Power Gel: The shower gel for a hundred smiles per hour

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The power of the perfect lather

Our latest shower gel recipe has the power to win you over! It produces a lovely, creamy lather, deeply hydrates your skin, and contains no chemical products. Now that’s what we call a Power Gel!

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With its neutral formula, it will both cleanse and hydrate your skin. What’s more, this DIY shower gel is so easy to make! You can even tailor it to your tastes and needs. We provide guidance on which vegetable oils and scents are best suited for your skin type, so that your homemade shower gel will be just right for you. Isn’t DIY empowering?

Now are you convinced? Then it’s time to roll up your sleeves and make your own Power Gel for clean, soft, hydrated skin.

How to make your own shower gel

Before you begin

To make this shower gel, you’ll need to handle coco glucoside, which has a pH of 12. So it’s very important that you wear gloves throughout the process of making this product. But don’t worry, thanks to the citric acid, the final product will have a pH of 5 to 7, which is entirely suitable for use on your skin.

Ingredients

Phase A

60 g (50%) demineralized water or hydrosol of your choosing
2.4g (2%) xanthan gum
12 g (10%) vegetable glycerin

Phase B

10.8 g (9%) coco glucoside

Phase C

6 g (5%) castor oil
0.6 g (0.5%) elderberry extract
2.4 g (2%) essential oils or aromatic essences of your choosing
1.2 g (1%) vitamin E

Phase D

24 g (20%) coco betaine

Additional ingredient

Citric acid to adjust pH (approximately 0.5%)

Tools

Scale, accurate to 0.1 g
Components to make a double boiler
Small stainless steel bowl
A few ramekins
Pipette
Small silicone spatula
A few spoons
Pocket thermometer or digital thermometer
A few strips of pH paper
Funnel
Tottle-style bottle, 120 ml

Good to know!

You can select the essential oil that’s right for your skin type. Here’s a little guide:
- Combination or problem skin: palmarosa, tea tree
- Oily skin: petitgrain, rose geranium
- Dry skin: ylang-ylang, rosewood
- Sensitive skin: true lavender, chamomile
Careful! Some essential oils are dermocaustic. They should not make up more than 0.5% of the total weight of the recipe or they may irritate—or even burn—your skin. You can find our full list of dermocaustic essential oils here.
Alternatively, you can choose to use aromatic essences to scent your shower gel. Here are a few suggestions:
- For a sweet scent: honey, coconut
- For a floral scent: tea rose, spring flowers
- For a fruity scent: fig, pineapple
Vegetable glycerin hydrates your skin. It’s a humectant, which means it attracts water molecules and retains them on your skin, thereby prolonging hydration.
Castor oil provides a dense, creamy lather and is suitable for all skin types. You can replace a portion of the castor oil, or all of it, with a vegetable oil that’s particularly suitable for your skin type. Here’s a little guide:
- Normal skin: jojoba, macadamia
- Oily skin: baobab, prickly pear
- Dry skin: deodorized argan, apricot kernel
- Sensitive skin: sweet almond, camelina

If your shower gel is too liquid and you’d like to thicken it, add 1 to 5 g granulated sea salt, depending on your desired texture.

Steps to follow

Prepare and disinfect your equipment and workspace.
Weigh the demineralized water or hydrosol in the small stainless steel bowl. Heat gently on the first double boiler.
Weigh the glycerin and xanthan gum in a ramekin. Set aside.
When the water has reached about 50°C, remove it from the heat and add the glycerin and xanthan gum. Gently mix with the spatula until the mixture gels. Your phase A is now ready!
Weigh the phase B, C, and D ingredients in three separate ramekins. Set aside.
Pour phase B (coco glucoside) into phase A. Gently stir with a spoon to prevent the mixture from foaming up.
Now add phase C to the mixture. Stir gently.
Add phase D (coco betaine). Stir gently.
Check the pH of the mixture using pH paper; it should be between 5 and 7. If the pH is above 7, dust a half teaspoon of citric acid over the mixture, stir gently but thoroughly, and check the pH again. Repeat until the pH is between 5 and 7.
Pour the mixture into the tottle bottle using a funnel and a spatula.