Mouldy body butter

[scorpio]

I made a body butter in a variety of scents using distilled water, emulsifying wax and preservative. Only the pink grapefruit scent went mouldy within the week and only three out of the four jars were mouldy. I used essential oil in this one. Could it have happened if I had put the lids on right after pouring creating the condensation? It's a real puzzle as to why only this one.

 

[dagmar88]

What preservative did you use and how much?

 

[scorpio]

I used cosmocil and I used the recommended amount which I can't remember off hand (it's in my recipe book). I used the exact same amount in all the scents that I made that day.

 

[carebear]

A preservative can only do so much. If there was major contamination either from one of your materials, from your equipment/packaging, or from the ambient conditions then the preservative might simply not have been able to handle it.

How did you clean your equipment? Did you use unrefined butters (please say not unrefined kokum)? Was your packaging new?

And yes, putting the lid on while it's still warm = condensation which is basically an open invitation anyway.

Are you sure it's mold? Some EOs do discolor.

 

[scorpio]

My jars were all new and my utensils were all clean as well. I did not use unrefined kokum butter. The mould happened after only about 4 days and only with three of the 4 jars that I made with that scent. All the rest in all the other scents were just fine. All the same jars, same equipment and same day which is why it is so confusing.

 

[Manda]

If they were all made and bottled under the same conditions with the only variable being the scent used, and only one went bad (and real quick at that) then, to me, that points quite strongly to the pink grapefruit scent being the culprit either by contamination or colour.

Was it actual mould or just discolouration? What did it look like?

 

[scorpio]

Well it was three out of the four pink grapefruit jars and the mold was all on top, furry and that black/greenish colour and again all went this way within the week but why the one jar did not go mouldy of the same batch with the same eo is also puzzling.

 

[islandbeauty]

could it be that maybe you needed to use another form of preservative with cosmocil? i read that in some formulations you would need to use another preservative for a broader spectrum of activity, or potassium sorbate for increased antifungal/mold protection. i have made body lotions using cosmocil and also added optiphen at the recommended dosage, to prevent mold and so far i see no mold in my lotion that i made 3 months ago.

 

[scorpio]

Good question but something to definitely think about. I will check that out for sure and possibly may have to use something else. I guess what puzzles me though is that all the rest were fine except for that one scent.