What Bath & Body Thing Have You Done Today?

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I remelted my greasy lotion bars, and added some beeswax and leftover sunflower wax. The consistency is almost right. Since these are for me only, I'm going to call it good and enjoy them.
IPM will cut the greasy if you are not opposed to using it. I used it in all my solid lotions. I always recommended to my customers that were using it on their feet to use it and night and cover their feet with a cotton sock. Even better if you shower and night and put it on after a shower and cover the feet with cotton socks. Water moisturizes.
 
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Oops, that is really ugly. Part of the reason I mentioned above is to strain your water.!! Lotions are so tricky. You probably remember I experimented a lot with lotions and preservatives back when selling. Many times I came up with colorful molds. I would have to check my notes which are stored but there was one lotion combination of oils I wanted to work and it never did. DeeAnna might remember she and I discussed it. It was something popular several years ago but it always molded or separated. If I remember I will let you know so you never try it.
I found some other notes about solid lotions and it jogged my memory. It was Arnica-infused oil that I tried in several lotion formulas that would never preserve. Considering I remember I made the same test lotion with and without the Rrnica-infused oil I determined it had to be the Arnica that was failing in water-based lotions.
 
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I found some other notes about solid lotions and it jogged my memory. It was Arnica-infused oil that I tried in several lotion formulas that would never preserve. Considering I remember I made the same test lotion with and without the Rrnica-infused oil I determined it had to be the Arnica that was failing in water-based lotions.

@cmzaha thank you for that info about arnica. The batch that went bad included undissolved chamomile powder, but no arnica.

However I did make another batch before that with infused oil that included arnica, yarrow, and something else that's not coming to mind at the moment. I will definitely keep a close eye on that one and appreciate knowing about the difficulties.

IPM will cut the greasy if you are not opposed to using it. I used it in all my solid lotions. I always recommended to my customers that were using it on their feet to use it and night and cover their feet with a cotton sock. Even better if you shower and night and put it on after a shower and cover the feet with cotton socks. Water moisturizes.
I do have some IPM from you and like using it in lotions. I didn't know it could be used with anhydrous "lotion" (really butter) bars as well as true lotion that has water in it. I will give that a try - thank you!
 
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Just finished making shampoo bars with my new mooncake press. It's time-consuming to use, but the bars are so pretty it's worth it. Used the Revive blend from eocalc (tea tree, peppermint, eucalyptus, and lavender) and they smell divine. Gotta try this blend in some soap too.
 

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Just finished making shampoo bars with my new mooncake press. It's time-consuming to use, but the bars are so pretty it's worth it. Used the Revive blend from eocalc (tea tree, peppermint, eucalyptus, and lavender) and they smell divine. Gotta try this blend in some soap too.
These look great! I made some with my press way back. As long as I put a layer of plastic wrap tightly against the design, it didn't stick at all and released very easily. Adjusting the wrap after each bar took the most time!
 
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These look great! I made some with my press way back. As long as I put a layer of plastic wrap tightly against the design, it didn't stick at all and released very easily. Adjusting the wrap after each bar took the most time!
I had trouble using the plastic wrap too. Then I started dusting it with cornstarch and it worked beautifully. (You can see a bit of the dust on the bars if you look closely.)
 

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Thanks for linking that lotion bar recipe @Misschief.

I made a batch last night scented with Neroli Portofino type from Scent Memory. I went a little wild with the FO so they are pretty perfumey, but the bars themselves have a wonderful smooth silkiness and feel really nice on damp skin. I don't generally like starches in anhydrous formulas but here it works well to reduce oiliness without making me feel like a buttered & floured cake pan.

If they don't get grainy or sticky after a couple of weeks I think I will make many more (not so scented!) and give them for gifts.
 
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Thanks for linking that lotion bar recipe @Misschief.

I made a batch last night scented with Neroli Portofino type from Scent Memory. I went a little wild with the FO so they are pretty perfumey, but the bars themselves have a wonderful smooth silkiness and feel really nice on damp skin. I don't generally like starches in anhydrous formulas but here it works well to reduce oiliness without making me feel like a buttered & floured cake pan.

If they don't get grainy or sticky after a couple of weeks I think I will make many more (not so scented!) and give them for gifts.
They'd make perfect little gifts, wouldn't they? And so easy to make.
 

