mychellec

I make a dry oil spray with cyclomethicone, FCO, IPM, and FO. The fragrance seems to hold on my skin nicely.

Soapbuddy, I have seen that question posed on so many boards and no one has ever had an answer. It's a mystery. There has to be an emulsifier and a preservative, or maybe aloe extract can be used in anhydrous products? I don't know so I don't use it.

SoutherGal, try to see what common ingredients are in the balms that irritate your lips. For me anything labeled "medicated" or containing essential oils and extracts will cause my lips to burn and peel. You could have a beeswax sensitivity, or be sensitive to the preservatives used in commercial balms. You can make your own balm starting with equal parts (by volume) beeswax, coconut oil, and another light oil. Or check out MMS lip balm instructions; they have a nice formula (in percents/weight) incorporating hard and soft oils and butters. You can't go wrong. In the meantime, keep it simple - vaseline until your lips heal. I know, petroleum, but this will create a serious moisture barrier and protect your lips while they heal. HTH!

I prefer a scrub bar without soap. I don't have my ratios handy, but I use e-wax, stearic, cetyl, shea butter, mango butter, and oils. I then add sugar as it cools and I have a yummy scrubby bar. Search around here, there are a few recipes for in-shower lotion bars to get you started on that route.

I also add IPM and cyclomethicone to my whipped butter. It cuts down on the greasy feeling and adds to the glide. I never like the feeling of starches in my butters, but that's just me.

I only sell a lip balm and body butter, but the balm is priced at $3.50 retail, $2.50 wholesale. I use very nice ingredients and more work goes into lip balm, as Luminous stated, than a lotion for me!

Peppermint oil is a very common allergin. It is commonly used in lip plumpers along with cinnamon because it is an irritant; it increases blood flow to the lips and that's why they puff up. I can't use a balm with anything resembling a mint in it. I hope your lips return to normal soon!

Fractionated coconut oil. By far my favorite oil. So light and wonderful, the goodness of coconut oil, clear, and reasonable priced. It is very much like an ester in feel - emollient but fast absorbing and dry without being powdery. I adore it in body butters because it really offsets the greasy feel. Shall I go on?

I make a buttery body scrub with btms and e-wax, as well as cetyl alcohol and stearic acid. It is creamy and wonderful, and not at all greasy. Swiftcraftymonkey blog has some great formula ideas if you are looking for an emulsified creamy scrub!

I make a bath whip and tried to use it as a head-to-toe cleansing cream type product but it just didn't work. It dried out my hair and wasn't economical. I prefer my syndet shampoo bar by far.

Check out Seiwft's blog - she has a recipe on their somewhere. Google swiftcraftymonkey and be ready to sacrifice a few days digging through the amazing wealth of info on her site!

You can sell this as long as you are not making medical claims - ie healing, therapeutic, etc. If you make claims it is considered an OTC medication and will require FDA approval. You will want to include a warning label on this product in any case, simply telling customers to discontinue use if irritation occurs. This should cover your legal bases.

Sunscreens are considered OTC drugs by the FDA. Sun protection is serious stuff and while I make every toiletry in my house I buy my sunscreen. Unless you put your recipe through FDA testing, you can't be sure it will provide adequate sun protection. How much active ingredient do you need to create what SPF rating and at what PH level? How long before the actives lose efficacy? What combination of actives is most effective for broad-spectrum protection? I actually know these answers and still do not make it myself because the risk of skin cancer is far too great. Just MO, but I think sunscreen should be bought from people who have gone through FDA testing to ensure the product is safe and effective. That said, Neutrogena makes some excellent mineral-based sunscreens. I have used their baby sunblock for many years; it is zinc and titanium dioxide based. Kiss My Face also makes some nice mineral suncsreens. HTH!

ETA: Your avatar is adorable!

You want to avoid essential oils near an infant. Some people think lavender is okay in small doses, but I am of the school that says avoid them completely due to potential allergic reaction. As the mother of a 4 month old, I won't buy it if is has EOs, especially tea tree as I am highly allergic to it myself. And really research preservative methods for a wipe-type product, as I can see those being a happy breeding ground if not carefully preserved. The Herbarie carries a nice baby blend surfactant combo and has a recipe for a baby wash; that might be a good place to get started on the wash.

No, I don't think you want to boil it! I'm curious to hear the response. I was thinking aloe gel but that would dilute the sanitizer. Crothix is used to thicken surfactant mixes; maybe it would work here? You can find it at the Herbarie. If you can heat the product maybe some Amaze XT, xantham, or any gellant or carbomer.

I haven't tried it yet, but now I think I might! I have never used a foaming bath butter but since having my baby I have discovered a love of a relaxing bath, so this might be something to play with. Here is a link to her recipe, just scroll down to the heading titled Iron Chemist Results: SCI

http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/search?q=SCI

Swift posted a formula for a bath whip on her blog not long ago. It was SCI-based. http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/ Search for SCI or Iron Chemist and scroll around a little. It might be a lot more economical to make it yourself, and take care of the discrepancies in consistency.

Include some humectants like glycerin, sodium lactate, honeyquat, etc. They will continue to draw moisture into the skin. I often use 5% humectants (combo of glycerin and SL or honeyquat) and those lotions leave my skin the softest. And try some greasier oils like rice bran or sesame. Avocado oil is nourishing to skin but dry in feel. And cetyl alcohol seems to make my lotions feel softer longer. HTH!

Also throw in some barrier ingredients like dimethicone. It will add glide and hold moisture in; I never make lotion (or almost anything) without it. Allantoin and panthenol also have some barrier and humectant qualities as well.

I always prefer sugar to salt - scrubby without being scratchy. I highly recommend Swift's recipe. She has never steered me wrong!

I agree with flipping your shea and mango ratios. Mango butter contains a lot of stearic acid, and while not as firm as cocoa butter it also does not melt into skin as well. It tends to lend quite a bit of viscosity. I vote for 60% shea and 10-20% mango.

I use Lipidthix from Lotioncrafter to make butters out of exotic oils. The Herbarie carries it as Vegethix. It is powdered hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is what our suppliers mix with hempseed, soybean, coffee, usually avocado, etc oils to create these "butters" we buy. I do a 75-80 oil/25-20 butter ratio and it works great. HTH!

Maybe more kokum or cocoa and a little less oil? Still soft enough to not be a bar but not too melty. I do a balm with coconut, kokum, and soy butter and it holds up beautifully (no beeswax).

My emulsified sugar scrub and my ultra-rich body butter. Soft, yummy skin!

I was just looking for this yesterday! I found it at Ingredients to Die For, The Chemistry Store, and WSP as Lathanol AL. HTH!

Stearic acid and cetyl alcohol are thickeners, not emulsifiers. They act as "co-emulsifiers" only in the sense that they add viscosity to a product, but cannot make a hydrophobic substance hydrophilic (meaning they can't emulsify water and oils on their own). I usually use e-wax as 25% of my oils phase, and cetyl (or stearic) as half of my e-wax amount, depending on desired thickness. With stearic/cetyl and high-shear mixing you can create a false (or temporary) emulsion, but it is unstable and will separate in a short time. Best advice? Order more e-wax! HTH!

I am also looking for a great vanilla scent. I just find many of them too sweet. As for a lasting scent, the only way I have been able to achieve that is to layer a scented lotion with a matching body spray on top. Then the scent hangs around for awhile. I hope others chime in with some good vanilla recommendations!