//07: Caring for our bodies naturally: Natural cosmetics

Photo +++Nourishing our skin+++ What greater luxury can there be for our skin than blending a cream that specifically uses the ingredients we love most? Pampering ourselves with an own mixture of plant actives and vitamins is an astonishingly simple and easy step we can take to becoming more self-sufficient in our consumption habits. At the same time, we are using ingredients that are of higher value than we would get if purchasing a cream off the shelf. For us, it has been some months and years of looking at different ingredients and mixtures, and finding the ones our skin loves the most. We warmly encourage you to play with different recipes to find something you really love, and that you can use yourself... and gift to friends and family, too!

+++ Assignment 07 +++ Make your very own nourishing and rich balm to pamper yourself. This recipe can be used for the face (especially at night), lips and hands, as it is quite rich. We love mixing in different vitamins and their precursors, from niacinamide to panthenol, and experimenting with different plant oils and other actives as well, from urea and Co-Q-10 to allantoin, and from marula oil to squalane. This is the basic recipe which you can experiment with:

Ingredients: – 60g oil (e.g. olive oil) – 20g beeswax – 20g hydrolate/water component (careful, if using actual water, only used distilled water, never tap water) – Container for storage (e.g. glass): Have a container on hand that has been thoroughly cleaned and sterilized.

Instructions: If using any other additions, such as vitamins and active ingredients, mix them into the according substance that can dissolve them. After that, proceed as follows: 1. Slowly heat the beeswax at a low temperature, ensuring that it does not overheat or bubble. You can check the temperature with a thermometer, ensuring that it does not go over 60 degrees. 2. Put the oil and water component in a pot together and gently heat them. Make sure they are around 40 degrees, so that all components will be in a similar temperature range. 3. Pour the melted beeswax into the heated oil and water and blend with a mixer for approximately three to five minutes, checking that the consistency becomes somewhat firmer and creamier. Then, pour into the container and let the mixture cool. 4. Enjoy!