Body Oil Question

[JuLeeRenee]

My mom uses olive oil in a spray bottle after her showers. I actually want to try and make her some kind of after shower body oil, does anyone know where I could find a recipe or could teach me how to formulate something for her? I don't get to see my parent very often but next month I am going to see them and would like to take her some to try.

 

[CreativeWeirdo]

Honestly, I make my mother (who is in her 70's) an equal mix of jojoba and argan oil. She gets some skin rashes from an autoimmune disorder, but also dry skin from her age. She loves it. Maybe try that?

 

[artemis]

There are lots of recipes and ideas floating around the Internet. I would try googling first.

Actually, that's not true. First, I would probably ask my mother what she likes about the olive oil and what she would change. Then, I would Google for recipes and sift through them.

 

[DeeAnna]

I agree --- get your mother's opinion about her olive oil skin care method. What does she like; what doesn't she like.

Different oils feel different on the skin and odor and color can be important too.

Some examples -- Olive feels more greasy/oily on my skin and feels like it stays on the surface of my skin longer. Meadowfoam feels much lighter and more absorbent. Coconut oil is similar. Jojoba feels somewhere in between olive and meadowfoam/coconut. Argan is another in-between-feeling oil, but I don't care for the odor.

 

[AliOop]

I personally love a an equal mix of jojoba, meadowfoam, and olive squalane. O-squalane is a reduced form of OO that absorbs more quickly and is a staple in my face oil.

To add a lighter and less expensive carrier oil to that mix, consider grapeseed. It is used in a lot of massage oils bc it is light in color and odor, absorbs fast, and is cost-effective compared to some of the others.

Another possibility is fractionated CO, which is liquid even at cold temps and wouldn’t clog up a sprayer like regular CO. You can buy the functionally-equivalent MCT oil at our local Costco for a good price. IIRC, it is a little more refined than FCO, which is good for a particular type of sensitivity that I don’t recall atm, and it works exactly the same as FCO in my bodycare recipes.

 

[DeeAnna]

Doesn't grapeseed oil have a short shelf life, @AliOop? I have shied away from using it based on my recollection that it doesn't last long. Sesame, walnut, rosehip are a few others that can be nice, but don't have long shelf lives.

I had a commercial body oil go rancid when I wasn't using it over summer and ... ewww! ... that really put a crimp in my morning when I slathered it on before my nose got the message. Shelf life is another reason why I like coconut, meadowfoam, jojoba, etc. The fractionated CO and squalane you mentioned are both long lived oils too.

 

[AliOop]

Good point, @DeeAnna regarding the shelf life. I tend to add mixed tocopherols as an anti-oxidant and haven't had any problems with the mix containing grapeseed oil. But I also make very small amounts of that. I think it is wise to caution the OP against making a big batch with GSO, just in case.

 

[JuLeeRenee]

I just want to thank everyone that has helped. I really wanted to surprise her and didn't want to talk to her about it. I did however talk to her about it and she is excited to try whatever I make her. She uses olive oil because it is easily obtainable to her. Does a preservative need to be added? It'll be in a spray bottle in her shower.

 

[Christa10]

Here's a recipe that I use that doesn't leave your skin feeling greasy but is very moisturizing. The numbers are percentages:
0.01 Vitamin E
0.05 olive squalane
0.2 Hazelnut
0.15 Apricot Kernel
0.15 Kukui Nut Oil
0.05 fractionated coconut oil
0.15 Avocado
0.12 Rice Bran
0.12 Camellia

 

[Zany_in_CO]

does anyone know where I could find a recipe or could teach me how to formulate something for her?

ALMOND OIL BODY SPRAY DIY

Ingredients:

1/4 cup distilled water
1/2 teaspoon vegetable glycerin
1 teaspoon sweet almond oil
1 teaspoon coconut oil
4 mL fragrance essential oil of choice

Almond oil is probably the single most popular oil for skin — especially so for women of my generation. Jackie Kennedy used it all over her body every night and went to bed wearing cotton gloves and socks.

