Wax Archives - Page 2 of 2

Why yes, we do sell BTMS-50!

May 13, 2009 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News, Lotion

Yesterday, I taught two back-to-back Advanced Lotionmaking classes. Each class was only 60 minutes and I covered types of emulsions and the HLB (Hydrophilic Lipophilic Balance) theory around lotion design. I spoke for exactly 16 minutes. And then? It was a free for all! I broke the class into five teams to make 5 different recipes. The teams made:

1. Classic Emulsifying Wax recipe

2. Beeswax/Borax Emulsifier Combo

3. Beeswax/Borax/Soy Lecithin Emuslfier Combo

4. Xantham Gum/Beeswax Emulsifier Combo

5. BTMS-50 as the Emulsifying Agent

I have to give the Xantham Gum/Beeswax group in both classes huge props (yes, that gloppy mess is Xantham Gum in the photo above). It is a common urban myth that Xantham Gum/Beeswax emulsifies into something resembling lotion. That is a lie. It looks more like snot and acts similarly. It even dries in sheets on your skin. You can peel it off. It is that strange and weird. The Xantham Gum/Beeswax groups in both classes really gave it their all working with this strange emulsifying system. They both heated up their stick blenders so much that we were worried that they were going to burn out!

Overall, while I did not take a vote, judging from the lotion learners coming up to me after the class, the BTMS-50 emulsifier blend is the clear and definite winner of the 5 lotions. You can mix BTMS-50 with Emulsifying Wax NF in regular lotions or just use it alone as the emulsifying agent.

Why BTMS-50 over straight Emulsifying Wax? Because BTMS-50 has a conditioning agent added to it that gives it just that extra silky, powdery feel on the skin. It’s just as easy to work with as Emulfisying Wax NF and it has just that extra touch of smoothness that makes it feel expensive, classic and sophisticated. By the way, BTMS-50 can be used in hair conditioners as well. It’s an easy, cost effective conditioner base. The recipe is here.

An even bigger surprise? I knew the Mango Peach Salsafragrance would be a huge crowd pleaser (even Nate in the restaurant loved it when I brought him a freshly-made dollop of the lotion) but who knew that Fresh Zucchini Flower would be such a hit? It was the perfect light, fresh, airy fragrance without being overpowering and it was like a sneak-attack of “Hey! I love that! What fragrance is that!?”

Both classes were super troopers with the hands-on portion and it was one of the most fun classes I’ve ever taught, thanks to the awesome helpers the Soap Guild sent to be hands-on, and the exhuberant spirit of the attendees.

Tutorial: Pistachio Balm Recipe

October 8, 2008 Filed Under: Lotion

Pistachio Body Balm

I created this recipe for our October Newsletter (not on the Newsletter? Sign up here for specials and cool “insider” opportunities) and it was such a hit I wanted to share it with everyone on the blog.

.5 oz. Candellila Wax
1 oz. Cocoa butter
1 oz. Pistachio butter
1 oz. Avocado oil
1 oz. Jojoba oil
.1 oz. (1 tsp.) Tapioca Powder
a few drops Vitamin E oil
1 ml Orange Spice fragrance

Measure out all of your ingredients by weight before you begin.

The safest way to melt down the ingredients is in a double boiler – but you can use a microwave as well. Just watch your mixture very carefully (remember the exploding microwave?). And I always pull my container out of the microwave and stir to melt down the last few bits which helps to avoid overheating your ingredients.

Melt the wax until liquid then add the Cocoa butter. Once the Cocoa butter is completely melted add the Tapioca Powder and mix until there aren’t any lumps (hint: a little whisk helps with this). Finally add the Pistachio butter, remaining oils and fragrance to your preference. Mix well and pour into a 6 ounce tin.

If you’re not signed up to our newsletter, you should – it has cool how-to’s as well as aggressive sales for newsletter subscribers only. Sign up here.

Bakima’s Summer Candle

July 24, 2008 Filed Under: Home Crafts

Here is another project pioneered by Bakima, the intern-turned-paid-employee. We’re lucky she still has time to play with fun projects.

Ingredients:

Catnip Essential Oil
1lb Candle Wax
450 Wick (for smaller flame) or 250 Wick (for larger flame- *NOTE* this size will have a shorter burn life than the 450 size)
Pyrex container
about 6 or 7 votive glass candle jars (These would make really cute gift sized candles! Dress ’em up with a bow and a fake little plastic bug and they’d be adorable!)
Spoon (that you won’t eat with again)

Directions:

One – Melt down the candle wax in 30 second installments, taking out the heat safe (Pyrex) container and stirring the wax between microwave bursts. You can also melt the wax down in a double boiler.

