Yuzu is one of the leading citrus fruits in Japan. From flavouring dishes to its use in winter solstice festivities, it is a familiar sight to the Japanese. In recent years it has become more popular in the West as well, being used as a flavour in French cuisine or in chocolates.

Today, we will look at how to make a handmade yuzu lotion using yuzu seeds!

It is said that the surface of Yuzu seeds contains an abundance of pectin. Pectin, a substance often found in citrus fruits, is said to be a natural moisturizing ingredient, and will be the main ingredient of the “moist component” of our handmade lotion. You can extract it by immersing it in alcohol.

The alcohol you use can be anything – sake, shochu, vodka etc. As a guide, the alcohol content should be about 30-40 %. I used a medicinal herbal liquor from the Czech Republic called Becherovka, whose content is 38%.

Czech herbal medicinal liquor Becherovka

Using the medicated herbal liquor “Becherovka” with Yuzu seeds to make medicated herb Yuzu lotion

Materials:

• An appropriate amount of Yuzu (based on weight, use in a ratio of 2 parts alcohol, 1 part yuzu seed)
• Medicated herbal liquor (use a visual guide of 2 parts yuzu, 1 part seed)
• Yuzu essential oil (optional)
• Aromatic distilled water or purified water

Making it is easy! Please follow these instructions:

1. Place the yuzu seeds and alcohol (heated to 30-40 degrees) in a large-sized bottle you have disinfected by boiling, at a visual ratio of 1:2. (When I was making it I first used seeds in a net, but this is not necessary in order to extract the thickening ingredients.

2. Store the bottle in a cool and dark place, and shake it a few times every day to mix well.

3. The pickling process should take about ten days, after which we can extract the goodness from the seeds.

4. When thickening occurs in the mixture, it is time to take out the seeds. While decanting with a funnel, remove the extract.

5. Add 3 drops of Yuzu essential oil to 20 ml of the yuzu seed extract you have taken out. I combined it with 80 ml of rosemary aromatic distilled water. (If you add an essential oil, the fragrance of yuzu stands out. Purified water is also a possibility instead of aromatic distilled water.)

If your skin is sensitive to alcohol, you could use purified water as a solvent instead of alcohol. However, since the preservation qualities of this will be poor, you should make it from a small amount. Alternatively, after extracting the extract with alcohol, dilute it with purified water or aromatic distilled water to adjust the degree of alcohol to your own skin.

In the next article, I will report on the extract serum which can be made by reusing the yuzu seed after this extraction!