What Bath & Body Thing Have You Done Today?

[BWt]

I made test balm bars and face cream yesterday. The bar recipe was tallow plus beeswax and that’s it, so barely a recipe at all. At 68% tallow, it melts just enough on skin contact, isn’t draggy, feels good rather than greasy and smells like beeswax, not tallow. I guess I got lucky. The face cream recipe is one I’ve been making for a few years now.

ETA: The 68% bar is great on my hands, but it doesn’t have enough glide for direct application on my face.

Your tallow bars sound marvelous!

 

[Zing]

Made 25 lip balms, my dupe of Burt's Bees original ala @IrishLass 's recipe. And perused the March soap challenge over and over and over. I have 3 soaps fully cured that I boxed up.

 

[Big J]

Alkanet bark makes a great color just be sure it’s infused dark enough. Too light on Alkanet and you’ll have gray
Sea buckthorn oil or powder gives a gorgeous yellow.
Dried plantain leaves infused in oil offer a beautiful green.

Thank you so much for your insight!

 

[BWt]

Thank you so much for your insight!

Plantain grows wild like a weed. If your schedule permits see if you can find it growing near you. Here in the Midwest (USA) it won’t be up for some time. Last year I foraged and dried a bit for personal use. Plantain is easy to spot. It is one of the few plants with veins that are perpendicular to the leaf shape. Here is link: Plantain Herb Benefits, Recipes & How To Identify

Oven dried is simple. Oven at lowest possible temperature with a wooden spoon to hold door ajar/open. Or dehydrator. When thoroughly dry infuse in oils or cosmetic butters. For butter infusion add dried herbs to butter. Leave in oven as above for a few mins until butter is softened. Stir store in glass jar with cover.

Any dehydrated item should be absolutely completely without doubt dry before adding to oils or tincture.

Hemp oil will give a deep green as it is naturally green. With plantain herb added it is even more green.

@QuasiQuadrant is a forum member who forages and will likely have foraging tips. This year my goal is to find pine or birch bark tears/sap that is on fallen or dead trees. Want to make an infusion for balms.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Your tallow bars sound marvelous!

I adjusted up to 72% tallow yesterday and may go a wee bit higher to account for the bar setting up after it's made. I decided to try tallow because nothing else has been working very well on my dry skin this winter. I made a tallow balm last year but it was too greasy for me. When I use the tallow bar my skin feels like my skin, only better, not dry. I'm also going to try an emulsified tallow lotion/cream.

 

[BWt]

I adjusted up to 72% tallow yesterday and may go a wee bit higher to account for the bar setting up after it's made. I decided to try tallow because nothing else has been working very well on my dry skin this winter. I made a tallow balm last year but it was too greasy for me. When I use the tallow bar my skin feels like my skin, only better, not dry. I'm also going to try an emulsified tallow lotion/cream.

Very interesting. @Zing lets lotion bars sit for a bit so i decided to try that as well. Found it to be helpful as it gives the bars a dryer touch. Also as you say the Tallow is very good for dry skin. Agree. Have found Tamanu oil to be lovely for skin. Your tallow bar has inspired me to want to make Tallow & Tamanu bar. Lotions are on my wishlist however have not made any yet. I find there is something intimidating about lotion making. My brain needs a readjustment in the lotion making area :/

 

[Savage Daughter]

Plantain grows wild like a weed. If your schedule permits see if you can find it growing near you. Here in the Midwest (USA) it won’t be up for some time. Last year I foraged and dried a bit for personal use. Plantain is easy to spot. It is one of the few plants with veins that are perpendicular to the leaf shape. Here is link: Plantain Herb Benefits, Recipes & How To Identify

Something to be aware of - there are 2 types of plantain: broad leaf & narrow leaf
I prefer the broad leaf for medicinal use, although I will use the narrow if nothing else is available. It's already coming up here, as are the wild violets Have spent several hours gardening this week & am excitedly noticing all the wild plants popping up. Gotta start checking for fiddleheads!

Oven dried is simple. Oven at lowest possible temperature with a wooden spoon to hold door ajar/open. Or dehydrator. When thoroughly dry infuse in oils or cosmetic butters. For butter infusion add dried herbs to butter. Leave in oven as above for a few mins until butter is softened. Stir store in glass jar with cover.

Any dehydrated item should be absolutely completely without doubt dry before adding to oils or tincture.

You can absolutely use fresh plant material in soap, not an issue. In fact, I would recommend it. Blend it into some of your soap base oils, let it sit overnight to really get good & strong, use it the next day.

