Working with Essential oils

I am often asked how do I work with Essential oils and how do I prepare my combinations. It's a long learning curve for me, I made so many mistakes and wasted ingredients. To start with I took finally a practical advise and started working only with 10% dilutions of essential oils in carrier oils. Working with pure and full strength oils is a recipe for disaster. It is not a joke at all and I would warn everybody to be very careful how and where they handle full strength Essential oils. On top of that, the full potent oils are very harsh and overwhelming, it takes longer for the right notes to develop and for some of the very powerful ones you only need such a small amount, it's sometimes virtually impossible to measure.
So start with I prepare 10% dilution in Jojoba oil, although with the sky high pricing of it, it s more cost effective to use Sunflower oil-please don't underestimate the good old Sunflower oil ( I will be talking about it in one of my next posts, lots to be said about it). So if you don't have a good scale, use a dropper. So to every 100 ml Sunflower/Jojoba oil add 10 ml pure essential oil of choice, or on every 10 drops carrier oil , add a drop Essential oil. Shake well and leave for a day before starting to work with it, it will give it a chance to develop the full scent and to settle.
The combinations are limitless, I would advise to start with combining 2-3 essential oils. Measurement is also a headache, if you only need small amount its maybe better to use droppers ( glass droppers are the best) If you want larger quantity, its best to use highly sensitive scales, the ones that weight 1/100 of a gram. Can be a substantial investment, but its worth it if thats what you want to do. Always leave the newly combined scents for a week to settle and develop, meanwhile keep checking it write down what you feel when you smell the new combination. It's amazing how the combination change over time. Don't forget to write down the ingredients, the quantity of each one and the date.
Later I'll be talking about the different notes and the basic rules of mixing Essential oils.

Tried to make my own Light Box for photographing my skincare products, here's the result. After watching few videos on YouTube I tried it myself. I used a brown cardboard box approx measuring 60 x 45 x 40 cm, white strong tape, new white shower curtain, two lamps from Ikea (less than £8.00 each), halogen bulbs - 70 W, 2700 kelvin (£4.00 pair). Still to source the background material for the inside, but all together it's not a bad result. This box can only be used with small products, for bigger ones you'd need to improvise something different. 

I've cut three windows in the cardboard box, cut and reinforced the edges and the walls with cardboard strips and taped it together with the tape. Covered everything with the white tape. Covered the inside and outside with the shower curtain. Not too bad I think.

Our Xmas gift hamper "COMING HOME" packed with skin loving bath creamers, soap and bath bombs. Check our Facebook page Dermafood for more.
Bath creamers are a great new bath product. Made with gentle bubble bath, Shea and Cocoa butters, Almond oil and Soda Bicarbonate they slowly fizz and release mild exfoliating agents and moisturizing butters. They leave your skin soft and heavenly scented.

Dermafood.co.uk

Featured Ingredient today:

Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia chinensis)– 

Jojoba Oil is a very stable oil with penetrative and protective properties for the skin.  It’s widely use on its own or in blends, all round good for all skin types but particularly for the treatment of dry, mature or cracked  skin. Jojoba is a perennial woody shrub grown in the desert regions of the southern parts of the United States and north Mexico. Native Americans have long used Jojoba Oil to help heal sores and wounds. Today, Jojoba oil is still mostly used for cosmetic purposes and maintening healthy skin. 
The chemical composition of jojoba closely resembles that of the skin’s natural sebum, so it is easily absorbed and rarely causes allergic reactions, even with most sensitive skin. Jojoba oil is actually liquid wax esters rather than oil. The body’s natural sebum also contains wax esters, which act as a sort of natural moisturizer and environmental barrier for the skin. However, wax ester production steadily decreases with age, causing the skin to appear dull and emphasizing wrinkles. Reduced ester content in the skin can also lead to the development of conditions such as psoriasis, dandruff, and rosacea. 
Jojoba oil may help treat acne, both by reducing sebum production. 
Jojoba oil contains many important nutrients, such as vitamin E, B complex, and the minerals . 
The Jojoba Oil price has rocketed in the recent years, it’s not that easy to buy it all the time but still it has to be one of my favourite skin beneficial oils.

Uses of Jojoba Oil:
1. Make-up remover – Apply few drops on a cotton wool and rub on the face, dissolves and strips make-up and mascara.
2. Body Lotion – Apply small amount on your body after shower on a damp skin, it will emulsify with the dampness and will sink nicely into the skin, leaving it velvety soft.
3. Face Moisturiser – Apply in the morning or as a base under make-up, it’s believed the Jojoba oil is suitable even for oily skin.
4. Oil treatment for dry and chemically damaged hair, apply warmed Jojoba oil on washed and towel dried hair, wrap with plastic and towel over it for keeping it warm. Keep for 15 min, wash with shampoo and dry as normal. 
5. Great oil to use for reducing the static after straightening your hair – Simply rub a drop of oil between your palm and run through the hair.
6. Lip protection from cold and snow – apply few drops on the lips to protect them from showy and cold condition. 
The Jojoba Oil price has rocketed in the recent years, it’s not that easy to buy it all the time but still it has to be one of my favourite skin beneficial oils.

Little update

Dermafood Pink Cloud Bath Creamer  

 Haven't been posting for few months here, got tied up in product making, labels creating, visiting shows and markets and working on the website. Quite a few products now ready for sale, will update here and on fb. Very happy, now all is ready to roll. Took twice as long as I expected for all the process to start and establish  a new business...