Please do!
What Bath & Body Thing Have You Done Today?
- Thread starter Misschief
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Sweet guy! I love when a critter responds to our ministrations to care for them, even if it comes across as confused. He knows your love him.
Love this new thread, what a good idea!
I've been doing zero soap making since I was last here, but pottering slowly along with other things.
Most recently I tried to recreate a tea tree lotion that I had years ago - I got it for use on freshly waxed legs but it was just a great consistency as well and I love the smell of tea tree. I actually tried to buy another bottle a while back but it never arrived.
I adapted a recipe from aroma zone - basically after emulsification it would be the consistency of milk, so too thin to use easily, but it's also thickened with xanthan gum and it ended up being perfect! I put the max recommended % of tea tree oil and it's exactly what I was aiming for
I'm also delighted because the commercial one was super expensive, but this was really cheap to make since it's such a high % of water.
I've been doing zero soap making since I was last here, but pottering slowly along with other things.
Most recently I tried to recreate a tea tree lotion that I had years ago - I got it for use on freshly waxed legs but it was just a great consistency as well and I love the smell of tea tree. I actually tried to buy another bottle a while back but it never arrived.
I adapted a recipe from aroma zone - basically after emulsification it would be the consistency of milk, so too thin to use easily, but it's also thickened with xanthan gum and it ended up being perfect! I put the max recommended % of tea tree oil and it's exactly what I was aiming for
I'm also delighted because the commercial one was super expensive, but this was really cheap to make since it's such a high % of water.That sea kelp bioferment sounds fascinating! Do you know if it's something that could be made at home? I've recently gotten into seaweed foraging and I've been using kelp to make dashi so could easily get my hands on some. Must do some research
Absolutely makes sense! I helped some friends shear their sheep last weekend and they gave me some of the wool to take home. I love spinning fresh unwashed wool; my hands are so soft now from the lanolin. I'm thinking maybe next time I'll take some more (they said I could have as much as I wanted) and see how much lanolin I can extract.
ivylorraine
Member
I decided to try the Humblebeeandme Ice Palace Shampoo Bar recipe because the cetearyl alcohol I ordered for the DIY B&B hot pour bar was delayed and would not be delivered until mid-July. I whipped it up last night and it really was very easy, though once the dough is made you have a limited amount of time to shape it before it starts to set. I fragranced it with Pixie Dust FO from Majestic Mountain Sage. It smells heavenly and I'm so glad to have a use for that FO.
Guess what was delivered to my mailbox today. That's right, the cetearyl alcohol.
Oh well, I suppose I can now do a side-by-side test of both recipes and see which I like best! Neither will go to waste.
Guess what was delivered to my mailbox today. That's right, the cetearyl alcohol.
Oh well, I suppose I can now do a side-by-side test of both recipes and see which I like best! Neither will go to waste.
@ivylorraine the first time I wanted to make the hot pour bar, there was no cetearyl available anywhere. However, I read this on HumbleBee & Me:
Cetearyl alcohol is a blend of cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol—two fatty alcohols. It can come in 50/50 and 30/70 blends; I always use 30/70. Check with your supplier before purchasing so you know what you’re getting; if yours is different from mine you’ll likely notice a difference in the consistency and feel of your finished products, but that will vary.
As well as this in the DIY B&B recipe itself: Cetearyl Alcohol ~ A white, waxy mixture of Cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol (usually a 70/30 ratio)
Fortunately, I had one of those in my cabinets and was able to order the other for quick delivery. I then mixed them at the correct ratio to make the hot pour bars. Yay! Since then, I haven't had trouble ordering cetearyl alcohol, but it's worth knowing the work-around in the event you do run into a backorder again.
Cetearyl alcohol is a blend of cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol—two fatty alcohols. It can come in 50/50 and 30/70 blends; I always use 30/70. Check with your supplier before purchasing so you know what you’re getting; if yours is different from mine you’ll likely notice a difference in the consistency and feel of your finished products, but that will vary.
As well as this in the DIY B&B recipe itself: Cetearyl Alcohol ~ A white, waxy mixture of Cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol (usually a 70/30 ratio)
Fortunately, I had one of those in my cabinets and was able to order the other for quick delivery. I then mixed them at the correct ratio to make the hot pour bars. Yay! Since then, I haven't had trouble ordering cetearyl alcohol, but it's worth knowing the work-around in the event you do run into a backorder again.
ivylorraine
Member
No worries, now you know and are armed for the future!
I’ve been wanting to delve into syndet shampoo bars for a long time, but can’t seem to get motivated enough to overcome inertia. After watching the video, I went looking for the featured product (Stephenson Syndopour) and ended up ordering some. Feels like cheating, but also seems easy, which is what I need right now. Has anyone else tried this base?
@Mobjack Bay I haven't tried it, but here is a video of another maker who has, and who is pretty satisfied with them. Thanks for being the official SMF tester of this new product!
