Botanical Skin Care Course Review (Plus A Vanilla Whipped Body Butter Recipe)

I may receive compensation from links on this site. See my disclosure policy.

September 18, 2019 By Rebecca D. Dillon 1 Comment

This post is sponsored by The Herbal Academy. All opinions are my own.

Expand your knowledge of herbal skin care and discover the relation between nutrition and your skin with the Botanical Skin Care Course from The Herbal Academy. Keep reading to learn why I recommend this in depth course, plus how to make a vanilla whipped body butter recipe for dry skin.

When we think of back to school, our thoughts instantly go to school buses, packed lunches and hopefully a little bit of peace and quiet. That’s not always the case however. I have several acquaintances, also in their forties, who have gone back to school recently in order to start new careers. While my sister-in-law recently finished her teaching degree and just started teaching pre-k students in low income areas – something she’s always wanted to do.

Unfortunately, not all of us have the luxury or the means to head back to college later in life. That doesn’t mean we don’t want to further our education. In fact, I love learning! It’s one of the reasons I became a blogger. Being a blogger encourages me to research new ingredients on a regular basis and explore new techniques in my field. While the internet offers a wealth of information online through an unguided quest, not everything is readily available with a keystroke. So how do I gather further insight and the knowledge I need to go further my craft? The answer is an easy one. It’s The Herbal Academy.

Botanical Skin Care Course Review

I didn’t realize how much more there was to learn about natural skin care and whole body wellness until I enrolled in The Herbal Academy’s Botanical Skin Care Course. This online course offered so much more than I expected. I can honestly say that I learned way more than I’d expected. As it was thoughtfully and well presented, I found myself wanting to learn even more after I completed the course. The Botanical Skin Care Course not only offered in depth information on the natural ingredients used in skin care, it also taught me the biology behind our skin and how its makeup relates to herbal skin care.

Why I Love (& Recommend) The Botanical Skin Care Course

There are number of things I really loved about this course.

For those new to The Herbal Academy, a video tutorial was available to make the process of navigating the course even easier.
There were notable facts about the history of cosmetics and skin care that were especially intriguing and found throughout the course lessons.
As this course offered in depth information on skin biology and whole body health, I felt this was definitely a college level course.
The information was broken up into different lessons and sections, so it was easy to stop at any time and pick it back up later.
There was no endless reading. The informational sections of each lesson were broken up with instructional videos and recipes, as well as graphics and herbal knowledge.
All of the information provided can be printed or viewed as a PDF. So everything is printable including the lessons, graphics and charts.
The Herbal Academy also provides printable pdf transcripts of video lessons to refer back to later.
The course is much more affordable than taking a college course and can be completed at your own pace.
Once you start the course, you have full access to that course for a full year from the day you begin.
There’s a private facebook group for additional help as well as to share tips and recipes. (I checked it out and signed up. It’s pretty awesome – plus zero drama.)
The course offers a brief overview of terminology on how to share the benefits of herbal skin care products without making medical claims.
If you want to further expand your knowledge on a topic covered in the Botanical Skin Care Course, there are additional resources provided at the end of each lesson.

Some of My Favorite Information from The Course

There’s so much information to soak up through the Botanical Skin Care Course. Therefore, it’s really hard to share a full overview of everything it entails. However, some of my favorite things were learning how to use herbal allies to care for skin – as well as how skin care connects to whole body wellness. (ie. Gut-Brain-Skin Axis.) I also like that this course covers herbs that address acute and chronic skin ailments with special consideration for anti-aging skin care. And there aren’t just skin care recipes to accompany the lessons. There are also herbal remedies AND food recipes that offer nutritional support for skin. You’ll also love their chart on skin-friendly dietary guidelines!

I loved learning about the basic energetic categories of Western herbalism—hot, cold, damp, and dry—to provide a more nuanced view of skin health. It was highly enlightening as were the sections on Ayurveda skin care and skin care in Chinese medicine. One of the more important lessons, however, covered the commercial ingredients we should be avoiding and why they are harmful. I was most surprised to learn that retinol, which is practically a staple in anti-aging skin care products, should be avoided due to its numerous negative side effects.

In contrast, the Botanical Skin Care Course from The Herbal Academy, also educates you on the carrier oils and butters that you SHOULD be using in your natural skin care products. Fatty acid content, comedogenic ratings, properties, shelf life and absorption rate are covered for each ingredient. There’s also a printable chart so you can keep this information handy when referring back to it later. Additionally there is information on salts, waxes and emulsifiers, clays and natural skin safe pigments, humectants, natural preservatives and essential oils.

