Last week I started my series of posts on making your own aromatherapy and skincare products.  I introduced you to some of the equipment that you will need to get started.  This week, I am going to introduce you to some of the basic ingredients that you will need to make your own aromatherapy skincare and beauty products; I say basic because there is a multitude of ingredients that you will discover as you get involved in this process, so it would be impossible to list every single ingredient that you will come across in the making of your creations!  However, these are some of the common ingredients that you will need to start making your own skincare products.

List of Ingredients That You Will Need For Cosmetic Product Making

Just as you prepare your ingredients for a recipe in cooking, so you do in making your own skincare products!  Sourcing your ingredients is a pretty important subject area too but one which I will cover in a later post.  These are what I consider to be the basic ingredients that you will need for your cosmetic making adventure:

• cocoa butter – cocoa butter is a basic ingredient in lip balms, body butters and even some scrubs.  Use unrefined, organic cocoa butter for the most therapeutic effects
• shea butter – another basic ingredient for lip balms, some body butters and scrubs.  Again, use unrefined, organic shea butter for the most therapeutic effects
• beeswax – a basic ingredient in lotions and creams, lip balms, soaps and lip sticks.  Beeswax varies in color due to the resins and plant materials found in the specific geographical area in which the beeswax is produced; be aware that some suppliers “whiten” beeswax so that is visually appealing for cosmetic purposes
• water – water is added to lotions and creams to give it a certain amount of consistency and thickness, depending on what you are making; distilled water is best for cosmetic making
• vegetable oils – many aromatherapy skincare and beauty products contain vegetable oils.  There a number of vegetable oils to choose from, including sunflower, sweet almond, rosehip and carrot, but do make sure that you use unrefined and unprocessed oils for oils with therapeutic properties
• essential oils – if you are making aromatherapy skincare products, you will need to add in suitable essential oils for therapeutic properties.  Choose pure essential oils, and not fragrance oils or adulterated essential oils for true aromatherapy products
• natural preservatives – if you are selling your aromatherapy skincare products, you will most likely need to add in a natural preservative to make you product last longer. Natural preservatives is a topic that exceeds the scope of this post but natural preservatives include vitamin E, rosemary oil and grapefruit seed extract
• sugars and salts – sugar scrubs and bath salts contain natural sugars and salts that you might find in your kitchen cupboard! Salts include Dead Sea salt and Epsom salt; sugars include Turbinado and brown sugar.

These are just some of the basic ingredients that you will need to get started in making your own aromatherapy skincare and beauty products; you will also come across plant dyes, infused oils and various other ingredients as you venture into the world of cosmetic making!  If you are unsure where to start, you might be interested in the Sedona Aromatherapie Make-Your-Own Products Kits which include all of the basic ingredients (plus comprehensive instructions) for making your own body butters, lip balms, sugar scrubs and bath salts.

The Make-Your-Own Products Kits are available in the Sedona Aromatherapie webstore priced at $24.95 each (plus shipping).

Next time, I will give you some tips on how to clean your equipment that you use in making your own aromatherapy and skincare products!