Making your own body oils?

[LoveOscar]

Does any one make just light weight body oils to go on after lotions?

I currently buy my body oils. I use one that is a mixture of jojoba, ginger, cardamom, coriander, eucalyptus, etc. and I use the sunscreen oil spf 50+ (I know it has meadowfoam, and a list of chemical sunscreens, which brings up my interest in using all natural instead of chemical based spf's, but that is another, albeit very interesting, topic).

Is it just mixing oils until you have what you want? Should there be a balance between essential or fatty oils (like ginger vs sunflower)? Are preservatives required for them? Is there a process involving heating or curing?

I'd love to hear feedback and ideas.

Thanks,
Jessica

 

[IrishLass]

That's an interesting question. Speaking only for myself, I never apply oils to my skin after having applied lotion- never even thought to do so since applying lotion has always been more than enough for my skin. Besides- it would chase my hubby away. He hates holding my hand after I've rubbed even just a little lotion on them (men! ). If I put oil on over that, oh my- I think he high-tail it to the hills for sure. lol

In answer to some of your other questions, if you are just going to make a blend of oils and essential oils, preservatives shouldn't be needed since you are not mixing water in them (although if you are selling, you may want to). And you shouldn't need to heat or cure them, I should think (at least I wouldn't, anyway, but that's just me).

Hopefully more will chime in soon.


IrishLass

 

[Dorymae]

I make a body oil to spray on after showering. I just use the oils I like. Some of them are infused oils so those do take time to make since I use the cold infusion method so as to not cook, or damage the herbs.

In the bottle I use half water and half oil with a tiny (very tiny) amount of e-wax and also my EO blend ,poly-80 and liquid germell plus.

I do not sell this, I really never thought to, I just use it myself.

The e-wax I add to emulsify the water and oil so I don't have to shake the bottle whenever I use it, the poly-80 for the emulsifing of the EO, although I'm not sure I even need it since I use the ewax. Liquid germell plus is my preservative which is critical because I use water.

Edited to add that for my mix I do have to heat everything except the EO, poly80 and the preservative because I'm making what amounts to a very thin lotion (oil with water). If you are only using oils it should be easy to just mix them up without heating and without needing a preservative.

 

[green soap]

I make a couple of different blends for massage, using EOs and the carrier oils we like. Almond, grape seed oil are good. I make one with jojoba specifically for hair and beard.

As far as essential oils, the sky is the limit! orange, tangerine and rosemary make a good blend. Other blends use stronger EOs (menthol, eucalyptus, cinnamon, etc) for scents and action reminiscent of 4 thieves or tiger balm. Just make sure you read about their maximum usages and any counter recommendations - for example some of the citrus and sunlight.

 

[zolveria]

I make all My body oils. Actually my immediate family always did. Our regimen was once puberty hit.. if no acne coconut oil every other day ( because it is very drying.) at HS Olive oil in the AM every day. Vitamin E around the Eyes to help with Dark rings. Myrh and frankincese when available around the eyes lips and for marionetter lines.. as early as 30 We have many more.. I am of mixed cultures so We use many elements and put them together. I have yet had a person guess my AGE right. the take 20 year away from me.. all the time. I say its my OILS and heritage Arabic basque italian black and french

 

[LoveOscar]

I should have said after lotion or instead of lotion haha. My husband is the same way, he makes an ick noise and wipes his hands on his jeans hahaha.

I personally love body oils and use lotion only on my hands, although even then I tend to use oils first and then lotion. I'm not selling, this is just a venture for me, and seemed like a logical step to investigate as a newbie soaper.

I work for a natural skincare line, and the essential oil blends available to me are wonderful. Paying fifty bucks for 1 oz of 8-10 blended oils is great when I could make my own if I could find the right oils hahaha.

Dorymae, thanks for the tip on the e-wax and emulsion. I'll look into it, especially if it means not shaking the bottle (something I had not considered, I don't have to shake my oils because they don't separate).

Thanks for the tips guys. This is great.

Jessica

 

[MrsSpaceship]

Is it just mixing oils until you have what you want? Should there be a balance between essential or fatty oils (like ginger vs sunflower)? Are preservatives required for them? Is there a process involving heating or curing?

Yes, it is. With so many oils, both traditional and exotic, creating your own blend is about how far you want to dive into the bottomless pool. It's always best to obtain samples and patch test before investing in large amounts, this way you can see how your skin reacts and make sure you don't have an allergic reaction. Once you have tested all your carrier oils, repeat with your EO's (blended with a carrier first of course).

When mixing EO's into your products, a 2% dilution is considered average and suitable for most individuals. 2% is about 12 drops/fluid oz. but this isn't the most precise form of measurement since all oils are different.

When mixing oil with oil, a preservative isn't needed for items made for personal use which is all I'm qualified to comment on. However if you decide to add anything with a water content (Aloe Vera is a big one) then yes. Remember, your product can be teeming with spores and bacteria well before you can get any difference in texture/smell etc. Do you really want to risk smearing that on your body? I personally cringe every time I see a recipe mixing oil and water that says to just keep it in the fridge. That's just too risky. I'm going to stop before I go full blown rant on this.

