Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more
For future reference, bath melts plus bath salt – not such a good combo.
You’d think it’d be great plus great equals supa! great but, not so much.
I made a solid bath melt recipe and poured it over dead sea salt. Then, I scooped the mixture into the tub. The reasoning was that salt would purify and the oils would moisturize. Instead, neither did either.
Instead, the lumps sat in the bottom of my tub, taunting me. I had to cut the tub time short. It was tragic.
Hat tip to Shandel at True Life Coaching for emailing me this story.
;When NASA began the launch of astronauts into space, they found out thatthepens wouldn’t work at zero gravity. (Ink won’t flow down to the writingsurface). In order to solve this problem, they hired Andersen Consulting(known as Accenture today). It took them one decadeand 12 million dollars. They developed a pen that worked at zero gravity, upside down, under water, in practically any surface including crystal andin a temperature range from below freezing to over 300 degrees C.
The Russians used a pencil.
Update at 3:24 p.m.: Thank you to Ruality for pointing out that this story isn’t um, quite true.
That’s a good story and a good lesson, but it’s not really true. I like the real story better! Paul Fisher saw the problem with lead pencils (both NASA and the USSR used them, but they were problematic when the lead broke). He developed the Space pen and sold it to both countries!
http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp
Made by Nature’s Best Soap with actual potato water, this soap is fragranced with Anise Essential Oil. I have hidden it downstairs in the guest room shower for when my Mom visits. She loves, loves, loves a good black licorice and this is one of the best!
The lather is dense, holds up and my skin felt baby soft when I was all toweled off.
Master soapmaker, Duane, says this about the soap:
My initial thoughts were to promote the soothing benefit of potato to skin. An old wives tale promoted raw potato to treat sunburn is one of the things we read when researching about 12 years ago and decided to make a soap with actual potato. We’ve had a number of anecdotal stories over the years from people who rave about the soap with potato and the effect it has on mature skin.
This is Elin’s cat from The Country Soaper. Notice the web site she’s so happy about peeking at?
Day One – Introduction to Massage Candles
Day Two – The Fine Print
Day Three – Ingredients & Melting
Day Four – Pouring & Wick Setting
I hope you’ve enjoyed the Massage Candle Tutorial this week.
The final recipe below is the easiest recipe to make but also the least good in terms of performance during a massage. It doesn’t provide as much “slip” as the more oily, complex recipe from Day Two.
Items needed:
Candle Tin
Wick (We like the WU 250 or the CD20)
Skin Safe Fragrance
Container Soy Wax (Naturewax C3)
Liquid Vegetable Oil (like Apricot Kernal Oil or Sweet Almond Oil or Jojoba oil or Olive Oil)
Recipe:
3 ounces Soy Wax
1 ounce Liquid Oil
.25 ounce Fragrance
1. Measure out 3 ounces of Soy Wax and 1 ounce of Liquid Vegetable Oil. We tested Apricot Kernel Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Jojoba and Olive Oil. My personal favorites were the Olive Oil and Apricot Kernel Oil.
2. Melt the Soy Wax and your choice of Liquid Oil in the microwave at short 45 second bursts in a heat safe container, like a Pyrex.
3. Add the fragrance or essential oil. This recipe is particularly good to do a delicate fragrance or essential oil since there is no sweet smelling cocoa butter to interfere with the sophisticated notes.
4. Stir and wait. The ideal temperature to pour this mixture is right before the wax oil mixture is about to set up. The cooler that the candle is poured, the more smooth your final product will be. Candles poured too warm have a tendency to crater or have pitted surfaces.
5. Center the wick and wait for the candle to harden. Once it’s solid, trim the wick, burn the candle and try a nice warm massage.
If you make these for yourself, friends or family – please let us know how they worked for you.
In the meantime, here’s a fun clip that just aired on our local station (KVOS). We filmed the entire thing in one long take with no script. This is the outcome of our frantic late-night project designing from this post.
I’m a fan of Vancouver, BC based Pich Posch. I’ve blogged about them here and here. And, I’m a fan with good reason. This cool indie business makes good by selling products that are well formulated, healthier than most and cheerily bright.
Sometimes, this cheeriness doesn’t serve Pich Posch well. Despite this um, little set-back in the video below, I’m still a fan of Pisch Posch. But, might I humbly suggest a different color (maybe black mica?) or maybe just less of it for the future formulations of this product?
