Beauty Care Basics

by Irene Lewis

 

A comparison of some oils, butters and waxes used in beauty care products:

 

Sweet Almond Oil: Medium weight. Pressed from the nut of the almond tree. It is practically odorless. Affordable and nourishing to all skin types. It has a really nice texture and is light yellow in color.

 

Apricot Oil: Medium to Heavy weight. Pressed from apricot kernels. Lovely scent. Great for all skin types, especially prematurely aged, sensitive, inflamed or dry skins. Nutrient rich.

 

Avacado Oil: Medium to heavy weight oil. Pressed from the avocado pit. Nutrient rich. Dry or wrinkled skin loves this oil.

 

Borage Seed, Evening Primrose & Black Currant Oils: Rich in the EFA Gamma Linoleic Acid Restores moisture and smoothness to dry or damaged skin. These oils are also known to be very helpful with chronic skin conditions like eczema and atopic dermatitis. They are pricy. Use in a blend.

 

Grapeseed Oil: Light weight oil that is easily absorbed and can leave your skin less greasy. Mildly astringent. Odorless. Unavailable as a cold pressed oil.

 

Hazelnut Oil: Light weight and almost odorless. Easily absorbed. It is stimulating to the circulation and also has astringent qualities

 

Jojoba Oil: Not really an oil at all but, a liquid plant wax. Very Stable. Balancing to the sebaceous glands. Leaves your skin feeling very soft. Often used as a carrier for perfume blends. Jojoba oil is also an anti-inflammatory to the skin.

 

Kukui Nut Oil: Light to Medium weight (Hawaiian oil) Distinctive scent. Readily absorbed into the skin. Very softening. High in linoleic and linolenic acid.

 

Olive Oil: Heavy weight. Darkest Green is from Greece, it is more acidic. All are softening. Soothing to inflamed skin, and a wonderful oil slaves,

 

Rose Hip Seed Oil: Super rich in vitamin C, also GLA. One of the best oils for skin regeneration and scars. It is very pricey.

 

Caulophylulum Inophyllum: Thick wonderfully healing oil from the tropics. Sacred to some. One of the best oils to use in a remedy for both sciatica and shingles. It is anti inflammatory, pain relieving, anti bacterial and non irritating to mucosal tissues.

 

Coconut Oil: Solid at room temperature. Some people are sensitve to this oil when it is solvent extracted so be sure to purchase organic. It has a long history of use in the tropics for skin and hair.

 

Mango Butter: A beneficial moisturizer, Semi hard. Beautiful light yellowish color but not much scent. Softening to the skin. 

 

Cocoa Butter: Melts at body temperature and smells like chocolate. It is derived from the cocoa bean. Adds a thick creamy consistency to lotions and crèmes.

 

Shea Butter: Raw unrefined shea butter is best. Very moisturizing, water resistant and breathable. Comes from the African Karite tree.

 

Beeswax: Secreted from worker honey bees. Beautiful color and scent reminiscent of honey.

 

Emulsifying Wax: (Mountain Rose Herbs) A vegetable based emulsifying wax from naturally occurring fats and esters, further processed into a convenient"pastille flake form".

This excellent medium is used to create a bond between water and oil for products which require their binding together. Makes a fluid cream, and lotion without the separation, and complements the finished products end texture. I have never used this, but I am very curious about it.

 

Stearic Acid: (Mountain Rose Herbs) A white, waxy, natural acid found in animal and vegetable fats. Our Stearic acid is from vegetable origins and is manufactured and designed to blend well with your cosmetic recipes. These small flakes are ideal as an emulsifying agent in creams, lotions, deodorants and most natural body care. Stearic acid is best known for the "pearly" and "waxy" feel that it adds to your body care products, which ultimately has a cooling effect when applied on the skin.