For those of you just getting started with essential oils, you’ll find the chart for essential oil dilution guidelines especially helpful along with the properties and aroma of common essential oils used in skin care. I also learned the right way to make herbal vinegars, while expanding my knowledge on hydrosols, salves and oil infusions. There are a number of great recipes in the lesson on making botanical body care products. This section also offers video tutorials, troubleshooting information, additional graphics and printable charts as well as information on storing your products.

Botanical Body Care Recipes Within the Course

In fact, you’ll discover video instruction, printable property charts, troubleshooting tips, preservatives needed and recipes for making a number of botanical skin care products. These herbal skin care recipes include:

Natural bath care product recipes.
Recipes for creams, lotions & body butters.
Instructions for crafting herbal gels.
How to make herbal soaps with recipes.
Hair care recipes.
Cosmetic recipes.
Recipes for herbal vinegars.
Information on making herbal hydrosols.
Herbal salves and balm recipes.
How to make oil infusions & recipes.

The sheer volume of information provided throughout this course is priceless. I know that I will personally be referring back to this course throughout the year.

Botanical Skin Care Recipe Book

You also have the option to add on the Botanical Skin Care Recipe Book with this course. It’s filled with 194 favorite tried and true herbal skin care recipes. Inside are recipes for pretty much everything you can imagine – eye shadows, toners, face masks, deodorant, foot scrubs and baths, body butters, facial serums, homemade soaps and more. (You can also purchase this book separately here.) I really love this book and would definitely recommend it as an addition to your collection.

Now that you’ve decided to sign up for the Botanical Skin Care Course, be sure to also check out the recipe for making a daily moisturizer for acne prone skin. You can find this natural skin care recipe both within unit 4 of the course (for support for chronic conditions) as well as inside the Botanical Skin Care Recipe Book.

Vanilla Whipped Body Butter Recipe

The great thing about body butters is that they don’t contain any water-based ingredients. This means there’s less potential for microbial contamination (such as bacteria) which gives body butters a longer shelf life than lotions and creams. Because the ingredients used can be damaged by exposure to air, light or excess heat – causing the oils to go rancid, vitamin E or rosemary extract can be used to help prevent oxidation.

This vanilla whipped body butter recipe is adapted from Plant-Powered Beauty by Amy Galper and Christina Daigneault. The finished whipped body butter is both fluffy and decadent with a fragrance reminiscent of an orange creamsicle.

Ingredients:

¼ cup (2 fl oz) coconut oil
¼ cup shea butter
¼ cup cocoa butter
¼ cup (2 fl oz) jojoba oil infused with vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) bean
35 drops sweet orange (Citrus x sinensis) essential oil and 5 drops ylang ylang (Cananga odorata) essential oil (optional)

Instructions:

Make the vanilla-infused jojoba oil using the instructions in the herb-infused oil tutorial (found in the Botanical Skin Care Course) using ¼ vanilla bean and ¼ cup jojoba oil. Note that ¼ cup is the amount of finished herbal oil to include in the recipe—you may need to start with more oil when making the herb-infused oil, as the herbs will soak up some of the oil (if you forget to do this, just top off with some plain oil as needed for this recipe).

Gently heat coconut oil, shea butter, and cocoa butter in a double boiler over low heat (or a glass or ceramic bowl or canning jar over a small saucepan of simmering water) until melted.

Add the vanilla-infused jojoba oil, stir until mixture is melted and consistent, and turn off the heat.

Let cool for approximately 10 minutes, and once it is still warm, but not hot to the touch, cover and transfer to the refrigerator for approximately 1 hour, or until there is no longer a semi-liquid center.

Using an immersion blender or electric mixer, whip the mixture on high for 5 minutes or until it changes color and looks fluffy. You may need to periodically scrape the mixture from the sides of the bowl.

Add essential oil, if desired, and mix.

Label, and store in a cool, dark place. This vanilla whipped body butter recipe will keep for up to 1 year.

Not quite ready to commit to the Botanical Skin Care Course? Then be sure to pin this post for later! Otherwise, you can sign up for the Botanical Skin Care Course here.

For more botanical skin care recipes like the vanilla whipped body butter recipe from the Botanical Skin Care Course, be sure to follow my boards on pinterest. You can also find and follow me on your favorite social media platforms, including Blog Lovin‘, facebook, twitter and instagram. Or sign up to receive my newsletter to stay in the loop.

