Protective Balms & Creams
With colder winter air and change in seasons rolling in, our skins can take a bit of a buffering. Protective creams containing specialised ingredients, and soothing balms to protect our microbiome and seal in moisture are all the rage right now, and for good reason.
These kinds of protective and soothing products fit in well with this years’ cosmetic trends of the microbiome, skin barrier, and multipurpose products.
To make protective, soothing and moisture-retaining products, you’re looking for various ingredients to fortify your formulations. Think richer, more occlusive butters, botanicals with healing and soothing properties, zinc oxide, and protective actives.
Here are some of my top picks:
Botanicals
Calendula/marigold, burdock, lavender, rooibos and chamomile
Butters
Shea butter, avocado butter, plus fatty acids like cetyl alcohol
Oils
Calendula, sunflower, grapeseed, Vitamin E, and infused oils
Actives
Bisabolol, allantoin, arrowroot, chamomile essential oil and lavender essential oil
I originally made this cream for a friend’s children, who were struggling with eczema. Give it a try!
Eczema Cream With Zinc
Heated Oil Phase
4% OliveM 1000
5% shea butter
4% zinc oxide
13.5% oils: calendula, grapeseed, sunflower or infused oils
0.5% Vitamin E
Heated Water Phase
68% infusion: lavender, rooibos and/or chamomile
Cool Down Phase
1% Geogard 221
0.5% Bisabolol
1% allantoin
pH test strips or pH meter
Stick blender
In a beaker add all the oil phase ingredients and melt through. While that is melting, prepare your water phase infusion or ‘tea’ by steeping the botanical(s) in freshly boiled water and then straining out all plant matter.
When the oil and water phases are both around 75 C, pour the oil phase into the water phase and homogenise with a stick blender for a minute or two until the emulsion has formed. Stir by hand while it cools down, then add in the cool down phase ingredients and mix well to incorporate.
Test and adjust the pH if required to around 5.5.
Decant into a glass jar.
Soothing and anti-irritation balm - apply post-shave, on itchy bites, eczema, dry skin, you name it.
Chamomile Balm
40% avocado butter
55% oil of choice
4% arrowroot
Weigh out the avocado butter and oil into a beaker and melt through. Once melted, add the arrowroot powder and gently whisk it in so no lumps remain. All the balm to cool further before adding the chamomile oil. Pour into a tin to set up.
