Homemade Lavender Lotion

I became interested in making my own lotion from scratch after making it in a lab for the organic chemistry course I was taking. We used lanolin (sheep fat) which is pretty common in commercial lotions. In the lab, we experimented with different ingredients to see how they impacted the final lotion product.

  

        I enjoyed the lab but wanted to make a vegan lotion, using plant based fats. I wanted to add scent and possibly color. I started googling recipes for diy lotion and quickly became frustrated. Many diy recipes for products like lotion and soap are just wrong. Lotions are emulsions, meaning there is a liquid portion blending with a fat/oil/wax portion. In order for this to occur, an emulsifying agent must be used. Far too many of the diy recipes I found were just blending fats together (won't moisturize skin and dosent really qualify as lotion) or missing the emulsifying agent (meaning the final product will separate when left standing)! I lost some faith in the internet diy community that day.
        I started by looking at ingredient labels of lotions from my favorite natural body care brands, including Lush, Honest Co and the Body Shop. I looked at what ingredients overlapped, what was found in all the lotions. I researched the ingredients that stood out and started developing a recipe with them, following the model we used in the chemistry lab. While the chemicals in lotion making are fairly harmless, I strongly believe that a background knowledge of some chemistry basics is necessary to make a proper lotion from scratch.

        The first recipe I concocted was:
5 cups of Water
1/2 cup Sweet Almond Oil
1/2 cup Emulsifying Wax
1/4 cup Stearic Acid
1 Tbsp Citric Acid
1 Tbsp Potassium Sorbate
1/2 teaspoon Vitamin E Oil
1 teaspoon Lavender Essential Oil
Blue & Red Cosmetic Grade Colorant
(yields 48 oz of lotion)

Pot one: emulsifying wax, almond oil and stearic acid

Pot two: water, potassium sorbate

Both pots are heated. Pot one is removed from heat as soon as wax has melted.

Pot two is removed from heat right before boiling and citric acid is added. At this point, I took the temperature of both pots to make sure they were close to each other.

Pot two is slowly added to pot one while stirring.

Stirring really helps the emulsifying agent do its job and keeps the oils and liquids from separating. I stirred for a solid 5 minutes and then let it sit, stirring every 20-30 minutes for the next 3 hours.

After the lotion had cooled for one hour, I added the lavender essential oil, vitamin E oil and cosmetic grade colorants. I didn't really measure these, just slowly added and stirred until I got the color and smell I was looking for. (I went for a light purple which was hard to capture in pictures)

Once the lotion had almost cooled completely (about 3 hours) I used a funnel to bottle my lotions. I'm really happy with the way the lotion turned out. I had fun labeling the containers too.

I used 8oz and 4oz containers for my lotion. This recipe yielded 48 oz of lotion. The consistency was somewhat liquidy making it ideal for a pump style container. It has a nice lavender scent and moisturizes the skin without leaving any greasy residue.

Understanding Food Labels: ORGANIC defined

The Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 created the National Organic Standards Board. This board defined organic and set up a certification system for organic growers and handlers. Today the USDA strictly regulates what foods can use the organic label. Crops, livestock and processed products can all be labeled as organic if they follow specific standards. From the USDA website:

Organic crops: The USDA organic seal verifies that irradiation, sewage sludge, synthetic fertilizers, prohibited pesticides, and genetically modified organisms were not used.

Organic livestock: The USDA organic seal verifies that producers met animal health and welfare standards, did not use antibiotics or growth hormones, used 100% organic feed, and provided animals with access to the outdoors.

Organic multi-ingredient foods: The USDA organic seal verifies that the product has 95% or more certified organic content. If the label claims that it was made with specified organic ingredients, you can be sure that those specific ingredients are certified organic.

The USDA regulates the following labels:

100% Organic:  
- All ingredients must be certified organic
- Any processing aids must be organic
- Product labels must state the name of the certifying agent on the information panel
-If a product is 100% Organic it will often be labeled to include the 100% if it is a product that included multiple ingredients

Organic:
- All agricultural ingredients must be certified organic, except where specified on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances
- Non-organic ingredients allowed per National List may be used, up to a combined total of five percent of non-organic content (excluding salt and water). 
- Product labels must state the name of the certifying agent on the information panel

To earn this label, products must be made up of at least 95% organic ingredients.








