Hand cream/ salve help

[traderbren]

I've made lotions, lotion bars, body butters, but haven't quite found anything I like for my dry hands, especially in winter. I searched here and google as well, but maybe I'm not including the right terms.

I LOVE Neutrogena's Norwegian Formula the most since its thick and absorbs quickly and doesn't wash off, but I want to MAKE something rather than rely on petroleum jelly based cream that I have to buy. Is there any recipe or guidelines for a thick, quick absorbing cream or salve quite like it?

I have cocoa butter, Shea, beeswax, ewax, various oils, etc. I don't really have any EOs other than lemongrass and sweet orange, but I have calendula petals, Rosemary, thyme, and other kitchen herbs in my garden for an infusion if that would help.

Would anyone be able to help point me in the right direction or offer advice? Thanks!

Edited for missing words.

 

[snappyllama]

Swiftmonkey is awesome for all things lotion.

This is a recipe I made for winter that works pretty well for my wind/ice chapped hands. Instructions were swift monkey's - I just adapted the butter and oil I wanted.



The last number is the grams...

 

[snappyllama]

BTW, you can make a really nice lotion with just water, oils/butter, emulsifier, and a preservative. All the other doodads in my recipe are optional. I highly recommend the LotionMaking 101 ebook from swift monkey.

 

[traderbren]

Thanks snappy! Most of my previous lotions and body butters were with help from swiftcraftymonkey. Somehow I missed the hand cream recipe. I love all my other recipes I've made based on hers, so this seems like a great place to start.

 

[Trix]

Hi traderbren. Something i learnt a long time ago was lotions work better than lotion bars (except in a few rare cases) because of one ingredient....water! Otherwise the oils just sit on top of the skin not allowing any water out even if they are slowing down water loss a bit.

Neutrogena works so well becuase look how high up the ingredient list they have glycerine, another great for skin ingridient that draws moisture from the air and into your skin.

The rest of their formula seems like just thickners emulsifiers preservatives and antioxidants at levels that make sure the high glycerine content does not make it feel sticky.

It is best if you find a recipe for a glycerine based lotion, then tweak it to make it your own.

Is glycerine bad for you drawing water from tissues?
Could be an urban myth according to this scientist:-
http://thenakedchemist.com/what-is-glycerine/

And everyones favorite here as it is a good resource,

Some think only if you use it on its own in certain humidities, and it is not only glycerine, but also to quote Susan:-
"

Would I say that glycerin draws water from your skin when the humidity is low based on what I've read? No. I think there is that potential from a chemistry perspective, but I think there's strong evidence that using an occlusive ingredient with glycerin - or any humectant - will prevent this from happening in real life. I think there's way too much evidence showing that glycerin performs amazingly well as a moisturizer that can offer a ton of benefits beyond drawing water to my skin to not use it. I do think that most of the information about glycerin drawing water from our skin comes from popular media or websites, and I don't think this claim is substantiated"

http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2012/02/question-does-glycerin-draw-water-from.html

 

[cmzaha]

Do keep in mind glycerin not draws moisture from the air it also draws moisture from the skin if the air is to dry. It also draws fluid off the brain when one has meningitis, ask me how I know that one, drinking that stuff is awful

 

[Yooper]

I can't find my notes and recipes on the salves I've made (and loved!!!) but they started very similar to this: http://adelightfulhome.com/how-to-make-calendula-salve-and-why-you-should/

I used enough beeswax to thicken, but not so much that the consistency was waxy. It had the consistency of vaseline in the end, and I loved it.

 

[traderbren]

I wanted to follow up. I got stearic acid in on Friday so today I finally made a batch of hand cream, using OO, rice bran oil, vitamin E oil, glycerin, silky ewax, stearic, shea, aloe Vera juice, and water. I followed swiftcraftymonkey's directions with what I had on hand.

I made it right after lunch and then went to the library. By the time I came back it had thickened up beautifully. I'm happy with it. It's thick, not too greasy, and absorbed quickly.

Thank you all again for the help. I intend to make a cuticle balm for when my hands get really bad this winter between running and bringing in multiple loads of firewood daily.