These recipes are quite simple even for beginners. Glucomannan conveniently gives you more texture to your products. Start with a low dose of glucomannan first. You can then easily add it if needed. However, keep in mind that glucomannan needs time to form a jelly. Let the mixture swell for at least an hour but recommendation is even three hours. Time will show the final thickness of the product.

Moisturizing and caring facial toner

Ingredients:

• 100 gr of distilled water
• 25 gr of floral water (hydrolat), rose water or chamomile water (for sensitive skin) goes well
• 12 gr of dried calendula
• 0.7 gr of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to bring acidity to the toner. You can measure the pH value of toner with the strips. My water’s acidity was 4.5-5 after adding ascorbic acid.
• 0,19 g of glucomannan powder
• 1 gr preservative (Geogard 221 or preservative Eco)

Do like this:

• Measure water into a pot and heat it to boiling
• Pour boiling water over the dried calendulas and let them infuse for about 20 minutes
• Filter out the calendula petals and let the liquid cool down below 40 degrees Celsius
• Add the hydrolate to the infusion and mix.
• Add glucomannan powder by sprinkling it on the surface of the liquid in the same way.
• Mix properly, the liquid will thicken a little. This may take some time
• Allow the mixture to thicken more for about an hour, stirring from time to time
• Add ascorbic acid powder to the cooled liquid. Ascorbic acid lowers the pH of the product to a level suitable for the skin.
• Mix with ascorbic acid powder into the toner base.
• Add a preservative like Geogard 221 or Preservative Eco. In this way, the product can be preserved for up to 3-4 months.
• Pack the product in a pump bottle and label it with date.
• Store in a cool place, away from light.

How to use prebiotic calendula facial toner?

This toner is suitable for use on cleansed skin in the morning and evening. Moisten a cotton ball with toner and pat thoroughly on the skin of the face and neck.

Allow the toner to dry on the skin for a while, then apply the moisturizer.

This toner is not suitable for layering. If you want to layer this toner, put on just a couple of layers. Polysaccharides such as glucomannan deposit on the surface of the skin if used extensively.

Glucomannan hand lotion

Glucomannan works great in hand lotions. Glucomannan acts as a thickener with the emulsifier. It gives a slightly gel-like (but not stretchy) structure to creams.

Glucomannan brings moisture-retaining properties to the product. When moderately applied, glucomannan does not appear to accumulate on the skin. Instead, a pleasant, not at all greasy-like feeling remains on the surface of the skin. This is useful if you need a hand cream for office work.

I also used Calendula in this product. Calendula is a well-tolerated and skin-gentle herb. Calendula can be added to the product as an infusion or oil extract. I added both to this product. In this way, all the active ingredients of the plant are accurately utilized.

To add a moisturizing effect, I added sea buckthorn oil to the hand cream. Sea buckthorn oil smells wonderful. The strong colour of the sea buckthorn goes well with the Calendula.

This moisturizing hand lotion is what dry hands really need, namely moisture. Grease or oil alone does not moisturize the skin. Greases and oils only protect and prevent moisture from evaporating.

To add a moisturizing effect, I added sea buckthorn oil to the hand cream. Sea buckthorn and palmitoleic acid in sea buckthorn oil lock moisture in the skin. Sea buckthorn smells just like candy. This is what one person who tested the hand cream said. The strong colour of the sea buckthorn goes well with the calendula.

Moisturizing Calendula – sea buckthorn hand lotion

Calendula-sea buckthorn hand cream; ingredients for 100 grams of cream

• 78.25 gr ready-made calendula infusion. The basic instructions for the infusion can be found here
• 0.25 gr of glucomannan powder

Do like this:

Mix the glucomannan powder into the calendula infusion and mix well. Let the mixture form a gel for about 2-3 hours. Stir from time to time so that the coagulation takes place evenly.

