What Bath & Body Thing Have You Done Today?

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I have the one from DIY on Etsy, but I didn't have any of the ingredients on hand as she uses different ones from the other recipes I have from her. I had never heard of Nest Soapery so was surprised to see the video. There are enough other ingredients in her recipe that it appears like it would be less than 50% for the SCI....just looking at the two containers that appeared to be about equal, plus the liquids that she added. If you buy it, I would be interested in your opinion. Someone on here has used the DIY pourable recipe so you might do a search for that.
 
I'll check back in after a few washes. I will admit that even though my hair is fine and on the thin side, it seems to be impervious to just about anything I put on it. I rarely use a conditioner on my hair and when I was younger needed to wash it daily due to an excess of oils. Now that I'm old, it doesn't get as oily and only wash it every other day or so.

I'm not very adventurous as far as substitutions for syndet bars...I have kept within the subs that she has listed. I did read a couple of articles that stated that it wasn't very satisfactory to add conditioners to the syndet bars but do a conditioning bar instead. Since I have no need for it, I haven't looked into adding anything extra to any recipe.
My hair looks like I put my finger in the electric socket without liberal use of conditioners. When I started asking friends to be testers for my shampoo bars, I was astounded that so many people don't use a conditioner after shampooing. I always assumed that hair washing was a 2-step process for everyone!
 
@SoapSisters and @Quilter99755 (and anyone else who has tried this recipe) -- I'd love to hear about how this does after a few shampoos in your hair. I tried a couple other of her recipes and found them a bit drying on my fine very curly hair. The rice starch sounds intriguing and I'm thinking I'd like to give this a try. Maybe adding extra conditioning ingredients?
I've started a thread for this recipe, for easier access and others who may be interested. Humblebee & Me Shampoo Bar with Rice Starch
 
Been a while for me on here. Mainly cause focussed on study and life.
So glad there's now a "WYDT thread for B&B", I don't make as much soap as I formulate. So this is great.

Friday Formulating:
IMG_20220722_150200.jpg

Conditioners

this is the bottom one in the above photo
Intensive Conditioning with Coconut, Marula + Keratin

IMG_20220722_150517.jpg


This next one has taken me over 18 months to develop, so proud of where I've come and what I've learned over the last 18 months.
IMG_20220722_145508.jpg

It is formulated for fine, damaged hair. it's also to help with my scalp issues and assisting with hair growth. that's due to the NV Redensifier (inci: Water (and) Glycerin (and) Hydrolyzed Pea Protein (and) Sodium Benzoate (and) Potassium Sorbate (and) Symphytum Officinale Leaf Extract (and) Allium Cepa Bulb Extract (and) Sodium Hyaluronate).
it doesn't have any "oils" or heavy emollients - it does have some esters and some amodimethocone (functional silicone) as it is substantive to damaged hair and when combined with trideceth12 and Cetrimonium chloride helps eliminate build up.

amodimethocone is brilliant for damaged hair... and if it wasn't for my favourite Aussie CC Michelle Wong aka Lab Muffin. you can read about it here.
i actually wouldn't have attempted this if I wasn't doing my diploma in personal care formulation. so I suppose Belinda Carli is kinda responsible too. but I originally started with SCM's epic Level Conditioner and one of Jane Barber's formulas too.


today is Saturday and I need to make a 5kg base batch of foaming bath butter for some scrubs.
it's dark and gloomy here and I just finished packaging some salty little crumbs to celebrate 20 years of salt scrub - I made a limited edition coconut+shea with green tea and aloe salt scrub and offered it to my "regulars" and have finally finished packing them today. hurrah!
for sending I add washi tape around the top and attach spoon to side with washi tape as it doesn't damage the label. 🤷🏼‍♀️
salt scrub is my bread and butter. only thing I've been consistent with.
Picsart_22-07-23_13-32-52-280.jpg
 
Made my 1st batch of lotion solo & I’m so happy with it! 🥰 I’ve always made with a friend with oodles of batches under her belt. I decided to formulate a batch of Shea Aloe body butter. It turned out lovely. I added a few drops of lavender essential oil for fragrance.
4C200A29-4BF8-4E43-9D04-D097D913B73D.jpeg
 
It's Friday...

after a full week including my son's best friend's (& son of one of my closest friends) funeral. it's been good to get into the lab today.

Pretty annoyed with bottles that I purchased that suggested they were foaming dispensers - which I only realised after sterilising and filling two bottles:

Picsart_22-07-28_14-43-59-642.jpg

I need to change the bottles. So annoying as these are $3 cheaper than my usual foamers (should have know).

