Collect needed items:
Citric Acid
Hydrovance
Dimethicone
Stearic Acid
Emulsifying Wax
Sunflower Oil
Shea Butter, Refined
Chamomile Extract
Comfrey Leaves Extract
Liquid Germall Plus
Fragrance of your choice (I’m using Rooibos Tea Fragrance Oil)
Water
Premixed colors from January 12, 2009
Scale
Beaker or Mixing Bowl
Immersion Blender
Microwave
Containers for the finished cream

Recipe:
1.3 grams Citric Acid
15 grams Hydrovance
24.5 grams Dimethicone
20 grams Stearic Acid
25 grams Emulsifying Wax
95 grams Sunflower Oil
5 grams Shea Butter, Refined
330 grams water
2.5 grams Chamomile Extract
2.5 grams Comfrey Leaves Extract
2.6 grams Liquid Germall Plus
5.2 grams of Rooibos Tea Fragrance Oil

Weigh all ingredients except the extracts, Liquid Germall Plus and Rooibos Tea Fragrance Oil. Heat in the microwave, using short bursts, until the oils have melted. Use the immersion blender to blend together. Allow to cool until the temperature drops below 140 degrees Fahrenheit and then add the remaining ingredients and color if you desire. Blend until all ingredients have been mixed together. Pour into jars and allow to cool completely. Now you have a fantastic cream!

Enjoy!

Submit your photos and text for the guest written Embedded Melt & Pour Soap Challenge! Submissions will be accepted through October 18th at blog@thesage.com. The submissions will be released October 19th through October 23rd. Each guest writer will receive a $25 gift certificate. I have already received one entry! Don’t miss out on your chance!

Don’t forget to submit your blog or video posts to win the MMS Perfumer’s Kit. Remember, this kit is worth $280! Wow!

Oils and water wieghed into a beaker.

Oils after microwaving.

Adding extracts, Liquid Germall Plus and Rooibos Tea Fragrance.

Pouring finished cream into jars.

Filled jars of cream.

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The objective of this cream was to use beeswax from the local beekeeper to make a nice cream. I’m sending samples in orders. Send in your comments and we will revisit to tweak this recipe to your liking.

Collect needed supplies:
Beeswax
Allantoin
Hydrovance
Dimethicone
Coconut Oil Fractions
Conditioning Emulsifying Wax
Water
Fragrance Oil of your choice (I’m using Freesia Fragrance Oil)
Germaben II
Transfer Pipettes
Scale
Microwave Safe Container
Immersion Blender
Microwave
Containers for the finished lotion

Recipe in grams:
1 gram Beeswax
1 gram Allantoin
3 gram Hydrovance
2 gram Dimethicone
10 gram Coconut Oil Fractions
4 gram Conditioning Emulsifying Wax
77 gram Water
1 gram Freesia Fragrance Oil
1 gram Germaben II

Weigh all ingredients except Germaben II and Freesia Fragrance Oil into the microwave safe container. Heat in the microwave using short time bursts until everything is melted. Blend using the immersion blender. Add Germaben II and Freesia Fragrance Oil once the temperature drops below 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Blend until completely mixed. I like to add the color at this point to help me determine if I have mixed all of the ingredients together. Pour the mixed cream into the containers.

Enjoy!

Collect needed supplies.

Weighing the ingredients.

Melting the ingredients.

Filled jars.

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What is a souffle? A light, fluffy baked dish made with egg yolks and beaten egg whites combined with various other ingredients and served as a main dish or sweetened as a dessert. This lotion is definitely light and as a bonus, calorie free!

