DIY Natural Shaving Cream

According to Gillette, shaving cream does four things:

1. Hydration – keeps moisture in hairs during the shave, leaving them softer and easier to cut. When less force is needed to cut each hair, your shave can be more comfortable.
2. Lubrication – creates a thin layer of protection between the blade and the skin, ensuring less friction and minimizing the risk of redness, razor burn, and irritation–and fewer nicks and cuts.
3. Tracking – the act of removing shaving cream as you shave helps you keep track of where you’ve already run your blade so you won’t miss any spots!
4. Soothing and refreshing – a shaving cream will help leave your skin feeling soothed and refreshed after each shave.

However, commercial shaving creams may not be suitable for everyone. So, here’s a quick DIY on how you can make your own shaving cream using all natural ingredients by Crafty @diplycrafty on Instagram 

If the video tutorial is too fast for you, no worries! We’ve got your back 

What you’ll need:

1. Coconut Oil
2. Shea Butter
3. Jojoba Oil
4. Frankincense Essential Oil
5. Glass Beaker (safe for microwaves/double boilers!)
6. Stirrer
7. Microwave (we recommend using a double boiler instead, though! There’ll be lesser chances of burning and bubbles this way)
8. Mixer
9. Jar (to put your finished product in)

Instructions

1. Measure out 1/2 cup (4oz = about 113g) of coconut oil and 1/4 cup of shea (2oz =  about 56g) butter into the glass beaker.
2. Melt the oil and butter in the microwave/double boiler.
3. Add 1/2 teaspoon (about 2.5ml) of jojoba oil and 20 drops of frankincense essential oil into the mixture.
4. Stir until evenly mixed and pour it into your mixer’s bowl.
5. Leave in the fridge to thicken.
   *Note: Don’t leave it in the fridge for too long, though! Or else it might harden too much
6. Using a mixer, beat the mixture until it’s fluffy.
7. Transfer the shaving cream into a jar for storage.
8. It’s now ready to use!

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This video tutorial belongs to Crafty @diplycrafty on Instagram!

Pssst, we're also available at Craftiviti.com!

About Vitamin E and Which to Use in Your Personal Care Products

Generally, we know that there are two kinds of the antioxidant Vitamin E: the naturally-occurring (the d- form) and the synthetic (the dl- form, and the acetate). However, there is more to it than just that. Vitamin E comes in 8 forms which belongs to two classes. So, which do you use? And, how much Vitamin E do you need to add to your formulations?

The following informative video by Belinda Carli, Director of the Institute of Personal Care Science and Cosmetic Formulator, explains both selection and input amounts for you, and how to check that you have it right.

Check it out now 

*In our store, we sell Vitamin E Acetate (Tocopherol Acetate; You can buy it here!) which is synthetic and contains antioxidants that are great for the skin but does not slow down the rancidity of oils. On the other hand, natural Vitamin E (like dl-alpha-tocopherol) is an even better antioxidant for the skin, and it’ll also slow down the rancidity of oils.

SOME SCIENCE FACTS

Tocopherols

Consists of 4 types of Vitamin E: alpha tocopherol, beta tocopherol, gamma tocopherol, and delta tocopherol. They are distinguished by the slight chemical differences (location and number of methyl groups) on its core structure.

Tocotrienols

Consist of the 4 other types of Vitamin E: alpha tocotrienol, beta tocotrienol, gamma tocotrienol, and delta tocotrienol. Tocotrienols have 3 unsaturated bonds ‘trienol’ but are otherwise similar to tocopherols in structure. Tocotrienols are also more permeable to cell membranes (meaning they’re more easily absorbed) than tocopherols.

If you’d like to read up more on Vitamin E but don’t know where to start, check out our list of references down below!

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Thank you Belinda Carli from Personal Care Formulations for sharing this video with us!

References:

1. Publishing, Harvard, “Easy Does It With Vitamin E – Harvard Health”, Harvard Health, 2014 <https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/Easy_does_it_with_vitamin_E&gt; [Accessed 9 June 2019]
2. “The Eight Faces Of Vitamin E”, Juvenon.Com <https://juvenon.com/the-eight-faces-of-vitamin-e-0903/&gt; [Accessed 9 June 2019]
3. “Tocotrienols: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Dosage, And Warning”, Webmd.Com <https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1522/tocotrienols&gt; [Accessed 9 June 2019]
4. “Vitamin E: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Dosage, And Warning”, Webmd.Com<https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-954/vitamin-e&gt; [Accessed 9 June 2019]

Pssst, we're also available at Craftiviti.com!

