Archive for July, 2009

Finished Bacon Soap from Julie Marcil

Monday, July 13th, 2009
Julie Marcil sent me pictures of her bacon soap and she was kind enough to send pictures and directions of the whole process. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have.

Andee

Bacon Style Soap for Father’s Day

Here my trial at the bacon soap contest for Father’s Day. It doesn’t look as similar to bacon as the one you showed on your blog, but I hope my dad will enjoy using it.

Ingredients:

- 100 g of Coconut Oil (20%)
- 75 g of Vegetable Shortening (15%)
- 250 g of Olive Oil (50%)
- 50 g of Safflower Oil (10%)
- 25 g of Beeswax (5%)
- 170 mL of Water
- 66 g Lye (about 5.5% excess fat)

At trace:

- 1.5 tsp of Blueberry Flavor Oil
- 3 tbsp of reduced red wine for the red color of the soap

Equipment:

- Safety equipment (goggles, rubber glove, long sleeve shirt, long pants and covered shoes);
- Molds (I use little plastic containers) and mineral oil for coating;
- Stainless steel cooking pot;
- 2 spatulas;
- 2 thermometers;
- Scale;
- Graduated measuring cup for measuring water;
- Heatproof glass container for mixing lye solution;
- Whisk;
- Old blanket
- Sponges

Directions:

1- Prepare the workspace. Make sure there are plenty of clean working space and good airflow.

2- Gather all safety equipments. I use a long sleeve lab coat, pants and covered shoes that I won’t mind get ruin if a spill happens. A pair of rubber glove and safety goggles. I also make sure that I am close to a source of water and have some vinegar and sponges in case of a spill.

3- Gather all your ingredients. Measure each ingredient. I make sure I am wearing all the safety equipments from the moment I start working with the lye. Prepare the molds. I use mineral oil to coat my plastic molds.

4- Mix the water and lye in the heatproof container until total dissolution of the lye crystals. Make sure you don’t breath the fumes coming out of the solution. They are temporary. Set aside.

5- Slowly heat the oils in the stainless steel pot until everything is melted. Take the pot off the heat source.

6- Once the oils and the lye solution are about 110 F, slowly pour the lye solution into the oils stirring constantly with the whisk. Keep stirring at a good pace until a light trace occurs. With a whisk it takes me about 10 to 15 minutes.

7- At light trace, add the flavor oil and mix well.

8- Take about half the soap solution into another container. Set aside. Add the reduced red wine to the other half of the soap solution and mix well.

9- Pour the soap with red wine to fill half of the plastic molds. Then slowly pour the other half of the soap solution to fill out the rest of the molds.

10- Cover the soap molds with the old blanket and let sit for at least 24 hr or until firm.

11- Take the soap out of the molds, cut in desired size and let cure in a cool dry place for four weeks.

Personal notes on the recipe:

The ingredients in my vegetable shortening included canola, soybean and palm oil. I use soybean to calculate the amount of lye needed since it is the oil that takes the less lye among the three.

I use red wine that I simmer until all the alcohol was evaporated and the liquid reduced by half. I was hoping the red wine would give a light red color to the soap. However, the slight yellow color of the olive oil and the blueberry flavor oil gave the soap more of a brownish color than red when mixed with the wine.

Melting the oils.

Melting the oils.

Red wine, flavor oil and lye solution.

Red wine, flavor oil and lye solution.

Fresh soap in mold.

Fresh soap in mold.

Cut soap.

Cut soap.

Bacon soap with fake egg.

Bacon soap with fake egg.

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite PicLens

More New Fragrances!

Friday, July 10th, 2009

We have added some more new fragrances and I had to take photos of the test soaps for you! Green Mango Fragrance Oil and Pluot Fragrance Oil are both fantastic! I will send out all of these soaps for you to enjoy and I will make sure that each soap is labeled correctly.

Enjoy!