Collect needed items:
Stearic Acid
Emulsifying Wax
Liquid Glycerin
Golden Jojoba Oil
Avocado Butter
Kukui Oil
Vitamin E Acetate
White Cocoa Butter
Water
Silk Powder
Germaben II
Fragrance Oil of your choice (I’m using Blackberry Sage Fragrance Oil)
Purple Raspberry Liquid Color from January 12 2009 (Optional)
Transfer Pipettes
Scale
Microwave Safe Container
Immersion Blender
Microwave
Containers for the finished lotion

Recipe:
9 grams Stearic Acid
22 grams Emulsifying Wax
9 grams Liquid Glycerin
46 grams Golden Jojoba Oil
20 grams Avocado Butter
15 grams Kukui Oil
5 grams Vitamin E Acetate
10 grams White Cocoa Butter
813 grams distilled water
2 grams Silk Powder
9.45 grams Germaben II
5.5 millimeters Blackberry Sage Fragrance Oil
Purple Raspberry Color

Weigh all ingredients except Germaben II and Blackberry Sage Fragrance Oil into the microwave safe container. Heat in the microwave using short time bursts until everything is melted. Blend using the immersion blender. Add Germaben II and Blackberry Sage Fragrance Oil once the temperature drops below 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Blend until completely mixed. I like to add the color at this point to help me determine if I have mixed all of the ingredients together. Pour the mixed lotion into the containers.

Since this is a fluid lotion, I filled the 1 oz LDPE bottles for this post and then capped the bottles with the Black Disk Tops to match as samples to go out in orders. Fill what ever size bottles you desire.

Enjoy!

Collecting needed items.

All oils weighed out.

Water added to the oils.

Using the immersion blender to mix thoroughly.

Lotion after the Germaben II, fragrance and color have been added. Drop of cooled lotion on my finger.

Filled bottles.

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Unfortunately, I despise gardening while wearing gloves and if I’m not careful, the weeds shred my hands. Digging around in the dirt pulls all the moisture away from my skin and then since my hands are dry, they can crack and bleed. That just makes the gardening not fun anymore! This recipe was formulated for those of us that spend our evenings and weekends out in the garden, but anyone with dry skin could benefit from this great hand therapy butter. I love the Gardener’s Hand Therapy and I believe anyone can find a use for it.

Collect needed supplies:
Apricot Kernel Oil
Sweet Almond Oil
Beeswax
Regular Cocoa Butter
Mango Butter
Bourbon Geranium Essential Oil
scale
microwave
microwave safe beaker or glass jar
pipettes
Containers and caps of your choice

Recipe:
20 grams Apricot Kernel Oil
25 grams Sweet Almond Oil
14 grams Beeswax
5 grams Regular Cocoa Butter
5 grams Mango Butter
10-15 drops Bourbon Geranium Essential Oil

Weigh everything except the essential oil into the beaker. Melt, using the microwave in short bursts until everything is mostly melted. Once you have reached this point, you can add the Bourbon Geranium Essential Oil and stir well with a transfer pipette until all ingredients have been completely melted.

This recipe is great in the lip balm jars for small portable use. This recipe also can be used for the lips, but I would recommend that you use a flavor or essential oil that will be work with your lips.

Enjoy!

Next week is Hot Process Soap Week!

Collect all needed supplies.

Taring the scale.

Weighing ingredients.

Mostly melted oils.

Adding Bourbon Geranium Essential to melted oils. Filling 10 mL jars. Chickens crossing the yard.

Stirring the oils together. Capping jars. Another chicken crossing the yard.

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Collect needed items:
Citric Acid
Stearic Acid
Emulsifying Wax
Liquid Glycerin
Sunflower Oil
Coconut Oil
Water
Germaben II
Lemon Zinger Fragrance Oil
Raspberry Fragrance Oil
Scale
microwave
spoon
immersion blender
beaker or glass pyrex
transfer pipettes or droppers
jars and caps for filling

Recipe:
1.3 grams Citric Acid
9 grams Stearic Acid
20 grams Emulsifying Wax
10 grams Liquid Glycerin
65 grams High-Oleic Sunflower Oil
10 grams Coconut Oil
380 grams purified water
3.75 grams Germaben II
2.5 grams desired fragrance oil

How do you blend a Raspberry Lemonade Fragrance?

I like to take one of the Clear Glass Drams and fill it with the fragrances that I want to blend and use the blended fragrance when I need just small amount like this recipe. This glass dram holds about 5 mL, so I will make 4.5 mL of the blend. I’ll use 1.5 mL of Raspberry Fragrance Oil and 3 mL of Lemon Zinger Fragrance Oil. This allows for a sweet lemonade scent with a faint hint of fresh raspberries.

