Body powder too grainy

[MzMolly65]

Trying to come up with an unscented body powder for hubby to use.

I followed a recipe I found on the internet ..

8 oz corn starch
3 oz baking soda
4 oz rice flour

but hubby says it's too grainy. Can anyone tell me which ingredient made it grainy?

I found another recipe that is

1 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup clay

I have bentonite and rose clay in stock .. would either of those work without me needing to go buy another type of clay?

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Silverwolf]

My guess would be the rice flour or baking soda if it was a cheap brand. You can try running it through a coffee grinder to reduce the particle size and make less grainy.

 

[Seawolfe]

Why not just be sure you run anything you use though a fine sieve? That would take out any chunks.

 

[Lin]

I'd say the baking soda, I'd remove that or decrease it by a LOT. I think the problem is the texture of baking soda. Is there a reason you're wanting to include baking soda? I make body powders with arrowroot (I prefer it over cornstarch), tapioca starch, colloidal oatmeal, and zinc oxide. You can definitely use bentonite clay, it's a good one for absorbing moisture. I'm wanting to add it for in the summer.

 

[MzMolly65]

I'd say the baking soda, I'd remove that or decrease it by a LOT. I think the problem is the texture of baking soda. Is there a reason you're wanting to include baking soda?

No reason in particular, it's just my first time making my own powder so followed an internet recipe that called for it.

To be honest I'm happy buying powder but we cannot find either a scent that hubby likes or unscented that doesn't cost a fortune, so I thought I'd try to make my own and see if it were more cost effective. It's not if I have to keep throwing out trials he doesn't like. The recipe I posted above was supposed to be "super silky smooth" according to the webpage poster but I'm content to disagree with that one. Even I found it gritty and hubby is way more sensitive than me in that regard so he must have thought I put ground glass in it :roll:

I've found a few different recipes on the internet but they're still trial and error for me so if anyone has a favorite recipe they'd like to share that would save me reinventing the wheel I'd really appreciate it and maybe a note about why you like your particular recipe. I'm searching for a recipe that is super soft powder, not grainy, drying and helps with chafing. He uses it in his socks and for his *cough* manbits and backside *cough*.

Thanks for the advice on the arrowroot .. I was trying to use only what I already had in my kitchen but might have to shop .. AGAIN!

 

[Lin]

I'd try a base of arrowroot and tapioca starch alone, or even arrowroot alone and see how he likes it. Then you can add in more things if needed. I add colloidal oatmeal and zinc oxide as skin soothing ingredients and to help with itching. Zinc oxide is also called calamine (with iron oxide added for the pink color) and is used at 1% in some powders like 'anti monkey butt'

I make powder for my bf as well with menthol added because he likes the menthol gold bond powder on his manbits. I don't like him using it since the base is talc.

 

[MzMolly65]

Thanks for the info Lin .. I'll give that a try. The menthol scent is one we are trying to avoid. His emphatic, frustrated question was, "Why does everything for babies smell like THIS *shaking container* and why does everything for seniors smell like THAT?" *points to Gold Bond* Everything else on the shelf was lavender scented and I thought he was going to blow a gasket!

Quite similar to me trying to buy work clothes in a "work store" and everything in it is for men .. as if women don't ever wear steel toed boots or coveralls GRRRRRRRRRR ... but that's a whole 'nuther thread!

 

[Obsidian]

If you can't formulate a powder he likes, try anti monkey butt, it a good brand but is kinda pricey. I don't remember what is smells like but I don't think its menthol. The girls monkey butt is the only thing I can use to keep down the rash I get on my chest in the summer.

Do you have Big R stores near you? They carry the powder and womens work clothes, at least some anyways.

 

[MzMolly65]

Do you have Big R stores near you? They carry the powder and womens work clothes, at least some anyways.

Thanks .. I don't need the work clothes any more, it's an old resentment from years back, LOL!

 

[shunt2011]

I too would use arrowroot powder instead of baking soda and run it through a fine sieve.