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@Misschief I'm glad to hear someone has used that lotion bar recipe because I've been considering that recipe (and others at her site) longer than DIY's shampoo and conditioner bars but I had to make a choice. 🤣
The last ingredient needed for my first shampoo bars is ordered. I ordered it from Bulk Naturals Wholesale. It took me a while to find liquid bamboo extract someplace other than WSP!
 
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@Misschief I'm glad to hear someone has used that lotion bar recipe because I've been considering that recipe (and others at her site) longer than DIY's shampoo and conditioner bars but I had to make a choice. 🤣
The last ingredient needed for my first shampoo bars is ordered. I ordered it from Bulk Naturals Wholesale. It took me a while to find liquid bamboo extract someplace other than WSP!
You don't have to use the bamboo extract. You can use any liquid extract that you think will be good for your hair. I use a lot of different extracts when I make the shampoo bars.

I love Whole Elise; I've made several of her recipes and have been very happy with all of them.
 

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You don't have to use the bamboo extract. You can use any liquid extract that you think will be good for your hair. I use a lot of different extracts when I make the shampoo bars.

I love Whole Elise; I've made several of her recipes and have been very happy with all of them.
Really!? That's so encouraging! I want to make and try her non-comedogenic face moisturizer but got tripped up on finding the HA gel. I emailed her to see if there's a way to use the HA powder to make the gel, but haven't gotten a reply.
 
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Really!? That's so encouraging! I want to make and try her non-comedogenic face moisturizer but got tripped up on finding the HA gel. I emailed her to see if there's a way to use the HA powder to make the gel, but haven't gotten a reply.
Yes, you can. I usually make up a batch of 1% HA solution and keep in on hand for formulating with. You can read more here:

 
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Just finished making shampoo bars with my new mooncake press. It's time-consuming to use, but the bars are so pretty it's worth it. Used the Revive blend from eocalc (tea tree, peppermint, eucalyptus, and lavender) and they smell divine. Gotta try this blend in some soap too.
I love Revive in soap!
 
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Today I shredded up about four batches of soap that were just sitting on my curing rack and not going anywhere; the picture of all those pretty shreds is posted in the Soapy Thing thread. My plan for them is to .... make whipped sugar soap scrubs!

I posted back in September about how I made a sugar scrub using a combination of a Stephenson's jelly soap base, and the foaming scrub based recipe from DIY Bath & Body. It took some tinkering to find the right consistency plus lather, but the verdict is in. I made a huge batch of scrubs for a ladies' retreat, and they all raved about it. Of course, I have no more jelly soap base, so I was thinking about making it with a more traditional liquid soap paste base. Because next up is our Ladies' Christmas Luncheon/Gift Boutique, to which I'll be donating a lot of products.

Then I happened upon this video from Mrs. Soap & Clay, where she explains how to make a whipped sugar scrub from soap shreds. What?!? I am ambivalent about her as a YouTuber since I don't agree with some of her practices. However, she is very generous with her knowledge, and she offers some really good ideas... like using soap shreds to make sugar scrubs! It's going to take some experimentation but with all the shreds I have, that shouldn't be a problem. 😁
 
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Today I shredded up about four batches of soap that were just sitting on my curing rack and not going anywhere; the picture of all those pretty shreds is posted in the Soapy Thing thread. My plan for them is to .... make whipped sugar soap scrubs!

I posted back in September about how I made a sugar scrub using a combination of a Stephenson's jelly soap base, and the foaming scrub based recipe from DIY Bath & Body. It took some tinkering to find the right consistency plus lather, but the verdict is in. I made a huge batch of scrubs for a ladies' retreat, and they all raved about it. Of course, I have no more jelly soap base, so I was thinking about making it with a more traditional liquid soap paste base. Because next up is our Ladies' Christmas Luncheon/Gift Boutique, to which I'll be donating a lot of products.

Then I happened upon this video from Mrs. Soap & Clay, where she explains how to make a whipped sugar scrub from soap shreds. What?!? I am ambivalent about her as a YouTuber since I don't agree with some of her practices. However, she is very generous with her knowledge, and she offers some really good ideas... like using soap shreds to make sugar scrubs! It's going to take some experimentation but with all the shreds I have, that shouldn't be a problem. 😁
I look forward to seeing what you come up with!
 
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