Excellent Living Guide - Remixed! » Bath & Body

Special Ordering Info – May 2011

admin — Mon, 09 May 2011 13:50:59 +0000

Here is the special ordering info on a secret page! I got waylaid by Mother’s Day, so I wasn’t able to get this out this weekend. As a result, I’m going to wait until Saturday to place the order.

Quick info: Bath Melt Molds ~ Lotion Bar Molds ~ Stainless Measuring Cups ~ Ordering Info

Seasonal Bath Melt Molds – $15 each, or 2 for $25

These are plastic chocolate craft molds (not as durable as the professional stuff, but less expensive than the “real thing”) in super-cute seasonal shapes. The imprints are small, which makes them great for bath melts made of pure butters and oils.

There are 8 – 12 imprints per sheet, and the sheets are about 9″ x 7″.

Starfish Mold

I love this shape — I’m going to tint them pink-orange, I think, and use a tropical fragrance (mango? passionfruit?)

Diameter: 1 1/2″

Depth: about 1/3″

Availability: Can get 12.

Star Molds 1&2

Maybe for the 4th of July? Stars are just a cute shape, especially in multi colors.

Diameter for Star 1: 1 1/8″

Depth: 5/16″ (just over 1/4″)

Availability: Can get 5.

Diameter for Star 2 (below): 1 1/8″

Depth: 7/16″ (almost 1/2″)

Availability: Can get 5.

Goldfish Mold

Another cute shape for summer.

Diameter: 1 7/8″

Depth: around 1/3″

Availability: Can get 5.

Flower Mold

Diameter: 1 3/8″

Depth: 9/32″ (a little more that 1/4″)

Availability: I can get 8.

Shell Molds 1 & 2

Diameter for Shell 1 (below): 1 3/8″

Depth: around 1/3″

Availability: Can get 6

Diameter for Shell 2 (below): 2 1/2″ (large!)

Depth: 3/4″

Availability: Can get 4.

Plain Rectangle Mold

This is what we used in the shop for our honeysuckle/rose bath melts.

Heart Mold 1 & 2

Diameter for the first mold:29/32″ (almost 1″)

Depth: 23/64″ (about 1/3″)

Availability: Can get 5.

Diameter for heart mold 2 (below): 1 1/4″

Depth: about 1/3″

Availability: Can get 7

I can also get bigger hearts, up to 2″ across. They look the same as heart 1, just larger.

Silicone Molds – $22 each, or 2 for $40

These are for making bigger bath melts (ones that are bath bombier and have more powder than butters), and lotion bars. I don’t have the photos for each, but I do have dimensions.

Heart & mini madeleine.

Heart

Heart dimensions: 2.5″ x 1 3/8″

Depth: 1 3/8″

Madeleines

The madeleines are more like bath melt size.

Dimensions: 1 5/8″ x 1 1/8″

Depth: 1/2″

Pyramid

These are large, and I’m getting them specifically for making lotion bars. A bit experimental, but more eye-catching than plain bars. Then again, can you go wrong with plain bars?

Dimensions: 2 3/4″ square at base

Depth: 1 1/2″

Small Rectangle

Dimensions: 3 1/8″ x 1 1/8″

Depth: 1 1/8″

Stainless Stackable Liquid Measuring Cups

Expensive, but so nice to have. Plus, the largest size goes to 2 quarts. They all look the same, so I’m only posting one photo:

Sizes, from smallest to largest:

B: 4″ diameter, 2 3/4″ height — 10.125 oz
Availability: 54
Price: $11
C: 4 3/8″ diameter, 4 3/8″ height — 16 ounces (1/2 quart, or 2 cups)
Availability: 65
Price: $19
D: 5 7/8″ diameter, 5 1/8″ height — 1 quart (32 oz)
Availability: 109
Price: $25
E: 6 1/8″ diameter, 7 1/2″ height — 1.5 quart
Availability: 4
Price: $42
F: 6 5/8″ diameter, 7 1/2″ height — 2.128 quart
Availability: 8
Price: $49

Set price: $130 ($153 individually.)

Ordering Info

Just like old days, I’m going to take pre-orders. Email me what you want, and I’ll send you an invoice with PayPal. You don’t have to have PayPal to pay the invoice — you can use any major credit card.

