I apologize for the delay of these photos. I hope they help!
 Liner removed from the caps  Pressing the caps together.  Using the drill bit to make a hole in the caps.  Screwing the caps onto the full jug. |
 Using the epoxy glue on the caps.  Caps and drill bit.  My final hole is ready to be cleaned up.  The jugs draining. |
I use many of our bases for my own personal use as well as for the blog. I hate leaving extra lotion in the gallon jugs, but it can be very difficult to empty the jugs. The I came up with an idea for when I have just a little lotion left and I want to use every last drop. This method will work if you put pumps on your gallon jugs like I do.
Remove the caps from both jugs and pull out the paper lining. Glue the caps together. I like to use a food safe epoxy glue to make sure the caps won’t slip. Drill a hole through the caps and then screw the caps onto the full gallon jug. Tip the mostly empty jug onto the caps and screw onto the caps until tight. Leave overnight. Come back in the morning and remove the gallon jug on top. Yippee! Now we have an empty jug and a full one! Remove the caps and then place a pump on the jug.
Have fun!
Note:
I’m having problems with my camera, so I will post pictures tomorrow!
Last week, I took a phone call from a customer looking for Grapefruit Seed Extract. She wanted to use the Grapefruit Seed Extract as a preservative in her lotion. I’ve done some research in the past about Grapefruit Seed Extract and I have discovered that it has little preservative abilities. After I explained to the caller that a preservative is different than an antioxidant, I thought it might be a good idea to share information on the differences between preservatives and antioxidants.
An antioxidant helps slow down the oxidation of any substance that will be damaged by exposure to oxygen.
A preservative acts by preventing the growth of yeast, bacteria and mold. Preservatives are desirable to keep our creams and lotions from becoming walking Petri dishes.
I hope this helps!
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!
| Yesterday, I showed some of the mishaps from making melt & pour soap with embedded soap pieces. How do we prevent the soap pieces from being melted by the soap we pour over the pieces? How do we have clear defined objects in our soaps? Today, I will show you how to pour your soap and not melt the soap chunks you want to embed in your soap!
Supplies needed: Normally, I melt my Transparent soap until everything is melted and the soap is fairly hot. However, pouring my soap as hot as I normally have it, is not beneficial to embedding soap chunks in the soap. To have an appropriate temperature for pouring over the soap to be embedded, melt your Transparent soap until you have a few large chunks of soap that are not yet melted. Use the spoon and stir the Transparent soap until all of the chunks are melted. You can add fragrance at this point if you desire. You want your soap to have a slight viscosity to it, about the same viscosity of a slightly thinned rubber cement. The temperature should be between 115 and 125 degrees Fahrenheit (46.11 to 51.67 degrees Celsius). Once your soap to pour over has reached this temperature range, you are ready to pour. Spray your chunks to be embedded with the alcohol and gently pour your Transparent soap over the chunks. Once the mold has been filled with soap, spray the top of the soap with alcohol to help prevent a skin from forming and the bubbles to pop. Now you can make any final adjustments to your chunks. Allow your soap to cool until it is completely solid. Remove from the mold and enjoy your beautiful soap!
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 Needed supplies.  Testing the temperature.  Filling the molds with chunks. |
I have started giving the pronunciation for various MMS products, and now it is time for the fixed oils! Don’t forget, if you have other products you would like to hear the pronunciation, e-mail me and I will add a pronunciation to the blog.
Borage Oil: Bor-ij. Have you seen the flowers of the borage plant? They are gorgeous! The plant is prickly and can be considered a weed. It originally was cultivated for medical and culinary purposes, which included candying the flowers and brewing teas to help fevers. Today it is primarily cultivated as an oilseed. The University of Arizona has a great description of borage on their extension website. Borage is frequently used in creams that are made for helping psoriasis and eczema. This is a fabulous oil and can be used in any cream you desire!
