Has anyone tried to replicate their favorite store brand moisturizer?

[Reg]

I like Burt's Bees (for cooler weather)

http://www.burtsbees.com/natural-products/face-moisturizers/radiance-day-creme.html

And Bare Minerals (in summer)

http://bareescentuals.com/RareMinerals%20Purely%20Nourishing%20Moisturizer%20and%20NEW%20Active%20Triple%20Treatment%20Eye%20Cream/600026,default,pd.html?start=4&cgid=BE_TREAT

And since I started making my own stuff, I wonder if it's possible to replicate these at home. Both of these list their ingredients online, but I would have no idea how much of what to use, and which ingredients would be optional (not even sure what some of them are)

[CareBear]

I don't, because frankly it's less expensive for me to purchase the occasional package than make my own, package my own, etc.

[mychellec]

Duping your favorite product isn't that hard! Lotions vary a bit, but all follow the same basic formula. First, how thick is it? Getting the proper viscosity is the first step. Second, what ingredients do you have, and what can you sub for something similar? Third, start looking for recipes that either contain those ingredients, or are similar. Than play! It will probably take several attempts, but that's the fun part. Just take detailed notes and compare away.

Making your own can be pricey at first, but in the long run it is much more cost effective. With store bought products we are paying a lot for packaging, and the products often contain a higher concentration of water to goodies than our products do. Good luck! I think I'll start playing with the Burt's Bees lotion, and let you know what I come up with.

[mychellec]

Okay, so the Burts Bees is a cream, not a lotion. So the water content is going to be between 60-70% (probably more towards 60). Let's look at the ingredients:

Water,

sesamum indicum (sesame) seed oil, - emollient

glycerin, - humectant

ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, - emollient

stearic acid, - thickener

royal jelly, - optional/omit (jury is still out on this & it's pricey)

kaolin, - clay, thickener

fragrance, - rarely at more than 1%

Everything after the fragrance is 1% or less of the product, and can be omitted (except the preservative, of course)

aloe barbadensis leaf juice, - use at 1%

lecithin, sucrose distearate, - lecitihin at 1%, thickener

sodium borate, - borax, omit (skin sensitizer)

xanthan gum, - use at 1% or less, thickener

sodium lactate, - humectant

chlorophenesin, phenoxyethanol - preservative at manufacturer's recommendation

You can omit the extracts and not notice it in the viscosity of finished product: (prunus serotina (wild cherry) bark extract, pollen extract, mentha viridis (spearmint) extract, betula alba (birch) bark extract, arctium lappa (burdock) root extract,sucrose stearate,)

So if we take out the extracts and fillers, we have a basic cream consisting of water, sesame oil, glycerin, castor oil, and a sprinkling of clay, aloe, lecithin, xantham gum, and preservative. As a starting point you might try:

Water 65%

Oils at 10-20%

Glycerin at 3%

Sodium Lactate at 1-2% (any more than this is photo-sensitizing)

E-Wax at 3-5%

Stearic Acid at 2-3%

Aloe at 2% or less

lecithin at 2% or less

xantham gum at .5-1%

Clay at .5-1%

Preservative and fragrance at manufacturer's recommendation

These are just figure off the top of my head, so you'll need to play with them to make it equal 100%. This might be too thick or thin, but it's a place to start. Good luck and let me know what you come up with!

Edited October 8, 2010 by mychellec

[Kitn]

I made a hemp facial cream from the list of my store bought one, I like mine better,lol.

[CareBear]

and the products often contain a higher concentration of water to goodies than our products do.

yea, but if you change the "concentration of water" then you aren't duping any more...

anyway, have fun experimenting.

[Reg]

Okay, so the Burts Bees is a cream, not a lotion. So the water content is going to be between 60-70% (probably more towards 60). Let's look at the ingredients:

Water,

sesamum indicum (sesame) seed oil, - emollient

glycerin, - humectant

ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, - emollient

stearic acid, - thickener

royal jelly, - optional/omit (jury is still out on this & it's pricey)

kaolin, - clay, thickener

fragrance, - rarely at more than 1%

Everything after the fragrance is 1% or less of the product, and can be omitted (except the preservative, of course)

aloe barbadensis leaf juice, - use at 1%

lecithin, sucrose distearate, - lecitihin at 1%, thickener

sodium borate, - borax, omit (skin sensitizer)

xanthan gum, - use at 1% or less, thickener

sodium lactate, - humectant

chlorophenesin, phenoxyethanol - preservative at manufacturer's recommendation

You can omit the extracts and not notice it in the viscosity of finished product: (prunus serotina (wild cherry) bark extract, pollen extract, mentha viridis (spearmint) extract, betula alba (birch) bark extract, arctium lappa (burdock) root extract,sucrose stearate,)

So if we take out the extracts and fillers, we have a basic cream consisting of water, sesame oil, glycerin, castor oil, and a sprinkling of clay, aloe, lecithin, xantham gum, and preservative. As a starting point you might try:

Water 65%

Oils at 10-20%

Glycerin at 3%

Sodium Lactate at 1-2% (any more than this is photo-sensitizing)

E-Wax at 3-5%

Stearic Acid at 2-3%

Aloe at 2% or less

lecithin at 2% or less

xantham gum at .5-1%

Clay at .5-1%

Preservative and fragrance at manufacturer's recommendation

These are just figure off the top of my head, so you'll need to play with them to make it equal 100%. This might be too thick or thin, but it's a place to start. Good luck and let me know what you come up with!

Thank you! I had no idea where to start (because I never made a face cream before), so I was not sure what's omitable, and what the proportions should be. Looks like I need to get some more ingredients before I can start my experimenting.

One question, do I use aloe gel or juice or some other form of it?

[mychellec]

You're welcome! Formula fun! You can use aqloe juice or gel. The gel will make a thicker product. A store-bought gel bought from the cosmetics aisle will likely already have some preservatives in it - that can be a good or bad thing, depending on your perspective. Let us know how this turns out!

[Mayren]

I'm doing this experiment too, I've been chasing labels on all my faves in the house down and researching all the ingredients.

I've done a few of the Lush lotions and I use alot of Curel lotion previously due to sensitive skin issues and I have come up with a few lotion batches that are sooo close but better. It's very empowering to make that stuff by my own hands.

My challenge now is to contiune formulating but then make actual

large sizes of my own formulae that turns out consistently the same

each time. yay!

Good Luck!

[mychellec]

yea, but if you change the "concentration of water" then you aren't duping any more...

anyway, have fun experimenting.

True. I like to research duping as a place to start, and then make something better! :smiley2:

[mychellec]

I wanted to add that there is a "percent of solids" test to determine how much water is actually in a product. It involves weighing out an amount of the product, putting it in the oven for an amount of time, then re-weighing to see how much water has dissolved out. This can tell you what the percentage of water in the product is. I'm not sure of the exact process (it's been a long time since I read about the process), but I'm sure there is info all over the web. HTH!