Weigh all ingredients into the beaker except for the Germaben II, Lemon Zinger Fragrance Oil, and Raspberry Fragrance Oil. Microwave for short bursts until all ingredients are melted. Once all the ingredients are melted, blend until all the ingredients are mixed well. Let the mixture cool and then add the Germaben II, Lemon Zinger Fragrance Oil, and Raspberry Fragrance Oil and mix well. Pour into the containers of your choice. Shake the cooling lotion to prevent the separation of the lotion. This is a great reason to recruit some helpers.

Next week is Hot Process Soap Week! I have two posts now!

Collect needed items.

Most of the ingredients weighed into the beaker.

Blending the ingredients with a immersion blender.

Blending after adding the fragrance blend and Germaben II.

Lotion poured in the jars.

Finished lotion.

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Collect needed supplies:
Aloe Butter
White Cocoa Butter
Grapeseed Oil
Stearic Acid
Emulsifying Wax
distilled water
Liquid Glycerin
Vitamin E Acetate
Liquid Germall Plus
Freesia Fragrance Oil
Ultrafine Iridescent Glitter
Purple Raspberry Dropper Bottle from January 12, 2009
Scale
microwave
spoon
immersion blender
beaker or glass pyrex
transfer pipettes or droppers
jars and caps for filling

Recipe:
112 grams Aloe Butter
96 grams White Cocoa Butter
80 grams Grapeseed Oil
24 grams Stearic Acid
64 grams Emulsifying Wax
592 grams Distilled Water
24 grams Liquid Glycerin
16 grams Vitamin E Acetate
10.08 grams Liquid Germall Plus
10.00 grams Freesia Fragrance Oil
1 tsp Ultrafine Iridescent Glitter
2 drops of Purple Raspberry Color

Weigh all ingredients into the beaker except for the Liquid Germall Plus, Freesia Fragrance Oil, and Ultrafine Iridescent Glitter. Microwave for short bursts until all ingredients are melted. Once all the ingredients are melted, blend until all the ingredients are mixed well. Let the mixture cool and then add the Liquid Germall Plus, Freesia Fragrance Oil, Ultrafine Iridescent Glitter, and Purple Raspberry Color, and mix well. Pour into the containers of your choice.

This would be a great gift for dancers, or others that need some glitter on their skin when they perform. This would also be great for tweens, teens and others.

Next week is Hot Process Soap Week! I have two posts now!

Collect needed items.

Melted ingredients.

Weighing the Liquid Germall Plus and Freesia Fragrance Oil.

Blending the ingredients.

Adding the Liquid Germall Plus and Freesia Fragrance Oil. Adding glitter to the lotion. Color blended into the lotion.

Measuring the glitter. Adding 2 drops of red color.

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Let’s look at the recipe:

3 grams Liquid Glycerin
4 grams Stearic Acid
6 grams Emulsifying Wax
13 grams Apricot Kernel Oil
7 grams Colorless Jojoba Oil
5 grams Sweet Almond Oil
3 grams Regular Cocoa Butter
113 grams distilled water
1.5 grams Germaben II
1.5 grams Energy Fragrance Oil

Let’s figure our the percentages of each of these ingredients first.

Total is 157 grams by weight:
2% Liquid Glycerin
2.5% Stearic Acid
4% Emulsifying Wax
8% Apricot Kernel Oil
4.5% Colorless Jojoba Oil
3% Sweet Almond Oil
2% Regular Cocoa Butter
72% distilled water
1% Germaben II
1% Energy Fragrance Oil

These percentages have been rounded a bit for easier calculating.

To reduce viscosity the Stearic Acid, Cocoa Butter, and Emulsifying Wax all contribute to an increased viscosity. Reducing the Stearic Acid to 3 grams will decrease the viscosity just a tad. Removing the Cocoa Butter will decrease the viscosity a bit more. Removing the Stearic Acid will decrease the viscosity by a lot more, and removing both will decrease the viscosity significantly.