We also have a cleansing oil with fractionated coconut, camiella, squalane, papaya, rosemary oleoresin, black seed and Sorbitan Oleate (and) Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate.
Which emulsifies on contact with water:
Picsart_22-07-29_16-54-30-432.jpg


Next with have a Rose & Raspberry Clay Cleanser - I'm a little obsessed with clay cleansers at the moment. :
IMG_20220729_164255_790.jpg


Next, we have a walnut scrub formulated especially for my friend's son.
It has white willow and black willow extracts for their salicylic acid. As John hasn't used salicylic acid before I thought it would be better to introduce it slowly rather than throw 1-2% salicylic acid.
So it's quite a gentle exfoliator. I developed this years ago as I wanted to recreate St Ive's Apricot Scrub - but the walnut I use is gentler than apricot.
Picsart_22-07-29_14-04-12-006.jpg


Foaming Base:
i love making foaming base as to it, I can add all sorts for a decent scrub or body whip. I used this as a base in the scrubs above:
Picsart_22-07-23_16-04-04-626.jpg


and last but never ever least we have a foaming salt scrub:
IMG_20220724_142317.jpg



Now it's coffee and mask time - charcoal and peptide peeling mask ❤️❤️
 
Ok, I've been lurking long enough that THIS is the thread that made me finally register.
I am eager to see how the Humblebee syndet shampoo bar recipe with rice starch performs because that's one of the recipes I'm seriously considering for my first attempt at a syndet.
Has anyone used the pourable syndet shampoo bar recipe from Nest Soapery? That's another one I'm looking at but I can't tell if the SCI amount is over the recommended ~50% amount or not.
I hadn't heard of the DIY one on Etsy until this thread, so that's the third one I'm interested in. Now I'm trying to figure out which of the 3 recipes to try first!
I’ve used the pourable one from DIY on Etsy many many times, and love it! It has more larger than any formula I’ve ever tried.

I’ve used the pourable one from DIY on Etsy many many times, and love it! It has more larger than any formula I’ve ever tried.
That’s supposed to say it has more LATHER
 
Earlier this week, I gave some of the DIY Bath & Body B3/B5 Hyaluronic Acid Serum (she did insist on paying me something, so I charged her half price); she came back a couple of days later and let me know that she LOVES it! Then, today, she asked me if I had any more. When she's back in two weeks, she wants to buy some for one of her friends, wants her to try it. I guess I'll be making more within the next couple of weeks - darn, huh?

I also gave her a couple of body butter samples (I make it but only as testers for myself and can't use it up fast enough); she asked if I had any more because she loves that, too! It's too bad she doesn't live here full time; she's from Chile but has a condo in Edmonton and visits here (Kelowna) for a month or so at a time.
 
I used Zing's forest blend of EOs (thank you @Zing !) It is *muah* chefs kiss* SO good! Could probably use a little more bubble but it's a good start.

Not really picture-worthy, so I'll just leave you imagining the springy-foresty-clean goodness. 🌲

I hope Zing can come to this thread and share their forest blend, I've always wanted to have a really good one. I did a search but couldn't find the thread if there was one.

I've purchased pine, birch tar (for smokiness), and cedarwood (which to me OOB smells like cat pee) in the hopes of recreating the smell of a forest sauna. I experimented with mixing in variations of those EOs with peppermint and eucalyptus and for some reason can never get the ratios quite right.
 
Last weekend I made a batch of my favorite all-in-one-day-and-night face cream, which i scent with Frankincense and 5x lemon and into which I've shoved an ungodly amount of actives.

It's quite thick and occlusive, and my dry skin really loves it! The base oils are squalane, evening primrose, and sea buckthorn, together with cholesterol and ceramide similar to the recipe here for moisture barrier serum.


PXL_20220721_064803014_exported_106~2.jpg
 
Last weekend I made a batch of my favorite all-in-one-day-and-night face cream, which i scent with Frankincense and 5x lemon and into which I've shoved an ungodly amount of actives.

It's quite thick and occlusive, and my dry skin really loves it! The base oils are squalane, evening primrose, and sea buckthorn, together with cholesterol and ceramide similar to the recipe here for moisture barrier serum.


View attachment 68008

It's so interesting that you posted the link to the Acid Queen's Moisture Barrier Serum; I just made some of that last week. I also have very dry skin and my skin is loving that stuff. It took a while to assemble all the ingredients and now I'm out of ceramide complex but I think the serum is one think I'm going to want to have on hand all the time.
 
Ok, I've been lurking long enough that THIS is the thread that made me finally register.
I am eager to see how the Humblebee syndet shampoo bar recipe with rice starch performs because that's one of the recipes I'm seriously considering for my first attempt at a syndet.
Has anyone used the pourable syndet shampoo bar recipe from Nest Soapery? That's another one I'm looking at but I can't tell if the SCI amount is over the recommended ~50% amount or not.
I hadn't heard of the DIY one on Etsy until this thread, so that's the third one I'm interested in. Now I'm trying to figure out which of the 3 recipes to try first!
One thing to remember is that the “recommended” amount of SCI is based on the highest amount used by a manufacturer who marketed a product. There’s nothing inherently wrong with using more unless there are specific contraindications to doing so. I’ve the DIY B&B recipe with something like 73% SCI, iirc, and it works just fine for me and for all of my testers.

I do prefer the hot pour version now, because it is faster and makes nicer looking bars for me. But it is totally personal preference. Have fun experimenting and finding the one you love for your hair!

