You can easily make your own gels from Irish Moss – if you don’t mind the „fishy“ aroma that is :-). I don’t and I find that one can cover up the aroma with essential oils if necessary.
In general you don’t want to use preservatives if you make your own face and hand gels. The drawback of this is of course that your gel will last a maximum of 3 days when stored in the fridge. Only 1 day if you don’t store it cold. However, for all of you who for one reason or another don’t want synthetic or any other preservatives in their skin care the rule of thumb is:
1 gram of dried irish moss to 10 grams of distilled water (or hydrolat) – or just use the rule 1% of irish moss to 10% of distilled water.
I soak the irish moss in the water for 15 – 20 minutes, then I bring it to the boil, let it cool down and then press it through a sieve or a cheese cloth (the latter is better because it removes all seaweedy bits).
You now have your base gel into which you can add various other ingredients such as base oils (for example raspberry or cucumber oil or even olive oil). Don’t add more than 0.5% or your gel will fall apart. Mix well – best mix it in a blender for a good 5 – 10 minutes. This also chops up any bits that may have been left from boiling the raw material (don’t get too bogged down though, just accept a few tiny bits in the gel, they don’t do you any harm). Add a few drops of vegetable glycerin if you like. And a few drops of your favourite essential oil – rosemary works well (anything „herbal“ rather flowery), fennel is another great aroma oil.
I prefer to use a tall jar with a pump top – this way my fingers cannot contaminate the gel. If you store your gel in a jar with a screw top then I would advise to use a stainless steel spoon to scoop out your gel (make sure the spoon has been sterilized beforehand with i water or a natural disinfectant for example).
The gel is fantastic for hot skin conditions, as an aftersun gel, for minor cuts, on pimples and so forth. If you wanted to use it as an anti aging gel then add some niacinamide and glucosamine into it – you have to dissolve these two powders in a little distilled water or floral water first and then whisk it into the gel to distribute the solution evenly.
You can of course use this gel as a hair conditioner – just use more water. I would recommend a ratio of 1 : 60 (i.e. 1 gram of irish moss to 60 grams of distilled water). If you have greasy hair then leave off the base oil. Add a few drops of your favourite essential oil, mix well and apply after shampooing your hair. Let it work for 1 – 2 minutes and then rinse it off with plenty of warm water – in the same way as you would use any other hair conditioner.
So there you go – an easy way to make your own gels. If you have the time to spare and the will to make a fresh supply every 3 days that is.
Happy mixing!
Cebra Ethical Skincare Naturhautpflege 