Sometimes we replace ingredients like these with other materials that help make a creamier product with a lighter feel, this helps reduce viscosity and help lighten the overall feel.

I would probably make the Stearic Acid 2 grams, increase the Colorless Jojoba to 8 grams, and replace the Cocoa Butter with Isopropyl Myristate. To make the lotion have less drag, replacing the Glycerin with Hydrovance will also reduce drag and make a lighter feel, without changing viscosity much.

This gives lots of options for change. It certainly will make a difference, based your desired final product, by which option you choose.

As always, you can change a recipe to suit the ingredients you have on hand. I only had White Cocoa Butter on my workbench, so I used that instead of the Regular Cocoa Butter that the recipe called for. Even with this change, the recipe turned out fine.

Collect needed items:

Liquid Glycerin
Stearic Acid
Emulsifying Wax
Apricot Kernel Oil
Colorless Jojoba Oil
Sweet Almond Oil
Regular Cocoa Butter
Germaben II
Energy Fragrance Oil
Distilled Water
Scale
Transfer Pipette
Spoon
Immersion Blender (Optional)
Container for mixing
Containers for the finished product

Weigh all ingredients except Germaben II and Energy Fragrance Oil. Melt the ingredient in the microwave using short bursts of time. It took about 1-1/2 minutes  in my microwave to melt the ingredients. Once the ingredients are melted, stir to thoroughly mix. Allow the ingredients to cool until the cream has reached approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Now you can add the Germaben II and Energy Fragrance Oil and mix well. Pour the cream into jars and cap the jars. Now you have a quick and easy cream ready to use for an energetic pick-me-up.

Collect items.

Weigh ingredients except for fragrance and Germaben II.

Stirring melted ingredients with a spoon.

Stirring melted ingredients after adding fragrance oil and Germaben II.

Pouring finished cream into jars.

Filling the last jar.

This recipe makes about 5-1/2 ounces of cream, so if you want to make more cream, use the percentages that we calculated and choose how much cream you want to make. Once you have decided, multiply that amount by the percentage. For example, I want to make enough cream to fill 8 of the 4 oz Clear PET Low Profile Jars, Size 70. I would need approximately 32 ounces of cream to fill up the jars a little past the shoulder of the jar. I can either calculate this recipe in ounces or I can calculate it in grams. I’m going to show both calculations.

Ounces Calculations (32*Percentage)
32*.02 = 0.64 ounces of Liquid Glycerin
0.80 ounces of Stearic Acid
1.28 ounces of Emulsifying Wax
2.56 ounces of Apricot Kernel Oil
1.44 ounces of Colorless Jojoba Oil
0.96 ounces of Sweet Almond Oil
0.64 ounces of Cocoa Butter
23.04 ounces of Distilled Water
0.32 ounces of Germaben II
0.32 ounces of Energy Fragrance Oil

Grams Calculations (907.2*Percentage)
18.14 grams of Liquid Glycerin
22.68 grams of Stearic Acid
36.29 grams of Emulsifying Wax
72.58 grams of Apricot Kernel Oil
40.82 grams of Colorless Jojoba Oil
27.22 grams of Sweet Almond Oil
18.14 grams of Cocoa Butter
653.18 grams of Distilled Water
9.07 grams of Germaben II
9.07 grams of Energy Fragrance Oil

Next week I’m going to show embedding objects in Melt & Pour Soap!

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That August, I wandered the test kitchen to find some ingredients that I remembered that were in the butter my therapists used. I already knew I wanted Coffee Butter, but I needed to find something else that would work. I thought Mango Butter to help keep the balm pliable, White Cocoa Butter and Beeswax would help keep the balm firm, and Lanolin would give the balm the stiff drag I had fallen in love with. The first attempt wasn’t what I was looking for, so I went to find some help from the Technical Support Team. I was given some suggestions to add to the first attempt. Shea Oil, Avocado Oil, and Cyclomethicone were the three items that were suggested. I made 4 variations of the Body Balm, and each variation contained 17 grams of the first (failed or undesirable) attempt.