Calendula Oil: Kuh-len-jew-luh. Calendula is also called Pot Marigold or Scotch Marigold. The plant has been used medicinally, in culinary dishes, or as dye for fabrics, cosmetics and food. This oil has been used for its anti-inflammatory properties as well as combating rough or scaly skin. Wouldn’t this be excellent for a foot cream?
The Euphorbia in our yard.
Candelilla Wax: Kan-dl-ee-uh. Candelilla is a vegetable wax that is often used to replace beeswax. I have found this to be useful and the great thing about Candelilla Wax is that you only need half of the amount that you would have used in Beeswax. Candelilla is also used in the food industry as a glazing agent or a binding agent for chewing gum. Candelilla is derived from the Euphorbia plant. It is very beautiful plant in any yard!
Carnauba Wax: Kahr-new-buh. Carnauba is derived from the leaves of the carnauba palm. You can find carnauba wax used in various products such as automobile waxes, candy corn, dental floss, mascara, frosting, chewing gum, and even for coating medicine. I have used Carnauba Wax for the various lip glosses I have shown on the blog.
Jojoba Oil: Hoh-hoh-buh. This oil always makes me think of laughter from Santa Claus and that has caused this pronunciation to stick very clearly in my mind. Does it work for you? Did you know that until the 1970s, jojoba was only used by the Native Americans who harvested it for its burn healing properties. Jojoba is actually not an oil, but it is a liquid wax ester.
Shea Butter: Shey. This butter is great either by itself or in any other products you can think of. The shea tree is indigenous to Western Africa and it takes approximately 15 years of growth before the tree begins to bear fruit. It is used for food products as a substitute for butter. Shea butter is also called African Karité Butter. Did you know the book “Roots” by Alex Haley talks about the shea nut tree?
Tamanu Oil: Tuh-mahn-oo. I remember when we were testing the Tamanau Oil, and since I have some of the driest hands around the warehouse, I was asked to test the Tamanu Oil on my hands for two weeks to see how it worked. It helped my cracked knuckles in no time at all! Tamanu is derived from an evergreen that is native to East Africa, southern coastal India, Malaysia and Australia. It smells just like butter pecan ice cream! Yummy!
On Monday, I’ll show how to make soap petals! These are so much fun to use for yourself or give to others!
Don’t forget about the Food Soap Show & Tell for Father’s Day. I’m looking forward to seeing your bacon soaps!
Download the Audio Version for your MP3 library
Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite Monday and Tuesday had some great posts from jaspersgarden and shelikesspring. Both of you rose beyond the call of duty and had some wonderful pictures and text! As I promised, both of you will be sent the gift certificates as well as some very fun gifts. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise!
Yesterday, I covered the pronunciation of the new fragrances, but what about the some of the fragrances and essential oils that have been in the catalog for some time? Let’s start alphabetically with the essential oils!
Bergamot Essential Oil: Bur-guh-mot. Bergamot is used in a black tea blend called Earl Grey Tea. Bergamot definitely has some great fun notes to add the the overall citrusy appeal of the essential oil.
Eucalyptus Citriodora Essential Oil: Ewe-cal-ip-tus Sit-re-o-door-a. Lemon Eucalyptus is also another name for this wonderful essential oil. Eucalyptus Citriodora is not as medicinal smelling as Eucalyptus and is very a enjoyable essential oil to add to your collection.
Litsea Cubeba Essential Oil: Lit-see-a Cu-beb-a. I’ve found the best way to describe Litsea Cubeba is with two words, lemony herbs. Ah, a beautiful combination and great for any who adore lemon.
Peppermint Essential Oil, Williamette Valley: Wi-lam-it. Willamette Valley Peppermint is greener in notes than a traditional peppermint. This is great for those that don’t care for Peppermint, but they do enjoy Spearmint.
Now I’m finished with the essential oils, so let’s move on to the fragrance oils.
