Green Tea and Rose Facial Cream

I have had the wonderful pleasure of being able to work with Rosalee de la Forêt and the release of her new book, Alchemy of Herbs. I’m so excited for its release, and I know a number of you are too, so I managed to procure a sneak peek of one her recipes: Green Tea and Rose Facial Cream.

This is only one out of many fabulous recipes in her book, Alchemy of Herbs. She really does a great job of using herbs daily for a healthier body inside and out.

Rose and Green Tea Facial Cream

This recipe is so perfectly up our ally that I was bursting to share it immediately.

Not only does this green tea and rose facial cream have all of the ingredients we are used to using in our homemade natural skin care like cocoa butter, bees wax and coconut oil, and fabulous essential oils, it also has a rose hydrosol and green tea infusion.

If you’re not used to working with these ingredients, don’t worry. She does a great job of explaining each step.

You can basically break it down into 3 parts:

1. The first four ingredients are used to create the infused oil (jojoba, green tea, rose petals, and alkanet root).
2. The next three are melted together (beeswax, coconut oil, shea butter).
3. The last ingredients (aloe, hydrosol and essential oils) come together with everything else to make your green tea and rose facial cream.

So without further ado, here is an excerpt from Rosalee de la Forêt’s new book, Alchemy of Herbs.

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One of my favorite recipes from herbalist Rosemary Gladstar is her recipe for the “Perfect Cream.” I’ve made my own versions of this blend countless times over the years. I know it’s a big hit because my friends are not shy about requesting another jar!

Admittedly, this may be the most complicated recipe in this entire book, but if you love decadent and nourishing facial creams, learning how to make them yourself will open a whole new world of luxury. Most facial creams you can buy at the store—even the “all natural” ones—have all sorts of weird ingredients. This cream is filled with the best and most nourishing ingredients for your skin.

Many of the ingredients in this recipe are oddly shaped, so you will need a scale to measure them by weight.

Because this cream doesn’t have any harsh preservatives, make sure you use clean utensils, bowls, blenders, etc. Also, make sure all instruments are dry; you don’t want to put any water in the mixture since this can increase the likelihood it will spoil. In many years of making this recipe, I’ve had only one batch ever go bad on me. You can tell a batch has spoiled if you see mold growing on the cream.

Jojoba oil is very luxurious. It is shelf stable, and it readily soaks into your skin. It’s also expensive. Almond oil, grapeseed oil, and apricot kernel oil will also work. Rosemary antioxidant can be bought from herbal apothecaries like Mountain Rose Herbs. Besides helping to preserve the oils in the cream, rosemary antioxidant also has protective qualities for the skin.

Here’s a tip for an easy cleanup: Wipe down all oily surfaces with a paper towel before using hot, soapy water to wash them.

Recipe and photo from Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients into Foods and Remedies That Heal by Rosalee de la Forêt (Hay House, 2017)