ljones4521 Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Greetings!Allow me to introduce myself. I am a 42 year old mother of three who woke up a few weeks ago sick and tired of not doing what I wanted to do with my life! For twenty years I have admired hand made soaps and wonderfully scented lotions. I have desired to try my hand at both of these since I held my first goat milk soap in my hand in Berkeley, California. I can remember it it like it was yesterday. Life took over and I somehow forgot about my desire to delve more into this area of life; however, the last few years I have had a gnawing feeling/desire to just try it. BTW I am the sort of person who welcomes other in the kitchen with me. A bit afraid to try things alone, but willing if in the company of others. At any rate I landed on your site while searching for monoi oil and am so very pleased I have. You ladies seem like such a wonderful, supporting bunch. What I want to do so very badly is to make a batch of lotion; however, I specifically want to use Monoi butter. Problem is, I can't find a recipe that specifically calls for this and I don't want to 'waste' money by mixing it with something it shouldn't be mixed with. I am interested in hemp oil, argan oil, shea, jojoba, mango, avocado and open to learning about others.Is there anyone out there willing to hold my hand my through my first batch of lotion making and ......also, provide me with a recipe that will allow me to use Monoi oil or butter. I have sourced a location for the butter, but not sure of the oil. So, if anyone has recommendations, please provide. Lastly, I just placed an order for Aquatech's hemp lotion (based on the reviews here). Will you please recommend fragrance oils/essential oils that work best with this lotion. I would like to pass this out for Mother's Day, so I am thinking of a light/airy fragrance. My family likes vanilla, vanilla/brown sugar, jasmine, sandalwood, ylangylang types of scents (these are based on Bath and Body Work lotions they have purchased in the past). I anxiously await your replies and suggestions and look forward to chatting with you all.Regards,LisaMaryland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindanelson Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Hi Lisa...Welcome. I have no suggestions for you. Have you used the search feature here? Most of the time you can sub one oil for another. I would have to research Monoi butter to give you a better answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljones4521 Posted March 8, 2011 Author Share Posted March 8, 2011 No, I did not check the search feature. I'll do that now.Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindanelson Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 You're welcome. You will find the search feature to be a good friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Flapp Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Pls. advise if you found a recipe for monoi butter--I would love to try it--thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljones4521 Posted March 13, 2011 Author Share Posted March 13, 2011 Hi Christine, I haven't really found anything yet. I was really hoping to have a clearer road map before tying this on my own, but I don't think thats going to happen. So.....I am going to take one of the lotion recipes and, from what I understand I can use butter and oil interchangeably. So, I am going to melt the butter and use is as if it were oil. I am pryaing I don't waste my money because I hate wasting money.I'll let you know how it turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam W Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Water phaseWater 73%Glycerin or honey 2%Oil PhaseStearic Acid 2%Oils 17%Ewax 4%Last PhasePreservative 1%FO 1%That's the basic recipe that I found in the archives but I did tweak it a little;Cut the Glycerin 1% and left out the FO entirely & added IPM 2% to make up the difference. Oils used: for a 16oz batch, the 17% came to 2.72oz & I split that up like this: .5oz Monoi, 1oz Babassu, 1oz Grapeseed, .22oz Aloe VeraI left out the FO because of the Monoi - at the .5oz, it has a very light Monoi scent which is exactly what I wanted.Steric acid is what thickens the lotion so you can adjust this as you wish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudMarineMom Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 (edited) For information overload, but a lot of great information, check out Susan's blog: http://www.swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/.If you scroll down, on the right-hand side she has a couple of e-books (PDF) she offers for donation. One of them is Lotion Making 101. I have her Back To Basics: Anhydrous Products and it is excellent. It provides information about ingredients, oil and butter profiles along with lots of recipes. I assume the Lotion Making book is just as informative. You can also do specific searches for various topics and further down on the righ-hand side is a guide to ingredients. The blog, along with the forums here and google searches on the net will give you quite a bit to read.For the Aquatech Hemp lotion, any FO that is body safe should be fine. They recommend only 1 tsp FO per 20 oz (by weight) of lotion to maintain the preservative system. I'm not sure how that would equate to EO since I have not used those. I would suggest reading about EO's to learn about skin sensitivities and usage rates. For example, if I remember correctly, Clary Sage EO is one that should be avoided during pregnancy. Not sure how current or accurate, but here is a link that lists various EO's to avoid for various reasons:http://www.naturesgift.com/warnings.htmI'm not trying to discourage you from EO's, just be sure to do your research to really understand the ingredient before using. Camden Grey and The Herbarie sell quite a few Essential Oils and both are on the East Coast. Lotion Crafters and New Directions Aromatics are also good but are on the West Coast. Good luck and have fun!J Edited March 13, 2011 by ProudMarineMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitn Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Hi welcome to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljones4521 Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share Posted March 15, 2011 Pam!Thanks so much. I will try this recipe as soon as I have finished reading the SwiftMonkey's blog as recommended by MarineMom (thanks!). I am hoping her articles will clear up a few areas for me. I will report how I do.Thanks so m uch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljones4521 Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share Posted March 15, 2011 ProudMarineMom,Thanks for the information regarding essential oils. I did a little reading and I think I will stick with fragrance oils, as I am just too new to this and don't want to unknowingly introduce anyone to a product that might be dangerous. My niece is trying to get pregnant so I definitely don't want to impede this process. She's graciously agreed to try my first foray into lotion making! My sons say, "No way". OMG!!! It has been about 15 minutes since I started my reply to this thread. In that time I have been reading swiftmonkey site. I am so HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!! to have a book! I love books. I am the least creative person you will ever meet. I to this day, still cook with recipes! Must have a recipe before I head into the kitchen. My poor husband. His mother could whip up a full feast out of thin air and I must have a recipe. Needless to say I am purchasing this book and can't wait to try my hand at lotion making. Thanks Thanks Thanks!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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