The USDA regulates the use of these other labels as well:

Made With Organic: Multi-ingredient agricultural products in the “made with” category must meet these criteria: - At least 70 percent of the product must be certified organic ingredients (excluding salt and water). - Any remaining agricultural products are not required to be organically produced but must be produced without excluded methods (see page 1). - Non-agricultural products must be specifically allowed on the National List. - Product labels must state the name of the certifying agent on the information panel. May state “made with organic (insert up to three ingredients or ingredient categories).” Must not include USDA organic seal anywhere, represent finished product as organic, or state “made with organic ingredients.” Must identify organic ingredients (e.g., organic dill) or via asterisk or other mark.

Natural: As required by USDA, meat, poultry, and egg products labeled as “natural” must be minimally processed and contain no artificial ingredients. However, the natural label does not include any standards regarding farm practices and only applies to processing of meat and egg products. There are no standards or regulations for the labeling of natural food products if they do not contain meat or eggs.

Free-Range: This label indicates that the flock was provided shelter in a building, room, or area with unlimited access to food, fresh water, and continuous access to the outdoors during their production cycle. The outdoor area may or may not be fenced and/or covered with netting-like material. This label is regulated by the USDA.

Cage-Free: This label indicates that the flock was able to freely roam a building, room, or enclosed area with unlimited access to food and fresh water during their production cycle.

Grass Fed: Grass-fed animals receive a majority of their nutrients from grass throughout their life, while organic animals’ pasture diet may be supplemented with grain. Also USDA regulated, the grass-fed label does not limit the use of antibiotics, hormones, or pesticides. Meat products may be labeled as grass-fed organic.

In the past decade, many consumers have become concerned with where there food comes from. Non-profit organizations have started regulating certain issues that the USDA doesn't address. I repeat, these labels are NOT regulated by the US government but by non-profit organizations. Most of these groups have been around for years now and I believe them to be reliable. 

The Non-GMO Project: 
-An Action Threshold of 0.9% is used. This is in alignment with laws in the European Union (where any product containing more than 0.9% GMO must be labeled)
-Absence of all GMOs is the target for all Non-GMO Project Standard compliant products. Continuous improvement practices toward achieving this goal must be part of the Participant’s quality management systems.
-Rigorous trace ability and segregation practices are required to ensure ingredient integrity through to the finished product.

Certified Humane:
-Supported by the ASPCA and Center for Food Safety 
-Strict standards spelled out for each type of livestock

The Leaping Bunny:
-International organization that worked to get Europe's ban on animal testing
-Cruelty free products that have not been tested on animals, whose ingredients have not been tested on animals
-Online search engine for certified companies





The labels are intended to help consumers make informed decisions. It's important to know what we are buying, what practices our money is supporting and what chemicals we are putting in our bodies.

Whole Foods Markets and PBS have partnered to help educate consumers about buying organic foods through the Fantastic Organic website which serves as a resource for recipes and healthy eating tips.

4 Ingredient Home Made Deodorant (Coconut Scent)

I originally tried natural deodorant when I got one in a monthly subscription box from VeganCuts. I had not put much thought into my deodorant choices in the past, I'd been using men's Old Spice for years. I was hesitant to try this new five-ingredient deodorant. I wasn't sure if it would actually work and the consistency was different than traditional deodorant. I have been using the natural deodorant for about six months now. It last longer than old spice ever did for me. The scent is more subtle but it truly does the job. My first natural deodorant was from North Coast Organics. I have since discovered a similar 6 ingredient deodorant from The Fanciful Fox.

 

I really liked this deodorant. As it started to near the end of the tube, I read the ingredient list and realized I could easily make this. I went online to compare recipes and ended up with this based on what I had in my apartment. Other recipes use different types of waxes or oils. I like coconut oil for the tropical smell. Coconut oil has a pretty low melting point (76F) which makes it easy to work with and it wont be hard to apply because it wont get too solid. I live in New York. If you live in a warmer climate I would definitely suggest using a more solid base for your deodorant. My first batch with just 4 basic ingredients came out looking like this:

Recipe for DIY Coconut Deodorant:

4 Tablespoons Virgin Coconut Oil

1 Tablespoon Shea Butter

3 Tablespoons Baking Soda

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch

*optional 5-10 drops oil for scent

- Makes 100mL

- Store at above 77F to keep it solid