What Bath & Body Thing Have You Done Today?

[not_ally]

After reading up at Chemists Corner, I decided to skip adding extracts and hydrolyzed protein for now

Those guys are pretty funny about additives. There are a couple that they love, but they are dismissive of almost all of them as just label appeal.

 

[dmcgee5034]

Hope you are feeling better, @Mobjack Bay

I ordered some items to make more DIY lotion concentrate. Does anyone have suggestions to adjust the recipe to reduce the bit of white cast the lotion creates? Besides that, I just love it.
What scents are your favs in lotion? I’ve tried and like: bb watermelon sugar; ns juicy pear; bb apricot freesia; ns plumeria and ns eucalyptus & mint (well, that last one I tried and other people liked - lol) Ideas on what to try in my next batch?

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Thanks @dmcgee5034 It’s only a cold, but it’s been enough to keep me in bed since the beginning of the week.

My soapy people seem to like a very wide range of scents, which makes it a challenge to make picks for balm bars and lotions. To date I’ve only used a limited range of scents - lavender and lavender blends, jasmine (OT’s Confederate Jasmine), Volcano from BeScented (tropical/pineapple forward) and OT’s Egyptian Musk.

 

[VikingChick]

Does anyone have suggestions to adjust the recipe to reduce the bit of white cast the lotion creates?

I add dimethicone at 1% to get rid of that “soaping” effect because I don’t like it either.

What scents are your favs in lotion?

I’m struggling here too, mostly bc I can’t seem to buy “normal” FOs. But there are a couple I’ve made that I like. NS Meditation is nice, as well as BB Spearmint Eucalyptus (although I can’t confirm if it’s got spearmint EO in it, which might be irritating to those with sensitive skin). I also loved this blend from eocalc at 1%, but again with the spearmint EO.

 

[AliOop]

Does anyone have suggestions to adjust the recipe to reduce the bit of white cast the lotion creates?

I add 2% isopropyl myristate and have zero soaping now.

My bath and body thing today was making solid lotion sticks, i.e., lotion bars in mini-deo twist-up tubes. It all started when a friend came over on Wednesday morning and brought her supplies to learn how to make them. That reminded me that another friend had asked for these back at Christmas time. Unfortunately, by the time the containers finally arrived, I was swamped. And then I forgot.

So, thanks to the friend who asked for a lotion bar lesson, the friend who wanted to purchase some lotion bars four months ago will finally get them when I see her tomorrow.

Here they are, going into the freezer. I used a soap mold to corral the tubes while pouring and carrying. Unfortunately, I sloshed it while putting them into the freezer, so some of the tops aren't the best.

 

[Relle]

When I first saw the photo it looked like biscuits to me. Mmmm, can't eat those.

 

[AliOop]

They'd definitely be rather greasy to the palate, lol.

When I took them out of the freezer this morning, it became apparent that I'd sloshed a lot more than I thought. Almost every tube had spillage down the side, which is a total pain to clean up. I chipped off most of the frozen butter, but will have to go back and degrease each one with an alcohol wipe. The things I do for friends!

 

[not_ally]

What scents are your favs in lotion? I’ve tried and like: bb watermelon sugar; ns juicy pear; bb apricot freesia; ns plumeria and ns eucalyptus & mint (well, that last one I tried and other people liked - lol) Ideas on what to try in my next batch?

When I'm not making for me I almost always go with lavender or citrus, just because everyone seems to like them. When I've asked people what kind of scent "family" they like (floral, citrus, green, spicy, musky, food, masculine/feminine, etc.), people almost always include citrus.

 

[Tammyfarms]

When I'm not making for me I almost always go with lavender or citrus, just because everyone seems to like them. When I've asked people what kind of scent "family" they like (floral, citrus, green, spicy, musky, food, masculine/feminine, etc.), people almost always include citrus.

I’m sure you and @dmcgee5034 both know already but a quick reminder that many citrus essential oils cause photosensitivity. I would love to use orange, lemon or bergamot in lotions but I’m concerned about photosensitivity. I wish I could use FO but haven’t found any I can tolerate.

 

[VikingChick]

Today I had to make more cleansing balm because I got my husband to try it and he likes it! (He also is using my retinol night cream.) Plus he needed more sugar scrub. It’s so funny, y’all…..if you knew my husband, he’s such a BOY! Brushing his teeth and showering was about all the self-care he would do back when we first got married (11 years next weekend! ) I’m so thrilled that he’s discovered how nice it can be to take care of yourself. And I love that he likes the stuff I make! (Including his specific soap he loves that I make for him.)

 

[Tammyfarms]

Yesterday and again today I attempted shampoo bars. I say attempted because yesterday’s is more of a shampoo goop and todays is in the freezer waiting to see if it hardens up in a few hours. Because I want to try yesterdays I put it in a plastic container and it’s in the shower. I’m sure it won’t last as long as a bar but I’m curious about how well it cleans my scalp.
I am really struggling with formulating a bar for oily hair. These two bars are based on a recipe from SCM. In her shampoo bar e-book Susan says you can make any recipe a clarifying recipe by removing the BTMS. This is what I did and I got shampoo goo. I tried again but removed the silicones as I decided they may work against my goal of a less oily scalp. I replaced the silicones with more SLSa.
I have scoured recipes from Humblebee and Me, SCM and others and have yet to find a bar that isn’t chock full of waxes, oils, butters, etc and those all seem to increase the oils on my scalp. I shampoo every other day and by the end of the second day my hair is already looking oily. I recently purchased ground rosemary and ground rosehips as the SCM e-book recommended them for oily scalp. If this second bar doesn’t set up I may try the bar recipe I have been using and add rosemary and rosehips. I’m thinking the BTMS is the problem with my oily scalp and am wondering what to replace it with, maybe emulsifying wax? Any thoughts are appreciated!

