Recreating Lemon Créme Shea Butter

Many years ago I bought a jar of something called Lemon Créme Shea Butter. The label touted its age-defying, ultra-moisturizing properties. Using it hasn’t made my skin look any younger, but it sure is a good moisturizer, and I love the lemony scent.

I asked our Technical Support folks to help me wade through the ingredient list and see what we could glean to make a similar ultra-moisturizing cream.

Of course I would scent this with Lemon Sugar Type Fragrance Oil with its wonderfully vibrant, tart, sweet lemony fragrance. I also couldn’t resist a few drops of Lemon Yellow Dye for eye appeal.

Here is the formula with which we started. I made a 100-gram test batch to see what it would feel like. Join me and we’ll check it out together.

What You’ll Need

INSTRUCTIONS

Weigh the first 9 ingredients into a microwave-safe container or double boiler. Heat gently until fully liquid. I have a tiny stick blender that I use with my small test batches. Though it tends to incorporate more air than I like, it’s perfect for making sure emulsions come together. I just use a flexible spatula to fold the mixture over several times to remove most of the air.

Once the mixture has cooled below 120ºF, add the Dimethicone, 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 weighed before melting.

After melting and mixing.

NOTES

This made a heavy cream with plenty of body. The feeling after application was too waxy, however. This is likely due to using both Conditioning Emulsifier and Emulsifying Wax, plus there’s probably too much stearic acid. I liked the smoothness of the cream, and the scent was exactly what I had expected. Revision is definitely in order!

Check back tomorrow for more.