OrangeBlossomHandCreamCSJena left a comment at my Homemade cosmetics recipes page with a request of adding more recipes. Then I realized, it has been almost a year since I posted my last recipe, so here it is!

A recipe for my favourite orange blossom soothing hand cream for (not only) dry hands!

It contains shea butter for its skin repairing effects (loads of good phytosterols), orange blossom water (it smells divine and invigorates, refreshes, soothes and regenerates the skin), glycerin (moisturizing) and my personal favourite ingredient – panthenol (provitamine B5), which is just always good for our skin!

In addition, this recipe features another natural emulsifier Olive Douceur, which I like very much, since it makes very soothing and silk emulsions.

Orange blossom water has a strong flower fragrance and I added a bit of palmarosa and lemon to refresh it.

So enjoy and let me know if you like it!

 

Recipe (in brackets grams for making 300g of cream)

Oil phase

A. 25.0% (75g)  Shea butter
A.   3.0%  (9g)   Beeswax
A.   8.0% (24g)  Emulsifier Olive Douceur (INCI: Potassium olivoyl hydrolyzed wheat protein, cetearyl alcohol, glyceryl oleate, glyceryl stearate, potassium hydroxide) can be bought at aroma-zone

(Feel free to use another emulsifier, as soon as it is able of holding such a high percentage of oils)

Water phase

B. 21.0% (63g)   Orange blossom water
B. 33.3% (100g) Distilled water
B.   2.0% (6g)     Glycerin

Cool-down phase

C.   5.0% (15g)  Provitamine B5 (panthenol)
C.   0.6% (1.8g) Preservative GF ecosafe  (INCI: Benzyl alcohol, Dehydro Acetic acid, Sorbic acid and Benzonic acid) – can be bought at Gracefruit (under new name Preservative WW)
C.   1.0% (3g)    Palmarosa essential oil
C.   1.0% (3g)    Lemon essential oil 

 

The procedure of cream preparation is standard:

0. Disinfect all the instruments (by boiling or in high degree alcohol)
1. Mix all the ingredients of phase A (oil, wax and emulsifier) and heat to 60°C until everything is melted
2. Mix the ingredients of phase B (the water and glycerin) and heat to 60°C
3. Slowly pour phase B into phase A while continuously stirring – you can use blender, it will make the emulsion more creamy and thicker.
4. When the emulsion formed, stir until its temperature drops to around 40 ° C. You can put your pot in cold water in order to accelerate the cooling.
5. Once at 40°C, stir in the ingredients of phase C, one at a time
6. Let the emulsion cool to the room temperature and then distribute into the cream pots. Let completely cool down in the pots and only then cover them with lids! (otherwise the vapors will form on the inside of lids).

Use and enjoy!