Body Butter Recipe W/O Scary Additives

[adoptapitbull]

My customers generally don't like to see any ingredient they cannot pronounce.

I see lots of body butters have the addition of things like stearic acid, cyclomethicone, cetyl alcohol, etc. While I know what those things are and am not afraid to use them, they send up red flags for my customers.

In order to make a goat milk body butter, can I use the same ingredients as I do for lotion, but with a higher proportion of butters and less water/liquid portion? If I use the same preservative (Phenonip), what's the max % of milk as opposed to my 12% in lotion?

Will my BB compare with those that are made with all the thickeners, stabilizers, pH adjusters and such?

If I have to bite the bullet and buy some extra "scary things", I want to make sure they're very necessary.

 

[pamielynn]

You could make a "whipped body butter" out of just butters and oils. You could not add GM without those ingredients you don't care for, though. Are you making lotion without stearic and cetyl?

 

[DeeAnna]

I'm with Pamielynn. I would think just your use of Phenonip preservative (INCI: Phenoxyethanol (and) Methylparaben (and) Ethylparaben (and) Butylparaben (and) Propylparaben (and) Isobutylparaben) would be far too much scariness for your customers. The parabens are a huge, huge issue for many folks. And an effective emulsifier will only add to the scariness. For that kind of client base, I would stick to anhydrous products that don't require preservation, emulsification, or stabilization.

Anyway, to address your questions:

"...can I use the same ingredients as I do for lotion, but with a higher proportion of butters and less water/liquid portion..."

Yes. There is no "rule" about the exact percentage of milk. You will need to experiment with the recipe to get the kind of texture, skin feel, etc. that you want. Susan (swiftcraftymonkey) covers the bases much better than I can: http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/search?q=body+butter

As far as formulating with Phenonip, here are some links:
http://www.brambleberry.com/Phenonip-P4038.aspx
http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2010/10/preservatives-phenonip.html
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1020026/tech_data_phenonip.pdf

 

[pamielynn]

Remember that milk lotions are notorious for growing buggies if not properly formulated and preserved. The "dangers" of that small amount of preservative is nothing compared to sepsis or staph infections.

 

[adoptapitbull]

I have a rather nice product line of lotions already using Phenonip, and since my company is based on my farm's fresh goat milk, I explain that the preservative is necessary. Most understand. I haven't needed stearic or cetyl in the lotions.

Since I already have the "scary" Phenonip INCI on the label, I tend to want to try to stay away from anything else perceived to be a hairy scary chemical.

 

[pamielynn]

Isn't it fun, trying to please the masses

 

[adoptapitbull]

Isn't it fun, trying to please the masses

No! LOL

You have some who sniff and decide based on scent without looking at the label. Some study it like there's a test. Some read the label and freak if there's a word with too many letters. Some read and have no idea what they're even looking for.

Alas, I want a quality product that no one is afraid of. It seems impossible!

 

[pamielynn]

I feel your pain - I started making soap to get unscented soap. Now that I sell, I have to deal with scents or I wouldn't sell a one of them. Bugs the hell out of me when people buy solely on the smell and not the quality of the soap. But, I'm learning to deal, LOL.

I even taught my mom how to read product labels, but now she thinks words like Butyrospermum Parkii are evil.

 

[adoptapitbull]

Yes! I can't even get out what's unique about the bar they pick up before they're onto the next one!

I secretly want to sneak in..."and that one's made with dog poop and farts..." and see if they even hear me.

 

[Hazel]

Don't forget to mention it's 100% all natural dog poop and farts from free ranging dogs fed a totally organic diet. ;-)

 

[pamielynn]

Don't forget to mention it's 100% all natural dog poop and farts from free ranging dogs fed a totally organic diet. ;-)

Nothing but the BEST poops and farts for our customers, ha ha.

I think one of the big things for me about the scent obsession is the need to shove the bar all.the.way.up your nose. I do love to play with scented soaps now though - even if I don't use them for myself.

 

[adoptapitbull]

Hey, my dogs get a ton of raw goat milk...that's got to count for something! LOL

But really, how essential are the "scary" ingredients?

 

[DeeAnna]

A reliable emulsifier is essential. There is no shortcut on that, especially if you want to sell your product. Just beeswax or just blending the h*ck out of the lotion is not good enough.

The thickener (cetyl alcohol or stearic acid), maybe not so much, especially if you use butters or other solid fats in your recipe.

Preservative, as you already know, is necessary.

 

[squeakycleanuk]

I'm guessing theres no such thing as a natural emulsifier either?

 

[pamielynn]

Not if you want it to have any sort of real shelf life. And for me, I'd rather use a properly formulated ewax than borax. You need to know your product will hold together 6 months down the road.

 

[adoptapitbull]

I use e-wax in all my lotions and have been pretty happy with that. My "scary" additives now are e-wax and the Phenonip.

My recipe will include a blend of several butters (~60%), a bit of my favorite oils (~20%), e-wax (5% or less), lesser amounts of goat milk & water than lotion of course (~8% maybe?), phenonip (1%) and fragrance or EO (1%).

I'm going to play around with percentages and see what texture I get with those numbers and go from there.