Likewise in tinctures - fresh plant material - providing this is not medicinal mushrooms we are speaking of such as turkey tail, various other medicinal polypores. No I'm not a mycologist, but I harvest medicinal mushrooms a lot, and tincture / decoct them. I air dry them, then use them or store them for later use.

You absolutely can use raw plant material in oil infusions as well, if you're adding those oils to soap right away - eg. within 24-36 hours. If infusing for later use, such as in salves, lip balms etc, dry plant material is best. That being said, there are exceptions, such as St John's Wort, which is best infused immediately after picking, always fresh. It will turn your oil blood red if left long enough - my favourite is St John's Wort in castor oil, which is absolutely STUNNING. It's amazing to see the tiny yellow flowers turn the oil such an intense shade of red. Have not yet tried it in soap, but it is very healing in salves I make.

If infusing fresh plants into oils. It's important to use something to keep all the plant material under the oil, such as a fermentation weight or a suitably sized, clean stone. I do the same when infusing my honey with dandelions, gum weed, yarrow & more. With alcohol, it's not as big of a deal.

I will be trying yarrow in soap this year that is based on so-called 'weeds' as the essential oil is blue & I am wondering what color the strongly infused oil & plant material will turn me soap - the leaves, the roots & the flowers.

Nettles give a beautiful green color! Have already been out picking them a few weeks ago. Time for another round of spring picking!

 

[BWt]

Something to be aware of - there are 2 types of plantain: broad leaf & narrow leaf
I prefer the broad leaf for medicinal use, although I will use the narrow if nothing else is available. It's already coming up here, as are the wild violets Have spent several hours gardening this week & am excitedly noticing all the wild plants popping up. Gotta start checking for fiddleheads!



You can absolutely use fresh plant material in soap, not an issue. In fact, I would recommend it. Blend it into some of your soap base oils, let it sit overnight to really get good & strong, use it the next day.

Likewise in tinctures - fresh plant material - providing this is not medicinal mushrooms we are speaking of such as turkey tail, various other medicinal polypores. No I'm not a mycologist, but I harvest medicinal mushrooms a lot, and tincture / decoct them. I air dry them, then use them or store them for later use.

You absolutely can use raw plant material in oil infusions as well, if you're adding those oils to soap right away - eg. within 24-36 hours. If infusing for later use, such as in salves, lip balms etc, dry plant material is best. That being said, there are exceptions, such as St John's Wort, which is best infused immediately after picking, always fresh. It will turn your oil blood red if left long enough - my favourite is St John's Wort in castor oil, which is absolutely STUNNING. It's amazing to see the tiny yellow flowers turn the oil such an intense shade of red. Have not yet tried it in soap, but it is very healing in salves I make.

If infusing fresh plants into oils. It's important to use something to keep all the plant material under the oil, such as a fermentation weight or a suitably sized, clean stone. I do the same when infusing my honey with dandelions, gum weed, yarrow & more. With alcohol, it's not as big of a deal.

I will be trying yarrow in soap this year that is based on so-called 'weeds' as the essential oil is blue & I am wondering what color the strongly infused oil & plant material will turn me soap - the leaves, the roots & the flowers.

Nettles give a beautiful green color! Have already been out picking them a few weeks ago. Time for another round of spring picking!

Such great ideas. Am going to look for St John’s Wort fir infusions. The broad leaf plantain is harder to find here so I settle for the narrow leaf. Good point about the yarrow. Have you seen the price of yarrow essential oil? It’s stupefyingly expensive. Better add yarrow to my list of plants to forage. Am in Wisconsin USA and we still had snow on the ground last week. :/

 

[Savage Daughter]

Such great ideas. Am going to look for St John’s Wort fir infusions. The broad leaf plantain is harder to find here so I settle for the narrow leaf. Good point about the yarrow. Have you seen the price of yarrow essential oil? It’s stupefyingly expensive. Better add yarrow to my list of plants to forage. Am in Wisconsin USA and we still had snow on the ground last week. :/

If you only have narrow leaf, it also works. Use what you have available to you, for sure. I would suggest using the root as well, and even the seed heads when they come up. That will give you some extra potency. Smash the seeds heads in a mortar & pestle before infusing them to release their medicinal oils, then put into your infusing jar immediately. I do this with various plants & get very good results. The leaves are also awesome cooked, as well as raw in salads. Just remove the fibres in the leaves like people do with string beans.

Something I forgot to mention regarding fresh infusions, or dry, is doing them over heat in a pot with a tea towel on the bottom. Place a jar full of oil & plant material on that tea towel. Fill that pot with water to the level of the oil in your jar. Simmer on low for 3 hours or so, cool to room temp, then strain the plant material, squeezing the jeebus out of it all through layers of cheesecloth or a cotton bag. Infusing like this can also easily be done on a wood stove. I don't use the sun method anymore because it takes far too long, except with cottonwood buds. The heat also helps evaporate off some of the moisture in the raw plant material. However, if the oil is going into soap, keep the plant material if you wish & add that to your batter as well. Really nice with dandelions, plantain, nettles, soft spruce tips gathered in the spring & a whole lot more..