For the coconut oil, use fractionated coconut oil — shop locally for MCT oil at Costco, natural grocery store, vitamin store, etc. Almond oil should also be available locally. It often comes with a pump.

If you’re up to experimenting a little, you can create a
“water soluble” oil by mixing the oil with polysobate 20 or 80.
First add the Poly to water and stir. Then add the oil.
Try 1:1 - 1:3 or 4.
If using teaspoons, try 1 tablespoon poly to 1 teaspoon oil.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Does a preservative need to be added? It'll be in a spray bottle in her shower.

Good question. I'm not sure it's needed. It isn't included in the recipe above. That being said:

20% alcohol acts as a preservative in body, linen, air sprays.

I like to use 80 Proof vodka (40% grain/ethyl alcohol by volume) for sprays.
1 part vodka diluted with 1 part distilled water or other liquid (Aloe juice?) reduces the alcohol to 20% by volume.

Off to grab my almond oil, poly 80, aloe juice and Tito's Handmade Vodka...

 

[JuLeeRenee]

Thank you @Zany_in_CO and @Christa10

 

[DeeAnna]

No preservative is needed in an anhydrous (no water) body oil. Christa's recipe (post #10) and your mom's olive oil are anhydrous.

Zany's blend of oil, polysorbate, and vodka would need a preservative unless the total alcohol content by volume (ABV) is 20% or higher, as she already explained.

I've had mixed results using polysorbate as a solubilizer, even PS 80. It's fine if you're solubilizing a small amount of essential oil in a lot of vodka, like you would for a scented spray for linens, room air, or as a body spritz. But I'm not so convinced it works that well in a product with a higher percentage of regular carrier oils, as I'd want for a body oil product.

In my experience, I've had to use a lot more PS 80 in proportion to the amount of carrier oil to get the vodka and carrier oil to solubilize properly. When the PS 80 content gets that high, I question why I'm bothering -- the mixture is way more PS 80 than oil, and that's not what I want.

 

[AliOop]

In my experience, I've had to use a lot more PS 80 in proportion to the amount of carrier oil to get the vodka and carrier oil to solubilize properly. When the PS 80 content gets that high, I question why I'm bothering -- the mixture is way more PS 80 than oil, and that's not what I want.

… and PS80 stinks (at least to me). That’s not hard to cover when using small amounts, but it really pushes thru when used in higher amounts.

 

[A-Polly]

I agree with AliOop about squalane — it's wonderful stuff. A few years ago I needed some last-minute Christmas gifts so made this recipe from the Bramble Berry website, using squalane (olive-derived), grapeseed oil, Vitamin E, an oil-based extract and fragrance: Squalane and Agave Facial Oil Project | BrambleBerry
(recipe says "facial oil" but I use for both face and body). It was so popular I had to make more right away, and I still get requests for it all the time. Have tried other blends from time to time but keep returning to this one. I use whatever extract I've got on hand, not necessarily agave; both the extract and the fragrance are optional, but nice. Good luck with whatever you make for your mom!

Edited to add: I packaged the oil in plastic bottles with disc caps (safe and very easy to use in the bathroom), and never tried a spray bottle. It's just oil and I think might be hard to spray.

 

[JuLeeRenee]

@A-Polly Thank you. I looked on WSP but never thought to look on BrambleBerry for some sort of kit. I wanted it to be a surprise for her but I told her and we both are going to work something out together. I will be sure to share all the information I have gotten with her.

 

[A-Polly]

@A-Polly Thank you. I looked on WSP but never thought to look on BrambleBerry for some sort of kit. I wanted it to be a surprise for her but I told her and we both are going to work something out together. I will be sure to share all the information I have gotten with her.

You're welcome! It wasn't one of their pre-packaged kits, although they make it easy to buy everything in one click, for sure! I used grapeseed oil from the grocery store, my own labels, and of course different bottles (I really like the disc caps much better than droppers or flip-tops). Like @AliOop, I make small batches and have not had problems with rancidity.