Two – Add 1 oz of essential oil per pound of wax (1 oz if you’re sticking to the same recipe as above or multiply as needed).

Two and a half – Dip the bottom end of the wick in the wax and place it in the center of the jar to secure it in place

Three – Pour in your melted wax, leaving about a third of the wax left over in the heat safe container.

Four – Once the wax has settled and is close to solid, reheat the leftover wax and pour a thin layer over the top of the wax. This is to fill in the sunken top of the wax, which settles into the center after the first pour. Use a contrasting color for a nice effect

Five – Let dry, trim your wick to about 3/4 of an inch and enjoy your summer evenings, skeeter free.

Lipstick making – ingredients & melting

February 20, 2008 Filed Under: Lip Products

Click here for day one – lip stick colorants

When making lipstick, there are a lot of different ingredients you can use. The basic ingredients are covered here but there are many, many more exotic oils, waxes and butters that can be used in lipsticks.

Wax – Waxes can be beeswax, candelilla wax, jasmine wax, orange wax and ozokerite wax. Most common to the home crafter is beeswax because of its pricing and easy availability. For vegans, candelilla wax is the preferred alternative since it is derived from a plant. Waxes are used to help provide a barrier against the elements, seal moisture in the lips and keep color on your lips. Waxes also help to provide shape and form to the lipstick mixture.

Oils – Oil in lipstick are used to be moisturizing, help provide a barrier against weather and also mix with the waxes to form a smooth, spreadable mixture. Popular oils in lipsticks are Sweet Almond Oil, Avocado Oil, Olive Oil and Hempseed oil. There are many other liquid oil options to use. It’s fun to play around with exotic or lesser known oils but remember, if your lipstick really takes off in the market, you want to make sure that the oils you choose are easily available and cost effective.

Butters – Butters are used in much the same way as oils are. They are designed to moisturize, help protect and make a stable mixture that is solid at room temperature yet glides and melts on the lips. Common butters in lip balm recipes are Shea Butter, Mango Butter and Cocoa Butter. Generally, large brands of lipstick do not use butters in their formulations. Since butters are comprised of many different fatty acid chains, they are described as “polymorphic,” which means that they have the ability to crystallize in several different forms according to how the liquid fat is solidified. What this means to you is that butters must be treated with gentle loving care in lipsticks. You need to melt them slowly (temper them) and then immediately place the finished product into the freezer for quick chilling. This will help to minimize any crystals that might form hard, unsightly bumps in your final product. Or, you can do what the “big guys” do and just avoid butters all together.

Lip Safe Fragrance – Lip Safe Fragrances are commonly referred to as “flavors.” They are not the traditional alcohol based flavors or extracts in the grocery store. While fragrance oils have up to 3500 different ingredients that can go into them, less than 10% of them are classified as safe for lips. This is because you “eat” your lipstick so anything that goes onto your lips must be GRAS (“generally recognized as safe” as classified by the FDA). Flavor oils, or lip safe fragrances, do not taste like anything. Rather, the user is tricked into believing that the lipstick or lip balm “tastes” because they inhale the scent. Seventy-Five percent of what we taste is actually from our sense of smell.

Before you get started, gather your equipment and ingredients.

Equipment Needed:

droppers
knives
spoons
small glass jars (microwaveable)
chapstick tubes/or lip pots
lip safe colorants
beeswax or another wax
liquid oil (sweet almond oil, hazelnut oil, jojoba oil – it’s your choice)
lip safe flavor

8% Beeswax Soap

December 6, 2007 Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

Recently, one of our Bramble Berry customers wrote with some problems he was having unmolding his 8% beeswax soap. It was sticking in his lovely Milky Way Tray mold and causing him no end of consternation.

We made his recipe for him to test it and see if it was technique or the mold. It was exciting to see that a thicker trace was all that was necessary to make a great batch of soap that released easily from the mold.

Isn’t that batch of soap nicely colored? It’s all natural coloring from the yellow beeswax. We scented ours with a little Lemongrass. The undernote of Beeswax and the Lemongrass make for a match made in heaven!

Scraping Wax

November 9, 2007 Filed Under: Home Crafts

As promised two weeks ago, here are two short videos of the long (thirty minutes plus!) scraping process to get the beeswax spill off our kitchen table. The hand in the video belongs to my father.

Day 7 Coco Balm – Final recipe

August 27, 2007 Filed Under: Lip Products

Day One: Set Up

Day Two: Double Boiler Set-Up

Day Three: Hersheys Trouble

Day Four: Bittersweet Recipe

Day Five: Clean-Up

Day Six: Cocoa Balm

After testing the chocolate balms all week and overdosing on chocolate this weekend, there is a clear winner. The Brambleberrians in the office (Nicole, Amber, Jen and Anne) agree with my choice of chocolate winner.