Yes, the price of yarrow essential oil is absolutely stupid. I am lucky that I purchased a very large bottle when prices were significantly cheaper & keep that in my 'private reserve' collection I also have a ton of it growing wild in my area. One of my suppliers has great prices on champaka white essential oil right now - a 10% dilution in jojoba, which is far stronger that the percentage New Directions offers at 3% - so I have ordered a litre. Likewise Rose de Mai 10% dilution. To be clear: a great price in MY country. The US always seems to have much better deals on raw materials. The cost for the above mentioned essential oils everywhere else are absolutely outrageous at the moment. Gotta compare & check in with suppliers from time to time to take advantage of things like this.

FYI regarding St John's Wort - there is apparently an 'ornamental' St John's Wort with much larger flowers. I tested infusing them once as my auntie had an entire flower bed of them. They did NOT turn my oil blood red. Sadly, I didn't test it out to see if it had medicinal qualities. At the time, I just tossed it, which wasn't smart.

I also tend to keep oils like this - with freshly infused plants - in the fridge after infusing. Not because I have ever had them go bad. It's just something I do. No logic in at actually, because my honeys infused with fresh plants I keep in the cupboard & have had no issues as I strain the plant material after about a month or so.

I woke up to snowfall last week & decided to stay in bed extra long that day....my first thought was 'I am SO over this!' Very grateful I have been able to get a lot of my medicinal herbs planted this week! Looking forward to harvesting everything for my soaps & other personal care products!

Very interesting. @Zing lets lotion bars sit for a bit so i decided to try that as well. Found it to be helpful as it gives the bars a dryer touch. Also as you say the Tallow is very good for dry skin. Agree. Have found Tamanu oil to be lovely for skin. Your tallow bar has inspired me to want to make Tallow & Tamanu bar. Lotions are on my wishlist however have not made any yet. I find there is something intimidating about lotion making. My brain needs a readjustment in the lotion making area :/

I was reading @Zing's recommendations regarding kombo butter & made a test batch of lotion bars, which will be packaged in paper tubes once they arrive. The stuff I purchased is super unrefined, incredible stuff. I am finding it's super healing for dry skin. My hands are less than 'supple' at the moment with all my digging in the dirt & wood chopping, so I'm very glad to have this on hand to test. Kombo will be going into my gardener's salve this year, which went over really well last year. The kombo butter will add even more goodness to it.

I felt the same way about making lotions until I made a test batch. There was nothing to it. The thing is allowing it to sit for several weeks to see if any separation or other weirdness occurs. That I am not so much a fan of, but it is necessary in my books before ever selling a new formulation. My lip balm recipe with castor wax is a prime example of this. It sucks to say the least. After sitting around for a couple of weeks, it developed similar grit to shea butter. Something I definitely have got to tweak!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I subbed sweet almond oil for the fractionated coconut oil, since I don’t have that.

MCT Oil (Medium Chain Triglycerides) is FCO. Most grocers/Whole Foods/CostCo have it around here. So maybe you can find it locally. Good stuff. Red Raspberry Seed oil is wonderful for face and skin. Has natural SPF. I use it straight for sun tan oil.

 

[dmcgee5034]

I made about 40 little pots each of lip serum and lip scrub to complete the 20 Easter or Mothers Day gift baskets I made for friends and family. I wanted to get them done now so I can focus on the soap challenge next weekend, because after that we go away on a little vacation - yay!

 

[AliOop]

I.... ahem... bought a Cricut Maker and Easy Press, with lots of vinyl, blades, and markers, from a destash post. The Maker had never been opened, and the Easy Press had been used once. My original reason for buying one was to make cute labels and packaging for my soaps and B&B products. But now I'm watching videos about how to make T-shirts, wall lettering, and more. If you don't hear from me for awhile, you know what I'm up to...

 

[msunnerstood]

I.... ahem... bought a Cricut Maker and Easy Press, with lots of vinyl, blades, and markers, from a destash post. The Maker had never been opened, and the Easy Press had been used once. My original reason for buying one was to make cute labels and packaging for my soaps and B&B products. But now I'm watching videos about how to make T-shirts, wall lettering, and more. If you don't hear from me for awhile, you know what I'm up to...