Awapuhi Seaberry Fragrance Oil: Ah-wa-poo-ee See-bear-ee. Awaphui Seaberry is one of the fragrances we recommend for a fresh clean unisex scent. In Hawaiian, Awapuhi means White Ginger. This fragrance has hints of the beautiful flower of the White Ginger plant, as well as melon and berry notes and a whiff of the sea breeze! Close your eyes and enjoy the Hawaiian Islands!
Bergamot & Chamomile Fragrance Oil: Bur-guh-mot and Cam-uh-meel. This has been a staff favorite since it was introduced and most of our staff loves the pick-me-up feeling it seems to evoke.
Kailua Bay Fragrance Oil: Kahy-loo-ah. This fragrance can trick even those that live on the Hawaiian Islands and smell the tuber roses that grow there. Why buy a plane ticket to the Hawaiian Islands when you can be transported there with Kailua Bay?
Now I’ve covered the fragrance and essential oils that I know have had questions about pronunciation in the past. Since I’m on a roll with the pronunciation, I’ll share products from the Additives section of the catalog.
Allantoin: uh-lan-toh-in. Allantoin has been used as a skin protectant and is also used for its ability to hasten the growth of new and healthy tissue.
Dipropylene Glycol: Dahy-proh-puh-leen Glahy-kawl. While some people stumble over the pronunciation and just call this DPG for short, you will impress others with your ability to pronounce this.
Isopropyl Myristate: Ahy-suh-proh-pil My-ris-tate. Isopropyl Myristate or also known as IPM, is used to help reduce the greasy feeling in lotions and creams. Use the oils you want, but don’t keep the greasy feel!
Natrasorb: Nay-tra-sawrb. Natrasorb is frequently used to add fragrance to bath salts, and make bath fizzies lighter. This is such a fluffy powder, but it is lots of fun!
Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate: Soh-dee-uhm Lawr-il Suhl-foh-as-i-teyt. Whew! That one definitely takes a mouthful and talking slowly. This is great for making foaming bath salts or foaming bath bombs. Check out the Foaming Fruity Layers on the blog for a great idea! You can also add Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate to your Melt and Pour Soap for more bubbles. Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate is also called SLSA.
Squalane: Skwey-leyn. Squalane is a cousin to the squalene (skwey-leen) that naturally occurs in our skin. Rub your finger on the side of your nose and then place your finger on a smooth surface like glass or plastic. Can you see the finger print? That is the squalene that your skin produces. I love squalane for the moisturizing capabilities it has without the greasy feeling.
Tomorrow I’ll share the pronunciation for the fixed oils. I hope these have helped you!
Don’t forget about the Food Soap Show & Tell for Father’s Day. I’m looking forward to seeing your bacon soaps!
Download the Audio Version for your MP3 library
Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite We have an Audio Version of this blog at the bottom of this post. Don’t forget to download these audio versions of the blog!
If you have been watching the New Products section of the catalog lately, then you will know that we have released several new fragrances. Some of these new fragrances have quite the mouthful for names. Today, I’ll share the correct pronunciation for these new fragrances.
Let’s start with Acai and Mangosteen Fragrance Oil.
Acai and Mangosteen Fragrance Oil: Aw-saw-ee and Mang-guh-steen. Wow! Such a mouthful for such a yummy fragrance. It is very refreshing and a great pick-me-up scent. I think I’ll use it in a body wash!
Kalahari Melon Fragrance Oil: Kal-uh-hahr-ee Mel-uhn. If you enjoy melons, this is a great scent for you. I think this would even be a great scent for tweens!
Rooibos Tea Fragrance Oil: Roy-boss Tee. While this word is so confusing for the pronunciation, it doesn’t mean this fragrance is confusing. This smells just like the Rooibos Tea I had earlier this morning. Now I want to go brew another cup of tea!
I hope these have helped you. Are there are other products you would like learn pronunciation, feel free to e-mail me and I will post another entry with that pronunciation. For those that have been listening to the audio version of this post, I hope you have enjoyed it!
