daniedb

Oh, duh. I didn't even check to see if it had a preservative listed. I just always assume that people *know* to add a preserv. if it's an emulsion...we all know what assuming does.

I use soy wax for my scratch lotion, I use approx. 20 g of wax per 8 oz bottle. Since you're working with a base, I would start with 10 g and see how that works. If you aren't exceeding skin safe percentages, then you could try to add FO, but I don't know that you would want to. The wax shouldn't change the FO load, but as long as you're within the boundaries of skin safety, you can certainly experiment.

It's a beautiful, crisp, elegant site. I love it. I agree with Darwin - the green follow buttons aren't at all my thing. They actually distract, and compete with the site. I think that if you take those puppies off, then it's perfect! I think your prices are wonderful, I've found a terrific market for mine, and we're priced close to equally.

Check it out! Found it at soapnuts.com - I wonder how the texture is different than a lotion: I'm going to have to try it: Micki's Hand & Body Mousse For 9 - 4oz. Jars: 8.82 oz. Olive Oil 2.2 oz. Sweet Almond Oil 2.2 oz. Jojoba Oil .75 oz. Castor Oil .75 oz. Cocoa Butter 3.53 oz. Beeswax 15.5 oz. Distilled Water .35 oz. Borax .53 oz. Veg. Glycerin 1.6 tsp. Fragrance Heat oils and water mixture in seperate pans to 160* Put oils in mixer bowl and go round slowly while drizzeling water mixture into it. Continue beating slowly till begins to thicken (10-15 min) Up the speed a notch (or two if it does'nt splash). Continue beating and scraping sides if necessary till thicker, like medium weight lotion. Add fragrance and beat on med/high till lukewarm. Pour/Spoon into jars. This one melts quickley into your skin and is especially nice in the winter when a heavier moisturizer is needed I've got some jars from last June that are still perfect...if you are concerned about spoilage.

Yeah, I'm quite flabbergasted that people are emailing asking for candy, or why they never got any, or whatever. I just had to say that, since I've been shaking my head about it since Becky posted. Wow. It's like complaining about Greenleaf sending their FREE samples too late for some peoples' taste. I don't get it.

LMAO! Dr Whathisname - you can find it at a few difference online stores, but I usually get it from Whole Foods/Sunflower Market/Trader Joe's/Central Market (I don't know what you have near you). WF, Sunflower and CM all sell both prepackaged Bronner's in the 5-6 scents that he has, but they also (which I LOVE) sell them by the ounce. They have gallons sitting out that you can take your own container (make sure the cashier weighs is before you fill it so you don't pay extra for the container weight) and pump away! It's cheaper than buying the small packages, but if you want a LOT, it's cheaper to buy a gallon. You can buy a gallon through those stores, they'll order it for you, it's around $30-35 for the whole shebang. I use the unscented (they call it Baby Mild), and add my own EO to the base before I add the water. Right now, I'm just not ready to start making liquid soap from scratch, just not something I want to mess with at the moment.

Me too, shirah! I'm eagerly awaiting!

Last year at summer, someone here recommended this technique: Put your packaging material (NOT your candle, just the packing peanuts and bubble wrap) in the freezer overnight. The peanuts seem to trap the cold air and provide some really helpful cool insulation when you ship. Ditto on the shipping out of state only early in the week. I use only Priority Mail, and I only ship out of state on Monday-Wednesday in the hottest months.

I just wanted to add one more variable to try - I gently heat my jars (when I have extra time and I care that day about wet spots), until they're approximately the same temp as my wax when I pour. That helps, but usually I just don't worry about it and what happens, happens. Wet spots...embrace them, love them, live with them.

Yay, Michi! I'm just thrilled! And please know that while gratitude is a wonderful thing, it is just as much a blessing for me (and I think it's safe to say that the vast majority of people here who contributed) to be a part of this event as it is for you to have been the recipient, KWIM? I think we've got a good grasp on how important this was and is to your family, and we are so blessed to have been able to be a part of it!

Mei-Mei, what are you doing behind our backs to get candy?!?!?! Michael, that's just WRONG. What the heck can you do with .3 oz? Bleh. KFTS - I feel ya, dawg! I ordered $2500 from MMS (yep, that's NOT a typo) a few months ago, and got ZILCH in free samples. I was so pissed. Because like someone else said, you spend all this money and what do you do? Go pawing through the peanuts for the 1 oz sample that you didn't pick, LOL! Apart from that huge order, I placed a couple of orders worth over $300 total, and I only got one unsolicited free sample - their shipping/closed dates calendar. Huh. Thanks very much. But then I realized that to complain about it, and be pissed only made me feel and look like a spoiled brat. KWIM? So I didn't feel right complaining to the, but still...I was sooooo disappointed, after I wasn't pissed anymore. I mean, no one promised me anything free. Still. Grrrr...

