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How to make calendula hand cream for rough and dry skin

October 22nd, 2017

Today, using the excellent anti-inflammatory actions of shea butter and calendula oil, let’s look at how to handcraft a hand cream for dry and rough skin.

DIY hand cream

Through this recipe, I will also show how to make a basic cream. Just by changing the materials, you can make various creams according to the purpose they are needed for.

 

Cream is made of three basic materials

 

First of all, let’s look at the basic composition of cream.
In a nutshell, cream is a mixture of three ingredients: oil, water and emulsifier.

The oil components include vegetable oils such as shea butter and olive oil.
Hydrophilic materials include purified water, aromatic distilled water, glycerin and aloe vera gel.

These are emulsified with an agent called emulsifying wax, which lets them become a cream.
And, by changing the content and quantity of this “oil” and “water”, you can create a recipe that suits your purpose.

By the way, the difference between cream and milky lotion is shown in the blending ratio of the oil and hydrating components.
If the moisture content increases it becomes an emulsion, and if it is mixed equally it becomes a cream.

Let’s take a look now at how to make a cream, using the recipe below as an example.

 

For rough and dry hands – Calendula hand cream

IMG_1230

Today I selected materials for their anti-inflammatory and moisturizing actions, to focus on improving skin roughness and dryness.

Because of the thick shea butter it will be a little heavy, but even with a small amount of moisture your skin will become smooth.

Materials
  • A: Oil-based material:
    • Shea butter (3ml)
    • Sweet almond oil (7ml)
    • Olive oil emulsifying wax (2g)
  • B: Water-based material:
    • Purified water (10 ml)
    • Aloe vera gel (5ml)
  • C: Essential oil:
    • Calendula CO2 extract (a pinch)
    • Lavender (4 drops)
    • Palmarosa (1 drop)
    • Patchouli (1 drop)

I’ve selected essential oils with a high skin moisturizing and anti-inflammatory action, in consideration of the fragrance blend.

How to make
  1. Put all of A’s oil-based material and B’s water-based material in separate containers. Melt the oil-based material in a microwave oven or with boiling water and mix well. At the same time, warm the water-based material in a microwave oven or with hot water.
  2. When all of A is melted and mixed, pour in the warm B little by little, mixing as you do so.
  3. Mix thoroughly until creamy.
  4. Once creamy, add the calendula CO 2 extract and essential oils, and mix further.
Other:
  • It is easy to mix with a hand mixer or electric creamer.
  • When watering oil and water-based materials, both temperatures should be about 60° C.
  • It is best to add and mix the essential oils before the cream cools down.
  • Choose materials according to your concerns.
  • Choose according to the essential oil’s efficacy and your aroma preferences.
  • If you want to lighten the texture, increase the water-based material rather than the oil-based material.
  • Adding Aloe vera gel increases the thickening properties.
If the cream separates...
  • This is an “ace in the hole”, but if the oil and water separate (as they sometimes do), just add about half a teaspoon of warmed milk and mix further. It will then become creamy. However, because the preservative quality of such a mix is poor, I would not recommend it as anything other than a last resort if you run into problems!