Filed Under: Bath & Beauty Recipes, Health & Wellness, Lifestyle Tagged With: bath and beauty, bath and body, body butter, body butter recipe, botanicals, health and wellness, herbal infusion, herbal skin care, herbalism, herbs, homemade soap, natural beauty, natural living, natural remedy, natural skin care, non-toxic, online course, review, salves, skin care recipes, whipped body butter

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bath Bombs with Coconut Oil & Buttermilk Powder

I may receive compensation from links on this site. See my disclosure policy.

July 26, 2019 By Rebecca D. Dillon 4 Comments

Learn how to make moisturizing chocolate chip cookie dough bath bombs with coconut oil. Scented with a sweet cookie dough fragrance, these homemade bath bombs are made with richly hydrating buttermilk powder and coconut oil for a calorie free self care treat.

Cookie dough is my jam. Specifically chocolate chip cookie dough. I admit, Ben & Jerry’s makes me a swoon a little. And when my hormones are taking the lead on my stomach’s food choices, it’s no chore to down a pint in one sitting. So how could I resist making chocolate chip cookie dough bath bombs?

Just as real deal chocolate chip cookie dough is a treat for PMS, these chocolate chips cookie dough bath bombs are a self care delight for bath time. These moisturizing bath bombs are made with powdered buttermilk and coconut oil to nourish and hydrate skin. While a cookie dough scented fragrance oil sweeps your senses off to a sweetly scented, calorie free dreamland.

If you’ve never made bath bombs before, you can learn how to make bath bombs here. Filled with handy tips and tricks, this post is not only filled with tips and tricks for making bath bombs, it also directs you on how to formulate your own bath bomb recipes. You’ll also find a number of bath bomb recipes – some of which are all natural – to inspire your creativity.

As I know a lot of you may be new to making bath bombs, it’s possible you don’t have a digital scale on hand. However, by using weights as the unit of measurement, you will be able to scale this bath bomb recipe with coconut oil accurately, as needed.

Cookie Dough Bath Bombs with Coconut Oil

Cookie Dough Bath Bomb Ingredients:

16 oz. baking soda
8 oz. citric acid
1 oz. powdered buttermilk
.5 oz. white kaolin (cosmetic) clay
.5 oz. arrowroot powder
4 oz. coconut oil
.6 oz. Polysorbate 80 (to help disperse the fragrance oil & mica)
.6 oz. Cookie Dough fragrance oil
Flax seed or poppy seeds, to suit
pinch of skin safe brown mica powder

Additional Tools & Supplies:

Heavy duty round bath bomb molds
Spray bottle with isopropyl alcohol (or witch hazel)
Mixing bowls
Digital scale

Instructions on How to Make Bath Bombs with Coconut Oil:

Using a digital scale, weigh out the baking soda, citric acid, powdered buttermilk, clay and arrowroot powder into a large mixing bowl. Then add a pinch of the brown mica and either the flax seed, or poppy seeds, to suit. (These will serve as the chocolate chips in your cookie dough bath bombs.)

Next, whisk the ingredients together until they are thoroughly combined.

Now weigh out the coconut oil into a separate container. If solid, gently heat the coconut oil until melted. Then weigh out and stir in the Polysorbate 80.

Add the fragrance oil to the coconut mixture, then mix thoroughly to combine.

Now add the scented coconut oil to the dry ingredients, mixing as you go. (You don’t want to overdo it.)

You want your bath bomb mixture to be the consistency of wet sand. It should also hold together when you press a clump into your hand and drop it back into the bowl. If the bath bomb mixture is too dry, you can use your spray bottle with isopropyl alcohol (or witch hazel) to moisten the ingredients further. Alternately, you may also add additional coconut oil as needed.

Now it’s time to make mold the chocolate chip cookie dough bath bombs with coconut oil. Using a two-part round bath bomb mold of your choice, make each bath bomb one at a time, unmolding the first and then following with the next. (The molds I linked too have two sizes to choose from.)

To mold your bath bombs with coconut oil, pile the mixture into each side of the round bath bomb molds. Lightly compact the bath bomb mixture into each half of the mold, then pile more of the bath bomb mixture into each half.

Next, firmly press both sides of the the bath bomb molds together. Don’t twist.

Then unmold the bath bomb you just made.

Repeat for each of your bath bombs with coconut oil until you’ve used up all of the bath bomb mixture.

Finally, allow the bath bombs to dry and harden, about 24 hours.

You can now either wrap your bath bombs tightly in foodservice film, shrinkwrap bags or package them in boxes for homemade gifts. Alternately, you can also store your bath bombs with coconut in an airtight container until they’re ready for use.