On a personal note, I highly recommend rice bran mixed with shea butter as well as sesame oil (NOT the smelly stuff in the Asian food isle!). The former has a beautiful silky feel and the latter, is lovely on numerous skin types (a massage therapist recommended it to me and she used it on the majority of her customers)

 

[tbeck3579]

I make a body butter and use it in the shower. It keeps my skin soft. Because I use it in the shower the oil does not get on my clothes. I use coconut oil (76 degrees) and cocoa butter, unscented. I like to add a citrus EO in summer. I only use a small amount of coco butter so the consistency is firm until I put it in my hands and rub. It melts quickly in my hand. It lasts a very long time without a preservative. It hasn't gone rancid and I make enough for 6 months. I know there are recipes for spray oils -- maybe search the forum here or Google it.

 

[aprice522]

I actually started with butters and oils and moved into the soap arena, this summer.

I do whipped butter blends in the winter and oils in the summer.

This summer I tried 3 new: hazelnut, apricot kernel, jojoba
--hazelnut is a great daytime after cleaning facial oil for me.
--apricot I only used at night after cleansing or mixed with baking soda for AM, and would not follow with anything.
--jojoba=made my face angry. Broke me out!
**I made a soap from it and about 6 weeks out it is turning into an amazing soap

I was able to get some Emu oil and LOVE it. It absorbs wonderfully and fast.

I have a frankincense and palmarosa EOs in it. It is great for my skin. Smoothing at night for my nerves too.

Absorbs very quickly. I have made a hair tonic also from the emu oil with rosemary EO and a few other hair loving EOs... (ylang ylang and I CANNOT remember!)

My husband also has the dislike of greasy hands and the emu is fastest to absorb that I have ever tried and he no longer complains.

 

[Trix]

Hi loveoscar, this really depends of what you want from an oil. If you are only using oils and essential oils, no water...then no a preservative is not needed.

what kind of skin do you have? If you have dry skin, you want oils that do not sink in so easily, like cocoa butter etc. (more oleic acid than linoleic acid)
If you are prone to breakouts then the opposite and so light oils like grape seed oil or evening primrose.

When I went thru a phase of making my own scented body oils many moons ago, I just simply used equal amounts of cyclomethicone and the oil I want, then dropped in as much essential oils as I thought the mix could handle.

Then on days where I thought I had dry skin I would mix fractioned coconut oil, cyclomethicone, the oil, and some essential oils.

The cyclomethicone added will give your oil a dry feel, and it is nothing new. With the fractioned coconut oil it is what a lot of the b&b etailers from the early 2000's were doing for their roll on perfume products.

I just took that and made it my own for a dry oil body spray. This way you can use the oil you like without the greasy feeling lasting for more than very few minutes if not seconds.

As for essential oils, as long as you dilute them well all is ok.(only lavender and tea tree oil could be used straight on skin, anything else should be diluted before applying to your skin, for your safety and to make sure they work beneficially)


Oh I also remembered to 'mix' my oils, I put them in a bottle, the spend a bit of time gently rolling it on a table or something while I'm watching TV, or doing nothing. This way the scents come out nicely in the mix, and they seem to last longer.
I hope this information helped you for now!

 

[LoveOscar]

That is very helpful Trix. I had to google what cyclomethicone was to understand its use. Just asking for curiosities sake, is there an alternative to cyclomethicone if I wanted to go silicone free? Or would leaving it out altogether do just as well?

 

[Trix]

Kind of. Don't believe all what you read, as silicones are not really that bad, the FDA even allows some of them to be listed as skin conditioning on labels, and you know it takes years of research before they approve anything. Also unlike some marketing wants you to think, parabens are actually some of the safest preservatives.

Now to answer your question, one of the Australian suppliers I have listed on my website, sells something called slic olive. It won't take over the use of cyclomethicone but can help you lower the percentage of it you'd need.
If you want just go to the suppliers I listed and type cyclomethicone in the search, (really use any of the English speaking continents as that are all informative) and a new page with what information suppliers have on it will open up, and you can research it better yourself then....I don't get anything from it, and really only made it as an easy service/resource for ppl like yourself
But check for yourself if there is anything you could do instead of cyclomethicone, or just plain skip it.
Jojoba oil I just remembered is another oil you could use for roll on perfumes by itself, and it should dry fast. Use the golden jojoba kind if you can, as it is better for these things.

 

[shunt2011]

I use fractionated coconut in my roll on perfumes. It works awesome and is absorbed pretty quickly.

 

[LoveOscar]

If I used it solely as body oil, I probably wouldn't mind. It's likely in something I already use. However, I went silicone free for my hair, and I use my EO blends in my hair. That would be my main consideration for it.

 

[Trix]

If it is for hair loveoscar, I think you will very much enjoy the results of golden jojoba oil, that is unrefined jojoba

 

[LoveOscar]

I'll have to see if my local "pharm" has it. She carries a bunch of oils I was looking for so I didn't have to go online. :3

Thanks again Trix!