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By Root 838 0

lotions normally contain nourishing, softening, moisturizing, and aromatic substances. The use of vegetable oils in cosmetic preparations, such as creams, hand lotions, and cold creams, for dry skin is very extensive. In cosmetic lotions and creams used for nourishment, Olive oil seems to be preferred, while expressed Almond oil, Sesame oil, Jojoba oil, Cocao butter, and Coconut oil follow respectively. These fixed oils are insoluble (immiscible) in water, but are capable of being mixed with water by the assistance of an emulsifier, forming an emulsion. Natural (non-chemical) emulsifiers most often employed are beeswax, deodorized hydrous lanolin, vegetable glycerin, and lecithin.

EMULSIFYING AGENTS

As defined above, an emulsion is the dispersion of droplets of a liquid in a second liquid with which it is immiscible. This can usually be accomplished by merely mixing the two liquids in a roomy container and agitating them vigorously. However, in order to stabilize this emulsion, a third agent is generally necessary; this is called an emulsifying agent or an emulsifier. In addition to making the suspension of the oil in the water medium more permanent, this emulsifying agent also works to allow a far more concentrated emulsion. For our purposes in making lotions and creams this means we can get a much higher proportion of oil to disperse in the water. Many medicinal and cosmetic herbal agents are taken into the body through the skin’s oil components. The natural emulsifying agents, beeswax, hydrous lanolin, glycerin, and lecithin, do not interfere with this skin penetration as chemical emulsifiers are believed by some to do.

As an emulsifier, beeswax will also thicken and harden a cream or lotion to some extent; lanolin (extracted from sheep wool) is protective and moisturizing to the skin and tends slightly to thicken a lotion, but is not as reliable as beeswax for this action; glycerin has been discussed a great deal in this handbook already, so it is sufficient to say that as an emulsifier it is a mild preservative and is also an excellent moisturizing agent for the skin; lecithin is a smooth and slippery emulsifier and lends these qualities to a lotion. Avoid using too high a percent of either glycerin, lanolin, or lecithin, for they can make a lotion somewhat sticky; a half to three-quarters of a teaspoon of any one or a combination of these per 8 oz. cup of lotion is sufficient. Lotions and creams tend to thicken a bit as they age.

COLORING AGENTS

Lotions and creams (and salves and Hp balms, etc.) can be colored by the addition of various herbal oil infusions. First make a highly saturated oil infusion (see Chapter Seventeen, “Oil Infusion”) of a specific coloring plant, then incorporate this pigmented oil as part of the fixed oil ingredient of a recipe (see inclusion of the Alkanet and Calendula oils in the Rose Cream recipe, this page). Depending on the amount used, an oil infusion of Alkanet root (Alkanna tinctoria) gives a soft pink to deep red color; an oil infusion of dried Turmeric (Curcuma aromatica) or Calendula petals renders a bright-hued yellow; and many green plants, especially an oil infusion of dried Nettle, or Plantain, or Comfrey leaf lend a delightful green color.

NUTRITIONAL/MEDICINAL AGENTS

Lotions and creams can be enriched by the addition of other herbal agents. Bees, while being notorious emissaries of dermal inflammation, also create for us some of our skin’s most extraordinary accessories: royal jelly, propolis, honey, and pollen. The apian chemistries of these accomplices blend magically with the water and oil portions of lotions and creams carrying with them an enormous array of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that nourish our body and enhance our wellness. Herbal tinctures and/or liquid concentrates including Aloe vera juice and aromatic hydrosols or floral waters (see Chapter Ten, “Distillation of Hydrosols”) can be included in a lotion as part of the water content, bringing with them a host of nutritional and therapeutic actions. Your whimsical imagination (and accumulating experience)