Andee

Green Mango Fragrance Oil

Green Mango Fragrance Oil

Pluot Fragrance Oil

Pluot Fragrance Oil

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite PicLens

Soy Butter Lip Balm

Thursday, July 9th, 2009
Last week, we released Soy Butter and I was so excited to have a new ingredient option for making lip balms. As this is used to help make lip balms that don’t have fractionation issues in the summer, I had to make a lip balm with this fantastic butter. The lip balm has a fantastic light and glossy feel.

We also added a new flavor to our collection yesterday and I had to try it! The Cranberry Flavor is sweet and perfect for anyone who enjoys cranberry sauce.

Collect supplies:
Beeswax
Soy Butter
Cocoa Butter (I used White Cocoa Butter)
Sweet Almond Oil
Flavor Oil of your Choice (I’m using the Cranberry Flavor Oil)
Oil Soluble Lip Color, if desired (I’m using the Ruby Oil Soluble Lip Color)
Lip Balm Containers of your choice
Container for mixing ingredients
Scale
Transfer Pipettes

Recipe for 0.6 ounce of lip balm (Makes 4 regular tubes):
0.12 ounces Beeswax
0.24 ounces Soy Butter
0.06 ounces Cocoa Butter
0.18 ounces Sweet Almond Oil
0.04 to 0.06 ounces Cranberry Flavor Oil

Recipe for 7.8 ounces of lip balm (Makes 52 regular tubes):
1.56 ounces Beeswax
3.12 ounces Soy Butter
0.78 ounces Cocoa Butter
2.34 ounces Sweet Almond Oil
0.312 to .468 ounces Cranberry Flavor Oil

Weigh all ingredients except for the Cranberry Flavor Oil into the container for mixing. Microwave in short bursts until the oils are completely melted. The beeswax and cocoa butter will take the longest to melt, so if you don’t want to wait for those to melt, you can use the Beeswax Prills and chop the cocoa butter into small crumbles. After the oils have been melted, add the flavor oil and color, if desired. Once the flavor has been mixed into the lip balm, you are now ready to fill your lip balm tubes. Don’t be alarmed if the lip balm sets up quickly! I’ve found it is one of the quirks of a Soy Butter lip balm!

We have also added some new fragrances and I will be sending out soap samples of these new fragrances. Don’t worry! I’ll label them with their names!

Enjoy!
Andee

Collect needed supplies.

Collect needed supplies.

Weighing Beeswax.

Weighing Beeswax.

Weighing Soy Butter.

Weighing Soy Butter.

Weighing Cocoa Butter.

Weighing Cocoa Butter.


(more…)

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite PicLens

Bath mats for fall protection

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

I just got a request from Pat about making summer time sugar scrubs. She wanted to find a substitution for the oil in an oil and sugar scrub that wouldn’t leave her shower floor so slippery.

If we remove the oil and add something like aloe juice, the potential for microbial growth is increased. This is reason for concern because a preservative is now a required use. So, our recommendation is to use a lighter oil like coconut oil fractions (as opposed to olive oil) or clear jojoba oil. These lighter oils don’t leave the skin feeling so heavy.

So now we still need to do something about the shower floor. I purchased a bath mat for my shower that looks like river rock pebbles. The one I chose is clear. I purchased it from Bed Bath & Beyond. Click here to see a blue version.

Clear items are so hard to photograph. Click this link in case you want to see the clear version.

This style of bath mat is a drain through version. This is not a drain over the sides style mat which I find can be slippery if an oily product is used. I find this mat to be easy to care for, it gets a bath in the washing machine once a month. It gets a weekly spray off cleaning with Clorox Clean Up. It dries in no time, thanks in part to the dry Utah climate. I’ve had no discoloring of the mat and I haven’t had a bad fall either.

It was a bad fall that got the mat in the first place. It would sound logical that an oil/sugar scrub was what made the floor slippery and therefore was the root cause of my fall. It wasn’t. I just happened to be shaving my legs and found that the shelf provided as a foot rest was not properly attached. Falling with a razor in hand is very scary indeed. My head hit the shampoo dispenser, it broke. I got a nice goose egg on my head and a small cut. I had a slight nick from the razor and bruises from head to toe. My shower was also sporting these new mats by that afternoon.

