The Crème de la Crème of DIY shower creams

For a shower that leaves your skin feeling oh-so-creamy

Showering is one of the best times of the day. Under the spray of warm water, you can truly relax, you get your best ideas, and all the day’s tensions wash away. You come out feeling clean, relaxed, and rested. But your skin? It’s not always fond of this watery ritual, which can dry out or irritate your epidermis. So, to make this great time truly the crème de la crème—for both your mind and your skin—we’ve come up with a rich and velvety homemade shower cream! 

This unique emulsion gently washes your body and face, while also hydrating and softening. It’s the perfect product for anyone with sensitive or dry skin.

Read on to learn how to make your shower the Crème de la Crème!

How to make shower cream

Before you begin

In this shower cream recipe, we use coco glucoside (pH 12) and lactic acid (pH 0.6). It is very important to wear gloves and safety glasses when handling these ingredients. Rest assured, the pH of the final product is 5.5 and skin-compatible.  

Ingredients

Phase A

• 24 g (10%) chamomile hydrosol
• 93.6 g (39%) demineralized water
• 1.2 g (0.5%) xanthan gum
• 2.4 g (1%) vegetable glycerin
• 2.4 g (1%) lactic acid

Phase B

• 4.8 g (2%) shea butter
• 9.6 g (4%) emulsifying wax NF
• 36 g (15%) caprylis oil
• 3.6 g (1.5 %) cetyl alcohol

Phase C 

• 33.6 g (14%) decyl glucoside

Phase D 

• 16.8 g (7%) coco betaine

Phase E 

• 2.4 g (1%) vitamin E
• 2.4 g (1%) elderberry extract
• 7.2 g (3%) essential oils or aromatic essences of your choosing

Tools

• 2 small stainless steel bowls
• A lid that fits on one of the stainless steel bowls
• Components to make two double boilers
• 2 small silicone spatulas
• 1 scale, accurate to 0.1 g
• A few pipettes
• 5 ramekins
• 1 mini-mixer with frothing attachment (the small wheel)
• 1 thermometer 
• 1 glass bottle with pump, 240 ml
• 1 funnel
• Protective gear

Good to know!

• Caprylis oil is used as an emollient and is suitable for all skin types. You can replace it, entirely or in part, with another vegetable oil that’s specifically suited to your skin type, but keep in mind that doing so may change the colour of the final product. Here are some suggested vegetable oils for different skin types:
  • Dry skin: macadamia, avocado
  • Oily skin: hazelnut, grapeseed
  • Sensitive skin: apricot kernel, calendula maceration
• You can choose from several possible essential oils to scent your homemade shower cream. Here’s a list of a few possibilities for different skin types:
  • Dry skin: ylang-ylang, rosewood 
  • Oily or problem skin: palmarosa, rose geranium, tea tree
  • Sensitive skin: rosewood, chamomile
• Careful: some essential oils are dermocaustic (for example: cinnamon, clove, peppermint, and thyme). They should not make up more than 0.5% of your recipe, as they can irritate, or even burn, your skin.
• In this shower cream recipe, we chose to use chamomile hydrosol and shea butter to take advantage of their comforting properties. Shea butter will also nourish and protect your skin.
• Vegetable glycerin hydrates your skin. In fact, it’s actually a humectant, so it will draw water molecules to your skin’s surface and hold them there so they don’t evaporate. To learn more about humectants, check out our article on hydrating versus moisturizing ingredients!

Steps to follow 

1. Prepare and disinfect your equipment and workspace.
2. Weigh the chamomile hydrosol and demineralized water in a small stainless steel bowl. Gently heat on the first double boiler.
3. Weigh the glycerin and xanthan gum in a ramekin. Set aside.
4. Weigh the lactic acid in a ramekin. Set aside until step 9.
5. Weigh the phase B ingredients in a small stainless steel bowl and heat on the second double boiler to melt.
6. When the hydrosol and water mixture has reached about 50°C, add the glycerin and xanthan gum. Mix with the spatula; the mixture should form a gel. Cover the bowl, then heat on the double boiler until the mixture reaches 70°C.
7. Weigh the phase C, D, and E ingredients in three separate ramekins. Set aside. 
8. When phase A (minus the lactic acid, which should not have been added yet) and phase B have both reached about 70°C, remove them from the double boilers. Pour the oil phase over the aqueous phase and emulsify using the mini-mixer until the mixture is homogeneous.
9. Add the lactic acid to the emulsion and mix it with the mini-mixer. 
10. Add phase C to the emulsion. Mix with the spatula first, then with the mini-mixer for a few seconds; you want to avoid creating too much foam.
11. Repeat step 10, this time adding phase D.
12. When the temperature of the emulsion has cooled to below 40°C, add phase E. Mix with the small spatula only, until the emulsion is homogeneous.
13. Pour into the bottle using a funnel. It’s done!

Use and conservation

To use your homemade shower cream, just apply a bit of it to your body and face, wash up, then rinse with water. This shower cream is formulated for all skin types and is particularly good for dry and sensitive skin. 

When made in optimal sanitary conditions, your DIY shower cream will keep for at least three months.