mrsadler05 Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 I started making boddy butter a few months ago and I have been trying to add different herbs and ingredients for a specialized formula. Each new formulation I try keeps separating so I decided to go back to my original formula then take baby steps from there.Lo and behold, my original recipe seperated. I can't tell you all how many batches or how many dollars in ingredients I have wasted over the last few months.I realized today that the only change I have made as far as my original recipe is concerned is the supplier for my green tea butter. For my first batch I used the butter from Texas Natural and my problem batches have been made with the butter from Majestic Mountain (The Sage).I just compared the two butters and come to find out, Texas Natural uses a Palm Oil as the base and The Sage uses a cheap hydrogenated oil as it's base.Now I have to order more butter from TN and try again to see if this fixes the problem. Arrgh. I hate waiting for shipments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
local anomaly Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 Oh, that would make me super-mad too...are you going to write the manufacturer of the crappy butter and let them know about the problems you had with their product? (If you haven't already.) Maybe they will try to make it right and give you a refund or a replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsadler05 Posted February 12, 2011 Author Share Posted February 12, 2011 Oh, that would make me super-mad too...are you going to write the manufacturer of the crappy butter and let them know about the problems you had with their product? (If you haven't already.) Maybe they will try to make it right and give you a refund or a replacement.No, I am not putting the blame on the company. I did not compare the ingredients from one company to the other so it is my fault.I just hope someone can learn from my mistake. I am out tons of money, time, not to mention a good batch of body butter. My skin is sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LovelyLathers Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 Sad but true it is all part of product development. It is expensive! I have spent thousands in developing my products. Testing and throwing out failures but when it is a hit it is a great feeling of accomplishment. I find that once you find the finished product, it works better if you stay with the same supplier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsadler05 Posted February 13, 2011 Author Share Posted February 13, 2011 I have read somewhere about over whipping can actually break an emulsion causing separation. Have you experienced this before?I am going to search the topic but thought I would throw the question out there while I was thinking about it. I was using a hand mixer but just bought a stand mixer as I read some people use them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitn Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Bummer but is a heads up for us all to check the labels for our purchases. I know how frustrating and expensive that is.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsadler05 Posted February 13, 2011 Author Share Posted February 13, 2011 Bummer but is a heads up for us all to check the labels for our purchases. I know how frustrating and expensive that is..Yes, very expensive lesson learned. Now I have a bucket of green tea butter I won't use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBE Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 (edited) I have read somewhere about over whipping can actually break an emulsion causing separation. Have you experienced this before?I am going to search the topic but thought I would throw the question out there while I was thinking about it. I was using a hand mixer but just bought a stand mixer as I read some people use them.Yes. You can break the emulsion by overwhipping. Honestly, you can make a great body butter with the butters you have on hand, it doesn't matter if your butter contains hydrogenated oil or not. Also... check your temps. Your water and your oils/emulsifiers should be right around the same temp when you add them together. And in my experience, cooling too fast can cause havoc too, sometimes. (like sticking it in the freezer or something like that, I learned to stop doing that because it would give me problems... I let it cool down on it's own.)Certain preservatives can break the emulsion too. I could never use Optiphen in my lotions or butters... every time I would add it, it would instantly separate. I rarely use a hand mixer or stand mixer for my emulsions. I prefer to use a stick blender. Edited February 14, 2011 by CBE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsadler05 Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 Thanks for the info, CBE. I have been mindful of my temps and I have tried both force cooling and letting the product cool naturally. This last batch has cooled naturally although the weather has been pretty cool the last couple of weeks.I was using the Tinosan preservative which worked fine but I am now using clear jars and the Tinosan is light sensitive. I switched to PerForm preservative and forgot to mention that this is another alteration from my original recipe.I want a preservative that is both formaldehyde and paraben free. If you don't mind sharing, what have you found works for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBE Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Preservative wise... I either use Liquapar Optima or Liquid Germall Plus. Maybe your new preservative has something to do with it? Hmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsadler05 Posted February 15, 2011 Author Share Posted February 15, 2011 Preservative wise... I either use Liquapar Optima or Liquid Germall Plus. Maybe your new preservative has something to do with it? Hmmm... Give me about a week and I will be on my way to figuring it out. I just placed an order for my original butter and original preservative. As soon as it comes in, I will start back at square one and try to figure out what went wrong.I thought it was the butter because I still had the Tinosan for all of the batches except the last one and they all separated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.