Conventional body-care products can be overloaded with harsh chemicals, synthetic fragrances, or parabens, preservatives, microbeads and other dubious ingredients.
In this blog post I’d like to look at natural ingredients as an alternative that contains mild plant-based ingredients, essential oils and nourishing plant and nut oils that moisturize, nurture and protect your skin in a gentle way.
1. butter, oh Butter
Natural cosmetic butter is derived from the extracts of numerous natural sources including seeds/kernels, beans, and nuts. They are thicker and richer than body creams and therefore they are suitable for sensitive and dry skin. We can obtain a high amount of natural butter from shea, cocoa, or mango butter. There are some beauty hacks for you on how to be creative with body butter in many ways.
Natural butter can be added to homemade cosmetic formulations as a base for moisturizers, or it can be added to other body butter to add more luxurious moisture. Butters each have distinct combinations of properties that make them unique in form and function. The common factors shared by all kinds of butter include their high emollience and their versatility, which allows them all to be used in a wide range of ways ā massage, cleansing, softening, soothing, moisturizing, wound healing, protecting ā on various parts of the body ā hair, face, hands, and feet.
The butter chart below will help you to select the suitable butter according to your skin type.
| Butter Name | Skin Type | Comedogenic Rating | Scent Profile | |
| Cocoa Butter | Ideal for Body/Eye Area, not for Oily/Acne-Prone | 4 | A warm chocolatey aroma | |
| Cocoa Butter (Refined) | Dry, itchy skin | 4 | Little to no chocolatey aroma. | |
| Coconut Butter | Very Dry, Best for Body Use | 4 | Light coconut aroma | |
| Mango Butter | Most Skin Types | 2 | Light, fatty aroma | |
| Shea Butter (Crude) | Normal, Dry | 0 -2 | Smoky, earthy, and nutty aroma. | |
| Shea Butter (Refined) | Normal, Dry | 0 -2 | Light, nutty aroma |
2. Choose your carrier oil
Carrier oils, also known as vegetable oils, are derived from the fatty segment of plants like seeds, kernels, or nuts. They are called carrier oils because they are used to carry or dilute for another oil that might be too strong to be applied to the skin directly. Carrier oils can be made in a variety of different ways, using different methods, and achieving different results.
When it comes to choosing the right carrier oil, it is important to know what kind of texture, scent and target of your skin condition so that you tend to achieve, can help you fine-tune your finished product.
| Skin Type | Carrier Oil | Comedogenic Rating |
| Dry or Aging | Rosehip Seed Oil Sweet Almond Oil Avocado Oil Argan Oil | 1 2 3 0 |
| Oily | Grapeseed Oil Tamanu Oil Apricot Kernel Oil | 1 2 2 |
| Normal or combination | Fractionated Coconut oil Sunflower Seed Oil Jojoba Oil Argan Oil | 2-3 0-2 2 0 |
3. customize it with essential oils
The butter and carrier oils alone are not sufficient to take care of skin and body parts, it requires association of active ingredients to check the damage and aging of the skin. The use of bioactive phytochemicals from a variety of botanicals have a dual function,
(i) they serve as cosmetics for the care of the body and its parts and
(ii) the botanical ingredients present therein influence biological functions of skin and provide nutrients necessary for the healthy skin or hair.
In general, botanicals provide different vitamins, antioxidants, various oils, essential oils, hydrocolloids, proteins, terpenoids and other bioactive molecules. It is hence adding essential oils to our homemade skincare not just only giving some pleasant fragrance but also does help to improve and enhance our skin conditions. The chart below is some essential oils for different skin type.
Cautious: Essential oils are potent and concentrated liquid extracted from plants, it is possible that certain people will have adverse and allergic reaction from particular essential oils. To know that if the essential oils are suitable for you to use, please conduct a patch test by dripping 2~3 drops of the essential oils with a handful of carrier oil on a desired area.
| Skin Type | Essential Oils |
| All type | Clary sage Lavender Roman chamomile Geranium |
| Dry | Myrrh Sandalwood Lavender Geranium Helichrysum Frankincense Cedarwood Palmarosa Roman Chamomile |
| Oily | Basil Eucalyptus Melissa Geranium Cypress Orange Lemon Lime Bergamot Neroli Ylang Ylang |
| Aging | Clary sage Sandalwood Frankincense Helichrysum Myrrh Carrot Seed Lavender Patchouli Rose Palmarosa Neroli Cypress |
| Acne | Lavender Rosemary Melaleuca Sandalwood Clary sage Geranium Lemon Lemongrass Frankincense Juniper Berry Tea Tree Cinnamon |
| Sensitive | Roman chamomile Lavender |
Conclusion
Hopefully this overview on how to select suitable raw ingredients for your home made beauty products and how it applies to your particular skin type will help you to choose skincare ingredients that are appropriate to use. Using the comedogenic scale for oils and butters is your best way to find the right products that will help prevent clogged pores and the resulting problems like acne.
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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.
