This recipe for a beautiful Thermomix body lotion (made with only 5 steps in less than 10 minutes!) is a guest post by Nicky Gordon, the author of ‘The Beauty Mix‘, a gorgeous recipe book for beauty products and cosmetics made in your Thermomix! We interviewed Nicky in Episode 96 of the podcast: Thermomix Beauty Products. This recipe is a great cream for beginners as most of the ingredients are readily available, the steps are easy to follow and it is quick to make. Plus it costs about $1 for 500 grams of lovely body lotion!

Making heavenly body products is really easy when you own a thermo mixer. Apart from overcoming the preconception that it is too difficult or that it is best left to the experts, the most difficult part of the entire process is going online to buy the two most important ingredients; emulsifier and preservative.

To make a proper lotion these ingredients are vital. Without them the lotion will separate and become rancid within hours. The good news is these ingredients are easy to source and readily available. Once you have them in your ingredients stockpile, you can make volumes of your own skincare products.

A good quality natural emulsifying wax will cost around $13 for 100grams (enough for approximately 1 – 2 kilos of finished product). There are many different emulsifiers available but the one I use and recommend is a self-emulsifying wax derived from olives, Oliv Emulse (INCI Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate); it is completely safe (even for sensitive skin), is quick to absorb and adds a luxurious texture to the finished cream or lotion.

Oliv Emulse can be purchased online from Aussie Soap Supplies.

Along with the emulsifier you will need a broad spectrum preservative. I choose to use the natural preservative Naticide (INCI: Parfum or Fragrance), which interestingly, is not officially classified as a preservative. It is a broad spectrum preservative and approved for use in organic formulations. At $21 for 17grams it may seem expensive but as you only need to use about 0.5% of the total volume in any given recipe a little goes a long, long way.

100grams of Naticide can be purchased from Sydney Essential Oil Co for $70
or
17grams is available from New Directions in Marrickville for about $21

A more affordable, safe but also synthetic preservative is Phenoxyethanol and at around $9 per 100grams will give you more bang for your buck.

Now the basics are covered and you have purchased your basic ingredients, roll up your sleeves, don your apron, rev up your Thermomix and let’s get started! Don’t forget to sterilise the containers you intend to keep your lotion in.