Lemon Créme Shea Butter Revision #1 2


Last week I made an attempt to recreate a product I purchased and really enjoyed. It was a thick, rich lemon-scented shea butter cream.

Piping finished cream into jars.

The initial attempt turned out to be too waxy, so I went back to the drawing board to revise.

For the first revision, I eliminated the 2% Emulsifying Wax and increased the water from 61.5% to 63.5%. I also dropped the Stearic Acid from 3% to 1%, again adding the 2% dropped to the water.

See the revised formula below.

I’m pondering dropping the percentage of Conditioning Emulsifier as well, but I’m going to leave it alone for this revision; I don’t want to change too many things at once.

What You’ll Need

SUPPLIES

Distilled Water
Handcrafted Shea Butter
Conditioning Emulsifier
Stearic Acid
Cocoa Butter
Glycerin
Dimethicone
Jojoba Oil
Beeswax
Liquid Germall Plus
Natural Vitamin E
Lemon Sugar Type Fragrance Oil
Lemon Yellow Dye (premixed)

EQUIPMENT

Scale
Microwave-safe container or double boiler
Thermometer
Flexible scraper
Stick blender
Transfer Pipettes

Revised Formula

Percentages

65.5% Water
20% Handcrafted Shea Butter
5% Conditioning Emulsifier
1% Stearic Acid
3% Cocoa Butter
2% Glycerin
1% Jojoba Oil
0.5% Beeswax
2% Dimethicone
0.5% Liquid Germall Plus
0.25% Vitamin E Natural
0.25% Lemon Sugar Fragrance
QS Lemon Yellow dye

100-gram Test Batch

65.5 grams Water
20 grams Handcrafted Shea Butter
5 grams Conditioning Emulsifier
1 gram Stearic Acid
3 grams Cocoa Butter
2 grams Glycerin
1 gram Jojoba Oil
0.5 gram Beeswax
2 grams Dimethicone
0.5 gram Liquid Germall Plus
0.3 gram Vitamin E Natural
0.2 gram Lemon Sugar Fragrance
QS Lemon Yellow dye

Instructions

Weigh first 9 ingredients into a microwave-safe container or double boiler. Heat gently, stirring often, until the mixture is completely liquified.

Once the mixture has cooled below 120 degrees, add the preservative, Natural Vitamin E, and fragrance. Stir well to thoroughly incorporate.

At this point, if you want to add color, start with one drop of the Lemon Yellow Dye (premixed in a dropper bottle) and continue adding a drop at a time and mixing well until you reach the desired color.

Ingredients before melting.

Stirring in additives.

Notes

This version is an improvement, but we’re not quite there yet.

The texture of the cream changed to a lighter feel, which is not a problem. It’s less waxy this time around.

Still a problem is that it’s very greasy; I rubbed a small amount into my hands, and 10 minutes later, my hands still feel oily.

Join me tomorrow as I revise again and see if the third time is the charm.

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About Denise

I'm a crazy goat lady who got into making my own soap with goat milk, found MMS to order supplies, and now I get to combine my love of creating skin care products with a job to pay the feed bill. I live in Alaska and greatly enjoy the unique aspects of my northern home - summer days when it never gets dark and the Northern Lights dancing above in winter. Favorite scents include Wild Mint and Ivy, Rhubarb & Sugar Cane, and Eucalyptus Spearmint.

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2 thoughts on “Lemon Créme Shea Butter Revision #1

    • Denise Post author

      Thanks for the suggestion, Marianna. I’m trying to stick with the ingredient list from the original product, which is why I’m working with these particular ingredients. I like the IPM idea, though!

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