Measure the following ingredients

• 78.5 gr of previously prepared glucomannan-calendula infusion
• 12 gr calendula oil extract, you can find the instructions for making the oil extract here
• 3 gr glycerol
• 2 gr sea buckthorn oil
• 3.5 gr Olivem 1000 emulsifier
• 1 gr Geogard 221 preservative

Do like this:

• Mix calendula- glucomannan infusion and glycerol in a heat-resistant container
• Measure the oil-soluble ingredients into another container; calendula oil and Olivem 1000 emulsifier.
• Place both containers in a water bath and heat them to over 70 degrees Celsius. Mix the phases during heating
• Make sure that the Olivem emulsifier is completely melted.
• Combine the phases by slowly pouring the oil phase into the water phase. Mix gently all the time.
• Stir the emulsion until it cools below 40 degrees.
• Now you can add sea buckthorn oil. Carefully mix the sea buckthorn oil into the emulsion.
• Finally, add the preservative and mix thoroughly.
• Preferably pack the cream in a pump bottle and add a label with a date
• The cream will be preserved very well in the pump bottle for up to 3-4 months, provided you used a preservative. Keep the hand cream cool place and protected from light.

How to use Calendula – sea buckthorn hand lotion?

Calendula – sea buckthorn hand lotion is a really moisturizing and protective one. Apply the lotion about ½ teaspoons to your hands and forearms. This moisturizing hand lotion eventually absorbs well, although it doesn’t seem to do that right away. At first, it feels like the lotion stays on the surface of the skin. However, continue rubbing and the cream will begin to sink deeper into the skin.

Now your hands have a pleasant moisturized, silky feel. The lotion does not leave a greasy layer on the skin precisely because of glucomannan.

Personally, I really like this hand lotion. Even though it is not a super-nutritious and greasy lotion, it works incredibly well on dry hands.

Artikkeli Calendula toner and moisturizing Calendula – sea buckthorn hand lotion julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Helenatur.

Spruce tips are very antibacterial and regenerates the skin. Spruce tips also contains slightly the same ingredients as spruce resin. Therefore, spruce tips should be used in skin care to regenerate the skin.

Spruce is ​​also really rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C is a very important vitamin for the skin and is especially suitable for toners.

Spruce tip glycerite

For facial toner, you need spruce tip glycerite. You have to make it yourself, because spruce tip glycerite or hardly any other spruce products can be bought ready-made. I think that’s pretty strange. After all, we live in a land covered with forests full of spruce. Find here the recipe to spruce tip glycerite.

Glycerite is needed in facial toner for 5%. Glycerine aka glycerol is a very moisturizing ingredient but only if it is mixed with a sufficient amount of water or other liquid. The rule is that at least as much water as glycerol should be in the product. Otherwise, the glycerol begins to absorb moisture from the skin and the effect is drying.

100% water-based ingredients

When you start making a facial toner, you should first think about what could be the water phase to which you make the toner. I recommend you to choose distilled water instead of tap water. Distilled water differ from tap water in that all minerals have been removed.

An herbal infusion can also be prepared as a base liquid for facial toner. See instructions for making an herbal infusion here.

Choose the hydrolates you like

Boiled water and glycerol alone make a very useful facial toner. Personally, however, I hope for a little more cleansing feature from the toner. That’s why I like to use only hydrolates to make facial toners. The hydrolate added to the facial toner should be 20-100% of the total volume of the product. The product is much better preserved if you only use hydrolate. Most hydrolates already contain a preservative.

For spruce tip toner, I wanted to use birch hydrolate. Birch hydrolate, as a product from a tree, somehow feels like a very natural choice. Of course, you are free to choose lavender hydrolate or rose hydrolate, for example.

Ingredients for spruce tip toner

In this recipe, the ingredients are calculated for a 100 gr dose only. Of course, you should first make only 100 gr because you still can’t know if the product suits you at all. The dose is easy to double in the future if you like the toner.

