Nourish and revitalize your skin with your own handcrafted creams and lotions. Donna Maria shares her simple five-step method for creating fragrant all-natural body rubs, facial creams, lip balms, moisturizers, and more. Explore how aromatic oils can effectively preserve and protect your skin, and learn how to craft products that target your skin's specific needs. You'll be amazed at how your products, which are both inexpensive and free of harsh chemicals, can help promote healthy and vibrant skin.
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Author Donna Maria is an attorney, aromatherapist, podcaster, blogger, YouTuber, and the founder and CEO of The Indie Business Network. Her book Making Aromatherapy Creams & Lotions is a must-have collection of tips and recipes for creating unique body care products. Her articles have appeared in such publications as The Aromatic Thymes, The Natural Foods Merchandiser, The Saponifier, and Handmade Business Magazine. Donna Maria is a member of the Indie Business Network, the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy, the Alliance of International Aromatherapists, the Charlotte Area Association of Black Journalists, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Her local affiliations include Union County Entrepreneurs and the Pink Mentor Network, both of which support small and women-owned businesses in her adopted hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. One: Aromatic Self-Care
Interest in the use of natural aromatic oils has risen steadily over the past quarter-century as people have grown increasingly weary of the traditional treatments for ailments from minor skin problems to chronic fatigue and depression. Homeopathy, reflexology, herbalism, flower essence therapy, iridology, acupuncture, massage therapy, and many other complementary forms of alternative care are now available. If used responsibly, these modalities allow us to play a more active role in maintaining our health and well-being.
A significant outgrowth of the renewed interest in nonconventional self-care is the fascinating rediscovery of a cousin to the centuries-old practice of using aromatic oils to positively affect the human condition. Today, this practice is typically called aromatherapy, and its proper definition and scope are the subjects of considerable international discussion and debate. The most widely accepted description of aromatherapy encompasses the blending of plant essential oils to promote health, beauty, and well-being. This book concentrates on the incorporation of essential oils in combination with other natural plant extracts, both aromatic and unscented, into handmade skin-care products.
What Are Aromatic Oils?
Aromatic oils are removed by various extraction techniques from leaves, petals, blossoms, barks, twigs, and other fragrant plant parts. Different extraction techniques produce diverse types of oils with different chemical makeups and uses. For example, rose essential oil extracted via the steam distillation method is very different from rose absolute, which is extracted with solvents. These differences do not necessarily mean that one oil is superior to another, but they often indicate the suitability of the oil for a particular purpose.
There are several types of aromatic oils, including essential oils and absolutes. Essential oils have historically been considered the purest form of aromatic plant material because they are extracted without solvents. As such, they are the oils most frequently used for skin-care purposes, and the most readily available. For the sake of ease, I typically use the term aromatic oils to refer to aromatic oils collectively and am more specific about types of oils as necessary.
Taking the All-Natural Approach
The benefits of incorporating aromatic oils and other unadulterated plant extracts into handmade toiletries are as diverse as the hundreds of plants from which the aromatics are take
