Category: Potions

Everything about my handmade cosmetics.

Household products

English Version, Formulation, Potions, Uncategorized

[Versione Italiana]

In this article we will talk about how to make some household products, i.e. house cleaning stuff.

If you ever searched for formulas online for making a surface cleanser or a dishsoap or other household cleaning products, you will probably have found any kind of weird stuff made with “100% natural ingredients” that go from lemons to baking soda to whatever you can find in the kitchen.

Let’s be honest: that’s all bullshit.

If you want to clean the surfaces of your house, you need to use a product that (i) contains something able to clean, and (ii) that does not become the home to billions of bacteria and mold in two weeks. In other words, you NEED TO USE THOSE F**ING CHEMICALS. This does not mean that your house cleaning products will be harmful. Using a cleaning product that contains a surfactant and a preservative (or has a pH low or high enough that it’s microbiologically stable anyway) is much less harmful than using a viscid mixture of rotten lemons.

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Cosmetic minimalism and low waste

English Version, Formulation, Low Waste, Potions, Skincare and haircare routines, Tips

[Versione italiana]

Remember my “low waste bathroom“ from some time ago? I was very proud of that picture, since it took me months of getting rid of old products and testing new formulations before I could get there.

However, in the months that followed I encountered a more or less unexpected problem: time. As you have seen from my disappearance from every channel – including this blog – after I started my new job my free time became almost zero and with it, also my will to spend entire afternoons making cosmetics. On the top of that, I became a bit suspicious concerning the microbiological stability of self made cosmetics containing water. All this brought me to the need for a more minimalistic cosmetic routine, which would allow me to spend only little time making stuff and at the same time having less and less packaging around.

So, here is how my (and my husband’s) bathroom closets look like today.

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Another Solid Face Cleanser

English Version, Face, Formulation, Potions

[Versione Italiana]

Here you can find the first solid cleanser. In this updated version I only changed the type of clay and the functional ingredients. And I took a better picture 😀

I also started to put all the ingredients that have to be heated in the same beaker, instead of splitting them into “surfactants” and “fats”. Nothing really changes and you can save time and energy (you have to wash one beaker less).

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Dreaming of witch nails II: making a gel manicure at home

English Version, Potions, Tips

[Versione Italiana]

Do you remember my article about my nail journey? Back then, I told you about how I quit biting my nails and I showed you my nailcare tips and routine to keep my nails long without using acrylics or gel polish.

However, I also told you that since last year I am struggling with keeping my nails long, because after the PhD I went back to playing the piano regularly. Playing any instrument is typically not compatible with having long nails, unless you are a classic guitarist (then you are allowed to have long nails on the right hand, but not on the left).

I find that the piano allows a certain length, but then it is impossible to keep a nice manicure for even just a few days without it starting to chip immediately.

That’s why I decided to give another chance to the gel nail polish. I had so-and-so experiences in the past with making it at home, I had the impression it did not last long and that my nails were damaged afterwards. But back then, I didn’t know all my hacks on how to take care of long nails that I learned when I had long natural nails. Now I found my way to have a nice manicure for two weeks without chipping and playing the piano every day at the same time. And that’s what I’m going to tell you with this article.

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Scientific literature and where to find it

English Version, Potions, Tips

[Versione italiana]

As scientists or former scientists, we keep telling people that they should get information from “reliable sources”, i.e. scientific studies, manuals, whatever comes from the scientific community. We keep saying it also when it comes to cosmetics and DIY.

But at some point I realized that only those who had anything to do with research and science actually know what are papers, where can you find them and how the whole publication system works. The “normal” people have (rightfully) no clue of what is a scientific paper and how is it different from an article in a newspaper.

Therefore I decided to write this little guide for non-scientists about scientific literature. I will tell you something about the scientific publication system (spoiler: it’s an awful and unfair world) and about the type of literature that you can find online.

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Lecithin-based skincare: soy lecithin and Phospholipon 80H as emulsifiers

English Version, Face, Formulation, Potions, Tips

[Versione italiana]

I spent the last weeks experimenting with emulsions and emulsifiers, because my skin kind of changed its preferences and needs lately. 

Methylglucose sesquistearate-based emulsions started to feel too waxy for me and I was looking for something moisturizing and light at the same time. I enjoy using hydrogels and especially my last version of the gel toner, but I also like emulsions and fluids, so… I decided to try with lecithin-based emulsions. 

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SOS Lip Balm

English Version, Face, Formulation, Potions

[Versione italiana]

Here is a lip balm I made recently with a very particular functional ingredient: the Barriereschutzbasis (“barrier protection base”) by Heike Käser. The Barriereschutzbasis is a preparation that you can make on your own and use as if it were a functional ingredient, at 1-5% use level in your creams or lip balms.

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