So, bathe carefully. Check the shelf. Get a bath mat. And above all, enjoy the shower. ;-)

Best!

Tina

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite PicLens

SPF – what does it mean to me?

Monday, July 6th, 2009

SPF is an acronym for Sun Protection Factor. This is a number value given to indicate the level of protection the skin will receive from the sun. UV, or ultraviolet, light can cause skin cancer. There are clothing and body care products that can be used to protect from damaging ultraviolet rays. So, what about adding something which gives a known SPF to our lotions and lip balms? It sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it? The problem arises when we consider 3 little letters and one word. These are OTC drug. This means an over-the-counter drug, one that does not need a prescription.

The law is clear that drugs must be made is specialized facilities which have passed regulatory hurdles. Why would our government require such hoopla for a sunscreen? The answer is simple – because sun damage can cause cancer. When you buy a product that makes a specific claim, such as having an SPF, you want to know that claim is truthful and the claim can be substantiated. Unsubstantiated claims hurt people, our economy and our communitites. Think of all the get rich quick schemes you have read over the years. Would you like the same results from unsubstantiated SPF claims? Absolutely not. We can choose not to respond to false claims for easy money, but we can’t avoid the sun. We do need to go outside for a number of activities. We also need Vitamin D, and just a few minutes in the sun each day helps our bodies make Vitamin D.

This brings me to the point of this blog. Please don’t try to make sunscreen products in your kitchen. If you don’t have the approval to make such a drug from our federal government, then don’t make it. Use products that have substantiated claims. Use products you know are made in drug manufacturing facilities. And don’t give me the arguement that you are only making sunscreen products for your friends and family. You should care MORE about your friends and family and only give them the best products available. Don’t cut corners when it comes to cancer prevention.

If using sunscreens that are chemical in nature is a concern for you, then change to sunscreens that are physical in nature. In other words, forgo the sunscreen that is a lotion or spray and wear clothing that has an SPF treatment.

If you find a lotion or lip balm base that has a chemical additive, then you turn around and add color or scent, or just fill your own bottles, then you are now the manufacturer of an OTC. Do not buy such bases. The companies that sell these SPF ingredients, and or bases, are encouraging all cosmetics to be regulated like drugs are regulated. Do yourself a favor, and all other small cosmetic and soap makers a favor, don’t mess around with the ingredients that get classified as drugs.

And by the way, use a good sunscreen.

Best wishes,

Tina

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite PicLens

Independence Day, Observed

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

July 3, 2009: We can’t miss a Federal holiday just because it falls on a weekend!

We wish everyone a safe and joyous celebration. We’ll be back on Monday, ready to ship your orders quickly and efficiently.

Cheers!
MMS Staff

New Fragrances!

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
We have added new fragrances to the catalog.  They are Coconut Milk Fragrance Oil, and Red Grape & Blueberry Fragrance Oil.  I have taken photos of these test soaps for you.  Look at that!

We have prepared free samples of these fragrances to go in orders.  I have given the shipping department 100 bottles of the Coconut Milk and 100 bottles of the Red Grape and Blueberry.  Each bottle is 1/2 fl ounce.  This is enough to make a test batch of soap or scent some lotions or bath salts.

Enjoy!

Andee

Coconut Milk Fragrance Oil

Coconut Milk Fragrance Oil

Red Grape & Blueberry Fragrance Oil

Red Grape & Blueberry Fragrance Oil

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite PicLens

Pioneer Day

Monday, January 5th, 2009

July 24, 2009: Utah celebrates our statehood and Majestic Mountain Sage will close early this day. UPS and USPS orders will still be shipped and delivered.

First Manned Lunar Landing

Monday, January 5th, 2009

On this date in 1969 Apollo 11 astronauts, Neil Armstrong and “Buzz” Aldrin, landed on the moon.

Independence Day

Monday, January 5th, 2009

July 4, 2009: Celebrate our Independence!  Don’t forget to fly your flag.