Calamine Cream For Itchy Skin

Calamine is one of the best natural ingredients we can use to make skin relief creams.

Calamine is known for relieving skin’s itchiness and helps with minor skin conditions, such as hives or mosquito bites. Because it has drying properties, calamine is often used to dry out rashes.

Calamine is a mixture of zinc oxide with about 0.5% ferric oxide.

Since calamine contains zinc oxide (white powder) and iron oxide (red powder), it has a pink color.

This cream is one of my summer/travel essential products. Just a tiny amount is enough for skin relief.

You can also use this cream as a face mask. Spread on your face and leave it for 5 minutes, then rinse with water. Don’t forget to test a tiny amount on your wrist before using it. Make sure you don’t have an allergic reaction.

The key ingredients in this recipe are anti-irritation, calming and soothing ones. All together combined in this cream.

The main ingredient is, of course, the calamine powder. The other active ingredients are the: Echinacea Angustifolia Extract (which helps to ease the irritation from eczema or bug bites), Hedera Helix (Ivy) Leaf Extract (which helps hydrate the skin and relieves irritation from psoriasis, eczema and other skin conditions), and Oats extract (known for its anti-inflammatory benefits and reducing itchiness).

Please check the’ notes’ below for alternatives if you wish to replace some of the extracts.

Beeswax properties include: hydration, soothing, and calming of the skin. If you prefer a vegan version of this cream, you can replace the beeswax with a vegan wax (more info in the notes section).

This recipe is for 200g, if you wish to make a smaller amount please use the calculator and choose your desired amount.

Method:

1. In a heat-resistant beaker, place phase A ingredients. Start with the glycerin and the xanthan gum. Mix them to create a slurry, and then add the distilled water.

2. In a different heat-resistant beaker, add phase B ingredients.

3. Place phases A and B into a double boiler on medium heat.

4. In a different container, prepare phase C. Add the preservative and the extracts. Set aside.

5. Add phase D of the calamine powder in a different container and set it aside.

6. Remove phases A and B when everything is completely melted.

7. Pour phase A into phase B and stir to combine.

8. Add phase D (the calamine powder) and stir. Use an immersion blender to create a smooth texture.

89. Let the mixture cool down. Once it has cooled to 40 degrees Celsius or less, add phase C. Mix to combine.

10. Check PH level and adjust if necessary. PH between 5.5-6 is fine. To check the PH, add , to a small container, 1g of the cream plus 9g of distilled water, mix to combine and measure the PH.

11. If you want to lower the PH: Prepare a citric acid solution by adding 5g of citric acid powder to a small beaker and 5g of distilled water. Mix well until the citric acid is fully dissolved in the water. Use a pipet to add a few drops of the citric acid solution to the cream, stir to combine and recheck the PH.

12. place the final product in a container and use a small amount on insect bites or irritated skin.

Notes:

1. You can replace the Olivem1000 with any other emulsifying wax you like to work with. Please read this post if you want to learn the basics of cosmetics emulsions (with examples of different emulsifiers).

2. You can replace the fractionated coconut oil with argan oil, jojoba oil or hemp seed oil.

3. you can replace the beeswax with Candelilla wax, but you will need to reduce the amount. If you make 200g of product, use 1g of Candelilla wax and add the 1g you subtracted to the fractionated coconut oil. You can read more about waxes in cosmetics in this post.

4. If you want to use different extracts, you can use any extracts you use to work with. Some examples of extracts will be aloe vera extract, Malva flower extract, witch hazel extract and cucumber extract.

5. If you are using a different preservative, please check the supplier instructions and use the preservative accordingly.

Related articles:

• How to Make a Basic Lotion / Cream

• Ingredients and Tools to Start Making Your Cosmetics

• Waxes in Cosmetics

• How to Adjust the PH Level in Cosmetics

• Calamine Salve

• Light Body Lotion