moringa seed oil Archives

Moringa Clay Mask DIY

November 28, 2017 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Lotion

The moringa tree is also known as the Miracle Tree and the Tree of Life. It’s considered a superfood because the leaves are packed with vitamins A, B, and C, manganese, and protein, and the seeds contain potassium, fiber, and magnesium. This DIY mask contains moringa seed oil and moringa leaf powder to create an incredibly skin-loving product.

This mask recipe was designed with combination skin in mind. The amount of kaolin clay creates a thick but spreadable texture. If you have dry skin, you can use less kaolin clay as shown in the DIY Lavender Clay Face Mask. If you have oily skin, increase the amount of clay as shown in the DIY Sea Clay Mask. Find all of our clay mask recipes below.

This mask is lightly scented with the Spa Essential Oil Blend. It’s a complex blend of lavender fine essential oil, bergamot essential oil, rosemary essential oil, and more. If you have sensitive skin, you can omit the essential oil completely. Read more about recipe substitutions below.

A few notes about recipe substitutions and changes:

Polawax Emulsifying Wax is a highly reliable and strong emulsifier. It could be substituted for the generic version, Emulsifying Wax, if you prefer, although this recipe was not tested with Emulsifying Wax. Due to the clay in the recipe, we splurged and used Polawax Emulsifying Wax to avoid any chance of separation.
This recipe calls for avocado and moringa seed oil. Other oils can be used instead if you prefer; we recommend staying with liquid oils that absorb easily into the skin. Changing the total amount of oil in the recipe will change the overall texture of the mask.
Because this recipe is essentially a lotion and contains a large amount of water, a preservative is necessary to prevent mold and bacterial growth. We chose Optiphen, but other water-soluble preservatives will work. Learn more about preservatives here.
Increase the total amount of clay if you want it to be better suited for oily skin, or decrease the amount to make it better for dry skin. Decreasing the amount of clay may create a thinner product.
If you prefer to use different clays, feel free to swap them. Clays have different absorbing properties, which will affect how it feels on the skin. Learn which clay is right for your skin.
If you have very sensitive skin, fragrance and essential oils can be irritating. Omit from the recipe if you prefer.
Green tea extract can be substituted with a different extract if you prefer. Find more extracts here.

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Lavender & Honeyquat Lotion Recipe

July 19, 2017 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Lotion

Old favorites like olive oil and rice bran oil are great additions in handmade lotion. There’s no denying their powerful moisturizing properties, but the list of ingredients you can add to your recipe doesn’t stop there. Your skin will love additives like our new honeyquat and allantoin powder.

Both of those new ingredients are used in this Lavender and Honeyquat Lotion. It’s also made with moringa seed oil, rosehip seed oil, and shea butter. That mixture creates a thick lotion that absorbs quickly into the skin and leaves it feeling soft and silky. Allantoin powder adds a hydrating feel to the lotion while honeyquat draws more moisture to the skin.

This lotion has a sweet, floral scent from new Lavender Absolute 50%, which is amazing paired with the herby scent of moringa seed oil. On its own, lavender absolute is incredibly thick and hard to work with. Bramble Berry’s Lavender Absolute 50% has been diluted with fractionated coconut oil to create a thinner product that’s easier to use. It’s still quite thick and heavy, so pay special attention to the lotion temperature when you add it to this recipe. If it’s added while the lotion is still very thin, it may separate out.

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DIY Ginger & Moringa Oil Hair Conditioner

July 3, 2017 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Lotion

Moringa seed oil comes from the Moringa tree, also known as the Miracle Tree and the Tree of Life. It’s considered a super food because it’s made from seeds of the tree, which are packed with potassium, fiber, and magnesium. These amazing properties makes moringa seed oil a great addition to skin and hair products.

This Moringa & Ginger Hair Conditioner recipe contains 10% moringa oil to nourish the hair without weighing it down. Ginger essential oil adds a zesty scent and gives the conditioner a light cream color. Cetearyl alcohol and BTMS-50 work to combine the oil and distilled water.

We tested this conditioner on several hair types including curly, dry, fine, and coarse hair. Everybody who tried it loved it. We used the conditioner normally after shampooing, leaving it on slightly longer than normal for extra conditioning. It can also be used as a deep-conditioning treatment, but it may be heavy to use as a leave-in conditioner.

