Muscle Massage Gel

I've been training for a local 10k fun run with a group of friends.  As a treat, I made us a Muscle Massage Gel for any aches and pains after the big day. 

My inspiration was Biotherm's Aqua Sport Massage Decontractant which I really liked but they no longer carry.  It was tough to find recipes for gels, and the ones I did find used carbomer which I couldn't source locally.  Eventually, I came across this recipe for Strong Muscle Skin Gel.  I made a few substitutions and came up with the following recipe.)

 

Muscle Massage Gel

100 mL water

1 1/2 tsp (7.5 mL) Xantham Gum

1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) Cromoist 025 (Hydrolyzed Oat Protein)

1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) Muscle and Joint Essential Oil Blend (from Voyageur, contains Eucalyptus, Rosemary, Cajeput, and Camphor)

1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) Peppermint Essential Oil

1/4 tsp (1.25 mL) Optiphen (preservative)

 

If you compare the recipes, you will notice I increased the amount of Xanthan Gum to produce the thicker gel I was looking for.  I substituted Oat Protein and a separate preservative for the store specific ingredient they call NFF Moisturizer.  I chose Optiphen as my preservative because it is paraben and urea free.

I like how the gel turned out.  We'll see what the others think.  The consistency is good, and it feels good massaged on.  The smell is strong and a little medicinal because of the eucalyptus, but I don't think it is unpleasant.  I did experiment a little with natural colorant, but, in the end,  I preferred the gel without any added colour.

The lady (I must get her name next time!) who works at Voyageur is wonderful - very knowledgeable and helpful.  She has helped me choosing ingredients, learn about the ingredients, and make substitutions.  I also just stumbled across this great blog that has tons of very useful information.  For this project, I found this post on preservatives very helpful.

This is only my third experiment making bath and body care products so I have a lot still to learn.  I've got lots of ideas I'd like to try and I am trying to find great resources that teach rather than just supply recipes.