If the availability info is wrong and I can’t get what you ordered, I’ll just give you a refund before I place the order with the supplier. If you have any questions, just email me.

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Cosmetic Consulting Group Buy – Vote Here!

admin — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 19:12:34 +0000

For people on my lists, I’m setting up a group buy for cosmetic consulting. Many people have weighed in with their preferences, and the majority of responses have fallen under these categories.

Bubble Bars
Such as Lush’s. This should be pretty straightforward — it’s a lot like making a bubbling bath bomb with liquid foaming agents.

Food-free bath frosting
Yes, there are many bath frosting recipes online, but nearly all of them involve some kind of food ingredient. This bothers many people, and the bath frosting made from powdered sugar or meringue powder doesn’t dissolve!

Eco-friendly household cleaners
Like Mrs. Meyer’s stuff. I would especially like to know how to make enzymatic cleaners, such as laundry soap and bathroom sprays.

Good face creams with anti-aging properties
Not that it can be marketed as such, but it will do a lot for repeat business!

Please vote for ONE favorite. If this goes well, I will certainly be doing another group buy, but for now, let’s keep it simple and choose just one thing.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

I’ll contact the chemist and ask for an estimate, and divide the total by the number of responses to figure out everyone’s share.

New Product: Silicone Bath Melt Molds

admin — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 16:21:40 +0000

These are cute! Finally, I remembered to order samples in time for Valentine’s Day, right? There are a lot more shapes and sizes, but I thought these two were really cute, so I decided to go with them for samples.

Though they feel rather thin and floppy, these molds are rated for heat, so they should be fine for body bars (lotion bars) and molded bath melts. You can get really creative with the products you can fit in here.

I would like to sell these two at cost ($12 each) to a creative beta-tester to see how they work. If you’re interested, just email me: info@excellentlivingguide

Bath Melt / Massage Bar Tutorials (links)

admin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:05:39 +0000

Bath melts are not something that I make, but they look pretty easy. At their core, both massage bars and bath melts are just a liquid oil (or wax, such as jojoba) melted with a harder wax, such as cocoa butter. Massage bars are bigger and more solid, meant to soften slowly when handled.

Bath melts should be smaller, since a little goes a long way when it floats on top of the bath water. Most of Lush’s are 1 ounce, and that is too much for a lot of people, especially those with compact bath tubs.

I’ve also seen a combination of bath bomb and semi-solid butter also described as bath melts. They have the bonus effect of fizzing slightly while the oils and waxes melt. See “Le Bath Melt” on Snowdrift Farm’s page here.

Anyway, no need for me to reinvent the wheel, especially since I’ve never actually made any bath melt or massage bar like products. Here are some links to basic bath melt recipes — the majority use cocoa butter and sweet almond oil, which you can probably find at your local health food store if you don’t want to wait to order online (though it’ll cost you.) Massage bars often use beeswax to make them harder.

As with bath bombs, the fun in making bath melts is elaborating on the basic recipe and creating your own versions — especially the appearance! You can have a lot of fun with different mold shapes and packaging.

Cute! Tub toads wrapped in hoppin’ green foil.

Bath melt with milk powder.

Nice looking recipe for tub truffles.

Massage bar with beeswax.

PS
Does anyone have a nice photo I can use? I didn’t want to use anyone’s picture without permission, and it would be great to showcase a member’s handiwork!

What Are Shower Steamers?

admin — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 21:55:53 +0000

Over the last year or so, a few bath bombers have asked me about recipes for “shower steamers.” I have to admit, I didn’t know exactly what they were, being out of commercial bath & body for a few years. My instincts told me that they were a bath bomb-like product, perhaps exactly like a bath bomb, but “repurposed,” as we say in the marketing business.

The Aromatherapy Angle
According to several sources, the purpose of shower steamers is aromatherapy. You make them with essential oils, get them a little wet, and put them out of direct range of the shower spray. The steamy heat from the shower helps the essential oils circulate, creating an aromatherapy steam-room environment.

I thought that was pretty cool. There are few products that enhance the shower atmosphere — just the bath — and leveraging the humid heat is clever. I’ve done shower sprays with mint and eucalyptus, but I never thought to repurpose the bath bomb in this way.

