Bentonite from a pottery supply same as Bentonite from beauty supply?

[bathaway]

A Pottery Supply store sells Bentonite 10x cheaper than Bentonite from a beauty supply store. Is it the same thing?

[TallTayl]

2 minutes ago, bathaway said:

A Pottery Supply store sells Bentonite 10x cheaper than Bentonite from a beauty supply store. Is it the same thing?

No. 

While chemically similar, pottery supply chemicals are not treated with the same care and traceability as those ingredients intended for use on skin.

 

i am a potter and beauty product manufacturer. Many Pottery chemicals are toxic (lithium, manganese, cobalt) and/or harmful (silica, nickel oxide, etc) yet are handled and stored together at supply houses. Cross contamination is inevitable.

[bathaway]

ok thanks so much

[Sponiebr]

TT's 100% correct, just don't... You can get bentonite as unscented cat litter even more cheaply, but for the same reasons TT describes above DON'T do it. When I was in college I used to make my own wine and I'd use the clumping small grained unscented store brand cat litter as a settling agent. I quickly learned that there was "additional processing" required. My first few jugs quickly turned to vinegar, until I learned some novel sterilization and refinement methods, that were WAY too much trouble for the return.  

Not too long ago, on this very forum no less, I was investigating using oxide pigments obtained from a very reputable manufacturer of "non-toxic" paint. While I am still sure that there is nothing harmful about them, the headache and upset from using them in my soap was far greater than the small price increase (literally cents in most cases) of buying certified cosmetic and bath safe pigments. There are sources for inexpensive ingredients and chemicals, but you will have to dig to find them, and sometimes the best deals are in food stuffs. If it's safe to put in your mouth it's safe to smear on your mouth. (most of the time anyway)

Cheers,

Sponiebr: The Executor of Bad Ideas and Sundry Services. 

 

[bathaway]

Ya I look into food industry for lower cost bath product ingredients.

 

11 minutes ago, Sponiebr said:

There are sources for inexpensive ingredients and chemicals

 

besides food. what other industry ingredients overlap with skincare? We have a lot less here in Canada, but the upside is, there is less competition here vs USA.

 

[Sponiebr]

4 minutes ago, bathaway said:

Ya I look into food industry for lower cost bath product ingredients.

 

 

besides food. what other industry ingredients overlap with skincare? We have a lot less here in Canada, but the upside is, there is less competition here vs USA.

 

I can't speak on what the Canadian standards might be but here in the U.S. it would have to be food or approved/acceptable for use in skin care/labeled as food. I supposed one could go with laboratory grade reagents but, there would not be any CHANCE of cost cutting via that source. It wouldn't fly down here in the US but you might be able to find some materials from animal food/care vets, farm suppliers, etc... 

 

[bathaway]

Thanks. I found some factories nearby but they selling food grade oils by the drum. I'll stick with food industry, maybe buy from factory with other craft people.

[TallTayl]

Why not just go to a soap supplier that sells bath ingredients like voyageur or Saffire blue in Canada?

[bathaway]

Saffire Blue is very overpriced. Voyageur is well priced, shipping is ok. 

 

Supplies are never low enough. I looked into factory directories and food companies.

[TallTayl]

It all depends on how much you need. I am still working on the same lb I started with 10 years ago. Decided it was not what my products needed in the long run.

 

Often direct buys require the purchase of 50lbs, which, in the end, is way over priced. 

[bathaway]

7 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Often direct buys require the purchase of 50lbs, which, in the end, is way over priced. 

because it usually doesn't get used? I can buy 50lb of baking soda, salts, citric acid easily, it gets used up fast.  I don't use enough colors, oils, clay to buy bulk yet.

 

I keep a record of large suppliers. I can't buy those minimums(example. a drum of oil) yet, hopefully I push enough volume to buy those large quantities.