HOW TO MAKE LOTIONS Like A Professional | All Ingredients Explained

all lotions are made up of these same

basic components

once you get more comfortable with the

ingredients you'll see that making a

lotion

is as easy as baking a cake

hi guys welcome to whole elise i'm elise

and today we're going to break down

all the stages to formulating a lotion

we'll cover water and hermetings

emollients occlusives and active

ingredients as well as all the

functional ingredients that you'll need

to make a lotion this is going to be a

really comprehensive guide so if you're

new to making lotions

then check out my beginner's guide to

lotion making linked above

i'm going to start off with a base

lotion recipe with all the essential

components that i'll refer to throughout

this video

the ingredients are water aloe vera

juice

glycerin xanthan gum

shea butter coconut oil

emulsifying wax

and subtle alcohol

great lotions are all about providing

and locking in moisture to your skin

water is the base ingredient for all

lotion recipes

without it your lotion has no hydrating

capabilities

this is the main difference between

emulsions like creams and lotions

compared to all base moisturizers like

body butters and balms

unsurprisingly water is an essential

part of all lotions

not only does it hydrate the skin but it

also acts as a carrier

allowing us to mix and dissolve other

ingredients

but the best part is you aren't just

limited to using water

i'm also using aloe vera juice for its

skin boosting and moisturizing effects

as long as it's water-based you can

really experiment by using floral waters

hydrosols

herbs and botanical extracts that all

have additional benefits for your skin

in addition to containing water lotions

also include hermetins

these attract and bind water to your

skin keeping it hydrated throughout the

day

glycerin is one of the most common

homecomings used in lotions

but you can also substitute it with

honey for most recipes

other active ingredients like vitamin b5

or deepamphenol

and proteins like wheat silk and keratin

are also powerful homecoms that can be

added to your formulas

humectants play a really important role

in lotions

by taking water from the surrounding

environments hermetines replenish your

skin's moisture levels

keeping it hydrated for longer periods

of time lotions don't just hydrate your

skin

they also leave it smooth to the touch

they do this by using emotives like oils

and butters which soften

condition and moisturize your skin

emollients are the most

important element of lotions they're

what actually moisturizes your skin

a typical natural lotion will consist of

at least one plant oil and butter

but by experimenting with different

emollients you can create unique lotions

that combat

anything from dry and sensitive skin

conditions to acne prevention

you have a lot of flexibility when it

comes to choosing your emollients

you can use a combination of oils and

butters just liquid oils

or you can actually make an oil-free

moisturizer

so far we have a collection of

ingredients all with unique benefits for

your skin

but we now need to combine all of that

to make a lotion

to do that we'll need emulsifiers

stabilizers

preservatives and antioxidants first up

emulsifiers

here i'm using an emulsifying wax called

olivium 1000

but emulsifiers can actually come in

several different forms

from flakes pellets powders and even

liquid emulsifiers

sometimes people call emulsifying waxes

e wax

so it can be a little confusing because

they're not the same thing as beeswax

emulsifying waxes are commonly used in

lotions to bind liquid and oil

ingredients

lotions are so effective because they

simultaneously hydrate and moisturize

your skin

they're able to do this because

emulsifiers combine the water and all

ingredients into a unified cream

not all emulsifiers are naturally

derived i've put together a list of

naturally derived emulsifiers that you

can use on my website

click the i icon above or visit whole

elise.com

a common question is whether or not you

can use beeswax as an emulsifier

the short answer is no at a chemical

level

beeswax and other alternatives like soy

and candelilla are completely different

they cannot attract both oil and water

molecules and are not replacements for

emulsifiers

beeswax is what's actually known as a

thickener and stabilizer

these can often be confused with

emulsifiers especially because a lot of

recipes use the term interchangeably

but stabilizers serve a completely

different function to emulsifiers

thickeners and stabilizers get lumped

together because oftentimes the same

ingredient does both

thickeners improve the fill of your

lotion but they also increase its

stability

it's common for more advanced lotion

formulas to use both water-based

thickenings

in this case xanthan gum as well as all

base thickeners

here i'm using settle alcohol both types

of thickeners combine stabilizer formula

by increasing the viscosity of your

lotion thickeners keep the oil and water

molecules together

so we include thickeners not only to

create thicker lotions

but also to prevent your lotion from

separating over time

the natural ingredients and lotion are

very similar to that of food

and in some cases are actually edible

but like with food once they're mixed

together they decay

just as fast you might be wondering why

lotions need preservatives

