Lavender Rose Facial Moisturiser

Today we are going to make a lovely facial moisturiser starring two lovely ingredients that I love so much, which are lavender essential oil and rose hydrosol. As humidity rises with the heat, our skin is less dehydrated in spring than in winter. We can now replace heavier creams that have a barrier function locking in moisture with light, water-based emulsions and serums. This lavender rose facial moisturiser is so light and gentle, it penetrates easily and absorbs super fast by your skin, leaving it plumped and tender. This is one of the DIY projects that I will definitely redo again because I love how it is soft and moisturised, and more importantly, it smells divine!

Ingredients

A little background of the ingredients I have chosen for this DIY project. The calming scent of this facial cream comes from lavender essential oil and rose hydrosol. Do not confused rose hydrosol with rose water.

Hydrosols are the aromatic remains following a plant’s steam distillation process. They consist entirely of cellular botanical water, which includes unique water-soluble compounds that provide each hydrosol with distinct characteristics and benefits.

– Plant Therapy

Hydrosols are the by products during the process of obtaining essential oils while rose water is just water infused with rose petals for the perfume. I don’t recommend using rose water for this DIY project as rose water don’t propose the same skin benefits as rose hydrosols. Rose hydrosols have anti-oxidant and soothing effect properties to the skin [source]

Emulsifier

In order to preserve most of the properties of rose hydrosols, for this DIY project, I opted for an emulsifier that does not require the same temperature of the water phase as the oil phase during the emulsification process. The INCl of this emulsifier is (INCl: Glyceryl stearate citrate, sucrose stearate, polyglyceryl-4-cocoate, cetyl alcohol, sodium ricinoleate ). Its trade name is Emulsifiant Coeur de Crème. For the moment, as I know, we can only get it from Aroma Zone in France. It is an emulsifier in pellet form obtained from Ester of glycerol and stearic acid, ester of sugar, ester of polyglycerol and of coconut fatty acids, cetyl alcohol, castor soap. And I would say, this is one of my favourite natural emulsifiers! It makes DIY skincare project much easier. Learn more about it here!

Botanic & active ingredient

I have also included mango butter and sweet almond oil as the base of this facial moisturiser. Mango butter is an emollient in this recipe, it helps to provide a protective barrier to the skin, locking in moisture. The chemical composition of sweet almond oil helps to smooth and rejuvenate skin, and thus improvement of complexion and skin tone [source]. 

The active ingredient of the recipe is provitamin B5, panthenol offers the properties of increasing skin moisture and improves skin evenness [source]. I especially love how it improves my dry skin. It is one of my favourite active ingredients in DIY skincare.

Formulation for lavender Rose Facial Moisturiser

DIY Tools

• double-boiler [US / Europe]
• electronic balance precision 0.01g [US / Europe]
• thermometer [US / Europe]
• mini electronic mixer [US / Europe] / mini inox whisk [ US / Europe ]
• Mini silicon spatula [ US/ Europe]

Packaging

• 80g glass container [ US / Europe ]

Lavender Rose Facial Moisturiser

Recipe by CalleighCourse: Beauty RecipesDifficulty: Easy

Yield

80

g

Prep time

10

minutes

Heating time

10

minutes

Cool down time

10-15

minutes

Phase A- Heating Phase; Phase B – Post-Heating Phase; Phase C – Cool down phase

Ingredients

• 2.4g Mango Butter (Phase A)

• 17.6g Sweet Almond Oil (Phase A)

• 8g Emulsifier (Phase A) [ Learn more about it here!]

• 48.8g Rose Hydrosol (Phase B)

• 1.6g Provitamin B5 (Phase C) [ US / Europe ]

• 1.12g Lavender Essential Oil (Phase C)

• 0.48g Preservative (Phase C) [ Germaben II – US / Europe ]

Directions

• Weigh all the phase A ingredients into a double-boiler. Then put the double-boiler over a barely simmer water bath.
• Stir until the emulsifier is totally melted and the mixture is totally incorporated and mixed. Remove from heat and let it cool down for a couple of minutes
• At the same time weigh your rose hydrosol. Once the mixture is slightly cool down, transfer the rose hydrosol to the phase A mixture. Stir and mix as you transfer. Emulsification achieved when both liquids totally combine and present in a white milky form.
• Once the phase A and phase B ingredients totally mixed and cool down. Add in all the phase C ingredients. Stir to combine.
• Decant the cream into your container. Let it settle for 30 minutes for the texture to set up. The result should be a white creamy cream.
• And voila, it’s done! To use, use it as you would use any facial moisturiser.

Notes

• [Glyceryl stearate citrate, sucrose stearate, polyglyceryl-4-cocoate, cetyl alcohol, sodium ricinoleate] can be replaced by the same amount of olivem 1000 or polawax, but then the working procedure will be different, you will need to heat the rose hydrosol separately but in the same time as phase A. And once both the oil phase and water phase reach 75 ~ 80c. Transfer the water phase to the oil phase slowly with the other hand stirring and mixing non-stop.
• You can replace rose hydrosol with any botanic hydrosol of your preference. One that would promote the skin benefits that you prefer.
• The lavender essential oil can be replaced by any essential oil of your choice. However please note that different essential oil has a different level of dermal level, you will need to adjust the recipe accordingly.
• The preservative in the recipe is non-optional as this recipe contains a water phase. It creates a microbes-friendly environment. Even with the preservative, it is still not foolproof if the working environment is not well-sanitized. In the event, the smells turn strange or if you have any doubt, please don’t hesitate to chuck it out and make a new batch.

The finishing of this lavender rose facial moisturiser has a creamy texture and white in colour, it absorbs fairly quickly and penetrates well to our skin, leaving your skin smooth and tender. It is just downright lovely.

Check out our lavender theme project here!

If you like my tutorial, please consider donating a coffee! =)

Calleigh

Hi, I am Calleigh, MEng Chemical Engineering and a process engineer, and I'm here to show you how to DIY your skincare and household products with the correct formulation and using only natural ingredients. I believe that eating good food (Yes I have cooking recipes too!) and living in a chemical-free environment are the keys to having a healthy lifestyle. And that doesn't need to be expensive.