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How to Use Moringa Seed Oil

June 30, 2017 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Tips & Tricks

When moringa seed oil first arrived at the Bramble Berry warehouse, we were so excited to test it out. We love the unique earthy scent and how soft our skin feels after application. After more research, it became clear moringa has so much more to offer.

The trees are incredibly resilient. They grow quickly and thrive in hot, dry climates like Nicaragua, where the oil we carry is from. It tolerates a variety of soil conditions, it’s resistant to drought and many types of insects, and it grows year-round. That means it provides resources to areas without easy access to expensive irrigation techniques, according to this Wikipedia post.

Those resources are what really set the tree apart. Moringa is also known as the Miracle Tree and the Tree of Life because every part of it can be used in some way. It’s considered superfood because the leaves are packed with vitamins A, B, and C, manganese, and protein, and the seeds contain potassium, fiber, and magnesium. That’s some serious nutritional value. The tree is also used for medicinal purposes in many parts of the world.

The oil harvested from the tree is packed full of goodness as well. The seed oil is yellow and has a distinct “green” smell. The scent is subtle in finished recipes, especially with added fragrance or essential oil. Because it’s a dry oil, it absorbs into the skin quickly and doesn’t leave a greasy residue. The consistency and absorption remind us of jojoba oil, or a slightly heavier avocado oil. So why add it to your handmade creations? It’s extremely moisturizing for the skin, hair, and nails. It’s a stable oil with a shelf life of about one to two years. Most importantly, every time you use it you’re supporting a tree that has helped thousands, whether as a filling meal, a sustainable source of nutrition, or a hydrating addition to lotion. Learn how to work with it below.

Cold Process & Melt and Pour Soap
You can use moringa seed oil in cold process soap up to 15%. It will give your bars the hydrating properties mentioned above. Because it’s a soft oil (liquid at room temperature), it will make your soap softer and more moisturizing. It’s ideal for intricate designs, as it won’t speed up trace. Learn more about formulating a recipe for intricate designs in this post. As for melt and pour, we don’t recommend adding extra oil. It can make the bases oily or soft and inhibit lather. If you do add moringa seed oil, use no more than 1 teaspoon per pound of melt and pour soap.

Lotion & Conditioner
If you’re in the market for a hydrating lotion or conditioner, you can use moringa seed oil as the only oil in the batch. That would be about 23% or more, depending on your recipe. You can also pair it with another liquid oil like argan to get the beneficial properties of both. If you like a lotion or conditioner that’s a bit thicker, adding a butter like avocado or shea would be a good option. Learn more about making lotion in this post. Look out for a luxurious conditioner made with moringa next week.

This Ginger and Moringa Oil Conditioner recipe will be on the blog soon.

Balms
A traditional body or lip balm formula is 1:1:1 wax, butter, and oil. Moringa seed oil can be used at 5% and up. It pairs nicely with beeswax or candelilla wax. As for butter, the sky is the limit. Cocoa, mango, or kokum butter are great options. Before you get started on your balm, pop a few spoons in the freezer. When you dip the cold spoons into the melted balm, it hardens instantly so you can check the texture. This is called The Spoon Trick. If the balm is too soft or too firm, you can adjust from there. Learn more about formulating balms in this post.

Body Butter
Moringa seed oil adds a soft, spreadable texture to your body butter recipes. You can use it at 5% or more and pair it with any butter you like. The All About Butter post has more information on options for your recipe.

Scrubs
Because moringa seed oil absorbs quickly and moisturizes the skin, it’s a great option for scrubs. You can use it at 5-100% in your recipe with the exfoliant of your choice. You can also add potassium cocoate or liquid soap if you prefer a more cleansing scrub. You can add moringa to the DIY Turmeric and Ginger Body Scrub for extra hydration. The recipe is made with turmeric powder and ginger essential oil, which are also new additions to the Bramble Berry line.

Moringa seed oil would feel fantastic in the DIY Turmeric and Ginger Body Scrub.

Bath Bombs
Oil and butter wet bath bombs, which helps them hold their shape. They also moisturize the skin. You can add about 0.5 oz. of moringa seed oil per 1.5 cups of fizzy mixture to start. If you want the bath bombs wetter, you can add more from there. Get more tips in the Bath Bomb Questions and Answers post.