HOMEMADE COSMETICS
From Garden to Face — DIY Cream
What to do with all of that calendula?
History
The first year I had a garden, I used a plot where calendula and sunflowers had grown the year before. The space had been tilled three times over a three-week period: in addition to preparing the soil, this process also distributed surviving seeds from the previous year.
A forest of sunflowers sprouted along with hundreds of calendula. Volunteers. I didn’t have the heart to thin them out, and when the calendula bloomed, vivid yellow and orange, I wondered what to do with them. The neighbor suggested making salve.
So over the next weeks, I spent some time each morning picking the flowers, then distributing them lavishly on drying racks. I put them in the greenhouse where they were protected from the wind and where it got really warm. In the following day or two, it was rather surprising how much they shrank as they released water. In two or three days, tops, they were completely dried and ready for use.
At the end of the season, I had a grocery bag full of dried flowers.
When I had a half-gallon of dried flowers, I put them in a glass mason jar and covered them with carrier oils: a mix of jojoba, avocado, and coconut. They went into the back of a warm, dark closet where I left them for three months so that the carrier oil could absorb the healing properties of the calendula. Then I strained the mix and was left with calendula oil.
Initially, I made salve, which didn’t take much of the infused oil, maybe a half-cup for an entire batch. I had lots left over.
A friend suggested we make face cream together — there are lots of recipes online. I’d never have thought of making it but it’s actually pretty easy. Since I didn’t have them on hand, I had to order many of the ingredients. Thank you, Amazon.
Once finished, I’ve used the cream on my face but also on arms and legs. I love the texture.
Recently, I’ve heard about tallow and that in addition to miracles for skin, it’s not greasy. The original recipe called for coconut oil, which can be oily, but today, I’m using tallow and calendula oil instead of sweet almond oil.
Here’s the recipe along with instructions:
Face Cream
1/2 cup Coconut Oil or Tallow
2 teaspoons Beeswax Pellets
1/2 cup Shea Butter
1/2 cup Sweet Almond Oil or Calendula Oil
1/4 cup Aloe Gel — 100% Pure Gel
15 drops Red Raspberry Seed Oil
15 drops Carrot Seed Oil
48 drops total of essential oils — I used Frankincense and Sandalwood
You’ll also need a double boiler, a hand mixer, and cosmetic jars for the finished cream.
Here’s how to do it.
Add the tallow and beeswax pellets to the double boiler bowl and melt over medium heat. *Tallow has a lower melting point than beeswax, so expect the beeswax to take a little longer to fully melt.
Add the shea butter once the beeswax has melted. *Shea butter doesn’t like too much heat so is added after the tallow and beeswax have melted.
Once the shea butter has melted, stir to fully blend. Remove from heat and refrigerate for 20 minutes. *This brings the temp closer to room temperature to match the oils you’ll be adding next, allowing an easier blend.
In a separate bowl, mix together the Calendula OR Almond Oil, Aloe Gel, Red Raspberry Seed Oil, Carrot Seed Oil and about 48 drops of Essential Oils of choice. *I used Frankincense and Sandalwood but you can use any that you like.
Combine the Aloe/Oils and add to the cooled Tallow/Shea Butter/Beeswax mixture. Stir until mixed well. Freeze for 15–20 minutes; it’ll look something like this, slightly hardened around edge.
Scrape the edge and mix about 30–45 seconds with a hand mixer on low. This evens out the consistency — photo below. Freeze for another 5 minutes.
When you pull your mixture out of the freezer for the last time, it should still be liquid, just a little lighter color than before it went in the freezer.
Mix on speed 1 or 2 for approximately 1 to 1.5 minutes. *The longer you mix, the thicker your cream. You just don’t want a chunky mess so don’t over beat it.
Fill your jars. This recipe makes about 15 oz of cream. Keep at room temp, or you can store it in the fridge.
When applying the cream, it doesn’t take much! About the size of a couple of peas is plenty for face and neck. I also use it on arms and legs.
As you may know, calendula has many healing properties:
- Natural antiseptic and antifungal properties
- Cellular repair and growth
- Reduces inflammation
- Treats rashes, sunburns
- Good for cold sores, eczema, acne
- Heals burns, wounds, stings, scrapes
If you want to make your own face cream, calendula oil isn’t required. You can use sweet almond or other oils instead. I look for oils that are noncomedogenic, meaning they won’t clog your pores. Jojoba, rose hip oil, squalane oil, derived from olives— not squalene — are a few.
Make sure that oils are cold pressed and unrefined for highest quality.
Thanks for reading. For questions, please comment or I’m at pjjones_85337@proton.me
Here’s one from Aurora {AuraEcho} on synonyms. We’re still looking for one for moist — as in cake.