If you like this recipe for making chocolate chip cookie dough bath bombs with coconut oil & buttermilk, then be sure to pin this bath bomb recipe to save for later. Or check out all of my bath bomb recipes here.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bath Bombs with Coconut Oil

Prep Time 10 minutes

Active Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Materials

16 oz. baking soda
8 oz. citric acid
1 oz. powdered buttermilk
.5 oz. white kaolin clay
.5 oz. arrowroot powder
4 oz. coconut oil
.6 oz. Polysorbate 80
.6 oz. Cookie Dough fragrance oil
Flax seed or poppy seeds, to suit
pinch of skin safe brown mica powder

Tools

Stainless steel round bath bomb molds
Spray bottle with isopropyl alcohol (or witch hazel)
Mixing bowls
Digital scale

Instructions

Using a digital scale, weigh out the baking soda, citric acid, powdered buttermilk, clay and arrowroot powder into a large mixing bowl. Add a pinch of the brown mica and either the flax seed, or poppy seeds, to suit.
Next, whisk the ingredients together until they are thoroughly combined.
Now weigh out the coconut oil into a separate container. If solid, gently heat the coconut oil until melted. Then weigh out and stir in the Polysorbate 80.
Add the fragrance oil to the coconut mixture, then mix thoroughly to combine.
Now add the scented coconut oil to the dry ingredients, mixing as you go. You want your bath bomb mixture to be the consistency of wet sand. If the bath bomb mixture is too dry, you can use your spray bottle with isopropyl alcohol (or witch hazel) to moisten the ingredients further.
Using a two-part round bath bomb mold of your choice, make each bath bomb one at a time, unmolding the first and then following with the next.
Repeat for each of your bath bombs with coconut oil until you’ve used up all of the bath bomb mixture.
Finally, allow the bath bombs to dry and harden, about 24 hours.
You wrap your bath bombs tightly in foodservice film, or store in an airtight container, until they're ready for use.

Recommended Products

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More DIY Bath Bombs to Make with Coconut Oil

For more ideas for bath bombs with coconut oil, be sure to check out these other homemade bath bomb recipes. Coconut oil can easily be substituted in each of these easy, no fail bath bomb recipes for the body butters. Or try them with a combination of both!

Discover more homemade skin care recipes on my Pinterest boards. You can also follow me across your favorite social media platforms for regular DIY ideas for soap, bath and beauty recipes you can craft at home. Follow me now via facebook, twitter and instagram. Or sign up to receive my newsletter to stay in the loop.

Filed Under: Bath & Beauty Recipes Tagged With: bath bomb recipe, bath bombs, bath tutorial, coconut oil, crafts, diy, gift idea, self care, skin care, skin care recipes, stress relief

Botanical Skin Care (200+ Herbal Beauty Recipes & More)

I may receive compensation from links on this site. See my disclosure policy.

June 18, 2019 By Rebecca D. Dillon 2 Comments

Take your hobby to new levels through an exploration of botanical skin care. Discover 200+ herbal beauty recipes through an instructional course that will teach you basic skills for designing, producing and using homemade herbal skin care products.

Crafting Natural Skin Care Recipes

If you’re a regular reader of Soap Deli News, then you’re likely already a fan of making your own skin care and beauty products. Compared to my first soapmaking adventure, a lot has changed. These days it can seem like there are unlimited resources to help you on your journey. Everything from group forums and YouTube videos to free botanical skin care recipes on blogs. The challenge can be, however, finding reliable sources for those recipes. As well as help when you need it.

Perhaps you want to take your journey a step further. You may want to formulate your own unique skin care recipes. To do this however, you sometimes need more information than what’s readily available online or at the library.

It’s an awful feeling to invest your hard earned money into natural skin care ingredients and then have a recipe go bust. For some of us, it can sour the experience of creating moving forward. And that experience may prevent us from from otherwise falling in love with a craft we know we’d enjoy.

The very first time I ~~made~~ attempted to make cold process soap, it was a complete failure. I spent my last bit of money on a jug of olive oil from the grocery store and a container of lye. There were no YouTube videos then. And blogs were still in their infancy. In fact, I’m mostly certain MySpace was still a thing. Still, I used a basic soap recipe on a blog with no photos and incomplete directions. I made the recipe as directed and it failed. All because one vital note was missing from the recipe – you need to WEIGH out the ingredients.

I later purchased a soapmaking book that clarified the soapmaking process. However, it took some time before I was ready to dive back into my second attempt. I was very much an introvert at that stage in my life, so that didn’t do me any favors. If you’re a dabbler, like I was – and pretty much still am as I’m always learning and experimenting – then you may be seeking something more to help you move onto that next step. Whatever that next step may be for you.

