Do you love the rich luxurious fragrance and texture of department store face moisturizers, but want to avoid the toxic ingredients and staggering price tag?  This simple all natural homemade face cream is perfect and totally modify-able for all skin types!

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I have mentioned here before that my first “real” job was in the beauty industry.  Kinda ironic given that I was a plain-Jane wallflower type, but maybe that was my appeal for the average customer that made her way to my counter.  I was approachable.  I was never one to rock the intense eye makeup or bold lip.  I didn’t rock the glitter, glitz or glam.  I was a neutral-Nancy that looked more like I rolled off the wagon trail in the middle of the prairie than somebody that spent for than five minutes on my face (no knocks to the ladies that do — you are ARTISTS!).  And yet, I was snagged and headhunted by multiple brands, numerous times.  And that was because I nailed in on the skincare side of things.  I understood that in order for a women to feel confident, she literally had to be comfortable in the skin she was in.  As such, I developed a loyal, and often deep pocketed clientele full of ladies that felt glowing and confident, because their skin felt great.

But fast forward 20 years or so.  My days consists of feeding cows and chickens, hustling the kids off to school and sports, making medicine and writing about it.  No longer do I receive products “gratis” from big name labels.  And I am unwilling to spend a staggering amount of money for a dewy complexion courtesy of some questionable, even toxic ingredients.  So now, with the help of my good friends at Mountain Rose Herbs, I make my own luxurious face and body creams.  And guess what?  I think that I like the results even better!  Now it is time for me to save you some cash and introduce you to the yummiest homemade face cream that you can customize to your skin type!

I will preface the rest of this post with this little tidbit.  I am NOT, I repeat NOT, in favor of many oil-free skincare products so the this homemade face cream is is full of rich, nourishing oils.  The truth is actual oily skin pretty rare.  Oily skin is characterized by a perpetually shiny, slick appearance on most of their face — not just the T-zone.  While an oily skinned person MAY have acne, having acne doesn’t mean one’s skin is oily.  And very often when people complain to me of their acne, it is joined by complaints of itchy, dry and dehydrated skin.  That being said, this homemade skin cream can be adjusted to suit a variety of skin types for combination to very dry by slightly adjust the aqueous (water-phase) ingredients and the chosen oils.

Homemade Face Cream Ingredients

Now let’s take a closer look at my favorite ingredient for this homemade face cream that is nourishing, luxurious and all natural.

Fixed Oils
As far as I am concerned there is but ONE fixed oil to use for facial care items and that is Jojoba oil.  Which is actually a liquid wax, but that is chemistry class I am not equipped to teach at the moment.  Jojoba has a lipid profile that is very similar to human skin and, as such, is quickly absorbed and leaves no greasy residue.  Your carrier oils and butters can even be infused for extra herbal benefit in one of the methods suggested in this post.

Specialty Oils 
I often like to incorporate super rich and nutritive specialty oils such as rose hip seed oil (my favorite for those concerned with aging), sea buckthorn oil (my favorite for those seeking repair to damaged and dehydrated skin), and evening primrose oil (my favorite for those with acne prone skin).

Butters 
There are a variety of wonderful butters that add a luxurious emolliency to a homemade face cream.  Among them are shea, cocoa, mango and kokum butters.  I love the ease of use and super creamy results I get with these cocoa butter wafers, plus my husband loves that I come to bed each night smelling ever so faintly of chocolate.

Emulsifying Wax
When making a homemade face cream (or a lotion like this) it is IMPERATIVE that you use emulsifying wax to both keep the oil and water phases in emulsion, but also to retain its light creamy texture.  Beeswax is too temperamental and often creates end product that hardens in a short about of time.

Hyrdosols 
One of my favorite water components of a homemade face cream is the choice of hydrosols we have these days.  My favorites are rose and blood orange, while lavender and chamomile are amazing, and even cucumber makes a lovely summer-y cream.  Hydrosols lend a light aroma to the resulting homemade face cream.

Distilled Water
If not using a hydrosol, distilled water is free of contaminants and minerals that might produce off aromas and textures.

Aloe Vera 
This soothing gel can be use for part of the the water phase additions and is particularly soothing for inflamed and red skin.

Herbal infusions
Strain herbal infusions are also an excellent water phase choice and can help to deliver color, aroma and herbal benefits to the skin.  I love using rose and lavender infusions and I think that hibiscus infusions would produce a gorgeous pink face cream!

Essential oils 
This highly aromatic oils are not necessary, but deliver amazing scents and benefits to your homemade face cream.  I particularly love geranium, lavender, chamomile and helichrysum.  Please note that many citrus essential oils are photo-toxic and should not be worn when the skin with be exposed to UV light.  I do not recommend dilution ratios greater than 1% for homemade face creams.  For more information of essential oil safety, check out this post.

Preservatives & Antioxidants
This homemade face cream recipe does not contain a chemical preservative to extend its shelf life.  I have created a recipe that produces roughly four ounces of cream.  I use one jar for 2-3 weeks, while storing the other jar in the refrigerator until needed.  I only using clean dry fingers to dip into the face cream and slather generously on my face, neck, chest, elbows, hands and heals.  For a great post on why you should consider an added preservative read this post from The Nerdy Farm Wife.  As for preventing oxidation of the oil (which is not the same as preserving the homemade face cream from bacterial, viral, and fungal contamination), rosemary antioxidant extract is a wonderful choice!

Perfect Homemade Face Cream Recipe

This is a thick luxurious homemade face cream.  If you are looking for a more pump-able lotion consistency, please check out this post.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Perfect Homemade Face Cream

Do you love the rich luxurious fragrance and texture of department store face moisturizers, but want to avoid the toxic ingredients and staggering price tag?  This simple all natural homemade face cream is perfect and totally modify-able for all skin types!
Adjust the texture and weight of this cream by increasing or decreasing the liquid, water phase ingredients.  Start out with the low end of the recipe range and increase until desired consistency is achieved.

Author: Devon

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp jojoba oil or other fixed oil
• 2 tbsp (non-dairy) butter such as cocoa, shea, kokum or mango
• 2 tbsp emulsifying wax pastilles
• 2 tbsp specialty oil such as rose hip, sea buckthrone, or evening primrose
• 6-10 tbsp hydrosol, herbal infusion, aloe and/or distilled water or a mixture thereof
• 36-72 drops essential oils optional

Instructions

• Using a double boiler heat  fixed and specialty oils, butter, and the emulsifying wax just until the wax is melted. Remove from the heat, and set aside. 
• Meanwhile, gently raise the temperature of your water phase ingredients to within about 10 degrees of the oils. In a small blender or with a handheld beater, or even a handheld whisk, slowly pour the water phase ingredients into the oils,  beating until emulsified. 
• Spoon or pipe into a approximately four to six (depending on how the volume of the water phase ingredients added) 2-ounce containers.  Refrigerate containers not in use.
• Apply using ring fingers, taking special care not to tug at the delicate skin around the eyes. Refrigerate between uses. Use open containers within 2-3 weeks if not chemically preserved.