 

[Belinda02]

Recently I took a bag of sugar from the garage refrigerator and brought it in to put in my sugar jar. It had become slightly damp resulting in lumps. I sifted and ran the lumps through my magic bulluit. The sugar was ground so fine as to become powdered sugar.

You might try running your mixture through a magic bulluit and see if that works for husband. Maybe just the soda if you think it is the problem.

BTW. I'm not buying any more powdered sugar. Cheaper to make my own.

 

[Lin]

With making your own powdered sugar you might get some clumps, its best to make small amounts at a time so they don't end up ruined by the time you go to use it. Or you can add things to help with clumping, I can't remember what off the top of my mind. I think a little bit of cornstarch is whats used commercially. If you don't want to actually add anything, you can also store a little baggy of rice (like in a net-ish bag) to absorb any moisture.

I HATE the smell of baby powder. Thats one of the reasons I started making my own, along with needing to save money. I refuse to use talc, and they have talc free baby powder (cornstarch based though and I prefer arrowroot) but its always scented. I don't want a scent due to scent, as well as any added ingredients I may be or become sensitive to.

Apparently some women use HUGE amounts of baby powder inside their pants... I can't remember the reason, a past roommate had told me about it before. And then one day he had to take me to the ER for nonstop vomiting, and this woman who had so much baby powder in her pants you could SEE it puff up when she sat down, sat next to us. I couldn't take the smell with the nausea and vomiting. But she FOLLOWED us around the ER waiting room! We kept moving to get me away from the smell, and they kept sitting down next to us. It may have been because her daughter kept trying to play with my wheelchair. I was laying down across bench seats with my eyes closed so I didn't know until later, but my roommate said her daughter kept touching and trying to push my wheelchair. And everytime he would move my chair a little out of reach from her. Then at one point he told her to stop, and the mother actually gave him a dirty look for it! And started to say something but changed her mind. My wheelchair is custom, it looks NOTHING like a hospital wheelchair and has a large canvas purse hanging off the back for my things. Its not like there could be any confusion of it being personal property.

 

[MzMolly65]

Then at one point he told her to stop, and the mother actually gave him a dirty look for it!

Some parents have an enormous sense of entitlement. I had a sick kitten once and I had to go to the laundry mat but couldn't risk leaving her at home unattended so I stuck her in my coat against my chest where she would be warm and I could keep an eye on her in case she needed anything.

As I sat waiting for my wash she started to get hot so she stuck her head out of my jacket, I unzipped it a little and she fell back asleep. Some small, sticky child came over and stood there staring at her .. pointed .. then ran back to her "Daddy" and starting wailing at the top of her lungs. He stomped over to me and yelled that I was rude and horrible for not letting his little girl play with my kitten.

When I was done removing his ego and educating him on the fact that my kitten was NOT a toy, was sick and that his kid was not entitled to demand things from anyone, let alone a stranger, he stomped back from whence he came and told his kid to go play with the puzzle. pfft!

I hear you on the smell of baby powder. I HATE it! My girlfriend's husband uses it constantly and I can't imagine how she ever feels romantic toward a grown man that smells like a baby's diaper. Any woman using tons of it in her pants is most likely trying to disguise the foul odour of what should most likely be treated by a medical professional!

 

[Lin]

That might have been the reason, haha. I'll have to ask him again. But that sounds vaguely familiar so maybe what he said was a ghetto way to cover that up.

Ugh, how rude! That reminds me of an instance I had at an Earth Day festival with my service dog. I think part of it was because we were outside and pet dogs were allowed there as well. But my dog was wearing her working harness and clearly marked 'Service Dog' and 'Working Do Not Pet' patches. A young girl ran up and started petting Tessa, so I asked her to stop and started explaining she was a working dog and could not be pet right now. So then her sister runs up, and goes to pet Tessa as well but I moved Tessa and then proceeded to start explaining to her when the mother comes up and got an attitude with me for not allowing her daughters to pet Tessa. I really should have given her a piece of my mind, but I just curtly explained to HER what her young daughters had already been able to comprehend and obey and walked off when it looked like she was going to argue with me.