Lotion Basics

[unmouton]

Hello!

I have been making CP soap for awhile, and lately, with my cabinet of soap making oils and essential oils growing, I have become interested in experimenting with lotion making. I considered buying a book, but most online reviews of lotion/cosmetics books appear to be bad so I have decided to dive right in!

My question is, on teachsoap.com they offer a very basic formula for lotions:
75% distilled water
16% oil/butter
5% emulsifier
4% stearic acid
1% preservative

I realize there is an extra % point in here, I think it is to tweak your other numbers to fit .5-1% preservative. Would experienced lotion makers consider this a good starting point?

Sorry if there is an extensive thread on this that I missed, I toyed with the search function but couldn't find a set of keywords that lead me to very many posts relating to this. Thanks!

 

[Bigmoose]

That is a good base to start with. I think some others try to put to much oil in thiers and you can tell it when you use it.

Bruce

 

[heartsong]

x

www.lotioncrafter.com is a great info site-nice people. your recipe looks good. you might try that one with olive oil for moderate moisturizing, or a blend of jojoba and evening primrose oil and vit-e for mature and delicate skin.

have fun!

monet

 

[Barb]

that will work. you can sub out some of the water and use cyclomethicone, ipm,or dimethicone or a combo of all in recommended percentages for glide, and less greasy feel to the lotion. add gm, coconut milk up to 10% in place of some of the liquid. aloe juice is nice.

choose your oils/butters for what you want them to do. you can do a combo of different oils & butters for your total amount or just one or two.

fractionated coconut, sunflower oil, nice light oils,
avocado and evening primrose, jojoba are good for exema suffers

cocoa butter, mango, shea are good moisturizing

i second checking out the lotion crafters site, under formulas. and jen is really good about answering questions. she helped me formulate one of my first goats milk lotions. i think www.soapnuts.com has a lotion tutorial also.

just make sure your work area and all equipment are clean and sanitized
making lotion from scratch is very easy and you'll wonder why you didn't try it before.

the scary part i think is worrying about all the prep work with sanitizing everything in site before you start it's equal to working with lye when you first start making soap.

 

[unmouton]

Thank you so much for all of this excellent info! I think I will make a simple tried and true recipe for my first time so that I can just focus on the sanitizing/process of making it. Then I am going to take all of your suggestions (assuming I don't botch round 1!) I plan on using evening primrose, jojoba, and aloe juice for my own first recipe. I have these things on hand already and love them!

I plan on using glass jars; is it sufficient to bleach-water the heck out of everything like utensils, jars, and countertops before I begin? Will I reintroduce bacteria if I dry things with a fresh towel? Can good old lysol be used for countertops?

Also, is a double boiler absolutely necessary for best results? Thanks again for all of your help!

 

[heartsong]

x

hi there!

i use clorox or lysol wipes on all surfaces. run everything i can thru the dishwasher, and then i have a bucket of hot water w/bleach for rinsing then a warm rinse water bucket-then air dry. i use a drying rack just for this purpose and no other as it can contain bacteria from daily kitchen activities. this i can throw in the dishwasher too.

i heat everything in the microwave. just be careful of your temps-use half power if needed. i have a small one i got at walmart for $29 that i use only for my soap and lotionmaking. i keep it clean with bleach or lysol.

also i like to use chamomile tea as part of my water/aloe, too.

good luck and have fun! you'll be AMAZED how wonderful natural lotions are!

monet

 

[Bigmoose]

I am different than everyone on this. I am a homebrewer and use a sanitizer for brewing and for my lotions called Star San. The great thing with this is it is a no rinse sanitizer. If interested look in the yellow pages for a homebrew supply store in your area. Most all of them will have this.

www.fivestarchemicals.com

Bruce

 

[unmouton]

Bruce- how do you use this sanitizer? Mixed with water, or wipe it on with a cloth?

I have been scouring the internet for a viable recipe, and all of them contain too many things I don't have, or aren't meant for the face. So if someone wouldn't mind looking at what I've come up with, I tried to keep it simple:

Water Phase
65% water
9% aloe juice

Oil/wax Phase
7% sunflower oil
4% evening primrose oil
4% jojoba oil
5% polowax (ewax)

Lastly
5.5% stearic acid
.5% germall plus powder

The abbreviated instructions: Heat liquid to 170 degrees F. Hold for 20 min.
Heat oils to 170 degrees F. Hold for 20 min.
Allow to cool slightly, add water to oils. Stickblend until creamy/thickened.
When below 120 degrees, add stearic acid and sprinkle germall plus. Stickblend until well blended.
Transfer to jars, not capping until completely cool so water doesn't form on the inside of the lid.

Suggestions are welcome, and I will not be making this until I receive my polowax and stearic acid... which I have not ordered yet. . Also, any need for citric acid so that I can adjust ph, or should I not worry about that?

 

[heartsong]

x

your steric acid wont melt at 120 degrees-add and melt with your oils.
you can use any liquid and any oils/butters just maintain the same percentages. nothing is carved in stone-use what you have.

 

[Bigmoose]

That sanitizer I use at 1 tablespoon to 5 gallons of water. The bottle might seem expensive but as you can see now you use very little.

Bruce