Q? about KB lotion base & adding to it

[michelleB]

I just got a pound of the goat milk lotion base and I've been playing around with it to see if I can get the right "feel". Just mixing it up straight (adding nothing but water) doesn't seem to create a lasting effect. Sinks in immediately and after 1-2 more minutes...you'd never know you'd even put it on (and you could use some more).

Soooo...I'd like to add to it but there's no examples/recipes for the lotion bases on KB's site. I've searched through the forum and couldn't come up with any clear guidelines. For any of you who use bases, especially this one, would you mind sharing with me a good percentage of additives and how that affected your preservation? For example, I currently like the 1:3 ratio of base to water. If I were to add...say .15 oz of oil/butter per 4 oz of base, would that be too much? Too little?

Gosh I thought using a base would make it EASIER! LOL. I could've done whipped up 5-6 batches of my usual lotion in all the time I've spent trying to figure out how to mix this stuff up.

[Meridith]

I would contact the supplier and see what they recommend. You need to be dareful that you don't compromise the preservative that is already in the base.

[michelleB]

Thanks Meredith

Yes that's what I'm trying to do, make sure I don't compromise the preservative. I actually did contact KB already...just not specifically about adding oils/butters to the base. I asked them what the current % of goat milk was and if I could add more goat milk without causing preservation issues. Their response was that I could add more if I want, but for me to "add the appropriate amount of preservative to compensate for the added goat milk to it".

So following that line of thinking, it stands to reason that I'd also have to add extra preservative for any oils/butters I mix in with it. I'm perfectly ok with doing that & for safety's sake that's what I'm going to do. I was just hoping that somebody who already uses this base (or a similar one) & adds ingreds to it, could point me in the right direction for tweaking this into something nice & creamy. Now that I've gotten some info on preservation, all I'm really wanting to know is what a good % is (a starting point) for adding extra oils and butters, to create a skin-softening lotion that lasts longer than a few minutes. Or should I have gotten a different type of lotion base altogether?

Mostly I'm wanting to add either Avocado, Jojoba or both...and possibly either Shea or Cocoa butter. Ya know, it just hit me...what's the point of using a base? I mean, you can't just add water & use it, unless you're not picky about it working good. So you're still having to calculate an entire lotion recipe, right? Sheesh. I shoulda just bought more lotion oils.

[ChrisR]

Michelle you answered you own questions!! When I first started with lotion back when, I used NG's goat's milk base like yours and no matter how little extra I added the damn stuff got moldy.....so in the trash it went. I use Essential Wholesale's goat's milk lotion and cream now, which is excellent!!

[michelleB]

Yep, I sorta realized that as I was typing, lol. I'd just read my KB email, so tried updating the thread as I went. Plus I've got a bad habit of thinking out loud, meaning I'm HARD to follow sometimes, lol. Sorry for the confusion.

I'm gonna keep playing with this stuff and see what I can come up with, but I think that once it's gone...well, I probably won't fool with it again. I was hoping for something that was 'quick & easy' (aren't we all!) and yet using this is every bit as complex as my own lotion recipe. Hmmm. And with my 'regular' recipe, I've got a relatively short & easy to understand ingredient list, which I like. I'd hoped maybe I'd be able to completely convert over to bases so I could spend less time making lotion, now that I started a new semester at school. But not at the expense of how it makes your skin feel!

<sigh> Oh well, back to the drawing board!