About Sunscreens and How to Make Them

Formulating your own sunscreen can be tricky, especially when you want to formulate one that is SPF50+, doesn’t feel tacky and is actually water-resistant. The following informative video by Belinda Carli, Director of the Institute of Personal Care Science and Cosmetic Formulator to learn about SPF in sunscreens, the materials and ingredients used, issues faced when making sunscreen and more. However, please note that the recipe shared here may not be suitable for making sunscreen at home (we’ll share one that is down below, though!).

What you’ll need:

1. Benzophenone-3
2. Isopropyl Myristate
3. Zinc Oxide  We sell non-nano Zinc Oxide here.
4. Non-ionic emulsifier(s)
5. Distilled Water
6. Chelating Agent
7. Sepimax Zen
8. Preservative
9. Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid
10. Neutralising agent
11. Baycusan C1004

To get the full specifics on what ingredients are used in this video, please email info@personalcarescience.com.au.

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ALTERNATIVELY, if you’re looking for a recipe to make sunscreen at home that’s lower than SPF50+, you can check out this informative post by Wellness Mama.

What you’ll need to make homemade sunscreen are:

1. Sweet Almond Oil or Olive Oil
2. Coconut Oil
3. Beeswax  we have a few kinds available here
4. Non-Nano Zinc Oxide
5. Red Raspberry Seed Oil (optional)
6. Carrot Seed Oil (optional; ours isn’t a carrier oil but an essential oil [you can get it here], so make sure to not add as much to avoid any skin irritations!)
7. Shea Butter (optional)

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Thank you Belinda Carli from Personal Care Formulations for sharing this video with us!

Pssst, we're also available at Craftiviti.com!

DIY Charcoal Masks

Charcoal masks are one of many darlings of the beauty and skincare world thanks to their cleansing abilities. However, commercial charcoal masks can be pretty pricey, so why not make your own (and be sure of what’s actually in your product)?

Join Belinda Carli, Director of the Institute of Personal Care Science and Cosmetic Formulator, as she shares her knowledge on what kind of charcoal is used to make charcoal masks, the benefits of charcoal to the skin, and how to create a charcoal mask formulation and finished product. Get dirty to get clean skin! Watch now 

Ingredients you’ll need:

1. Distilled Water
2. Xanthan Gum
3. Refined Glycerin USP 99.5%
4. Emulsifying Wax
5. Lipid (a.k.a. unsaturated fats, such as butters [eg: shea butter] or carrier oils [eg: coconut oil])
6. Activated Charcoal
7. Preservatives (such as Liquid Germall Plus or Ecocert Tea Tree Extract)

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Thank you Belinda Carli from Personal Care Formulations for sharing this video with us!

Pssst, we're also available at Craftiviti.com!

Herbal Extracts and How to Make Them

Herbal extracts are brilliant for those who love using products that are as close to natural as possible. These extracts are very concentrated liquids in which a solvent is used to extract the herbal properties out of plant material.

Watch the video below to join Belinda Carli, Director of the Institute of Personal Care Science and Cosmetic Formulator, as she shares her knowledge on how to create home-crafted and self-preserving herbal extracts for use in personal care using a hot and cold process method!

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Thank you Belinda Carli from Personal Care Formulations for sharing this video with us!

Pssst, we're also available at Craftiviti.com!

How to Reduce White Rub-In Time in Emulsions

So, you know how you get that white rub-in when you’re applying creams or emulsions onto your skin? Like, when you’ve only just squeezed out a small blob of hand cream and it’s so little so you think it shouldn’t have that much white rub-in while you’re trying to get it absorbed into your skin?

Join Belinda Carli, Director of the Institute of Personal Care Science and Cosmetic Formulator, as she shows you how to overcome the formulation issue of excess rub-in time in natural and organic cosmetic emulsions, while still building plenty of luxurious viscosity and elegant skin feel in the finished product. Solve those cosmetic formulating issues with Belinda now, and enjoy your elegant emulsions so much faster, and easier, with the right know-how!

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Thank you Belinda Carli from Personal Care Formulations for sharing this video with us!

Pssst, we're also available at Craftiviti.com!

How to Fix Grainy Butters & Balms

Sometimes, you get grainy butters or your balms have a rough, beady texture to it. We find this usually happens when reheating our shea butter and cocoa butter. But, don’t throw the entire tub out or think that the butters have gone bad! This is a normal occurence because you are working with natural fats.

The following video will explain why these grains happen and how you can obtain the desired smooth texture with just a few simple steps:

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Thank you Belinda Carli from Personal Care Formulations for sharing this video with us!

Email us if you have any enquiries at enquiry@craftiviti.com or pop by Craftiviti Craft Store at 10 Boulevard, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

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Pssst, we're also available at Craftiviti.com!