 

[AliOop]

Yesterday and again today I attempted shampoo bars. I say attempted because yesterday’s is more of a shampoo goop and todays is in the freezer waiting to see if it hardens up in a few hours. Because I want to try yesterdays I put it in a plastic container and it’s in the shower. I’m sure it won’t last as long as a bar but I’m curious about how well it cleans my scalp.
I am really struggling with formulating a bar for oily hair. These two bars are based on a recipe from SCM. In her shampoo bar e-book Susan says you can make any recipe a clarifying recipe by removing the BTMS. This is what I did and I got shampoo goo. I tried again but removed the silicones as I decided they may work against my goal of a less oily scalp. I replaced the silicones with more SLSa.
I have scoured recipes from Humblebee and Me, SCM and others and have yet to find a bar that isn’t chock full of waxes, oils, butters, etc and those all seem to increase the oils on my scalp. I shampoo every other day and by the end of the second day my hair is already looking oily. I recently purchased ground rosemary and ground rosehips as the SCM e-book recommended them for oily scalp. If this second bar doesn’t set up I may try the bar recipe I have been using and add rosemary and rosehips. I’m thinking the BTMS is the problem with my oily scalp and am wondering what to replace it with, maybe emulsifying wax? Any thoughts are appreciated!

That sounds like an odd shampoo bar recipe to me. None of my shampoo bars contain any BTMS; my conditioner bars do, because BTMS is a great conditioner.

I stick pretty closely to the DIY B&B shampoo bar recipes. Even the ones for dry hair have a max of 3.5% of the total recipe in oils. The oily hair version only has 2.5%. Neither of them contain any butters or waxes unless you want to add them as optional ingredients. My friend's son who has really oily hair actually likes the one for dry hair; it cleans well and leaves his hair soft enough without conditioner.

I can see where your original recipe would be gooey if you don't replace the hardening effect of BTMS with something else. The hardening agents in the DIY B&B recipe are a combined total of ~25% stearic acid and cetearyl alcohol, neither of which should exacerbate oily hair if you have enough detergent. Maybe try those instead of the BTMS? You could remelt your gooey batch to include some of those.

Good luck!

 

[Tammyfarms]

That sounds like an odd shampoo bar recipe to me. None of my shampoo bars contain any BTMS; my conditioner bars do, because BTMS is a great conditioner.

I stick pretty closely to the DIY B&B shampoo bar recipes. Even the ones for dry hair have a max of 3.5% of the total recipe in oils. The oily hair version only has 2.5%. Neither of them contain any butters or waxes unless you want to add them as optional ingredients. My friend's son who has really oily hair actually likes the one for dry hair; it cleans well and leaves his hair soft enough without conditioner.

I can see where your original recipe would be gooey if you don't replace the hardening effect of BTMS with something else. The hardening agents in the DIY B&B recipe are a combined total of ~25% stearic acid and cetearyl alcohol, neither of which should exacerbate oily hair if you have enough detergent. Maybe try those instead of the BTMS? You could remelt your gooey batch to include some of those.

Good luck!

Thank you @AliOop. I guess I need to buy the DIY B&B recipe. Do you recommend the pourable bar or the press-able bar? I have a press so either is doable.

 

[AliOop]

Thank you @AliOop. I guess I need to buy the DIY B&B recipe. Do you recommend the pourable bar or the press-able bar? I have a press so either is doable.

I have both of them, and like them both equally on my hair. The pourable one is easier for me to make, so I end up with that one most of the time. The upside of the pressable bars is that they last longer. Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with either. Maybe check the ingredient list on each of the Etsy listings to see if one of them would allow you to use what you already have, without buying more stuff.

FWIW, when I first made them, I didn't have some of the additives, like dimethicone, so I just used more glycerin. They turned out just fine.

 

[AliOop]

Just finished cleaning up and labeling all my mini-twist-up lotion bar sticks. To distract myself from the tedium of it all, I watched some wreath-making tutorials. This may become another crafty rabbit hole for me...

 

[dmcgee5034]

I add dimethicone at 1% to get rid of that “soaping” effect because I don’t like it either.

I add 2% isopropyl myristate and have zero soaping now.

Thank you both. Do you add either of these as part of your “up to 5% additives” when you make the lotion from the concentrate base?

 

[AliOop]

Thank you both. Do you add either of these as part of your “up to 5% additives” when you make the lotion from the concentrate base?

i do that, or take it out of another oil.

 

[Relle]

Just finished cleaning up and labeling all my mini-twist-up lotion bar sticks. To distract myself from the tedium of it all, I watched some wreath-making tutorials. This may become another crafty rabbit hole for me...

Wreath making - so easy, can make with my eyes closed. I actually hate making them now.

 

[VikingChick]

Thank you both. Do you add either of these as part of your “up to 5% additives” when you make the lotion from the concentrate base?

Usually it’s part of my 5% additives.

 

[Vicki C]

After spending a couple of days in bed with a whopper of a head cold, I entertained myself this evening by ordering everything I need to make the DIY B&B shampoo and conditioner bars. After reading up at Chemists Corner, I decided to skip adding extracts and hydrolyzed protein for now. I also picked up some kokum butter to try in lip balm.

Chemists Corner… looks like a new rabbit hole for me… (must wrap soap, must wrap soap … SQUIRREL! )
ETA wrote this before I saw @AliOop ’s perfect gif )