Let's make an after shave type lotion filled with all kinds of things to soothe irritated skin and moisturize (although it's really a facial moisturizer). We'll base this recipe on my cationic moisturizer recipe, which you can find here. (I've already made up an after shave moisturizer recipe in this post, but I thought I'd make another!) You can use this as a moisturizer on all parts of your body - it's not intended just for the face, but it is thin enough to use on your face and I'm leaving out ingredients that might feel very heavy or might be comedogenic.
BASIC CATIONIC FACIAL MOISTURIZER RECIPE
WATER PHASE
77.5% water (you can replace 10% to all of the water with hydrosols or aloe vera)
2-5% humectant of choice
0.5% allantoin
2% hydrolyzed protein
OIL PHASE
8% oils
4% BTMS-50
2% cetyl alcohol
COOL DOWN PHASE
0.5% to 1% preservative
2% panthenol
0.5% extract
0.5% another extract
So what would we include for men's skin? To be honest, it won't be that different from formulating a product for women.
We could include white willow bark or salicylic acid as an exfoliant, and use sodium lactate or sodium PCA as our humectant that will also offer some help with possible acne or blackheads. I like to add a cationic polymer to the mix because it offers moisturizing and conditioning, so polyquat 7 or honeyquat at 3% would be a welcome addition. We can use glycerin in this recipe, but it can feel a bit sticky at 3%, so try this recipe with it before you go using all kinds of exotic and expensive ingredients! I know I mentioned above that leaving out the thickener will create a thinner lotion, but I like the moisturizing of the cetyl alcohol, so I'm including it here.
As a note, IPM is considered comedogenic, so you don't normally want to include that in a facial moisturizer. IPP is a better choice if you want to add an ester at 2%! If you want to use esters, C12-15 alkyl benzoate is considered non-comedogenic and has decent spreadability, and cetearyl ethylhexanoate has been shown in studies to help prevent transepidermal water loss from wounds, which is a great addition in an after shaving product!
And don't forget those barrier ingredients. I'm including 0.5% allantoin here, and you could add 2% dimethicone if you wanted. Cocoa butter is right out because it's very comedogenic, but if your skin can handle it, up to 5% would make a nice barrier cream for the outdoors!
Oh, and our oils. We'll choose some non-greasy oils - I think I'll go with borage oil in this recipe as it contains a lot of gamma linoleic acid, which is fantastic for helping with skin's barrier repair. You can choose any oil you like, but I'd suggest using less greasy feeling, high linoleic or gamma linoleic acid oils to feel light and help with your skin's barrier repair.
So let's put this all together - first, the recipe with oils and tomorrow with esters!
BASIC MOISTURIZING AFTER SHAVE RECIPE
WATER PHASE
63% water
10% aloe vera (optional)
2% sodium lactate or sodium PCA
2% polyquat 7 (or 2% honeyquat in the cool down phase)
0.5% allantoin
2% hydrolyzed protein
OIL PHASE
10% borage oil
3% cetyl alcohol
4% BTMS-50
COOL DOWN PHASE
2% dimethicone
0.5% salicylic acid or white willow bark
0.5% to 1% preservative
0.5% fragrance (if you're using it just as an after shave)
Use the general lotion making instructions for this product.
When I make after shave moisturizers, I like to package it in an aluminum pump bottle to look very manly. I labelled my last batch with pictures of Godzilla to make it feel more masculine, and I used a very light fragrance (Green Bamboo for some, Wasabi from Brambleberry for others). I quite liked it, but for some reason I didn't take any pictures!
Join me tomorrow for making an after shave recipe with esters!
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