Traditional American Hand Cream Recipe

Colder season can give you flaky and dry skin, especially those parts that are exposed like hands. What better way to treat your busy buddies but with a hand cream! Hand creams are specialized lotions formulated to smooth, rehydrate, and soften your palms and the over side of your hands.

This recipe was from the formulary of David A. Cushman (http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/newhome.html), an established British beekeeper from the Midlands. It uses beeswax, which is a tough but fragrant wax extracted from honeycombs. Beeswax in this recipe should be the filtered and purified type, and of pharmaceutical grade. PEG 400 is also added for increased moisture. Quantities used in this recipe can be varied to suit personal preferences though Cushman suggests that adjustment should involve only one ingredient at a time. Accordingly, you can make up to 1,000 grams with this recipe and
can be scaled higher.

Ingredients:

80 gm. grated beeswax
150 gm. food grade mineral oil (liquid paraffin)
20 gm. isopropyl myristate
100 gm. PEG 400 monostearate
50 gm. lanolin
20 gm. stearic acid
1.5 gm. propylparaben
1.5 gm. methylparaben
7 gm. borax
570 ml. water
9 drops fragrance

Directions:

Heat a double boiler or a large saucepan with a wire grid on its base and partly filled with water. Prepare two tall glass jars to fill in the ingredients. In the first jar, mix beeswax, mineral oil, isopropyl myristate, PEG 400, lanolin, stearic acid, propylparaben, and methyl paraben. Melt them together over
the saucepan and heat to approximately 70°C. Put water and borax in the second glass and heat to the same temperature. Temperature is not critical as long as both mixtures are of the same degree of heat, the wax is fully melted, and the borax is completely dissolved. Add the water phase onto the oil mixture while briskly stirring with a power whisk for 10 minutes. 

When mixture cools to approximately 40°C or below, add the fragrance of your choice while stirring intermittently. When mixture is smooth, pour cream into jars. Enjoy!

PEG 400

PEG 400 or Polyethylene Glycol 400 is a low molecular weight grade of polyethylene glycol and is marketed by Dow Chemicals under the trademark name of Carbowax. It is a thick, hygroscopic, and colorless liquid substance widely used in lots of medical formulas due to its low toxicity. 

PEG 400 is hydrophilic and is miscible with water, alcohol, benzene, glycerin, acetone, aromatic hydrocarbons, and other glycols, while it is slightly soluble in aliphatic hydrocarbons. This property makes it a suitable additive for lotions and body creams. It absorbs easily on the skin, rendering it smooth without dehydrating. Because of its high molecular weight, boiling point, and specific heat, PEG 400 is the preferred medium in hot bath applications.

General Information:

IUPAC nomenclature – polyethylene glycol

CAS number – 25322-68-3

Molecular formula – C_2nH_4n+2O_n+1, n=8.2 to 9.1

Molar mass – 380-420 g/mol

OH value – 268-294

Density – 1.128 g/cm³

pH of 5% aqueous solution – 4-7

Melting point – 4-8°C

Freezing point – 4-10°C

Viscosity – 90.0cSt at 25°C, 7.3cSt at 99°C

Flash point - 238°C

LD₅₀ – 30 ml/kg, orally in rats

Common Uses:

• Tire manufacturing lubricant
• Paper softener
• Plasticizer for sponges and synthetic leather
• Ink solvent and lubricant for print heads of Hewlett-Packard DesignJet printers
• Wetting agent for soaps and dispersant for toothpastes
• Anti-curl agent
• Soldering flux
• Intermediate in resin production
• Additive in pharmaceutical formulations containing sulfur, hydrocortisone, methyl salicylate, nitrofurazone, etc.

Polyethylene glycol

Polyethylene glycol is a condensation polymers of ethylene oxide and water with the general formula where n is the average number of repeating oxyethylene groups typically from 4 to about 180. The low molecular weight members from n=2 to n=4 are diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol and tetraethylene glycol respectively, which are produced as pure compounds. The low molecular weight compounds upto 700 are colorless, odorless viscous liquids with a freezing point from -10 C (diethylene gycol), while polymerized compounds with higher molecular weight than 1,000 are waxlike solids with melting point up to 67 C for n 180. The abbreviation (PEG) is termed in combination with a numeric suffix which indicates the average molecular weights.

• One common feature of PEG appears to be the water-soluble. It is soluble also in many organic solvents including aromatic hydrocarbons (not aliphatics). 

• They are used to make emulsifying agents and detergents, and as plasticizers, humectants, and water-soluble textile lubricants.

• The wide range of chain lengths provide identical physical and chemical properties for the proper application selections directly or indirectly in the field. and polyester resin preparation to enhance water dispersability and water-based coatings.

• Antidusting agent in agricultural

• Brightening effect and adhesion enhance in electroplating and electroplating process.

• Cleaners, detergents and soaps with low volatility and low toxicity solvent properties.

• Coupling agent, humectant, solvent and lubricant in cosmetics and personal care bases.

• Dimensional stabilizer in wood working operations.

• Dye carrierin paints and inks Heat transfer fluid formulation and defoamer formulations.

• Low volatilie, water soluble, and noncorrosive lubricant without staining residue in food and package process.

• Mold release agent and lubricant in fabricating elastomers

• Paper coating for antisticking, color stabilizing, good gloss and free flow in calendering operations.

• Plasticizer to increase lubricity and to impart a humectant property in  ceramic mass, adhesives and binders.

• Softener and antistatic agent for textiles

• Soldering fluxes with good spreading property.

• Polyethylene glycol is non-toxic, odorless, neutral, lubricating, nonvolatile and nonirritating and is used in a variety of pharmaceuticals and in medications as a solvent, dispensing agent, ointment and suppository bases, vehicle, and tablet excipient.

Source: PEG400