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Lifestyle

Homemade Face Cream for Sensitive Skin

June 11, 2021 by Alexandra Daum
This is the gentle face cream I've been making for my sensitive, eczema prone skin for the last decade. With olive oil, cocoa butter, and hydrosol, it's a nourishing option for dry skin.
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Three small jars of cream surrounded by wildflowers.

A thick, skin-nourishing face cream made with just a handful of ingredients. This is a great option for people with very dry, eczema prone skin (like mine!) and easy to make at home.

As I move closer to thirty, I also appreciate a good moisturizer that helps with fine lines. I used to sell this exact cream at markets when I lived in Canada and it was a big favourite with women in their 40s-60s.

I think it’s generally recommended to avoid creams (rather than lotions, which have a lower oil content) if you have acne-prone skin. This is just the face cream that works really well for me – I have fair, easily burned, sensitive dry skin.

Zinc oxide can be helpful in soothing eczema breakouts and in my experience can prevent it from reoccurring in areas that are particularly prone to it. I have allergic dermatitis – I get severe eczema from consuming dairy – and have previously experienced long-term breakouts particularly on my hands and face.

Though I no longer eat dairy and my eczema has reduced to what I consider to be very mild, I still use this gentle face cream on any patches that might show up as well as daily on my face and hands.

I want to add a quick disclaimer here that this is homemade, not researched or tested in a lab, and it’s your choice whether you want to try it or not. I’m not inviting argument from people about whether it’s good for my skin or not, because I already know what works for me.

Woman applying face cream to her cheek.

Ingredients

  • Olive Oil: extra virgin, the main ingredient.
  • Hydrosol: rosewater or witch hazel. Other hydrosols can be used as well, but I’ve only tested with these two.
  • Cacao Butter: I use the same type for this as for raw chocolate, so it’s always on hand.
  • Beeswax: the little pastilles are handy, but weights are provided, so it’s easy to measure it any form.
  • Shea Butter: edible but not usually sold with food, it’s easy to find online.
  • Zinc Oxide: this can also be found online – check shops that sell soap making supplies, for example, and you’ll be able to get it there.
Homemade Face Cream for Sensitive Skin Ingredients.

Step by Step

  • Olive oil, cacao butter, and beeswax in a small saucepan.
    Melt beeswax and cacao butter with olive oil.
  • Shea butter added to melted oil mixture.
    Add shea butter to melt.
  • Hydrosol added to melted oils in the saucepan.
    Add the hydrosol.
  • Starting to mix the cream.
    Mix on low speed.
  • Almost finished mixing cream, visibly thicker and opaque.
    Continue mixing until emulsified.
  • Zinc oxide added to the lotion mixture.
    Add the zinc oxide.
  • Finished cream in the saucepan, still liquid.
    Blend until fully combined and pour into clean jars.

Tips and Notes

Depending on whether you need extra soothing cream or want something with a slight pore-tightening element, you can go for rosewater (soothing) or witch hazel (pores).

I don’t add any oils for scent because I find the cream smells good as is, and essential oils are not such a great environmental choice. If you want to add some, be sure not to use citrus oils or any others that can potentially cause phototoxicity.

Shea butter will become grainy if overheated – that’s why it’s added to the hot oil to melt with residual heat. Beeswax will take the longest to melt, but be patient and don’t increase the heat.

I haven’t tried making any creams or lotions without an immersion blender. It might be possible to whip by hand, but I’m not sure (maybe with electric beaters) and recommend using the blender. They can often be found secondhand, a great option if you’re planning to use it specifically for things like creams and soaps.

This makes quite a large batch. Store any extra jars that aren’t currently in use in the refrigerator to prevent spoiling. In the summer months I keep the one I’m using refrigerated, too, if it starts to get very warm indoors.

I recommend applying the lotion, waiting five minutes, and then rubbing it in again. It won’t fully absorb into the skin (it’s not meant to) and will add a bit of dewiness this way without looking greasy.

Front view of a glass jar of cream with wildflowers around.

Substitutions

Soya wax can be used to replace beeswax for a vegan option. Other liquid oils can replace all or part of the olive oil, but it is my preference.

Hypothetically, water could be used in place of the hydrosol. Tap water causes faster spoiling but distilled water would be fine.

I don’t recommend changing out the shea or cacao butter. Coconut oil is not a good option, even though it’s solid at room temperature.

Zinc Oxide

Zinc oxide is also the most common active ingredient in sunblock, but this cream is not meant to be used for sun protection. It hasn’t been tested in any form to show effectiveness against UV damage and shouldn’t be used as sunscreen or sunblock.

If you have darker skin, you might see some lightening from the zinc that could make your face look kind of ghostly pale or washed out. If you’re adding make-up over the cream it’s no problem (it’ll be less lightening than zinc-based sunblock) but it can be left out if you want to avoid this altogether.

For people with very pale skin, the zinc can act as a slight evening element for helping with redness in the skin. For my redness-prone skin, it almost acts as a primer and I use it in place of any makeup.

Close up of a small jar of cream.

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Homemade Face Cream for Sensitive Skin

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
5 from 2 votes

Ingredients

Metric – American
  • 250 ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • 30 grams cacao butter
  • 30 grams beeswax
  • 25 grams shea butter
  • 125 ml rosewater or witch hazel
  • 2 tablespoons zinc oxide

Instructions

  • Add the olive oil, cacao butter, and beeswax to a small saucepan. Heat on low until the beeswax is fully melted, about five minutes.
    250 ml extra-virgin olive oil, 30 grams cacao butter, 30 grams beeswax
  • Remove the pan from the heat and add the shea butter. It will melt in the residual heat.
    25 grams shea butter
  • Add the rosewater or witch hazel to the oil mixture, and use an immersion blender to mix on low speed until fully incorporated (emulsified). The cream will become opaque as it's mixed.
    125 ml rosewater or witch hazel
  • Mix in the zinc oxide until fully combined.
    2 tablespoons zinc oxide
  • Pour the cream into the jars while it’s still warm, as it will solidify as it cools.
  • Allow the cream to cool fully at room temperature before refrigerating any extra jars that won’t be in use. It will last up to six months in the refrigerator.

Notes

• Vitamin E oil can be used to preserve the cream for longer. Add 15 drops along with the shea butter if you want to use it.

© Alexandra Daum
Course: Lifestyle
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