How To Make and Use Your Own Shave Oil.

Thanks for the response,

All clear, I just wanted to make sure that you can swap out the EO.

As stated above you can either directly swap one for another maintaining the 30ml 30 drops or increase the base to 35ml and 35 drops.

Many thanks!
 
Elementary my dear Watson!

However, the recipes I have given here are not randomly chosen essential oils, they are carefully selected to suit each skin type, so they have a therapeutic effect as well. They also work together in harmony to create a nice aroma. I would suggest you try them as stated first, before you start to swop the ingredients about.
 
Since I first posted this, some people have come back to me and said that they have tried shaving oils in the past and didn't like them because they clogged up the razor, fouled the brush and left a residue in the sink after the shave was finished. If this has been the case they are using far too much oil!

The amount of oil you use is barely enough to smear across your face, so that it is easily absorbed into the skin where it will do the most good.

If you have never used a shave oil before here is a trick to teach yourself how to pour out the right amount, people almost always use too much when they first try this.

Place a 5p piece in your palm, and pour the oil on top of the coin. If there is more oil than the coin will hold without it spilling on to your palm you have poured out too much!

That is how small an amount we are talking about! There just isn't enough there to clog anything!
 
Professor Blighty said:
The ratio of essential oils is set here to a maximum of one drop of essential oil to one mil of carrier oil. Any more essential oils than that and they won't disperse properly in the carrier fluid. Therefore, if you wish to add more essential oils you must either:-

subtract the same amount of drops from the recommended essential oils in the recipe, or
increase by the same amount of mils the base oil first.
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Dont worry, I had thought of that.

For the Normal Skin Oil Mix, (for those struggling with where to go) a quick search of ebay finds:-
100ml Almond carrier = £2.15
30ml Lavender Oil = £3.75
30ml Clary Sage Oil = £3.75
30ml Ylang Ylang Oil = £3.14

So less than £20 gets you nearly 200mls of oil - which at a few drops a day will last forever!
 
Thanks for the info Prof. This is deffo something that I will be trying as I've used oils in the past, and found them to deliver a smooth shave, so a personal mix sounds a great idea.
 
Professor Blighty: Thanks, this has gotta be one of the most useful posts I've read recently.

Don't suppose you have some ideas on how to mix up lip balms and hand salve/balm sort of things.
Do the same ingredients mentioned apply to the different skin types with these products?

Cheers
 
Take the basic recipe for a skin type as given above, add to that 15 ml of witch hazel and 75 ml of aloe vera gel, stir well, then using an electric hand whisk, whisk to a smooth cream. You now have a wonderful hand and foot cream for that skin type.
 
Thanks for the post Martin, this looks very interesting - I'm very tempted to give it a try.

Father Ted said:
For the Normal Skin Oil Mix, (for those struggling with where to go) a quick search of ebay finds:-
100ml Almond carrier = £2.15
30ml Lavender Oil = £3.75
30ml Clary Sage Oil = £3.75
30ml Ylang Ylang Oil = £3.14

So less than £20 gets you nearly 200mls of oil - which at a few drops a day will last forever!
Click to expand...

The prices aren't quite so competitive for the oily skin mix unfortunately :roll:
 
No I wasn't thinking that at all James, essential oils are all priced differently, depending on how rare the original organic material is, where in the world it is located, and shipping costs etc, so there will always be some desparity between the costs of producing the different oils. But everyone should be able to produce loads of their own oil for under £20.
 
I read this thread because I'm all for a bit of home formulation - I did it for years before I ever got anything certified to start selling ;)

The base oils (and 1 wax - jojoba is a wax) are all excellent - blended or on their own - emolients for the skin. Used preshave, postshave or just when your skin feels uncomfortable they sound good to me. :)

Professor Blighty: I'm very concerned for your face if you have been using a facial oil with 5% essential oil in its formulation. A rule of thumb often used with essential oils is 1 ml = 20 drops (very approximate). Drops do vary in size depending on the viscosity of the specific oil and the size of the hole in the dropolator, but it is a good indication. Using that, I estimate your 1 drop per ml is 5% - WOW :eek: :cry:

As a personal formulation, you don't have to give two hoots about the rules for cosmetics which are to be sold, but please don't advise others to be so reckless. I wouldn't advise any home-formulator to exceed a MAXIMUM of 1% essential oil in any formulation for the skin - particularly that part of your face you drag a razor over. :shock: 6 drops max. in your 30ml bottle, or 20 drops max. in a 100ml bottle is plenty.

Ebay: is excellent for getting bargains (waiting on a delivery atm :D ). I would be cautious about essential oils you intend to use on your skin however. Essential oils have been adulterated for centuries, and I would strongly advise anyone to buy them from reputable sources only.

Take the basic recipe for a skin type as given above, add to that 15 ml of witch hazel and 75 ml of aloe vera gel, stir well, then using an electric hand whisk, whisk to a smooth cream. You now have a wonderful hand and foot cream for that skin type.
Click to expand...
Someone forgot to mention the preservative system you would need for that. I'm no fan of parabens, but they are definitely better than pathogens. ;)

I don't mean to sound like a damp sqib, but please take care with essential oils, they are VERY potent.

If you want an emolient oil for your hands, try grapeseed. It sinks in surprisingly well, and as long as you don't overdo it it shouldn't make your hands feel particularly greasy.

If your hands feel really dry though, you could try a simple solid balm I sometimes make for me. Take equal amounts (by weight) of beeswax and olive oil. Slowly heat them until the wax has melted and mixed with the olive oil. Pour into a silicon bun case and let it set. Done ;)

Artisan :)
 
I have been using this formula for years, and so have a great many other people, it works perfectly well and is no way dangerous. If it was even slightly dodgy to anyone, I wouldn't recommend it.

I learned how to do this by taking registered courses, and have many text books on the safe use of essential oils and their carrier bases. One of these text books "500 Formulas for Aromatherapy, Mixing Essential Oils for every use." By Carol & David Schiller, who are the aromatherapy correspondants for "Health World", "Your Health" and "Herb Quarterly" magazines also recommend the same dosages.

Please do not call me reckless, I resent that very much, and I would like to know where you get your ratios from...
 
I didn't join this forum to upset anyone, or to cause arguments or controversy, so if any member feels any post of mine to be inappropriate in any way, I am happy to delete it. No problem.
 
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