I was surprised when we all chose the Bittersweet Baking Chocolate as the best texture and taste. The Bittersweet Baking Chocolate beat out all the other expensive, organic, fair-trade chocolates. Of course, there’s not much marketing cachet with regular Bittersweet Baking Chocolate so keep that in mind when formulating your product for sale.Our favorite recipe is easy and simple.

1.5 oz. Bittersweet Baking Chocolate
1 oz. Beeswax
1 oz. Jojoba Oil

Here is an easy variation to make your ingredient label more exotic and your marketing pop!

Marketing Genius 101 Variation
1.0 oz. Bittersweet Baking Chocolate
.5 oz. Organic, Fair-Trade Certified Chocolate (like Seattle-based Theo)
1 oz. Beeswax
.3 oz. Sweet Almond Oil
.3 oz. Jojoba Oil
.3 oz. Avocado Oil
.1 oz. Vitamin E Oil

Marketing Points: Contains Organic, Fair-Trade Certified Chocolate! Vitamin E oil promotes supple lips! Avocado Oil is high in essential fatty acids for moisture! Jojoba oil closely mimics the skin’s natural lipid profile!

The basic proportions for our winning recipe is:

42% chocolate
29% beeswax
29% liquid oil

You can take these proportions to create your own recipe. The math looks something like this:

3 oz. total recipe

3.0 x .42 = 1.26 oz.
3.0 x .29 = .87 oz.
3.0 x .29 = .87 oz.

If you want to make a larger recipe, just substitute the “3” for whatever total weight you want your recipe to be and multiply out the math.

Questions? Comments? Just post and I’ll get back to you in a timely manner.

Now, go forth and choc-i-fy!

Chocolate Lip Balm, Day 4

August 23, 2007 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Lip Products

Day One: Set Up

Day Two: Double Boiler Set-Up

Day Three: Hersheys Trouble

Day Five: Clean-Up

Day Six: Cocoa Balm

Day Seven: Final Recipe

Bittersweet Baking Chocolate comes in handy 1 ounce squares. You can use just a bit without ruining the entire bar of chocolate. Commercially purchased chocolate, such as the Green & Black and Vivian line, end up going bad if exposed to the open air too long. Be prepared to sacrifice for your Choco Balm by eating any remaining chocolate when using anything but Baking Chocolate. Traumatizing, I know. We suffer for our craft.

Making Choco Balm can be messy. Too much of the suffering (um, eating) of leftover chocolate causes sugar shakes. After one too many shaky mishaps, I tried a dropper. The opening was too small. The chocolate kept congealing in the teensy spout. More shaking and spilling ensued. Hint: Take a 3 ml plastic dropper, cut it off at the widest point and use this to draw up your melted, thick chocolate mixture. The opening is wide enough to take even the thickest chocolate balm. Rinse the dropper hose out with super hot water in between batches.

It’s advisable to have plenty of paper towels on hand. Oil and chocolate is difficult to get out of cloth washcloths.

This is a photo of the warm even look of the Green & Black Organic chocolate. It’s lip smackin’ good and provides moisture and protection on my lips.The recipe is:1 part Jojoba Oil
1 part Beeswax
1 part Green & Black Organic ChocolateCheck back later for pictures of the Big Spill and hints on cleaning up melted chocolate, wax and oil from white grout.

Choco Balm, Day 3

August 22, 2007 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Lip Products

Day One: Set Up

Day Two: Double Boiler Set-Up

Day Four: Bittersweet Recipe

Day Five: Clean-Up

Day Six: Cocoa Balm

Day Seven: Final Recipe

After the Double Boiler did not melt Hershey’s Chocolate successfully, I got impatient. I put 1 Tablespoon of Hersheys, 1 Tablespoon of Jojoba Oil and 1 Tablespoon of Beeswax (pre-melted) into a microwave safe bowl.

I shoved the bowl into the microwave for 60 seconds. My haste was not rewarded.

The stinking lumpy mass of goo that ensued was disappointing. My house smelled of burnt chocolate. I was stymied but regrouped and tried again with shorter microwave bursts.

It was with much excitement that I tried the melt process a second time. I stared intently at the chocolate goo whirring around in the microwave, stopping the process to stir every 10 seconds.

After 1 minute and 20 seconds, the batch with the Hershey’s had melted but was not incorporating. I stirred with more vigor. It held together better.