This is where The Herbal Academy comes in.

New Botanical Skin Care Course

Enrollment just opened on The Herbal Academy’s new Botanical Skin Care Course. I’ve seen a preview of this course, and as with their other online courses, I’m super impressed.

Here’s an overview of the course so you know what to expect.

Described as a makers quest, this potentially life changing exploration of botanical skin care teaches you the many ways that herbs can benefit the skin both inside and out. This educational course will empower you to create your own botanical skin care recipes using natural herbs and other safe, nourishing non-toxic ingredients. With over 200 herbal recipes in the course, you’ll learn how to stock your herbal cupboard with an array of customized herbal preparations for skin so it looks healthier and more radiant.

This informative botanical skin care course also covers the internal use of herbs in teas, tinctures and foods, using an inside-out approach to skin care. You’ll also learn how to craft topical herbal skin care products for glowing skin through the exploration of skin on both a cellular and functional level. This includes valuable information on anatomy and function, as well as nutrition and lifestyle tips will help you better understand the practices that influence the health of your skin. While also giving you a robust foundation in skin health that you can expand on.

You will learn basic skills for designing, producing and using homemade herbal skin and body care products. Detailed video and written tutorials guide you as you make botanical body care products, ranging from infused oils, salves, and creams to deodorant, soap, hair care products, and even some cosmetics, plus so much more. The Botanical Skin Care Course also provides plenty of recipes to inspire your skin care journey, as well as suggestions for their use. (Sign up here now!)

Course Overview

Following is an outline of the Botanical Skin Care Course. It has me pretty excited, and I’m sure it’s easy to see why!

UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE SKIN

Course Introduction; Anatomy of the Skin; Functions of the Skin

Take a trip down memory lane with a fascinating timeline of the history of skin care. You will then zoom in on the skin and discuss basic anatomy and structure, with an emphasis on the many functions of the skin.

UNIT 2: SKIN CARE FROM THE INSIDE

The Skin as an Eliminatory Organ; Nutrition for Healthy Skin; Digestive Health and the Skin; Skin Care in Ayurveda; Skin Care in Chinese Medicine

Discover the connections between the skin and other organ systems with a focus on supporting the skin through dietary and lifestyle interventions. You will gain an understanding of the fundamental importance of considering the individual as a whole and using an “inside-out” approach when addressing chronic skin conditions.

UNIT 3: MAKING HERBAL BODY CARE PRODUCTS

Choosing Ingredients; Making Vinegars, Hydrosol, Oils, and Salves; Bath Products; Creams and Lotions; Herbal Gels; Herbal Soaps; Hair Care and Cosmetics

Build an understanding of the basic preparation methods you’ll need to create a range of herbal skin care products. You’ll be guided by both text and video tutorials and gain confidence in creating bath products, herb-infused vinegars and oils, salves, hydrosols, creams and other emulsions, gels, hair care products, and herbal soap.

UNIT 4: SKIN CARE FROM THE OUTSIDE

Foundations of Skin Support; Skin and Sun; Beyond Oily and Dry: Choosing Individual Herbs; Support for Chronic Conditions; External Care for Acute Skin Conditions; Conclusion

Dive deep into the fundamental concepts and specific herbal approaches for maintaining skin health and supporting acute skin conditions. You will receive plenty of recipes that apply the basic techniques from Unit 3, allowing you to create a range of products for different skin types and specific skin concerns. We’ll also cover herbal energetics as applied to skin conditions, and inspire you with ideas for your herbal first aid kit!

In addition to the course and materials available, you’ll also be able to discuss the materials and ask questions with fellow students and teachers in the student-only online community group.

Ready to get started? Early enrollment is open now. Visit The Herbal Academy to sign up for their Botanical Skin Care Course now. Early registration means big discounts, so don’t delay! The course officially opens on July 1st. Learn more now.

Interested in learning more? Explore The Herbal Academy’s other online herbalism courses here.

For more botanical recipes and ideas, follow me across your favorite social media platforms. You can follow me on Blog Lovin‘, facebook, twitter, pinterest and instagram. Or sign up to receive my semi-weekly newsletter to stay in the loop.

Filed Under: Bath & Beauty Recipes, Health & Wellness, Lifestyle Tagged With: bath and beauty, bath and body, beauty diy, beauty recipes, botanicals, education, healthy living, herbalism, herbs, natural beauty, natural skin care, online course, skin care, skin care recipes