You may not need any preservative at all if you make only a small amount of toner and store it in the refrigerator only few days. However, if you want to store the toner in room temperature, you should add a natural, safe preservative like Preservative Eco.

ingredients

• 5 gr spruce tip glycerite
• 53,5 gr birch hydrolate
• 40 gr distilled water
• 1 gr Preservative Eco.
•  0,5 gr essential oil to scent, optional. When glycerite is present in the toner, the essential oils are well soluble in the liquid.

Measure all the ingredients into a larger bottle and shake well. Personally, I always like to mix all the toners in a bigger bottle properly and then pour the toner to a smaller bottle using a funnel.

You can pack facial toner in a spray bottle, if you want to apply it directly to your face. The spray bottle is also handy if you want to get a layer-type moisture.

However, keep in mind that when layered, the toner should be very mild. So, if you are going to spray toner, for example 5 times in a row, dilute the toner with water so that one bottle becomes 5 bottles of toner. If the toner is not diluted, there will be 5 times the amount of strong plant chemicals on the skin. This can irritate and sensitize the skin.

How do I use a spruce tip facial toner?

Apply spruce tip facial toner in the morning on cleansed skin. I think this facial toner suits best for daytime use. You can wipe your face and throat area with a cotton wipe gently moistened with facial toner. Also try spraying facial toner on your face. Allow the toner to be absorbed deeper into the skin to bring in the desired moisture. Then apply a day cream to protect your skin.

In this way, fresh and skin-treating toner is easily created from natural products. I hope you liked the guide and got excited to give it a try.

Tell us again about your experience, how this toner has worked for you!

Artikkeli Refreshing and soothing facial toner from spruce tips julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Helenatur.

The next product in my Artemisia beauty collection is toner. Artemisia vulgaris the mugwort, is a herb that soothes and deeply cleanses the skin. That is why it is also worth making a soothing toner from artemisia. The making of toners is quite easy. If you have dried artemisia in stock, you will make this toner really fast. My toner recipe has several ingredients that complete the effect of the product. It is up to you if you want to use all these ingredients.

To whom artemisia toner suit best?

Artemisia toner soothes the skin and makes the skin look clearer. Artemisia also cleanses the skin. It penetrates deep into the pores, and is also effective on nasty blackheads. I recommend this face lotion especially for impure and greasy skin.

About the preservation of toner

As the name suggests, toners always contain a lot of water. Without preservative, they can only be stored in a refrigerator for a week. This is why many makers of homemade cosmetics have replaced toner with diluted apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar will be preserved in a refrigerator for months. However, sometimes you may want change and try the power of herbs. It is good to vary the toner according to the condition of the skin and the season.

I don’t want to add any preservative to my toner. All preservatives disturb the skin’s own bacterial activity. That’s why I only make toners for a need of a week. I always store toner in the fridge.

The ingredients in Artemisia toner complete each other

Artemisia toner base consists of an herbal infusion that you can make either from fresh or dried herbs. Herb infusions are easy to prepare. You will need 2 teaspoons of dried herbs or one tablespoon of fresh herbs. Pour 2.5 decilitres of boiling hot water over the herbs and let simmer for 10 minutes. The infusion is ready.

Glycerol

Glycerol is often added to facial toners. Glycerol, or glycerine, is a natural component in all oils and fats. Fats always consist of glycerine and various fatty acids. Glycerol is a humectant or moisturizing ingredient. Humectants are substances that love moisture and attract it. However, glycerol should not be added very much to products because of many different reasons. You can read more about glycerol here.

Witch-hazel water

Witch-hazel (hamamelis) water is a hydrosol like rose water or orange blossom water. Witch-hazel water works well in toners as it is a particularly astringent ingredient. Adding hydrosols to toners also improves the shelf life of the product. Instead of essential oils, I prefer to use hydrosols to give nice scent to my own products.