I triumphantly pulled out my frozen knife from the freezer. I plunged the cooled implement into the piping hot mixture. The chocolate, waxes and oils instantly solidified on the frozen knife. The insta-cooled balm was easy to spread on my lips, tasted delicious and the proximity to sugar made me euphoric.

I carefully poured the balm into the clear twist up tubes. There was some cackling with glee and delight as the chocolate started to cool.

The cackling turned to dismay as the Hershey’s concoction started layering, with the heavier waxes dropping out and the milk solids rising to the surface.

Undeterred, I started on the Bittersweet Baking Chocolate. The Bittersweet Baking Chocolate batch was successful. The photo below is poor but the Bittersweet Chocolate did not layer, scorch or turn into a stinking lump of disappointment.The Bittersweet Chocolate Recipe that held together was:1 part Bittersweet Baking Chocolate
1 part Jojoba
1 part (pre-melted) Beeswax

Check back tomorrow for more recipe trials, spills and outright disasters.

Chocolate Balm Trials – Day 2

August 21, 2007 Filed Under: Lip Products

Day One: Set Up

Day Three: Hersheys Trouble

Day Four: Bittersweet Recipe

Day Five: Clean-Up

Day Six: Cocoa Balm

Day Seven: Final Recipe

After all the supplies were assembled, I made a make-shift double boiler for the beeswax and the chocolate. In the past, I have exploded one Pyrex container and a microwave glass trying to melt beeswax in the microwave. I decided to play it safe and make a double boiler with an old mug.Chocolate contains a large amount of cocoa butter. Traditionally chocolate needs tempering in order to make sure it does not crystallize. When chocolate crystallizes, it looks white and cracked. It’s fine to eat but not the look that we are going for with our Choco-Balms. I made a tempering bowl for the chocolate.

The chocolate tempering bowl was a disappointment. The chocolate just sat and sat and sat. It got slightly mushy but never fully melted. In hindsight, I think this is because Hershey’s Chocolate doesn’t contain much chocolate. In fact, “chocolate” is fourth on the ingredient list. It comes after sugar, milk, and cocoa butter. For comparison, the two foodie chocolate brands I used had organic cacao, organic cane sugar and and organic cacao butter for their first 3 ingredients. Neither Green & Black or Vivians have milk solids in their ingredients listing. As it turns out, Hershey’s Milk Chocolate is not a friendly product to craft with because of the milk.

After attempting to melt the chocolate for over 30 minutes on the stove, I gave up. Here is a chunk of chocolate, with jojoba oil and beeswax. It is sitting in a heat safe bowl, all ready to be put into the microwave.Check back tomorrow for Hershey’s Lip Butter Disaster and the method I picked to melt all the ensuing 9 batches.

Beeswax in Melt & Pour

July 8, 2007 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Melt & Pour Soap

Often, new soapmakers will be dissatisfied with their melt and pour base – believing it to be too soft or not as long lasting as commercial (detergent based) bars of soap. Adding additional waxes makes intuitive sense. After all, waxes are hard! You would think that extra waxes in your melt and pour soap would make your soap extra hard. This is not the case.

In the photo above, you can see that the beeswax does not want to mix in easily. In fact, the wax is pooling at the tops of my little experimental bars.

Once the bar is popped out, it’s a matted, dull color. It is not shiny and appears to be pitted.

When you touch a bar of soap, it should be hard. Being able to squish it between your thumb and the table is bad.

I made this mess with a gentle press of my finger. Ick! The beeswax not only softened my soap but it also made it dull looking with pock marks. To add insult to injury, the soap lathers badly – perhaps because beeswax is not a natural lathering agent.

The moral of this story? Beeswax is not an effective hardening agent in soap. A better solution is to pop your soap out of the molds and leave them under a fan for a few days to help wick off excess moisture and speed the drying-out process of the soap. This will produce a much harder bar than adding beeswax.

Today Show on Lip Balm Addiction

June 8, 2007 Filed Under: Business Musings

Yellow Beeswax Surplus

May 21, 2007 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Bramble Berry has an awesome deal on Yellow Beeswax, candle grade. It’s just $3 per pound in the 55 pound bag. That’s a very aggressive price. You can use beeswax for candles, fragrance tarts, fragranced wax ornaments, or wax dipped bears.

At $3 per pound, your fragrancedwax ornaments would cost about $.50 to make and your nicely sized 4 oz candle, only about $1 with fragrance, color and wick.

Super Cute Lip Balm Project

March 21, 2007 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Cute handmade lip balm with hand scribbled decorations for a rainy-afternoon project or perfect for a sleep over party for your 13-year-old.