ moisture from the deeper layers of your skin and redistributes it to the surface layers. (REF)

Glycerine functions by ‘spreading around’ the moisture that is there.

About 20% of water present in the body is accumulated in the skin, with about 60–70% of that accumulated in the dermis, so if you have very dry skin to begin with then it’s not advised to use glycerine neat (which isn't very pleasant anyway because it’s quite tacky and doesn't feel at all nice when used neat).

Even though glycerine is generally added at lower percentages (5-10%) of most formulas, I've also experimented with that a bit and have discovered a world of new possibilities. Glycerites can successfully be used at rather high percentages in numerous different types of products. This book is full of formulas rich in glycerites.

Here's a link to a free formula for a face cream I developed with a fresh raspberry glycerite that contains a whopping 30% without feeling the least bit tacky.

If you decide to make it, I'd love to hear your feedback!

Glycerine's Preserving Power

Usage rate is everything when it comes to glycerine – because it has another really cool and useful ability: it can function as a preservative or aid to a preservative.

Since glycerine can function as a preservative all by itself, one would think it completely unnecessary to add a preservative to a glycerite.

And one would be absolutely correct.

There's a little hitch.

One needs to get the percentages of raw material to water to glycerine right to be sure one is making an adequately preserved extract.

I wrote an article that goes into more detail about this here: LINK

It's important to remember that glycerites can be made with everything from powder to dried herbs to fresh flower petals to juicy oranges, so the added water content is going to differ depending on the raw material used.

This needs to be factored in to ensure a successful outcome. Water content is where extra attention is necessary because water means life (which unfortunately for us formulators includes an invitation to bacterial growth).

Glycerites with Preservative

It is also possible to make glycerites where preservative is included. The amounts of the different ingredients differs from a self-preserving glycerite.

My book goes into detail about making self-preserving glycerites as well as making glycerites with preservatives with calculation guidelines for the different raw materials as well as example batches.

But I have also written numerous blog posts with freebie how-to’s over the years. At the bottom of this post you’ll find links to both glycerites with preservative as well as self-preserving glycerites.

Which Fresh Foods Can We Use for Glycerites?

Here's where it gets fun – your imagination is pretty much the only limit. Fruits and vegetables of all types are suitable! Apples, peaches, strawberries, gooseberries, blueberries, pineapple, carrots, cucumber, pumpkin, almost anything goes!

Keep in mind that glycerine will not tend to extract oil-soluble constituents, but will extract water and glycerine soluble constituents.

For maximum potency, use fresh fruits and veggies that are rich in polysaccharides, polyphenols (flavonoids, tannic acids, ellagitannin).

Here are a few Fresh Food Glycerite Making Tips

• Never let unchartered waters deter you from making glycerites – there’s a world of undiscovered delights to be had!

• Choose foods that are at the peak of their freshness (or ones that you just love the scent or color of)

• Choose foods rich in water-soluble actives (many fresh food are!)

• Be meticulous about GMP and cleanliness – both in preparation of the food, your tools, containers, and your workspace

• Choose food with an untreated surface

• Peel any fruits or vegetables that may have a treated surface

• Measure everything by weight

• Measure accurately

• Use sanitised containers

• Straining a glycerite can be an exercise in patience if you don’t have special equipment. Prepare a place where your glycerite can strain without risk of dust or any other unwanted bits and pieces gaining access

• Keep copious notes on every batch you make

• Label everything with a date, ingredients, and everything else that can help you recreate (or be able to pinpoint why you don’t want to recreate) this particular batch

Top Tip

• Save a small portion of every glycerite in a separate container for observation (remember to label and date the container). Store optimally (cool and dark). Keep the sample past your own ‘use by’ date. This is by far one of the most educational things you can do for yourself and can easily be applied to everything you make.

Using Handcrafted Glycerites in Professional Cosmetics

As years have gone by, I’ve been asked many times if it is safe to use artisan glycerites (and other) handcrafted extracts in cosmetics made for sale.

Yes.

If you follow GMP (good manufacturing practice) from start to finish, you are good to go.

One important part of GMP is documenting everything about your handcrafted extract in the correct manner so you can provide documentation of how your extract is made. Your safety assessor will need this information when you are ready to sell your products.

Not sure how to go about this?

Vivienne Campbell of the Herbal Hub has been doing this for decades and can teach you how. Read more about her course 'Using Herbs in Professional Natural Cosmetics' right here.

Note: The regulations on handcrafted extracts differ in different areas of the globe, so be sure and check regulations in your area. Ecomundo is worth a visit as they specialise in global regulatory compliance

How To Know the Precise Chemical Makeup of a Handcrafted Extract

There is only one way to know the answer to this question, and that is by doing the same thing manufacturers of extracts do with each batch: testing and batch analysis.

Manufacturers of herbal extracts for cosmetics provide a CoA (Certificate of Analysis) with each batch.

Natural materials are (obviously) not lab-created, so the chemical makeup of any extract (glycerite, hydrosol, maceration, essential oil, etc) will inevitably vary from batch to batch. Any large company making botanical extracts has the same challenges as an artisan company does when it comes to batch variation.

Do Tell

Have you ever made a fresh food glycerite? What were your experiences? Please share in a comment below.

ABOUT THIS ARTICLE: Originally written (in 2016) as a guest post for Formula Botanica, this article has been revised and updated in November 2021.

Want to check out my book about making glycerites for cosmetics? Click the picture below.

The Art of Making Glycerites for Cosmetics

LisaLise Freebie Fresh Food Glycerite How to’s

GLYCERITES WITH PRESERVATIVE

How to Make Cucumber Glycerite part 1

How to Make Cucumber Glycerite part 2

How to Make Blackberry Glycerite

How to Make Lemon Glycerite

How to Make Strawberry Glycerite

How to Make Blueberry Glycerite

SELF PRESERVING GLYCERITES

How to Make Self Preserving Lemongrass Glycerite

How to Make Self Preserving Turmeric Glycerite

REFERENCES

The role of glycerol in allergen extracts Jay E. Slater, MD Laboratory of Immunobiochemistry FDA/CBER/OVRR/DBPAP. (link)

John Kabara, Donald S Orth, Preservative free and self preserving cosmetics and drugs, Principle and Practice, 1996, p45-69

Cech, Richo, Making Plant Medicine, 2000

Gladstar, Rosemary, Medicinal Herbs: A beginners Guide, Lemon Balm Glycerite, p160

Gladstar, Rosemary, Family Herbal: Guide to living life with energy, health and vitality, 2001

Green, James, The Herbal Medicine Maker’s Handbook – A Home Manual, p 185-192

Wynn, Susan, Fougere, Barbara, Veterinary Herbal Medicine, p225

Fetro, Charles W, Avila, Juan R, The Complete Guide to Herbal Medicine, p8

Preservative for Biological Specimens, US Patent, 1978 (link)

Soap and Detergent Association, Glycerine, on overview, 1990 (link)

Glycerol Extraction for Polyphenols (link)

Plant Color Stability - It's Possible

Pictured: Foundation (in tube) and highlighter (stick) accompanied by a few splotches of handcrafted plant extracts that are the colorants used to make these products.

I wish I could say it has been a snap to figure this out, but it has taken me more years than I care to admit to crack this code. These products - made in 2019 and still color stable - are a clear indication to me that it is indeed possible to make color stable colorants using only plants.

Next step: more skin tones.

That shouldn’t take more than a mere moment….

(insert smile)

Meantime: there’s a self-preserving bundle offer in the shop you might want to take a peek at if you’re interested in making your own self-preserving skincare.

Self Preserving BUNDLE