So, instead of having you make my funky batch, I have worked through the variation so you get to a good batch the first attempt. If you want to make my original then go to this Recipes Section link: here. You can then make my first attempt and the 4 variations. Today, I’m going to share the Body Balm recipe with Variation #2, which is my favorite.

Collect needed items:
Coffee Butter
Mango Butter
White Cocoa Butter
Lanolin
Beeswax
Shea Oil
Scale
Lotion Bar Tubes
Lotion Bar Filling Tray
Microwave safe container for mixing ingredients
Microwave
Spoon
Fragrance Oil if desired
Transfer Pipettes

The Lotion Bar Filling Tray helps fill 20 Lotion Bar Tubes and each tube holds 0.75 ounces. To find out how much Body Balm I needed to make, I simply calculated 20 x 0.75 = 14 ounces. I decided that I would convert the recipe to percentages so I could use any method of measurement and amount I wanted.

Recipe in Percentage
13% Coffee Butter
6% Mango Butter
17% White Cocoa Butter
12% Lanolin
17% Beeswax
35% Shea Oil

As I stated earlier, I need 15 ounces for 20 Lotion Bar Tubes. I multiplied the 15 ounces by the percentage to find each ingredients needed amount in ounces. The math looks like this Total Weight Needed (A) X Percentage of Material (B) = Weight of specific item (C) in same unit of measure used for A.

Recipe we are using today
1.95 ounces Coffee Butter (15 ounces * 13% = 1.95 ounces)
0.9 ounces Mango Butter
2.55 ounces White Cocoa Butter
1.8 ounces Lanolin
2.55 ounces Beeswax
5.25 ounces Shea Oil

Weigh all ingredients into the microwave safe container and microwave for _____. The beeswax will take the most amount of time to melt. If you stir the mixture periodically, the beeswax melt more quickly. Once everything is melted, pour into the lotion bar tubes using the filling tray. Allow the balm to cool and then scrape the top of the filling tray. Now remove the lotion bar tubes from the filling trays. If you have any other questions, refer to Plastic Tom’s Tutorial.

Once the lotion bar tubes have been filled and removed from the filling tray, cap the tubes. These are now ready for labels!

Notes:
This recipe will actually fill 21 tubes. I had made a slight calculation error and transposed some numbers on my tube weight in my notes. The Lotion Bar Tube will hold 0.70 ounces of this recipe. I apologize for my error on the weigh.

Notes:
If you are just wanting to make a small test batch, here is the test batch size.

Recipe for Test Batch
3.5 grams Coffee Butter
1.5 grams Mango Butter
4.5 grams White Cocoa Butter
3.0 grams Lanolin
4.5 grams Beeswax
9.0 grams Shea Oil

This will fill one Lotion Bar Tube, with a tiny bit extra to use immediately.

Next week is all about finishing up the Mother’s Day Gift Baskets!

A close up of my arm two years later.

My arm two years later.

Collect supplies.

Weigh all ingredients into the beaker.

All the ingredients in the beaker.

The melted Body Balm.

Filling the lotion bar tubes with the filling tray.

A completely filled tray.

Finished Body Balm Version #2

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Any way you want to use this wonderful Light Facial Cream from our recipes section is up to you. This cream even has Hydrovance instead of Glycerin for its great long term moisturizing properties! What are we waiting for? Let’s get rolling with the cream!

Collect needed items:
Water
Colorless Jojoba Oil
Emulsifying Wax
Evening Primrose Oil
Hydrovance
Stearic Acid
Apricot Kernel Oil
Meadowfoam Oil
MMS Aloe Extract
Squalane
Vitamin E Acetate
Germaben II
Essential or Fragrance Oil of your choice (This is optional. I’m going to use Fruit Slices Fragrance Oil)
Scale
Small Transfer Pipette
Mixing Bucket
Spoon
Immersion Blender (optional)
Containers to fill with finished product

I’m also going to add 1 drop of the Purple Raspberry and 2 drops of the Lemon Yellow liquid colors from the January 12 2009 post.

