I’m going to give you an insight into the intricate process behind the Waterlily formulations, a back of house sneak-peak into the mysterious world of artisan blending. Follow me… shhhhhh
I’m hoping by now your appreciation for Aromatherapy has grown. As essential oil aficionados, you know that these precious plant concentrates are valued because they are potent, super tiny and trans-dermal. The golden trifecta for great skin care! Let’s take a look at how we can activate these benefits in a formulation…
First, I’ll start by unraveling the mystery of cosmetic chemistry and look at how a product is made. Any cream formulation regardless of price is oh-so-simply a blend of oil and water. That’s it. The oil phase and the water phase are heated to a particular temperature. They are then blended together with an emulsifying agent. As the oil and water blend cools it emulsifies into a cream consistency. Really simple.
So then what makes a formulation ‘active’ or effective? The answer lies in the ingredients we choose to use in each of these phases. Commercially, it’s cheap and efficient to use a basic blend of purified water and mineral oil. This makes a light whippy white cream. Looks great, however not only does it lack nutrition or value, mineral oil can congest and irritate the skin.
What’s not so simple is the art of Aromatherapy formulations. When essential oils are the cornerstone of the formulation they require so much care and nurturing. To create truly authentic and active skincare that captures the essence of therapeutic aromatherapy a number of key principles need to be honoured.
It’s simply not enough to add a few drops of essential oils to a benign base and expect results. That’s just impolite! Essential oils have to be courted and coaxed to maximise their amazing benefits. Let’s take a look at some of the principles behind the formulations not only created but lovingly manufactured at Waterlily HQ using hand crafted artisan techniques.
Formulation Partners
If essential oils are the cornerstone of our formulation then pure plant extracts and oils need to be the foundation. Essential oils demand a plant based oil partnership to penetrate the skin, an essential fatty acid (omega 6) rich lipid delivery system to reach the deep granular layers where new skin cells are hatched.
Cold pressed plant oils not only mirror the tiny chemical structure to encourage dermal penetration, but the oil phase becomes the nutrient rich part of the product. We boost the formula by drenching the water phase in hydrosols (the bi-product of distilling an essential oil) along with fruit and herb concentrates and water soluble vitamins. Every ingredient along the label listing becomes a benefactor in your active skincare.
Artisan Blending Techniques
Essential oils are fickle, a little bit needy even. Special attention is required to ensure they stay active within a formulation. Not only are they sensitive to heat, sunlight and oxygen they are also highly volatile. The key is to keep them as close to room temperature as possible. Lucky they’re worth it!
To maintain the integrity of our more volatile ingredients (like the essential oils, vitamins and organic extracts) we use a special double blending method. A hand blended emulsion creates the crème base using our sturdiest ingredients. Once this cools to almost to room temperature we add the more volatile ingredients during the second blending. One of the reasons Waterlily products are so aromatic is because the essential oils have never had heat applied during the emulsion phase of manufacturing. The essential oils remain uncompromised and complete.
Essential Oil Quality
Traditionally quality reflects efficacy and essential oils are no different. Essential oils need to be of therapeutic grade and used in an unadulterated form to do their best work. When essential oils are used in active dilutions and not combined with artificial fragrances or synthetic chemicals they deliver incredibly powerful benefits to the skin. We select and blend essential oils into our formulations primarily for their therapeutic anti-ageing benefits in skin care and secondly for their beautiful aroma.
When our Spa and Salon partners receive our products they have been made within weeks of their order arriving. Our production team take such beautiful pride in the artisan process and personally nurture each treatment from raw ingredient to finished product. As a team we are so proud of what we produce and the unique nature in which it is so beautifully created. The next time you use your Waterlily Skincare, think of the timeless apothecary secrets that have been infused into its making, and that we were only just smoothing on the label moments before purchase…