Whether you have dry skin that needs a boost of hydration, or you have sensitive, inflamed skin that needs gentle nourishment, an aloe vera moisturiser is all you need!
This recipe uses hydrating ingredients that are great for all skin types including sensitive skin!
Keep reading for our moisturiser recipe…
Why Make Your Own Aloe Vera Moisturiser?
There are endless moisturisers in stores, but how many of them actually work for your skin? There’s moisturisers that clog pores and cause breakouts, others that aren’t hydrating enough and products that cause skin reactions!
It can be hard to find a great all round moisturiser, especially without a long list of unnecessary ingredients. So why not make one yourself? Your moisturiser can use natural aloe vera powder and natural oils that are super nourishing and don't clog pores!
You also get to know exactly what you are putting on your skin, which is great for those with sensitive skin and acne prone skin!
So stop buying commercial moisturisers when you can make your own at home! After all, you know your skin the best, so why not use your favourite nourishing ingredients that benefit your skin.
What is Aloe Vera Powder?
Aloe vera powder is a fine powder that is cream to beige in colour. The natural juice from the leaves of the aloe vera plant is extracted, then ground down and freeze-dried into a powder consistency.
The powder is water soluble and when added to water it forms a juice consistency. Aloe vera is extremely soothing on the skin and it is great for dry, irritated skin.
But why don’t we just use aloe vera juice in this recipe?
Aloe vera powder is 200X concentrated, so it is a much more concentrated version than liquid aloe vera juice.
Aloe vera powder lasts longer than the juice. The juice contains preservatives in it already, so you will need to take that into consideration when formulating. This can make recipes confusing as there could be lots of different preservatives in one recipe because of the aloe vera juice.
Aloe Vera Moisturiser Recipe
This recipe makes a lightweight, hydrating moisturiser that is great for skin types. We are using natural hydrating ingredients, stabilisers and preservatives to make up this moisturiser.
We are using vegetable glycerin as it is an incredible natural humectant that attracts moisture to the skin! Some other natural ingredients in this recipe are argan oil and kokum butter. They are both amazing moisturising ingredients that doesn’t clog pores!
Hydroxyethyl Cellulose (HEC) is used as a stabiliser and thickener, but this is not natural. We are using a small amount in the recipe to thicken the moisturiser slightly. Emulsifying wax is also not a natural product, but it is vital to the recipe! This is what binds the water and oil together, otherwise the moisturiser will separate!
Finally, geogard ultra is our preservative. It is one of the most natural preservatives that we consider to be about 80% natural.
Ready to make your moisturiser? Let’s get started…
Ingredients
Method
1. Heated water phase
- Weigh the water, aloe vera powder, hydroxyethyl cellulose, vegetable glycerin and geogard ultra into a heatproof bowl.
- Heat over a pan of boiling water or in a double boiler and mix well.
- Once the geogard ultra has dissolved, remove it from the heat.
2. Heated oil phase
- Weigh the emulsifying wax, argan oil and kokum butter in a separate bowl
- Heat over a pan of boiling water or in a double boiler.
- Mix well until the emulsifying wax and kokum butter have melted.
3. Cooling and whipping process
- Add the liquid oil mixture to the water solution.
- Blend with a stick blender in short pulses for 1-2 minutes.
- Once blended, leave the mixture to cool to around 25°C and stir occasionally.
4. Test the pH
- The pH of moisturiser should be in the range 4.5 - 5.5
- Take 2g of the moisturiser and mix it in 18g of water until dissolved.
- Using a digital pH meter, measure the pH.
5. If necessary, adjust the pH
- If the pH of your moisturiser is too low, make a sodium hydroxide solution.
- Put on your gloves, mask and safety goggles. For more information about safety when using sodium hydroxide, click here.
- Weigh 10g of sodium hydroxide and 90g of water.
- Add the sodium hydroxide to the water and stir until dissolved.
- Using a pipette, add 0.5g of the sodium hydroxide solution into the diluted moisturiser sample that you used for pH testing.
- Test the pH again, if the pH is still under 4.5, repeat the last steps until the pH is 4.5-5.5.
- Once the correct pH has been reached, record the amount of sodium hydroxide solution needed and add this to the remaining moisturiser.
- If the pH of the moisturiser was over 5.5, you can follow this process but use 10g citric acid diluted in 90g water.
6. Pour into containers
- Once all of the ingredients are fully combined, pour the mixture into a container.
- Now your aloe vera moisturiser is ready to use!
Continue Reading
Now you know how to make an aloe vera moisturiser, why not try more recipes?
- Expand your homemade skincare products with your own natural cleanser!
- Looking for more simple skincare recipes? Read our beginners guide to easy skincare!
- Want to expand to haircare products? Try making your own hair mask!
How did your homemade moisturiser turn out? Show us on our socials! Tag us on Instagram or Facebook or use our hashtag #thesoaperyuk
