Face Pack: What is it and how to make it

You can refer this hubpage to know the following:

1. What is a face pack
2. Formulation considerations for making Herbal Face Pack
3. Steps involved in the making of Herbal Face Pack
4. A commercially viable Herbal Face Pack formula
5. Labeling requirements for Herbal Face Pack.

These preparations are applied on the face in the form of liquid or paste, these are then allowed to dry and set on the face with the object of giving facial skin a transient tighteing, strengthening and and clean effect to the skin. They are usually left on the skin for ten to twenty five minutes to allow all the water to evaporate, the resulting film thus contracts and hardens and can easily be removed.

The warmth and tightening effect produced by application of face pack produces the stimulating sensation of a rejuvenated face, while the colloidal and adsorption clays used in these preparations remove the dirt and grease from the skin of the face. When the applied face pack is eventually removed skin debris and deposited dirt gets removed with it.

A good Face pack should possess following properties:

1. It should not have gritty particles in it otherwise it may become abrasive.
2. Face pack should be free of earthly odor that may come due to earth like ingredients.
3. A face pack should dry rapidly to form an adherent coating which can be removed by peeling off or gently washing without any pain or discomfort to the user.
4. It should also be able to clean the skin significantly.
5. Most important the ingredients used should be dematologically innocuous and non toxic.

Face packs based on bees wax, vinyl resin hydro-colloids, rubber derivatives and earth satisfy the above characteristics. Earth based systems enjoy popularity due to time proven efficacy, economy and general acceptance, these are often referred as paste masks. Earth based face masks contain high percentage of solids usually in the form of clays, that act as good adsorbent. Clays like bentonite produce genuine cleansing effect especially in oily skin. Other clays that are used are clay kaolin and fuller’s earth. Humectants like glycerin if added make the smooth and supple.

Herbal ingredients are often added to face packs to improve marketeblity and add beneficial effects of known herbs. In the formula disscussed below one can try with cucumber extract and orange peel powder. Cucmber extract is known to help prevent pimples, black heads, wrinkles and facial dryness. Orange peel is an astringent and helps in masking the odour earth clays.

Ingredients (Quantity)

Kaolin ( 30 grams)
Bentonite ( 6 grams)
Cetyl Alcohol (2 grams)
Glycerin (12grams)
Perfume (As per individual judgment)
Preservative (In sufficient quantity as per type)
Cucumber gel (6 grams)
Orange peel (powder 4 grams)
Water (to make 100grams)

1. Step1: Melt two grams of cetyl alcohol by placing borosillicate container containing it on a hot water bath. Once cetyl alcohol melts add kaolin and bentonite powder to it.
2. Step 2: Next glycerin is added to 30 ml of water to make the aqueous phase of the face pack.
3. Step 3: Now add cucumber gel to the water and glycerin solution and mix thourougly.
4. Step 4: The contents formed in step 1 are added to the aqueous phase formed in step 2 slowly with stirring.
5. Step 5: Orange peel powder, perfume and perservative are added in the contents obtained at the end of step 4 slowly with through mixing to get a smooth paste like consistency.

Pack it in a collapsible tube or wide mouth but airtight container.

Note : All the powered should be passed through fine sieve to rule out presence of any gritty particles.

Label the container according to the guidelines given by food and drug administration of your country.