EDITED TO ADD: So far, today's B&B thing was to make a quick batch of Daily Shower Spray. It's so simple: 3 cups of warm water, 2 T citric acid. Stir until dissolved. Decant into spray bottle.

After each shower, I quickly squeegee everything down; this really lowers the humidity in that room, since the water goes down the drain instead of evaporating into the air. Then I spray the DSS on the glass doors, as well as the area below the soap dish and my soap sock. The drainage from both of those leads to soap scum buildup in that one area. This simple spray makes a big difference in how quickly that scum builds up, and how easily it washes off. As for the glass doors, we have zero buildup from scum or water spots since we started using the squeegee and spraying on the DSS after that.
 
Last edited:
EDITED TO ADD: So far, today's B&B thing was to make a quick batch of Daily Shower Spray. It's so simple: 3 cups of warm water, 2 T citric acid. Stir until dissolved. Decant into spray bottle.

After each shower, I quickly squeegee everything down; this really lowers the humidity in that room, since the water goes down the drain instead of evaporating into the air. Then I spray the DSS on the glass doors, as well as the area below the soap dish and my soap sock. The drainage from both of those leads to soap scum buildup in that one area. This simple spray makes a big difference in how quickly that scum builds up, and how easily it washes off. As for the glass doors, we have zero buildup from scum or water spots since we started using the squeegee and spraying on the DSS after that.
Wow thanks for sharing that. I remember some time ago i experimented with replacing vinegar with citric acid in my shower spray. But i felt like neither left it as clean as i wanted to. Maybe using your proportions and squeegeeing everything down before spraying would make a big difference for me, I'll have to give this a try!
 
Wow thanks for sharing that. I remember some time ago i experimented with replacing vinegar with citric acid in my shower spray. But i felt like neither left it as clean as i wanted to. Maybe using your proportions and squeegeeing everything down before spraying would make a big difference for me, I'll have to give this a try!
Well, it doesn't actually clean the shower. It only prevents buildup of water spots and soap scum in between cleanings.

I clean the shower with a 50-50 blend of Dawn dish soap and plain white vinegar. Mix it well, then spray a heavy coat on all shower surfaces, including any glass. Then, the most important step: Let it set for at least 15 minutes. Don't skip that step; it doesn't work nearly as well unless it sits on the surface and begins breaking down the buildup of soap, dead skin cells, hard water deposits, etc.

When you return to clean it, you should be able to scrub lightly and then wash it all down. Of course, if you have a lot of buildup, especially hard water deposits, it can take a couple of rounds to get it all off. Scraping with a razor blade can help with really stubborn buildup.

Once you have the shower back to a good place, regular squeegee-ing and application of the daily shower spray should help maintain it so that weekly cleaning is much less strenuous. The Dawn-vinegar spray also works well on hard water deposits under the rim of toilets, and soap scum buildup on sinks, too.
 
Well, it doesn't actually clean the shower. It only prevents buildup of water spots and soap scum in between cleanings.

I clean the shower with a 50-50 blend of Dawn dish soap and plain white vinegar. Mix it well, then spray a heavy coat on all shower surfaces, including any glass. Then, the most important step: Let it set for at least 15 minutes. Don't skip that step; it doesn't work nearly as well unless it sits on the surface and begins breaking down the buildup of soap, dead skin cells, hard water deposits, etc.

When you return to clean it, you should be able to scrub lightly and then wash it all down. Of course, if you have a lot of buildup, especially hard water deposits, it can take a couple of rounds to get it all off. Scraping with a razor blade can help with really stubborn buildup.

Once you have the shower back to a good place, regular squeegee-ing and application of the daily shower spray should help maintain it so that weekly cleaning is much less strenuous. The Dawn-vinegar spray also works well on hard water deposits under the rim of toilets, and soap scum buildup on sinks, too.
I think with only squeegeeing the water after every shower i was able to avoid deep cleaning for a long enough time that it was worth the effort. But when i tried this type of shower spray made with vinegar before, i just couldn't stand the smell. It got all up in my nose when i was spraying it, and lingered in the bathroom for a long time after.

I made a batch of your the citric acid shower spray yesterday, and scented it with some peppermint and eucalyptus mixed with polysorbate. I'm not crazy about how the spray leaves my shower door look wet, but i love the minty scent it leaves in my bathroom, so that alone will probably be enough to motivate me to use it 😛

I'll have to try your ratio for shower cleaner also. Right now I'm using something like a cup of vinegar with 1Tbsp Dawn.. works ok but even after sitting for 15min it still requires scrubbing. Best thing i came across so far was using Bar keepers friend. Turns out it's great for soap scum too! But it's not as hands-off as dawn/vinegar since you have to dispense/ rub it in in sections. Ugh, hate cleaning.

Oh this reminds me, in the past i had also tried this enzyme cleaner from Voyageur as a shower spray because i had read that enzyme cleaners were able to eat soap scum. It did something but i also couldn't stand the strong chemical smell.
 
Back
Top