Recipe:
380 grams Water
45 grams Colorless Jojoba Oil
20 grams Emulsifying Wax
10 grams Evening Primrose Oil
10 grams Hydrovance
7 grams Stearic Acid
5 grams Apricot Kernel Oil
5 grams Meadowfoam Oil
5 grams MMS Aloe Extract
2 grams Squalane
2 grams Vitamin E Acetate

3.75 grams Germaben II
2.5 grams Essential or Fragrance Oil (optional)

Weigh all ingredients except Germaben II and Essential or Fragrance Oil. Microwave using short bursts of time until melted or mostly melted. You can use the immersion blender to completely blend in small chunks of Stearic Acid and Emulsifying Wax. Allow to cool until not overly hot to the touch. Add the Germaben II and Essential or Fragrance Oil. Make sure everything is blended thoroughly. I like to add my color last, to check how well the mixing has progressed.

Yay! We now are finished with the cream and we need to fill our jars.

Guess what? 5 of these samples are going to be pulled aside for the Mother’s Day Gift Baskets! WOW!

Next week is all about making the home air smell good. We are going to make room sprays and linen sprays! Don’t forget about the Monster Away Sprays for Kids!

Collect needed supplies.

Weighing oils.

Adding water to oils.

Melting the waxes.

Oils before mixing.

Mixing the lotion.

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This brings me to today’s topic, the cuticles. We all need to care for these precious cuticles, but sometimes a hand cream isn’t enough. If you have ever had a manicure, or a pedicure, you know that the cuticles have their own special oil or jelly. Keeping the skin soft enough to
avoid ripping is important, otherwise you might get an itchy trigger finger.

What is the difference between a cuticle oil and a cuticle jelly?

Cuticle oils are fluid, jellies are semi-fluid. Both are useful, and preference is the only reason you would choose one versus the other. If you tend to not like oily hands then a jelly is more in line. If you have very dry skin and feel like a bit of oil would help stop evaporation from the skin, then an oil is probably better. For typing or gun handling activities, I prefer a jelly because my fingers don’t slip around as much. For activities like driving, riding, hiking or sleeping, the oil is nice.

I’m going to make the Cuticle Gelly recipe in our recipes section, and in honor of today, I’m going to color it green for Saint Patrick’s Day.

2 grams Carnauba Wax
30 grams Mango Oil
5 grams Sweet Almond Butter
5 grams Avocado Oil
8 grams Evening Primrose Oil
5 grams Cranberry Seed Oil
30 grams Sunflower Oil
8 grams Lanolin
5 grams White Cocoa Butter

1 gram Squalane
1.06 grams fragrance oil (I chose Lemon Zinger for a fresh and zippy scent
Touch of Blue Oil Soluble Lip Balm Color (optional)

Equipment

scale
microwave safe container
1/4 oz Dropper Bottles or Lip Brush Pen
spoon
transfer pipette

Weigh all ingredients except for fragrance oil, color and Squalane in to microwave safe container. Melt these ingredients in the microwave using short bursts of time. The Lanolin and Carnauba Wax will be last items to melt, so don’t worry. Do be careful though, you don’t want
to overheat the mixture. Once everything has been melted, add the fragrance oil, color and Squalane. Whoa! Wait a minute! I only added blue color. How do I expect it to turn green? The Lanolin of course! Lanolin has a light yellow/orange color. Once you add the blue color,
green magically appears after some stirring.

Once the everything has been mixed, you are now ready to fill your containers! Cap your containers and you are now finished. Don’t these bottles look fantastic!

This mixture leaves the finger nail and cuticle area feeling soft, smooth and velvety. No itchy, twitchy trigger fingers.

Next week is all about making the home air smell good. We are going to make room sprays and linen sprays! Don’t forget about the Monster Away Sprays for Kids!

Collect needed items.

Weigh all ingredients into beaker.

Stiring mixture after 30 seconds.

Stirring again after 30 more seconds.

Adding Squalane to melted mixture.

Adding Blue color. The blue color is starting to blend into the mixture. Filling the 1/4 dropper bottles.

Stirring in the blue color, but you can't see it yet. Our finished color of green. Filled bottles.

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