Tiger Tiger is a blend of Licorice and Creamsickle. According to the hang tag that came nicely affixed (in an orange ribbon, natch), it’s impressive ingredient formulation includes normal bath fizzy stuff (citric acid and sodium bicarbonate) and also epsom salts, sea salt, sweet almond oil, and jojoba oil. All this skin-loving gunk makes for a happily moisturized body upon exiting the tub.
But …. as I alluded to above, not all was well in the land of Tiger Tiger BathTime – unless, of course, you like bathing in murky blackness.
Watch the video and then, before you think negative judgmental thoughts about Pich Posch, mentally review YOUR product line. What product do YOU sell that requires an explanation, or doesn’t work quite the way you want it to, or generates actual customer complaints.? Use this experiment as a call to action to improve your own formulations and your own product line.
I’m a fan of Vancouver, BC based Pich Posch. I’ve blogged about them here and here. And, I’m a fan with good reason. This cool indie business makes good by selling products that are well formulated, healthier than most and cheerily bright.
Sometimes, this cheeriness doesn’t serve Pich Posch well. Despite this um, little set-back in the video below, I’m still a fan of Pisch Posch. But, might I humbly suggest a different color (maybe black mica?) or maybe just less of it for the future formulations of this product?
Tiger Tiger is a blend of Licorice and Creamsickle. According to the hang tag that came nicely affixed (in an orange ribbon, natch), it’s impressive ingredient formulation includes normal bath fizzy stuff (citric acid and sodium bicarbonate) and also epsom salts, sea salt, sweet almond oil, and jojoba oil. All this skin-loving gunk makes for a happily moisturized body upon exiting the tub.
But …. as I alluded to above, not all was well in the land of Tiger Tiger BathTime – unless, of course, you like bathing in murky blackness.
Watch the video and then, before you think negative judgmental thoughts about Pich Posch, mentally review YOUR product line. What product do YOU sell that requires an explanation, or doesn’t work quite the way you want it to, or generates actual customer complaints.? Use this experiment as a call to action to improve your own formulations and your own product line.
Or the best way to weasel into my good graces … Thank you Amber for making fabulous cupcakes and bringing them to work. They truly are the breakfast of champions.
We are honored that crafty e-zine Whip Up has accepted and posted two more of our Soapy Ideas. Head to the links to learn how to make these fun projects. And, if you get to talk to Nicole on the phone this week at Bramble Berry, be sure to compliment her on her soapy sculptures in the Play Dough Moldable soap. Didn’t she do an amazing job?
Secret Message Soap: A bribery idea
When you pour your massage candles, you’ll want the wax to be a cool temperature, almost slushy. If you don’t pour the Container Wax Lotion Bar Hybrid cool enough, you will end up with pitted candles. Pitted candles work just fine – they just don’t look so great. If you end up with an uneven surface or cratered look on your candle, just zap the top of the candle with a heat gun to remelt the top layer of the candle to ensure a smooth look.
For these candles, I prefer the WU250 wick over the 450. I find that the wax pool is much better with the 250. A large wax pool is a necessity for Massage Candles.
Pour the Wax Oil combination and center the wick. The wick has a tendency to flop over. You can easily prop up the wick in between two pens or chopstick.
Unlike yesterday’s recipe, which was a little oilier, today’s recipe is somewhat waxy and harder. It would do well as a travel candle or in warmer climates. The recipe below uses a larger portion of soy wax and absorbs into the skin more slowly than yesterday’s recipe.
For this Massage Candle, you will need:
1 oz. of Avocado Oil
2.5 ounces of NatureWax C-3 (container) Soy Wax
.75 oz. Cocoa Butter
.75 oz. Shea Butter
Skin Safe Fragrance
Candle Tin
Wick
Pyrex Container
Spoon
Hint: If you don’t have Avocado Oil (or just don’t like it), you can substitute another liquid oil such as Sweet Almond Oil or Olive Oil for the Avocado Oil.
Check back tomorrow for the final recipe.
