Now that the Autumnal Equinox has passed, I’ve been planning for cooler and drier weather. Today, I wanted to make a hand cream that is inspired by my childhood memories of harvesting honey and the sweet smell of honey that would drift through the house. I’ve selected a few fun ingredients to play with, so let me tell you why I chose a few of these ingredients for this hand cream.
Finished jars of the Sweet Honey Hand Cream.
Since my goal is to make a lotion that feels good with the changing weather, I chose Conditioning Emulsifier to be my emulsifier. This emulsifier is noted to leave a soft powdery feel and be non-irritating which is important to me for this recipe.
I picked Grapeseed Oil as my main oil because I enjoy this mid-weight oil that easily absorbs into the skin.
I also added Rice Bran Wax to help give a light barrier on top of the skin and trap some of the water from the lotion next to the skin.
I wanted to add a little extra luxury to this hand cream, so after some perusing of the catalog, I decided that Oat Oil would be a perfect addition. This luxurious oil is made up of oleic, linoleic, antioxidants, and ceramides and feels great on the skin without feeling too heavy or greasy!
I don’t want the skin to feel dry, so I used a combination of Hydrovance and Liquid Glycerin as humectants. You can use any humectant of your choice at the same percentage, so don’t feel limited by my choice!
Liquid Germall Plus is one of my go-to preservatives because it has a low required usage rate. (Which means money saved!) It also is compatible with most cosmetic ingredients, so I don’t have to worry as much about a failed preservative.
| Ingredients Rice Bran Wax Grapeseed Oil Conditioning Emulsifier Oat Oil Glycerin Hydrovance Water Vitamin E Acetate Liquid Germall Plus Honey Harvest Fragrance Oil |
Equipment Scale Microwave Safe Container Spoons Pipettes |
Recipe: (Makes 800 grams or 28.22 ounces)
| Recipe in Grams 16 grams Rice Bran Wax 72 grams Grapeseed Oil 40 grams Conditioning Emulsifier 32 grams Oat Oil 20 grams Glycerin 20 grams Hydrovance 586 grams Water 8 grams Vitamin E Acetate 4 grams Liquid Germall Plus 2 grams Honey Harvest Fragrance Oil |
Recipe in Ounces 0.56 oz Rice Bran Wax 2.54 oz Grapeseed Oil 1.41 oz Conditioning Emulsifier 1.13 oz Oat Oil 0.71 oz Glycerin 0.71 oz Hydrovance 20.67 oz Water 0.28 oz Vitamin E Acetate 0.14 oz Liquid Germall Plus 0.07 oz Honey Harvest Fragrance Oil |
Recipe in Percentages 2% Rice Bran Wax 9% Grapeseed Oil 5% Conditioning Emulsifier 4% Oat Oil 2.5% Glycerin 2.5% Hydrovance 73.25% Water 1% Vitamin E Acetate 0.5% Liquid Germall Plus 0.25% Honey Harvest Fragrance Oil |
Weigh everything except the Liquid Germall Plus and Honey Harvest Fragrance into a microwave safe container. Heat gently until the oils and waxes are liquid. Using an immersion blender, stir the mixture well. We don’t want the cream to separate on us! Once the cream is below 120°F, add the Liquid Germall Plus and Honey Harvest Fragrance. At this point, I like to pour the cream into a plastic bag and allow it to finish cooling in the bag.
 Beginning to weigh the ingredients for the Sweet Honey Hand Cream. |
 Adding the water to the weighed ingredients. |
After the cream has completely cooled, I cut a small tip off one corner of the bag so I can easily pipe the cream into jars. (I also get to make pretty swirls as I’m piping because I’m pretending to frost cupcakes!) After the jars are filled, cap the jars and label. You now have a jar of the greatest honey lotion!
 Beginning to mix the Sweet Honey Hand Cream. |
 A mixed batch of Sweet Honey Hand Cream while cooling. |
Notes: This cream has a nice feel on the skin with a slight waxy feel that quickly goes away. Our shipping team loved the feel on their arms, but said they wouldn’t apply right before packing boxes or handling paper.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