Welcome to the Dark Side Cricut Rabbit Hole! Bought mine for labels too and it morphed into coffee cups, t-shirts, and tote bags. Also faux leather key bands, note cards and the list goes on.

Excited to see what you make!

 

[Misschief]

I've been playing with lip gloss this week, testing a couple of different recipes. I'm really happy with the recipe I'm using now and it feels so nice on my lips. I made three batches (only 7 tubes per batch) for my next market on Mother's Day. Now, I just need to decide how to package them.

These little tubes are cute but I want classy, not cute.

 

[Dwilson9]

Over the last week, I've used Dean Wilson's recipe from his YT channel, that recipe as modified by Emilie Leffler on her YT channel, a recipe from Creative Bath Lab, and the recipes from Judy Garcia and Lucy McCann from Mooncake Cult.

I think I'm happiest with Lucy's recipe with slight, ummmm, modifications. I mismeasured the CA (automatically assumed it was ½ as much as the bicarb when it should have been less), accidentally left out the cornstarch, and intentionally added some SLSa and guar gum. The mix felt pretty dry but molded perfectly, and released cleanly from the mooncake press. The tester spun and fizzed nicely with good foam. The Dean Wilson/Emilie Leffler recipe produced the bomb that lasted the longest, and it had fantastic foam, but it would not mold well - not in the spheres or in the mooncake presses. Granted, it was raining that day, which isn't ideal.

No matter whose recipe I use, I always mix in the CA last, after mixing all other dry ingredients with all other wet ingredients.

do you have links or the recipes you could share

 

[AliOop]

do you have links or the recipes you could share

This one by Emilie Leffler - I don't use this recipe, but I do use her mixing technique.

This one by Creative Bath Lab - This is the basic recipe I use. I converted it to weight instead of volume, and added 1% SLSa. However, I use the mixing technique of the prior video.

This one by Soap & Clay - good general tips and basic recipe.

 

[AliOop]

Today's non-soapy thing was whipping up 2000g of lotion for friends who have been patiently waiting for it. The big bottle is unscented; the two smaller bottles are scented in lavender + white tea, and lavender + plumeria, respectively.

All three of those bottles were repurposed from ingredient purchases. Since I don't sell, it's a great way to reduce waste and save money by purchasing only the pumps or caps as needed. My friends often reimburse me for the cost of their products, so they are happy to save money this way, too.

The reason the two pump lotions in the pic are mixed scents, is that the smell remained in the FO bottles even after washing. Fortunately, the added lavender went really well with each respective scent. The friend getting those bottles loves anything lavender!

The larger bottle originally held jojoba oil, so it didn't have any residual scent - perfect for my scent-sensitive friend. I'm sending a separate pump to use instead of the cap, once she gets the lotion safely home and away from her rambunctious pup that will be in the car with her.

 

[kirsten.]

What excellent repurposing! I do the same things with "scented bottles"

 

[Misschief]

I've been a little quiet around here lately but I have been occupied in the background. The past couple of weeks, I've been playing around with some of SwiftCraftyMonkey's eye cream recipes. I downloaded her Actives & Cosmeceuticals: Eye Creams & Serums ebook and made a couple of variations of two of her recipes. Now, it's time to see what I think of them. I've been experimenting with two different emulsifiers (Jeesperse ICE-T CIS-2 and Aristoflex AVC) and several different extracts and actives. The Jeesperse is a weird one! I've never used an emulsifier like it. It's a lot of fun but kind of confusing as well, especially when she starts talking about cationic and anionic.

This is one of the products, a gel cream made with caffeine, cucumber, and papaya extracts. (The labels, at this point, are non-conforming but I'm only in the testing stage at the moment.)

 

[Tammyfarms]

I've been a little quiet around here lately but I have been occupied in the background. The past couple of weeks, I've been playing around with some of SwiftCraftyMonkey's eye cream recipes. I downloaded her Actives & Cosmeceuticals: Eye Creams & Serums ebook and made a couple of variations of two of her recipes. Now, it's time to see what I think of them. I've been experimenting with two different emulsifiers (Jeesperse ICE-T CIS-2 and Aristoflex AVC) and several different extracts and actives. The Jeesperse is a weird one! I've never used an emulsifier like it. It's a lot of fun but kind of confusing as well, especially when she starts talking about cationic and anionic.

This is one of the products, a gel cream made with caffeine, cucumber, and papaya extracts. (The labels, at this point, are non-conforming but I'm only in the testing stage at the moment.)

View attachment 72588

I would love to hear your thoughts on the eye creams. I have the same e-book and most of her others. Several years ago I began making an eye gel that another member had her asked about and it’s been working well for me but I am also considering switching to a lotion instead of gel. I don’t sell products, they are for personal use.