Arginine

Arginine is an ingredient I should write a whole new story about. Arginine is an amino acid used by athletes, and persons suffering from blood circulation problems. In cosmetics, arginine is added to products as a humectant. Arginine also stimulates the production of collagen and elastane. That’s why I often use arginine powder, especially in toners. If you wish, you can also exclude arginine from this product.

Pectin

Pectin is one of my favourite products. Pectin improves the structure of the facial toner and acts as a skin-protecting ingredient. You can buy pectin as a ready-made powder or make it yourself from autumn apples. Preferably use domestic organic apples or non-toxic ones growing on your own yard, the closer the better. If you use self-made pectin, replace some part (10-30%) of the liquid with a pectin solution. More about pectin and instructions for making pectin is here.

If you use ready-made pectin powder, the liquid must be acidic. Pectin is only soluble in acidic liquids. Therefore, citric acid is used in this recipe.

Tip

• Add very little pectin to the liquid at a time. Pectin gets lumpy easily and the lumps won’t dissolve by mixing. I myself drop carefully a dust-like layer of pectin powder on top of the liquid and stir. However, if the pectin gets lumpy, the small lumps are dissolved in the acidic liquid overnight.

Ascorbic acid

Facial toner is used to equalize the pH of the skin after cleansing. Ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, is a safe and relatively natural acidic ingredient in cosmetics. You can control the acidity of your toner by changing the amount of ascorbic acid.

If you use products that are too acidic or too alkaline, your skin will become easily irritated. You can check the acidity of your toner by using pH strips. The pH of normal skin is 4.5 to 5.5. If your skin is dry, then the pH will be higher. The pH of oily skin is always lower, meaning more acidic.

Acid also has another function in this toner. For pectin to dissolve in the product, the liquid must be acidic. You can also replace ascorbic acid with citric acid or a drop of apple cider vinegar. Some persons are sensitized to citric acid. So, first check if it is suitable for your skin.

Artemisia facial toner recipe

Purity cannot be overemphasized. Facial toners will get easily spoiled. This recipe does not contain any preservative. However, if you wish, you can add it to the product. Disinfect all utensils you use with strong alcohol or boil them, regardless of whether you used a preservative or not.

You need the following ingredients for 200 ml of toner:

• 140 ml artemisia infusion
• 50 ml of witch hazel water
• 1 teaspoon of glycerol
• 2-3 gr. citric acid
• 0.3-0.5 gr. Pectin powder, this is a really small amount that I can describe with the word pinch
• 1 gr. Arginine powder

Heat the artemisia infusion and glycerol to 80 degrees Celsius. Keep the mixture at 80 degrees for 30 minutes to improve shelf life.

Allow the liquid to cool down to below 40 degrees Celsius and mix thoroughly by whipping witch hazel water, citric acid, pectin powder and arginine powder.

Bottle the mixture in a sterilized glass bottle.

The mixture remains slightly lumpy because the pectin powder needs time to dissolve in the liquid. You can now put the bottle in the refrigerator. During the night, the pectin powder is completely dissolved and the mixture is smooth.

How is artemisia facial toner used?

Artemisia facial toner is a very astringent and soothing product for the skin. Use toner after cleansing your skin thoroughly. Artemisia toner closes pores and evens out skin tone.

You can also use this facial toner in the morning to clean the night marks on your skin.

Pour ½ a teaspoon of Artemisia facial toner into a cotton ball and wipe the skin of the face, neck and décolleté. Allow the toner to soak in peace and dry for a while before adding moisturizer.

I hope you like to try this facial toner. If there is some ingredient you do not like, you can easily replace it with something similar.

Please let me know, how did you  like this recipe?

Artikkeli Artemisia facial toner julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Helenatur.

You have certainly used vinegar as such for many purposes, but have you ever prepared cosmetics from vinegar.

