Hi everybody! Another noob here.

[quirky_rikku]

I am happy to have found a forum of this magnitude for me to sift through and ask questions and learn things.

I have a blog, quirkyrikku.blogspot.com ... it's a craft blog. It kind of tells you what I've done so far but I have to say I am a complete noob and there's so much I want to learn about that I don't know yet. I am glad you guys are here. Nice to meet everyone!

 

[judymoody]

Welcome! Glad you found us.

I find it fun to just go back in time and start on a random page of the forum and see what I learn. (I can waste a lot of time roaming around here too! )

 

[Hazel]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I read a little of your blog. I was glad to see you're interested in learning more and are willing to research. I was also really glad to see you understand the importance of using a preservative. BTW, grapefruit seed oil, rosemary extract and vitamin E aren't natural preservatives; they're antioxidants but are good additives to help extend the shelf life of oils. There are some contraindications with rosemary so I recommend you research it. Independent studies also found that the original claims of grapefruit seed oil being a preservative (antimicrobial, antiviral, etc) were incorrect due to the samples had a preservative in them. I thought I'd post links to sites which you might find helpful if you haven't already found them.

For lotion making and other body products: http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/
She also discussed GSE: http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2 ... tract.html
Essential oils: http://aromaweb.com/default.asp

You'll also find discussions here about infusing oils and some of your other interests. I'm happy you joined the forum because I really like the enthusiasm expressed in your blog. I hope you'll enjoy being a member.

eta: judymoody brought up a good point about picking a random page and to just start reading. But I don't consider it a waste of time, I consider it research.

 

[Genny]

Welcome to the forum

You sound like me. I have to be doing something crafty all the time

 

[NinaRey]

Welcome!!

 

[quirky_rikku]

Thanks everyone! I am so excited to be doing all of this, I appreciate the nice welcomes! Thanks for the links, Hazel, I will definitely give them a read at some point..i havent been home. I have lots of plans for things I want to make...My first goals is to replace commercial products that I use myself before I start sharing the wealth on a broader spectrum. I have been using the Clinique 3 step system for I want to say like 8 or 9 years (I'm only 23, so long time for me!) and I am very interested to make my own products to replace them. Not only are they ridiculously expensive, but I read some of the ingredients and it seems like they can be reproduced into a simpler ingredient list (with tweaks and maybe some additives, i kind of like fragrances and these are all fragrance free...) so that is one of my main goals in addition to playing around a bit and keeping a journal. Do I plan to sell? Well, I don't know what kind of market my city has for home made products like this...but maybe I can research and see what I think. I'm a horrible business person though, I feel like I would want to just give everything away or charge barely enough to pay for supplies, and I'm sure that would happen at first since my beginner formulations will be far from perfect and I'd feel like it wouldn't be worth whatever I should charge. Not to mention all the FDA and state law headaches and whatnot (I live in Oklahoma...you don't even have to register business names here but it's "strongly recommended" ..) I read just a tiny bit on home skin care businesses and it just sounds really complicated, but maybe once I become more informed it won't be too incredibly bad. I couldn't seem to find any links pertaining to Oklahoma but we suck as a state anyway

What are you all's opinions on using pre made bases? I was browsing through New Directions Aromatics and was kind of curious about their pre made shampoo/conditioner bases and whatnot...It seems like it would make it easier and less complicated to make certain things that would be difficult to completely home make, but at the same time to me it seems like too much of a shortcut to consider a tweaked base a "home made product" so I am kind of curious on what you guys think. The body wash I made with castille soap, shea butter, beeswax and almond oil didn't lather well (i know lather doesn't mean clean, but to my friends and family who tested it they considered it an important drawback..) and it left a waxy "unclean" feel even though when everything was dried off I personally thought it felt alright (or maybe I was just telling myself that, either way) I wonder if working with a base would bring my confidence back, but like I said I don't feel like I would consider it home made. Haha sorry bout the rant, just full of questions

 

[Hazel]

I couldn't seem to find any links pertaining to Oklahoma but we suck as a state anyway

Oklahoma can't be all bad. Isn't Toby Keith from there?

I started out using MP bases and a lotion base because I wanted to make gifts for Christmas and then expanded into making my own lotions and soaps. I think they fill a need for people who are interested in making their own products but aren't sure how involved they want to be with it. Bases are useful in getting started and building confidence. (I know the lotions I make aren't as nice as bases but I make them as a hobby and I don't have a lot of additives.) Some people might try it and find it's not as interesting as they thought it would be for them. Other people find it inspires them to learn more and learn how to make products from scratch. Other people try bases, then make their own lotions and decide they prefer to use bases because it's easier. A member made a comment she used a lotion base because sometimes her customers wanted a lotion to go with one of her soaps. She doesn't like making lotions so she scents the base with the same FO or EO she used in the soap. You can still include your choice of additives and scents which would make it a home crafted product. Lotion making isn't that hard and it sounds like you have most of the supplies. It would be fairly easy to formulate a lotion recipe which you could try. BTW, a couple of my sisters didn't like the waxy feeling an emulsified scrub left on their skin. They liked it much better (so did I) after I eliminated the beeswax from the recipe. Also, I've never been impressed with lather from a castile soap but again - just my opinion.

I've never tried shampoo/conditioner bases so I don't know how good they are for all hair types. People start making their own products for different reasons but some people do it to eliminate specific chemicals. It would depend on the ingredients in the bases and how you feel about certain ones. The best part about making every product from scratch is you get to pick the ingredients you want. This is just a suggestion but you might want to consider learning about making cold process soap and formulating a shampoo bar.

I don't know if anything I've said helps you. I'm not an expert on bath & skin products because I just make them for fun and as a way to challenge myself at times. But mainly for fun. :wink:

 

[IrishLass]

Welcome!

IrishLass