Will report back! I love her idea of using the little bee molds and packing the bars in tins for travel.@Mobjack Bay I haven't tried it, but here is a video of another maker who has, and who is pretty satisfied with them. Thanks for being the official SMF tester of this new product!
This is where I am as well. Also partly because of the expense of the ingredients, and the very real possibility of having a bunch left over if I don't like using the bars. I didn't care for the one and only shampoo bar I tried several years ago. I saw this base and have been wondering about it. My main motivation to try shampoo bars again is to find one more small single use plastic item I can eliminate from my life. I'll definitely be interested to see what you think!
Feelin' Soapy
Well-Known Member
I wish I'd seen this M&P sooner. After making and testing and making and testing syndet bar formulas, I finally hit on one I and my tester family and friends really like, but oh how much simpler the M&P would have been!
For me, the nicest part about the M&P syndet base would be not having to wear the dust mask and eye protection when weighing and initially mixing the SCI. But I admit to really enjoying the process of concocting my own blend. And since I just restocked with a 5lb bag of SCI, it will be awhile before I could justify buying some of the base to try. So I will live vicariously through the rest of you.
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Too bad it wasn't discussed in it's own thread. Easier to find for sure. But buried here, where anything and all things can be asked, answered and discussed at length? Not so much.
(Just teasing!)
Feelin' Soapy
Well-Known Member
I totally agree on that. It took a lot to come up with my blend, and I feel good about it. There wouldn't be the same sense of pride with the M&P. And who knows if I would like it as well on my hair... Sure would be simpler though
Thanks for posting about this recipe! I've been ordering ingredients for my first shampoo bars (I bought the DIY pourable bar recommended on this forum and also planned to try Humblebee's rice starch shampoo bar). I see I have all the ingredients for this one as well. Yay! I'd love to know what you think of it.
ivylorraine
Member
I used it yesterday for the first time, so I'm not sure how useful my feedback will be but here it is!
Overall, I think it would be brilliant for someone with short hair, or untreated hair that's not dry. I can see it being really appealing to anyone who prefers a fuss-free shower experience, as it was lovely as a body wash too. The lather was gorgeous, tons of creamy bubbles with good slip. It was nice for shaving.
For my hair, which is baby-fine and highlighted and tends to tangle at the ends when wet, I think I need shampoo with just a tiny bit more conditioning to avoid creating excessive tangles while washing. I had to follow up with one of my heavier conditioners. The recipe doesn't claim to be conditioning, so that was expected. Today my hair is super soft and voluminous, which my second-day hair is usually not.
I'm getting my hair cut quite short next week and look forward to trying this shampoo bar again after that. In the meantime I will happily be using this on my body.
Making it was dead simple. Wear a respirator or N95 mask that fits well. I thought the mix was never going to come together but it did. Once thoroughly mixed I had about 5 minutes of working time. I smooshed mine into a silicone bar mold.
I hope this was useful! Good luck!
Feelin' Soapy
Well-Known Member
Having made more than a dozen different test bars now, tested by myself and 5 other testers, I'd like to share my thoughts on shampoo bars.
It became clear that different hair in different climates needs different shampoo. My testers with oily hair were very happy with the bars that left drier and curly hair too dry. Where I live in the PNW, the weather is often rainy and humid, so humectants (especially glycerin) caused frizz.
I don't want to make multiple formulas for every hair type, so I settled on a moisturizing and conditioning formula that seemed to please everyone. The oily hair folks were still happy with the more conditioning formulas, and nobody seemed to like the bars with a lot of humectants.
I'm also making conditioner bars. The oily hair folks don't use the conditioner, only the shampoo, while the dry and curly heads like using the additional conditioner bar.
I must say, going down this syndet path has certainly provided lots more challenges than soap!
It became clear that different hair in different climates needs different shampoo. My testers with oily hair were very happy with the bars that left drier and curly hair too dry. Where I live in the PNW, the weather is often rainy and humid, so humectants (especially glycerin) caused frizz.
I don't want to make multiple formulas for every hair type, so I settled on a moisturizing and conditioning formula that seemed to please everyone. The oily hair folks were still happy with the more conditioning formulas, and nobody seemed to like the bars with a lot of humectants.
I'm also making conditioner bars. The oily hair folks don't use the conditioner, only the shampoo, while the dry and curly heads like using the additional conditioner bar.
I must say, going down this syndet path has certainly provided lots more challenges than soap!
@ivylorraine Thanks for such detailed feedback!!! Really appreciate it! I just recently got a short haircut, so now I'm really looking forward to this particular shampo bar.
I made lotion bars! My good good buddy from Hawai'i spent a few days here and brought me kukui nut oil and a boat load of plumeria fragrance oils. Normally I'm not into florals but plumeria just sends me. I used 1/3 beeswax, 1/3 mango butter, 1/9 kukui nut oil, 1/9 raspberry seed oil, 1/9 mmmmmeadowfoam seed oil, and plumeria fragrance oil.
