# Oils in lotion making



## eam (Aug 22, 2010)

I've been playing around with lotion making - I love it. I've been using olive oil and shea butter. The lotion is wonderful but after using it for about a month, I'm finding that my face breaks out a bit. I automatically assumed that it was the shea butter but then I realized that I use whipped shea butter on my face, especially in the winter, and don't have a problem. So, now I'm wondering if it's the olive oil and not the shea butter. Is olive oil a difficult oil for a facial lotion? 

I have sweet almond oil and wonder if I should use it instead. Any thoughts?

Thanks.
Elizabeth


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## Guest (Oct 9, 2012)

Whats your other ingreds... could be its the stearic? or the e-wax or whatever you are using to emsulify.. 
it could be the preservative, some are known to be irritants..


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## eam (Aug 22, 2010)

Thanks Barb. Here's the recipe for a 400 gram batch (it's pretty basic):

220g water
70g goat milk
60g olive oil
20g shea butter
16g BTMS-50
8g cetyl alcohol
2g germall +
4g fragrance

Does anything look suspicious?


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## jdranch (Jan 31, 2010)

Some fragrances make me break out. Have you made an unscented version?


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## eam (Aug 22, 2010)

That's an interesting question. Yes, I've made unscented but I can't honestly say I've used as much of the unscented as I have the scented. I've made a few different scents so I couldn't even begin to figure out which might be the cause, if any. I guess I should try using them one at a time! (I keep them all over the house so they're there when I need them....sort of like eyeglasses - a pair in the kitchen, the office, the LR, the BR, etc.....)


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## jdranch (Jan 31, 2010)

eam said:


> That's an interesting question. Yes, I've made unscented but I can't honestly say I've used as much of the unscented as I have the scented. I've made a few different scents so I couldn't even begin to figure out which might be the cause, if any. I guess I should try using them one at a time! (I keep them all over the house so they're there when I need them....sort of like eyeglasses - a pair in the kitchen, the office, the LR, the BR, etc.....)


Maybe start with the unscented one for a bit and see if you still break out. If you do, you know it isn't the fo. I only break out on my face so I save my fo stuff for the rest of my body.

I get the eyeglasses around the house- add lip balm and pens to that!


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## eam (Aug 22, 2010)

Thanks Jennifer. Do you break out with all FOs or only particular ones? I see I have lots more experimenting to do; is it the fragrance or another ingredient or is it just coincidence? I really like the way the lotion has turned out, though. Even my DH likes it and he's pretty critical about lotions.


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## Guest (Oct 9, 2012)

If it isn't the fragrance, try the CA next...leave it out of the next batch...


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## eam (Aug 22, 2010)

Would I need to increase the emulsifier if I leave out the CA?


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