OTHER INGREDIENTS
WHAT THEY ARE
This category includes ingredients that cannot necessarily be grouped together on their own or that do not fit into another class. But their role in the recipe provides a very specific function, through both their relation to the other ingredients and their therapeutic function. They include vegetable glycerin, honey, aloe vera juice/gel, and surfactants, such as castile soap, gums, and antioxidants.
Beauty Tip! 
Working with some of these ingredients may take a little practice, since they can sometimes be sticky and challenging to mix with other recipe components. We have offered a few procedural suggestions. For example, in our Almond Milk Facial Cleanser recipe (see page 156), we instruct you to mix the xanthan gum into the vegetable glycerin before incorporating the castile soap and the almond milk; by following this procedure exactly, you will avoid having your cleanser separate and you will create a consistency that feels silky on the skin.
HOW THEY ARE USED
The functions of these other ingredients include attracting moisture to the skin, preventing rancidity, supporting emulsification, lathering, and contributing to the product’s texture. You can find them in our recipes for cleansers, gels, oils, and scrubs, and in most instances they are used not in large percentages but rather as supporting components to enhance the formula’s therapeutic effects, longevity, and feel.
OTHER INGREDIENTS
ALOE VERA /ALOE BARBADENSIS |
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WHERE IT IS SOURCED |
METHOD OF EXTRACTION |
ALL SKIN TYPES
PARTS USED: center inner section of leaves
COLOR: clear to pale yellow
VISCOSITY: slightly heavier than milk-like (juice); thick and gel-like (gel)
SHELF LIFE: up to 10 days (refrigerate immediately after opening)
SAFETY CONCERNS: none |
Rio Grande Valley, Texas, and Mexico |
cutting and scraping gel from inner leaf; use of a separator |
HOW IT IS PROCESSED |
HIGHLIGHTED FEATURES |
THERAPEUTIC ACTIONS |
washed, cut, drained, filtered, homogenized, pasteurized, and stabilized |
skin penetrator |
antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, soothes sun damage, moisturizing |
CASTILE SOAP |
|
WHERE IT IS SOURCED |
METHOD OF EXTRACTION |
OILY/COMBINATION SKIN
PARTS USED: n/a
COLOR: clear to pale yellow
VISCOSITY: water-like to milk-like
SHELF LIFE: 2–3 years
SAFETY CONCERNS: do not ingest |
originated from Castile, Spain; now readily available anywhere soap is manufactured |
process of saponification |
HOW IT IS PROCESSED |
HIGHLIGHTED FEATURES |
THERAPEUTIC ACTIONS |
adding either sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide to vegetable oils |
surfactant |
lifts and rinses dirt away from skin, offers a foaming action to product |
HONEY |
|
WHERE IT IS SOURCED |
METHOD OF EXTRACTION |
ALL SKIN TYPES
PARTS USED: by-product of bee nectar collection
COLOR: golden
VISCOSITY: thick and gooey
SHELF LIFE: 2-3 years
SAFETY CONCERNS: none |
worldwide |
gathered by beekeepers |
HOW IT IS PROCESSED |
HIGHLIGHTED FEATURES |
THERAPEUTIC ACTIONS |
honey extractor |
filtering |
antibacterial, antioxidant, improves circulation |
ORGANIC HIGH PROOF ALCOHOL /ETHANOL |
|
WHERE IT IS SOURCED |
METHOD OF EXTRACTION |
ALL SKIN TYPES
PARTS USED: n/a
COLOR: clear
VISCOSITY: water-like
SHELF LIFE: indefinite
SAFETY CONCERNS: do not ingest |
worldwide |
distillation |
HOW IT IS PROCESSED |
HIGHLIGHTED FEATURES |
THERAPEUTIC ACTIONS |
cleaning, sorting grapes, mashing, and soaking |
as a menstruum, solubilizer |
used as a vehicle to absorb chemical constituents from plant materials and to solubilize essential oils into water |
OTHER INGREDIENTS (CONTINUED)
VEGETABLE GLYCERIN /GLYCERIN |
|
WHERE IT IS SOURCED |
METHOD OF EXTRACTION |
ALL SKIN TYPES
PARTS USED: by-product of saponified vegetable oil
COLOR: clear
VISCOSITY: very thick and viscous
SHELF LIFE: 2-3 years
SAFETY CONCERNS: none |
worldwide |
multistep process, involves saponification and distillation |
HOW IT IS PROCESSED |
HIGHLIGHTED FEATURES |
THERAPEUTIC ACTIONS |
refining glycerin involves balancing its pH, heating, and using activated charcoal to remove color |
humectant |
attract water to the skin, and keep water in the skin |
VITAMIN E /TOCOPHEROL |
|
WHERE IT IS SOURCED |
METHOD OF EXTRACTION |
ALL SKIN TYPES
PARTS USED: isolated tocopherols from vegetable oils
COLOR: yellow to orange
VISCOSITY: thick and gooey
SHELF LIFE: 2-3 years
SAFETY CONCERNS: none |
found anywhere nut and seed oils high in tocopherols are processed, though China is a large supplier |
chemical process to isolate tocopherols |
HOW IT IS PROCESSED |
HIGHLIGHTED FEATURES |
THERAPEUTIC ACTIONS |
the isolated tocopherols are often added to soybean oil, sc make sure the soy oil is GMO-free |
used to stabilize formulations |
antioxidant, prevents rancidity of butters and vegetable oils |
WITCH HAZEL EXTRACT /HAMAMELIS VIRGINIANA |
|
WHERE IT IS SOURCED |
METHOD OF EXTRACTION |
OILY/COMBINATION SKIN
PARTS USED: leaves and bark
COLOR: clear
VISCOSITY: water-like
SHELF LIFE: 1-2 years
SAFETY CONCERNS: none |
northeastern regions of the US |
extract in water and alcohol or hydrosol |
HOW IT IS PROCESSED |
HIGHLIGHTED FEATURES |
THERAPEUTIC ACTIONS |
leaves and branches are washed and made into pulp, soaked, and distilled or made into a tincture |
astringent, antiseptic |
astringent, antiseptic, wound healing, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial |
XANTHUM GUM |
|
WHERE IT IS SOURCED |
METHOD OF EXTRACTION |
ALL SKIN TYPES
PARTS USED: n/a
COLOR: white
VISCOSITY: n/a
SHELF LIFE: indefinite
SAFETY CONCERNS: none |
originally discovered in a lab of the USDA in the 1960s |
microbial fermentation of the microorganism Xanthonmonas campestris using different sugars |
HOW IT IS PROCESSED |
HIGHLIGHTED FEATURES |
THERAPEUTIC ACTIONS |
fermentation and then drying and powdering |
thickener, forms gels, helps emulsify oil and water |
adds texture and softness to a formula; should be used at a small percentage and best to mix with glycerin first |