Making your own natural cosmetics allows you to control the ingredients and produce recipes created specifically for you. The downside to this is that natural ingredients tend to have a limited shelf life. Learning what ingredients are natural preservatives, and how to use them, will prevent rancidity and anti-oxidation in your homemade cosmetics.
Here’s a list:
- Benzoin
- Borax
- Honey
- Jojoba
- Vitamin E Oil
Benzoin Resin (also called Styrax) is a less well known preservative and fixative. For centuries, it has been an important ingredient in the making of incense due to its fixative qualities. Benzoin has a rich sweet scent that is quite distinctive. Because it is easily absorbed through the skin, it should be diluted in alcohol before use in cosmetic recipes. Benzoin resin is often found in facial toning and facial oil recipes to improve their shelf life.
Borax is a common ingredient that used to be found on the laundry shelf of most grocery stores. It is a natural cleaner and preservative, and it often found in lotion, cream, bath salt and bath scrub recipes.
Honey is a marvelous natural preservative. One teaspoon to one tablespoon of honey can be added to most any natural cosmetic recipe to improve its shelf life. My personal facial elixir has honey as an essential component, but I also add it to salts, scrubs, facials, creams and lotions.
Jojoba is one of my favorite natural preservatives because, like honey, it is just so very versatile. Jojoba is often combined with those oils that are known for having a limited shelf life, such as almond oil, apricot kernel oil, and rosehip seed oil. Get in the habit of substituting a tablespoon of jojoba oil for the more fragile carrier oils to improve the shelf life of your home made creations.
Vitamin E Oil is another natural preservative that I use quite often. If you are making a preparation for the skin, add a teaspoon of vitamin E oil to prevent rancidity and as an anti-oxidant. Vitamin E oil has the additional benefit of being safe to use for recipes for babies and small children.
When creating my own cosmetic recipes, I tend to use a two-pronged approach. Benzoin and vitamin E in a facial oil, for instance, or jojoba and borax in a lotion. Incorporating these natural preservatives in your own creations will enhance your cosmetics making repertoire considerably.
Thank you for this information. You have a wonderful site full of terrific information for anyone learning about essential oils and their properties. I’m so glad others are spreading the word about natural skin care products.