when products like lip balms body

butters and oils don't

it's because lotions contain water

preservatives are essential for all

lotions as they kill the microorganisms

and bacteria

that naturally start to grow i've said

this before and i'll say it again

lemon juice citric acid vitamin e

essential oils keep it in the fridge for

months on end

none of these are ways to preserve

lotion you need to use an

actual preservative i've also compiled a

list of naturally derived preservatives

that you can use

you can find that along with more

information about preservatives

by clicking the i icon above or

following the links below in the

description

preservatives deal with the water-based

components of a lotion whereas the

antioxidants deal with the oils

oils naturally react with oxygen over

time which eventually causes them to

turn rancid

this process is called oxidation where

the oils lose their effectiveness and

can actually become harmful to the skin

to prevent this you'll need to use an

antioxidant like vitamin e

remember that antioxidants are only used

for the oils in a lotion recipe

they're not effective as a preservative

because they don't do anything for your

water ingredients

now that we've got all of our

ingredients down let's go through the

basic steps of how to make a lotion

ingredients are grouped together in

phases the water phase refers to all the

ingredients that are soluble in water

whilst the oil phase is made up of oil

soluble ingredients

to start mix together your glycerin and

xanthan gum

if you pour gum directly into water it

will instantly start to thicken

causing clumps so the glycerin helps to

disperse the xanthum

once you've mixed your glycerin and

xanthan together add that to the water

and stir until combined

the xantham gum is mainly used to help

stabilize your lotion

but because it's also a natural

thickener even this small amount is

enough to change the consistency of the

water

next add in your aloe vera juice to

complete your water phase

this will need to be heated so make sure

to use a heatproof container

for the oil phase in another heatproof

container combine your shea butter

emulsifying wax

settle alcohol and oil heating your

lotion ingredients

is crucial to ensure that the oil and

water will combine into a stable

emulsification

it's best to avoid using direct heat as

this can compromise some of your natural

ingredients

instead use gentle heating methods like

a double boiler or bain-marie to melt

your faces

once the oils are completely melted pour

them into the water phase

whisk them thoroughly to ensure that

they're fully combined

the water phase must be completely

heated through if it isn't at the same

temperature as your oil phase when you

mix the ingredients together

the oils will start to solidify making

them impossible to emulsify

assuming everything went fine we can

move on to blending

this is the stage where you start to

develop the texture and consistency of

the lotion

the goal is to blend all of the

ingredients together but incorporating

as little air as possible

now you can use a whisk and it will

still emulsify

but you'll find that you'll get larger

air pockets in your lotion and that can

cause it to deflate later on

emulsification actually takes quite a

while probably around 20 to 30 minutes

in total before your lotion is cool

enough to reach its final consistency

alternate between blending for a minute

and two and leaving your lotion to cool

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at this stage your lotion has thickened

and is cool enough to add your final set

of ingredients

this stage is called the cool down phase

as all the ingredients here are

sensitive to heat

and therefore have to be added once your

lotion is cool

at this point it should be a surprise to

no one that we're adding in both a

preservative

and an antioxidant but this is also your

opportunity to add in any fragrance or

additional active ingredients

i'm using vitamin b5 also known as

d-panthenol

as well as a couple drops of essential

oils essential oils are great for

natural fragrance

but they're incredibly potent and cause

irritation to the skin

so i would advise that you use no more

than one percent of the total weight of

your lotion

so if i make 100 grams of lotion i could

add a maximum of one gram of essential

oils

using the same base ingredients you can

get different consistencies and types of

lotions

this basic lotion formula can be adapted

into a lighter milk like lotion

as well as a thicker cream for more

intense moisture

keeping all of the ingredients the same

but adjusting the ratio of water to all

ingredients

we can create a lighter lotion with more

of a milk or serum like consistency

these are great to use on areas like

your face which are more sensitive to

heavier ammonians

or in warmer environments where you

don't want your skin to feel weighed

down

likewise you can also alter the ratio of

water to oil

so that your formula contains more

emollients for thicker creams rather

than lotions

decreasing your water elements by just

20

will make a beautifully thick cream

that's perfect for more intensive

moisturizers for dry skin

by following this tutorial you should be

able to make homemade lotions that have

the look and feel of commercial products

for the full guide to lotion making

check out whole elise.com

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