Vinegar is used to be seen as a very strong raw material for cosmetic products. This is largely due to the smell of vinegar. Certainly, for example, lemon juice is just as strong but its aroma is very pleasant. The smell of vinegar is also the main reason why it has not been developed cosmetic products so often.

Herbal extract from vinegar

The most convenient way to combine the good characteristic of a vinegar is to prepare herbal vinegar extract. Good herbs for extracts are aromatic herbs like thyme and rosemary. You can combine different plants and prepare your own extract, for example, from dried summer herbs. Calendula and chamomile are also good for extracable herbs. You can use the for extraction either white wine vinegar or distilled vinegar. Expensive unfiltered apple cider vinegar I would not waste for this purpose. You can use it as it is.

Herbs Suitable for vinegar extraction

You can use all kind of herbs in herbal vinegar extract either fresh or dried

• Citrus peels (organic quality)
• Aromatic culinary herbs such as rosemary, thyme, sage
• Leaves of blueberry, leaves of cowberry; this way you can get arbutin into a cosmetic product
• Fresh ginger; relieves pains, good for foot baths
• All mints are also good for foot baths and deodorants
• Nettle

Prepare the herb extract as follows

• Clean the herbs if they are fresh
• Shred herbs into smaller pieces and put to glass jar with a lid. The glass jar should be so small that you can get it completely full of herbs. I myself have used baby food jars.
• Pour the spirits vinegar or white wine vinegar so that the herbs are covered.
• Close the jar and place it in a light-protected place for two, maximum four weeks.
• You can also talk to a jar ?
• After four weeks filter the vinegar and move it to a clean glass jar with a lid.
• You can use this way with extracted vinegar for about half a year. Then it’s time to make a new.

Where you can use the herbal vinegar extract

• You can prepare the facial toner from herbal vinegar
• You can make deodorants from herbal vinegars
• You can use it in foot baths

At the same time, prepare many different herbal vinegar extracts for different purposes. This way you will always have in your closet semi-finished products to produce cosmetics. In the summer, it is worth of picking up natural herbs and store some that are suitable for your skin for the winter. Herbs can also be frozen and you can made vinegar extracts of frozen herbs.

Deodorant made of herbal vinegar

Vinegar is an antibacterial. It is a very common preservative. So, we can prepare a deodorant that reduces the growth of bacteria. Body odor and perspiration suppressing herbs are, for example, stinging nettle and sage. Please note that stinging nettle may easily dye white clothes if used too much.

Vinegar is suitable for deodorant very well as it keeps bacteria and fungi at bay. After all, vinegar is precisely a preservative. You can also use apple cider vinegar without herbs for this recipe. However, if you want to try the herbs effect you can prepare herbal vinegar for deodorants.

The gentle herbal vinegar arises from the chamomile. Chamomile also does not stain clothes as well as stinging nettle.

There are plenty of silica in the nettle. The silica effectively eliminates sweat from the skin and takes care of the skin.

Sage prevent sweating. It can also be used internally, for example such as a tea.

Witch Hazel Water is a heavily astringent ingredient. It reduces perspiration and is therefore useful in deodorants.

Here is a separate post about Aloe Vera. It is a skin care and soothing ingredient. Aloe Vera is anti-microbial and also helps in the prevention of sweat odor.

For a spray-on deodorant, you need

• Spray bottle, made of glass

• 50 ml of herbal vinegar extract from e.g. chamomile, nettle or sage; These herbs help to prevent perspiration and sweat odor formation
• 1tbsp aloe Vera Juice
• 1tbsp Witch Hazel Extract
• 1tbsp boiled water
• 5 drops of essential oil; For example, Cedar or Tea tree
• 5 drops essential oil of lemon or lime

Do this

• Measure all ingredients in a spray bottle
• Close the cap and shake vigorously
• Use small amounts in clean armpits.
• Let the deodorant dry for a short while before dressing up.

Facial toner for acne

The vinegar is suitable for all skin types as a facial water, if one can accept it’s odor. Vinegar is an acidic substance and therefore a very suitable facial ingredient. It balances the pH-level effectively.