Don’t forget about the Food Soap Show & Tell for Father’s Day. I’m looking forward to seeing your bacon soaps!
Download the Audio Version for your MP3 library
Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite | As I stated yesterday, I love to look for crafty things at the local Gardner’s Market. I’ve noticed that some of the vendors have tester cream jars of every scent in just one style of cream! This method takes up a lot of space and uses quite a bit of product. You don’t want people opening every jar of cream just to smell the fragrance. This is where I can help you allow people to smell the fragrances without getting lotion or cream all over their noses and making a mess of your booth.
Collect needed supplies: Recipe: Weigh wax and Coconut Oil Fractions into the microwave safe container. Microwave in short bursts until the wax is melted. You will need to stir the oil to help the wax melt. At this point, you can add the fragrance oil. You may need to reheat the mixture briefly. Once the mixture is completely melted, you can start dipping your sachet card sheep. Quickly dip the sheep into the mixture and pull out. You don’t want the sheep to be waxy and if you leave the sheep in the mixture too long, it will absorb too much wax and then be very waxy. You can also get waxy sheep when the mixture has cooled too much. Simply reheat and continue dipping sheep. Now you have excellent scent sample cards or hanging car air fresheners! Isn’t that so much more better than people opening creams you don’t want opened at your booth? Want some sheep cards? Request them in the comments of your order. We’ll include them as long as supplies last. Submit your photos and text for the guest written Hot Process Soap Week! Submissions will be accepted through May 18th at blog@thesage.com. Hot Process Soap Week will be May 25th through May 29th. |
 Collect all the supplies.  Weighing the petroleum wax.  Weighed petroleum wax. |
| When looking at an impulse sealer which should you choose? A large one, or a small one? One with a cutter or without? What about the replacement parts? What is the difference in the wires and such?
Today, Carole called our office and asked for some help. The questions to cover Carole’s projects will probably be helpful for others, so we will cover impulse sealers today. Sizes of impulse sealers should be considered when choosing. If you plan to seal small bags or soaps then choose the largest size that will accommodate all projects you are currently planning. If you seal mostly books, large packages and such, get a larger sealer. Don’t try to make do, you will only make yourself crazy in the meantime. Most people who make soaps and bath salts only need an 8 inch sealer. Boxes and gift packages may need a 12 inch sealer, or larger. Do you make bags that have a bottom flap? This is a bottom flap photo. This type of seal, called a flat welded seam, is made by a flat wire. The round wires are for making hard edge welded seams. If you want to make bags that have the bottom flap, you really need to get a cutter on your impulse sealer. If you have no intention of making bags, just sealing shrinkable pouches, then get the impulse sealer without a cutter. First, let me show you how to make a bag with the impulse sealer and the flat wire. Place the plastic under the sealing arm. Press down on the arm. Set the heat until a weld has been sufficiently made. Do not heat any longer than necessary. Now, let’s make a sealed pouch which will be shrunk with a heat gun. Put the item to be wrapped in the shrink bag. Position the bag under the arm to make the bag as small as possible. While pressing down the arm with one hand, gently pull the item away with the other. You can see that once the welded seam was finished the bag was able to be pulled away. Remove the excess bag material and always keep the teflon strips free from debris. If melted bag material is allowed to build up on the teflon strips, it will shorten the life of these strip pads and you will spend more money on maintenance kits. Here are some points to clarify today’s post. We hope this has helped everyone make a better choice, as well as knowing how to clean the machine. If you need to replace the teflon strips and the impulse heating wires, see our Recipes Section for step by step photos (Installing A Heat Sealer Maintenance Kit).
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 This is a bag with a bottom flap. I inserted the colored paper so the flap could be seen better.  This is the hole in the 6X6 shrink bags that allows air to escape the bag as you shrink it.  Place the plastic bag under the sealing arm.  Press down on the arm. |
