It’s
currently the peak of summer season in the Philippines and the weather is
scorching hot! Every time I walk my way to the office, I feel like my skin is
being roasted in an oven. This inspires me to create my own cooling aloe vera
body spray that will instantly hydrate and refresh sun-toasted skin.
The
star ingredient of this recipe is the aloe
vera extract which is actually the juice extracted from the aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis) plant. Since ancient times, aloe vera has
been used by Egyptian queens as part of their daily beauty regimen. It is
because aloe vera is known for its skin soothing and anti-inflammatory properties
so it is often use in cosmetic formulations to treat minor skin irritations and
burns.
For
the extra cooling effect of the spray, I added a little bit of peppermint essential oil and menthol crystals which contribute to
the fresh minty smell of the spray.
The
alcohol is another essential part of
this formulation. Aside from its cooling effect, the alcohol is used to
dissolve the menthol crystals as they are not soluble in water. Moreover, the
amount of alcohol I put in the formula is high enough to kill the microbes so I
didn’t add any additional preservative. Don’t worry about the drying effect of
the alcohol as the aloe vera and glycerin (a humectant) can compensate for it.
Lastly,
since oil and water don’t mix together, I use Polysorbate 20 to solubilize the essential oils in the
water/alcohol mixture without separation. However, Polysorbate 20 is not
considered “natural” so it’s a matter of personal preference if you want to
leave it out or replace it with a natural alternative (e.g. decyl glucoside).
Since I use about 4% of Polysorbate 20 in the formulation, this aloe vera body
spray is just 96% natural which is still not bad J
So,
let’s proceed with the recipe.
Ingredients
(Makes approximately 50 gram)
PHASE
A
2 g
Polysorbate 20
0.2
g Tea tree essential oil
0.2
g Lavender essential oil
0.2
g Peppermint essential oil
PHASE
B
30 g
Deodorized Ethyl Alcohol (95%)
0.3
g Menthol crystals
PHASE
C
15.8
g Aloe vera extract
1.5
g Glycerin
Special Equipment
Instructions
- Phase A: On one container, mix Polysorbate 20 with the essential oils.
- Phase B: On a separate container, mix menthol crystals with alcohol until the crystals have melted.
- Add phase A into phase B and mix well.
- Phase C: On a separate container, combine aloe vera extract and glycerin.
- Add the combined phase A+B mixture into phase C mixture a little at a time and mix well.
- Adjust the pH between 5 to 6 (if necessary) with citric acid 20% solution.
- Transfer the mixture into a spray bottle (preferably a dark-colored bottle).
Notes
- The final solution will be a little bit cloudy at first but it will start to clear up after 24 hours.
- You can use pH test strips to check the final pH of the solution. Normally, the initial pH is a little bit high so you need to lower the pH to the range of 5 to 6 using citric acid 20% solution. Add the citric acid solution drop by drop using a pipette, then test again the pH. Repeat this step until you reach the target pH.
- In order to make 20% citric acid solution, all you need to do is to dissolve 20% citric acid powder into 80% warm water. For example, you can dissolve 2 grams of citric acid in 8 grams of water.
Where to buy the materials
- I bought both the Polysorbate 20 and aloe vera extract from Craftology Essentials.
- Glycerin can be bought from most drugstores. I bought mine from Mercury Drugstore.
- For essential oils, you may refer to this list of essential oil suppliers in the Philippines.
- The deodorized ethyl alcohol can be bought from Islas Aromatics.
- Menthol crystals can be bought from this online seller.
Finally,
I just want to emphasize that this is a body spray, so please don’t spray it on
your face. The amount of menthol and essential oils I use in the
formulation are not suitable for facial use. If you want to use it as a facial
spray, then you have to reformulate the recipe to use less menthol and
essential oils.
P.S.
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Disclosure: This post contains
affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and
purchase the products, I’ll receive some commission.
