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A while back, I made a batch of Foaming Bath Butter base and another batch of Buttercream Bubble Bath base (both DIY Bath & Body recipes). They've been languishing on a shelf in my spare room since making them. Today, I decided to play with them.

The yellow and blue one is the Buttercream Bubble Bath, scented with Lemon & Mint. The orange one is the Foaming Bath Butter and is scented with Mango Sorbet.

What B&B thing have YOU done lately? Show us your stuff.
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I tried my hand at bath melts last night and I failed. the first few were hard and unmolded easy and the rest didn't set up on the bottom. I used one of the first ones in a bath last night and I use pretty hot water in my baths. it didn't melt so I squished it and rubbed into my skin. this morning I but it all into the pot again and re-melted and stirred while pouring in the hopes that I just need to keep it from separating. it appeared to have some sink to the bottom. they are in the molds again. I used 1/4c cocoa butter--1/4c shea butter--1t beewax--1t safflower oil and around 20 drops of FO. any suggestions would be more than welcome!!!
 
I used 1/4c cocoa butter--1/4c shea butter--1t beewax--1t safflower oil and around 20 drops of FO. any suggestions would be more than welcome!!!

I would definitely use an emulsifying wax with this recipe- around 20% of the total. The emulsifier will allow the oils to incorporate into the water and will be easier to rinse off the sides and bottom of the tub.

I just finished making new lotions . It features cupuacu butter, macadamia nut oil, kukui nut oil, & borage oil. I did two scents- Chamomile & Milk and Sea Salt & Rice Flower, both from RE.
I used a new (to me) emulsifier- Vegemulse from ITDF (cetearyl glucoside). It is EcoCert compliant, is a water soluble powder, and I only had to use 1% emulsifier for a 20% oil phase. Only downside is that it provides no thickening, so I had to add plenty of fatty alcohols/other thickeners.
So far, it feels really nice on the skin. We'll see how it does over time....
(I'd add a pic but it's not at all cute or exciting. Lol)
 
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I have been experimenting with hydrosols lately in lotions and hand/body washes. Really like them -- they are cheaper than EO, but most of them smell delicious. They don't give a very strong scent but rather a subtle hint that pairs really nicely with any added EO. Ginger, chamomile, and Rose hydrosol are my favorites so far. And now I want to try all the others :).
This whole lotion/etc. making is quite new to me, but love how many variables you can experiment with.
 
Here's a Bath Melt recipe I've been making off and on for years (close to 20 years). The recipe originally came from Voyageur Soap & Candle. Obviously, you can change out the oils and butters to your preference as long as the substitutions have a similar consistency.

Mango Meltdown Bath Melties

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
1 cup citric acid

Oils:

50 grams shea butter
25 grams mango butter
5 grams apricot kernel oil
3 grams wheat germ oil
12 grams polysorbate 80 (or polysorbate 20)
4 grams essential oils or fragrance, as desired (no more)

Blend dry ingredients in a bowl. In a microwave safe measuring cup, add all the oils except the fragrance. Microwave on high until the oils melt. Mix well. Pour into the dry ingredients an mix well. Add fragrance. Press into molds. Place in the freezer for about 15 minutes to facilitate unmolding. Unmold and allow to dry for about 24 hours.

I have been experimenting with hydrosols lately in lotions and hand/body washes. Really like them -- they are cheaper than EO, but most of them smell delicious. They don't give a very strong scent but rather a subtle hint that pairs really nicely with any added EO. Ginger, chamomile, and Rose hydrosol are my favorites so far. And now I want to try all the others :).
This whole lotion/etc. making is quite new to me, but love how many variables you can experiment with.
I like making lotions but I will only make them for myself and/or family.
 
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Here's a Bath Melt recipe I've been making off and on for years (close to 20 years). The recipe originally came from Voyageur Soap & Candle. Obviously, you can change out the oils and butters to your preference as long as the substitutions have a similar consistency.

