Cosmetic Recipes

Gracefruit's Nourishing Facial Serum with Olive Squalane

88% Olive Squalane
6% Avocado Oil
5% Borage Oil
1% Cyclomethicone

Combine all ingredients in a clean glass beaker or bowl and then pour into containers.

Gracefruit's Conditioning Lip Serum with Plum Kernel Oil

50% Olive Squalane
40% Fractionated Coconut Oil
8% Plum Kernel Oil
2% Jojoba Oil

Combine all ingredients in a clean glass beaker or bowl and then pour into containers.

Gracefruit's Moisturising Eye Serum with Borage Oil

90% Olive Squalane
6% Melon Seed Oil
4% Borage Oil

Combine all ingredients in a clean glass beaker or bowl and then pour into containers.

Gracefruit's Moisturising Bath Soak with Cocoa Butter

50% Sea Salt
30% Oats
9% Sodium Bicarbonate
9% Cocoa Butter Shavings
1% Raspberry Powder
1% Fragrance

Combine all ingredients and package in empty tea bags or unbleached cotton bags.  An economical and attractive alternative is to place a few teaspoons of the mixture on a square piece of fabric and then tie up the corners to create a little bag.

Gracefruit's Lip Balm with Sweet Almond Oil

25% Beeswax
35% Sweet Almond Oil
10% Castor Oil
15% Shea Butter
14% Cocoa Butter
1% flavour or essential oil

Melt the beeswax, castor, and sweet almond oil together on low to medium heat until the beeswax is completely liquefied.  Add cocoa butter and melt until liquefied and then remove from heat.  Slowly add small pieces of shea butter to the mixture and allow to melt.  Doing it this way will prevent the shea butter getting too hot and then going grainy.  After the shea butter has melted into the mixture, add the flavour or essential oil (we like peppermint essential oil) and pour into containers.  This recipe is well suited for lip balm pots or tins.

Gracefruit's Vegan Lip Balm with Jojoba Wax

25% Jojoba Wax
35% Sweet Almond Oil
10% Castor Oil
15% Shea Butter
14% Cocoa Butter
1% flavour or essential oil

Melt the jojoba wax, castor, and sweet almond oil together on low to medium heat until the wax is completely liquefied.  Add cocoa butter and melt until liquefied and then remove from heat.  Slowly add small pieces of shea butter to the mixture and allow to melt.  Doing it this way will prevent the shea butter getting too hot and then going grainy.  After the shea butter has melted into the mixture, add the flavour or essential oil (we like peppermint essential oil) and pour into containers.  This recipe is well suited for lip balm pots or tins.

Gracefruit's Whipped Shea Butter

15% Liquid oil of choice (we like jojoba or rice bran oil)
85% Shea butter

In a microwave safe bowl, add chopped pieces of shea butter and then microwave on the defrost setting for a few seconds to soften the butter, but do not melt it.  Doing it this way will prevent the shea butter going grainy.  In a separate microwave-safe container, warm the oil of your choice.  Using an electric mixer, blend the warmed oil and softened shea butter together until smooth.  Once smooth, you may add fragrance oil if you wish at 2% (deduct this from the liquid oil).  Scoop into containers while the mixture is still soft.

Gracefruit's Dry Mango Face Mask with Honey Powder

40% White Clay
30% Mango Powder (or banana powder or pineapple powder)
20% Yoghurt Powder
10% Honey Powder

Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir well using a whisk (not the electric kind!) and then package.  We prefer a dry mask so that the end user can choose the way in which to activate the mask.  Try the following:

1 part mask mixture to 1 part warm water
1 part mask mixture to 1 part warm milk
1 part mask mixture to 1 part plain yoghurt
1 part mask mixture to 1 part aloe vera juice
1 part mask mixture to 1 part fruit juice

Choose your activator and mix the mask into a smooth paste.  Apply to skin, wait 10-15 minutes and rinse away using a soft cloth and water.

Gracefruit's Dry Strawberry Facial Scrub with Yoghurt Powder

40% Green Clay
30% Strawberry Powder with seeds (or cranberry powder with seeds)
10% Honey Powder
20% Yoghurt Powder

Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl, and stir well using a whisk (not the electric sort!) and then package.  To use, simply mix a bit of the dry scrub mixture with a little warm water to make a paste.  Gently scrub the face and then rinse with warm water.

Gracefruit's Solid Lotion Bars with Beeswax

25% Beeswax
40% Apricot Kernel Oil
20% Shea Butter
13% Cocoa Butter
2% Fragrance Oil

Melt beeswax and apricot kernel oil together on low to medium heat until the beeswax is completely liquefied.  Add cocoa butter and melt until liquefied and then remove from heat.  Slowly add small pieces of shea butter to the mixture and allow to melt.  Doing it this way will prevent the shea butter getting too hot and then going grainy.  After the shea butter has melted into the mixture, add fragrance oil and pour into moulds or containers. 

Gracefruit's Bath Melts with Shea Butter

45% Fine Sea Salt
23% Cocoa Butter
20% Shea Butter
10% Yoghurt Powder
2% Fragrance Oil

Melt cocoa butter on low heat until liquefied.  Once melted remove from heat and   slowly add small pieces of shea butter to the mixture and allow to melt.  Doing it this way will prevent the shea butter getting too hot and then going grainy.    In a separate bowl, combine the sea salt and yoghurt powder by stirring with a whisk.  Carefully pour the melted cocoa butter and shea butter over the salt and yoghurt mixture, add the fragrance oil, and stir until smooth.  You will have a consistency very close to that of wet sand.   Spoon the mixture into individual moulds (we like silicone ice or chocolate moulds for this) and allow to cool and harden.  To use, simply drop one or two melts into the bath and enjoy.

This recipe also makes a wonderful body scrub.