I bought a pound of a JS off Trish in the classys a while back, and just had a huge run on the stuff...so I had to reorder on Becky's actual site. I just opened it (got it like 2 days after I ordered it) and while all I ordered was ONE pound of oil, I got three samplers. Hell, I'll buy a pound of dog crap from you if you send me three samples. I'm disgustingly easy when it comes to samples. I get them and I'm all, "ohhh! I think I love you!" and then the next morning I can hardly look at myself in the mirror, I'm so ashamed. It's an ugly sight. Ugly, I tell you. Fresh Pineapple Slices? Thought I'd hate it, but it actually smells like the pineapple life saver. Gross, you think? Ah, you'd be wrong. Blissful Blackberry OOB isn't so much my thing, but you know how wax changes it. Oh, and Red Mac Apple, very yummy. Clean, not too sweet, but maybe a little fall-y for this time of year. Back to the regularly scheduled posting....

I lerve JS's.

GSO is just too thin and soaks in too easily for this application - I like that SAO has a heaviness that takes longer to penetrate. Sort of the opposite of what we normally look for, but I'm looking for a barrier salve, rather than a moisturizing one. I like the idea of AKO, I think I may give that one a shot. I know it's good for massage oil, so maybe it tends to linger on the skin as well. Bunny, that's exactly what I was looking for the other day - thank you for those links!

In a salve. I need something that's nice and thick like SAO, but is a vegetable derived oil. No nut or animal oils, and cost-effective like SAO. I may just go the way of 1/2 shea 1/2 oil, but I'd love to NOT use shea in this.

I've heard RAVE reviews of JS's Chai Tea. Rumor has it that it has a nice, milky sweet note to it.

If you're talking about the castile, I actually buy the liquid version - Dr Bronner's. I love that stuff, you can use it on ANYTHING, and it's organic and really natural. Just oils, KOH and EO goes into the recipe. I know that Purple Lilac has made a beautiful castile style with coconut and olive, I've used it for my baby wash and it was verrrrry nice, a little less drying than the Bronner's can be over time.

You could theoretically increase burn time and decrease trimming if you wicked down, but I don't know that a 6 or 8 would give you a full MP. I use a 16 in my 3" jars, and it's the perfect size. I'm thinking a 10 might be your ideal size. No harm in trying the smaller ones, esp. if you're getting a full MP in 2 hours with the 10, an 8 might just work.

Never mind, I'm slow this morning. Ignore me.

I have a line of candles that are made from only EOs. You certainly do take a hit on the throw - people don't buy EO candles for the strong scent throw, they do it for personal reasons, usually because they want to avoid synthetic fragrances and don't mind compromising with a lighter scent throw. I start with .5 oz pp, and go from there, depending on what blend I use. I stick to the EOs that are considered safe for the general population - even though EOs are natural doesn't mean they're all safe, and I want to protect myself as well as offer quality products.

I use castile soap as well, diluted with water, and I add a few drops of Lav or Cham EO to it - I put it in a foaming pump. It's not tear free, but it rinses off with such ease that I've never in his 2 years gotten it in his eyes.

I used an iron set at about the lowest point, and only had to hold it on for about 2-3 seconds.

I'm having a mold issue. Thankfully, it's a new batch that I made a few weeks (a month?) ago to fill some future orders, so there isn't any tainted stuff out there. I've done a randomly sampled poll of the recipients of the last few batches. Help me! Recipe includes: grapeseed oil (which I know has a 1 yr shelf life, but it's brand new) SAO FCO refined shea mango butter germall plus at .3% natural vit e at .1% Using distilled water, bringing water to ~175, holding for ~20 minutes. Oils to about the same, adding preservative and Vit E at 120 F, allowing to cool, uncapped, for at least 24 hours (maybe it needs longer?) feels cool to the touch, and thick. I'm pulling it while I restabilize the recipe - I just made a test batch with EDTA, read on the Whisk that it can help. I also thought about increasing the Vit E to help with mold inhibition, but is there any added efficacy after .1% is exceeded? Also going to increase my Germall Plus to .5%, the max range recommended. As I mentioned, I know GSO has a shorter shelf life, but a MONTH?! Not gonna cut it. Am I missing anything that I can try? I'm staying as natural as possible, so other than the necessary preservatives, I really don't want to add too many things.

Okay, gotcha. Thanks for being patient with me...I understand now!

Thanks for the great suggestions for dupes...that's what I need. To spend more money. That really thrills the husband. Okay, so I'm more and more in love with the CC as the night wears on...of course it's fading fast, bleh. Thank goodness I bought two. I also bought 2 Lemon Zest tarts, I'm a sucka for any kind of tart lemon, and I got 2 other tarts...can't remember now. And a HUGE container. Hee. Bad girl!