Mango Meltdown Bath Melties

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
1 cup citric acid

Oils:

50 grams shea butter
25 grams mango butter
5 grams apricot kernel oil
3 grams wheat germ oil
12 grams polysorbate 80 (or polysorbate 20)
4 grams essential oils or fragrance, as desired (no more)

Blend dry ingredients in a bowl. In a microwave safe measuring cup, add all the oils except the fragrance. Microwave on high until the oils melt. Mix well. Pour into the dry ingredients an mix well. Add fragrance. Press into molds. Place in the freezer for about 15 minutes to facilitate unmolding. Unmold and allow to dry for about 24 hours.
thanks that sounds interesting--am gonna try :)
 
Post pictures when/if you do. :)

will the poly 80 harden them? I had already made something similar and they are soft. but I want to try this recipe also. the ones I made like I said are softer but they do fizz. but when they fizz it comes up in little blobs, is that normal? I am waiting on some poly 80 to come in the mail today. there is some other things I am wanting to try
 
will the poly 80 harden them? I had already made something similar and they are soft. but I want to try this recipe also. the ones I made like I said are softer but they do fizz. but when they fizz it comes up in little blobs, is that normal? I am waiting on some poly 80 to come in the mail today. there is some other things I am wanting to try
The Poly 80 helps to emulsify the oils into the water; if you don't use it, the oils will coat the sides and bottom of the tub which, besides being messy, could be dangerous. I found these to get decently hard because of the hard oils in it.
 
The Poly 80 helps to emulsify the oils into the water; if you don't use it, the oils will coat the sides and bottom of the tub which, besides being messy, could be dangerous. I found these to get decently hard because of the hard oils in it.

are the oils harder than coconut and cocoa butter? can the oils you used be found in the store or did you special order? and do they need to sit out to harden up? Thanks for your help and sorry i have so many questions :) . just got my Poly 80 a little bit ago now need to find the oils
 
@Misschief - are the other recipes (ones you cannot share) from TwoWildHares? I am interested in getting some more recipes and would appreciate your advice on purchase sources.

Thank you!
There are some free ones shared by Humblebee&me that you might also want to try before purchasing one.
She tends to give very good explanations as well why some things work or others don't.
 
@Misschief - are the other recipes (ones you cannot share) from TwoWildHares? I am interested in getting some more recipes and would appreciate your advice on purchase sources.

Thank you!
No, they're from DIY Bath & Body on Etsy. I've tried most of her recipes and have been very happy with all of them.

are the oils harder than coconut and cocoa butter? can the oils you used be found in the store or did you special order? and do they need to sit out to harden up? Thanks for your help and sorry i have so many questions :) . just got my Poly 80 a little bit ago now need to find the oils
Mango butter isn't as hard as cocoa butter but it is a firm oil; when I have it, I keep it in the fridge as it can get pretty warm here. Shea butter has a firmer texture than coconut oil. I had to order both mango and shea; I have seen shea butter in local health food stores but it comes in something like a 4 oz container and it's pretty expensive.

If you're on Facebook, join the MoonCake cult group. There's a Bubbling Bath Melt recipe there that's good, too. It uses only cocoa butter and the melts get pretty hard. It also uses SLSA to make the bubbles.
 
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I made an moisture/anti-aging face serum yesterday. It has squalene, hydrolyzed collagen & hydrolyzed baobob, and a couple of cosmetic actives. I used a gelling agent to give it a light, cooling skin-feel. We'll see if it works!
 

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I made some face lotion last night, and it was my first time using hyraulonic acid. I got my 5g pack of HA, and was going to make a 1% solution of all of it and store it in a bottle. I didn't read anything on this process, since what could be simpler, right? So, I just poured the 5g HA and 495g water together, and stirred... and stirred... and I thought it would never ever dissolve. It took about 45 minutes of constant stirring, resulting, finally, in a thick and very bubbly liquid. Retrospectively I learned that one should not stir it at all until fully hydrated. Oh well. The lotion still turned out good, and has a very nice feel to it.
 
I'm making a batch of shampoo bars this afternoon. It's taking forever to come together. I really should read all the directions before starting. I put it in my crock pot so I don't have to hover over a double boiler.
 

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