Day One – Introduction
Day Two – The Fine Print
Day Three – The First Recipe
Thank goodness for the kindness of virtual pals. Joanna from my much beloved Product Body sent me a goody package! And it arrived just at the perfect moment. We had a snowstorm in Whatcom County last night that seemed to dump solely on my house and our office. And, I was spent another fruitless 30 frustrating minutes on the phone with United to not solve my original ticketing problem, yet again. With that portent of trouble, three people called in sick today at Bramble Berry leaving a skeleton crew frantically filling our orders to keep our goal of 24-hour-turnaround time. I had the privilege of pouring orders, manufacturing Labcolors and pulling this afternoon. It was a fun change of pace though now my normal workload is a bit behind. Thankfully, I have this gorgeous gift from Joanna to perk me right up!
She sent my husband’s favorite scrub, Butter Scrub. He loves it because it has just the right amount of grit and not too much oils so it rinses away fairly easily. It also comes attractively packaged in a bail jar so it looks very high end and swank.
Joanna also sent a new one of her creations, Crush on You, in Pecan Praline. The sugar sprinkles and sugar cube add fun texture and color to the scrub. It smells delicious, like a wonderful food product, and I can’t wait to try it.
Thank you for the goody pack and nice card, Joanna. You totally made my day.
Making Massage Candles is similar to making a lotion bar. It’s a certain ratio of fats, waxes and oils. This creates a lotion candle hybrid that supports the flame of a candle.
In our experiments, we designed three recipes that all burned well and created a nice massage product.
Today’s recipe is the least hard and most oily of the three recipes. It would do best in cooler climates or if you like a massage oil that melts into the skin faster.
You will need:
Spoon
Heat Safe Container (Pyrex)
Skin Safe Fragrance oil
C-3 Naturewax Container Blend
Cocoa Butter (natural or deodorized)
Shea Butter
Avocado Oil
Wick
Candle Container (we used the Bramble Berry Candle tins which are just $.40 at their bulk price)
Recipe:
1 part C-3 Naturewax
1 part Cocoa Butter
1 part Avocado Oil
1.25 parts Shea Butter
In ounces, this looks like:
1 ounce C-3 Naturewax (Soy)
1 ounce Cocoa Butter
1 ounce Avocado Oil
1.25 ounces Shea Butter
Fragrance: .25 ounces
ONE: Add 1 ounce of Naturewax and 1 oz of Avocado Oil and 1 oz. of Cocoa Butter to heat safe container.
TWO: Melt in short 45 second bursts in the microwave, stirring between each microwave burst
THREE: Once fully melted, add the Shea Butter to the heated oils and wax. Hint: smaller chunks of Shea Butter melt more quickly than one big chunk.
FOUR: Once the Shea Butter has fully melted, add the skin safe fragrance. Stir in well.
FIVE: Keep stirring until the wax is cool and getting slushy (slightly opaque and appears to be minutes away from setting up). This ensures that the entire batch stays smooth and does not separate in the containers.
Check in tomorrow for a second recipe and also information about wick choice and pouring.
Previous posts on Massage Candles
Day One – Massage Candle Introduction
Day Two – Massage Candle Fine Print
As discussed yesterday, the reason massage wax candles work is because soy wax has a very low melt point. This means that you can pour the melted wax directly from the candle onto your hand with comfort. The wax is not much warmer than bathwater. Of course, just to be on the extra safe side, always pour the wax into your hand and not directly into the small of someone’s back.
We tried many recipes before coming up with the three that we’ll go over in the next few days. But first, some basic safety and starter tips.
Safety Considerations:
Ingredients Listing – Since these are meant to use on the body, they fall under normal labeling rules with skin products. Full ingredients must be listed using either common names or INCI names. Ounces and place of manufacture must be listed.
Skin-Safe Ingredients– You cannot use candle fragrance or color for massage candles. All items used must be skin safe. Bramble Berry Container Soy Wax is skin-safe and can be used for massage products. Not all soy candle wax is safe for use on skin so be sure to double check with your vendor if you’re not using a Bramble Berry wax. The skin safety requirements mean that you can only use colors approved for burning (no micas, no Labcolors) and for skin. That leaves only a few color options and really, do you want to have a colored massage anyways?
In order to start this project, you will need NatureWax C-3 blend (all natural soy skin safe wax), a skin and candle safe fragrance (all of the Bramble Berry soap fragrances can be used in soy candles), a tin or candle container and an appropriately sized wick. The only equipment needed is just a Pyrex container and a spoon.
Tomorrow, we’ll go over the first easy recipe. It only contains four ingredients so it’s the easiest of the recipes to make.