If you want, you can always choose an unfiltered apple cider vinegar for facial toner. It can be slightly diluted with water before putting in a spray bottle. Such a product is the simplest. Vinegar is an effective conditioner for acne-prone skin. It does not dry out the skin but keeps it moist.

Artikkeli Herbal extracts, facial toners and deodorants made out of vinegar julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Helenatur.

One of the best things about coconut water is its skin cleansing feature. I have not been able to figure out why coconut water has such a feature. It is similarly anti-bacterial as coconut oil. Therefore, this facial water is especially good for impure skin.

Coconut water

Coconut water contains a large variety of mineral salts including potassium, magnesium, sodium and calcium. In coconut water mineral salts are just the best form so that the skin benefits from them. They are very small particles in plant’s own juice in a best possible form for absorption.

In addition, coconut water contains sugars that moisturize the skin as well as vitamin C. Vitamin C makes miracles for your skin. It should always be added to the products because it will not last very long.

Aloe vera

Aloe Vera is a well- known skin-loving and treating ingredient. Aloe Vera soothes the skin and reduces pores. In addition, aloe vera gel provides a suitable texture for the facial toner. You can also prepare aloe vera gel from the powder. The powder is sold in stores selling raw materials for home cosmetics. It is very plentiful and is more affordable than fresh Aloe Vera juice in bottles.

Gentle Cleansing and facial toner from coconut water and Aloe Vera

For Cleansing Coconut Water Facial toner, you need

• 150ml coconut water
• 50ml Aloe Vera gel, either fresh juice or from powder. Follow the dilution ratio in the package if you are using the powder.

How to make coconut water facial toner

• Add coconut water and aloe vera gel in a glass bottle and shake well.
• Use as standard facial water or spray on face. You can also try Korean style and add layers on your face.
• Store the bottle in a refrigerator as it is a fresh product. Use it in a week.
• If you want the product to last longer, you should heat it for 20-30 minutes at 80 º C and add a preservative. By doing this you will lose your vitamin C and perhaps other active ingredients. Personally, I want to use the products as fresh as possible and don’t want to warm them up or add preservatives.

Effective cleaning paste made of coconut oil

This cleanser is a traditional home cosmetics product and very good for acne skin. Baking soda can detach and remove very dry skin and dead tissue. This cleanser is also suitable if you want to brighten your skin or  want to remove the makeup especially carefully from the skin.

Baking soda or sodium bicarbonate is a very often used wrongly. It is an alkaline substance that effectively removes fat and impurities. In addition, the baking soda has a mildly exfoliating property. You can read about my post about baking soda from here. For this cleansing paste, baking soda suits perfect.

Coconut oil is solid if you keep it under 25 degrees Celsius. At over 25 degrees it becomes liquid and is easy to pack in a bottle. This is worth remembering, when preparing cosmetic products from coconut oil.

Coconut oil is not absorbed easily into the skin

That’s why it’s a very good product to clean your makeup from the skin. Also, eye makeup is also easily removed with pure coconut oil. This cleansing oil contains also baking soda. That’s why you can’t use it in the eye area.

Products containing coconut oil should be removed from the skin precisely because they clog the pores easily. So it is worth of cleansing the skin once again, for example, with a facial cleansing milk or with a facial foam cleanser. For daily skin cleansing this product is not suitable.

You need for coconut cleansing paste

• 50ml coconut oil
• 50ml baking soda

How to do coconut facial cleansing paste

• Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a bowl
• Apply the cleanser either to the entire face area, avoiding eye contour or just on the desired problem areas.
• Rub gently for a couple of minutes
• Use a cloth soaked in hot water to remove the coconut cleanser very carefully. Repeat the process, if necessary, a few times.

Artikkeli Gentle Cleansing and facial toner from coconut water and Aloe Vera julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Helenatur.