How To Make ‘Em
I checked the ingredients on several sites, and they are exactly the same as a bath bomb: citric acid, baking soda, essential oils. Some have borax, possibly to alter the pH balance or make the tub easier to clean. All of them have to have good essential oils, of course, and some knowledge of aromatherapy is required.

As far as I can tell, you can just make a basic bath bomb with essential oils and call it a shower steamer. If I’m wrong about this, be sure to email me and let me know, but my research supports this conclusion.

If you don’t know how to make bath bombs, you can start by downloading my free Fast Guide, a 48-page instruction manual on bath bomb making.

Packaging
I didn’t want to steal anyone’s product photos, but if you search Google images for “shower steamer,” it’ll give you a good idea what other people are doing.

The format is either a small bomb size, such as the 2 ounce size, or half a 4 or 6 ounce bath bomb. They are usually wrapped in colored foil, rather like a Valentine’s Day chocolate, with a sticker holding it together.

As the shower steamers contain essential oils, they need to be stored in an airtight environment. The foil must provide a good air block, but I don’t see why the right clear bag would do the trick as well. I suspect the foil is also to distinguish it from a normal bath bomb, if the sellers provide both products.

To find the foil, search google for “confectionery foil,” or start here at Sugarcraft, where there are all kinds of good things for the creative bath bomber.

As a marketer, I do not like the look of many of these shower steamers because of the confusion with candy. For bath bombs, it makes sense — it’s bath candy — but the cognitive dissonance of cheap candy packaging + semi-poisonous essential oils + luxury spa experience? Not so good, in my opinion. I’d prefer a more natural look to go with the aromatherapy angle.

Cautions
I do not recommend using corn starch. It will make the steamer softer and possibly provide food for mold. People will leave the shower steamer out, and heat + moisture + air = uninvited growths. The chemical salts may help deter spores, but don’t count on it… there are some very hardy strains of mold out there. It’s their job.

I also do not recommend using clay, since it will leave a slushy residue as the steamer melts down. Not that there’s any reason to use clay, but since some people do use it in bath bombs, I thought I’d mention it.

How eco-friendly is making your own perfume?

admin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:30:45 +0000

It’s good to be concerned about the environmental impact of making your own scented products, including perfume. How eco-friendly is it? Are essential oils more eco-friendly than other ingredients? I get these kinds of questions a lot, so I’m going to give you a few things to think about. There isn’t a simple answer.

Even organic essential oils have an impact.

How can they not? They’re still grown on farms. Any human activity on the planet will have some kind of effect, and thinking that using organic and natural products don’t have an impact is not realistic. It will still have an impact, but one that may not be as harmful. “Wild crafted” essential oils are those made from non-farmed natural sources, but there are concerns that this practice will endanger plants, as no cultivation efforts will replace them.

I’m not an expert on aromatherapy or essential oils, other than using them for their scent properties, but here is a more in-depth look at this issue from someone more knowledgeable.

Synthetic musks.

One of the biggest questions is the effect of synthetic musks. Natural musks, which have to be cruelly harvested from animals, have been banned since the 60′s, so the only other alternatives are expensive musk-like plants, which can get close but lack that animal quality, or lab-made fragrance.

Musks are used in just about everything scented, and there are a lot of synthetic musks in drinking water, lakes and streams, fish, human blood, breast milk, and other disquieting places. No one knows if musks are carcinogenic in humans or not, or if they are a real threat to the environment, but it is well worth thinking about.

http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Synthetic-Musk-Risks24mar99.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_musk

Phthalates & Children

One of the recent concerns is children’s exposure to phthalates — present not just in fragrance, but many other products. Children absorb more than adults, and the potential consequences are disturbind. Phthalates may disrupt endocrine function, especially in boys, and lead to lower fertility in adulthood. Phthalates in fragrance is the tip of the iceberg, but many baby products, such as powders, lotions, and shampoos, do contain it.

I have never advocated the use of any of these products, and when people ask me how to make them, I say, “Don’t.” Scented products are fun to use, but you just never know when it comes to children. Use plain, unscented products with minimal preservatives and no fragrance in leave-on products such as baby powder and lotion — not even essential oils.

http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/phthalates-47020418

http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NEWSCIENCE/oncompounds/phthalates/phthalates.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phthalate#Health_effects

I have a son (now 2) and, while I do take potential risks seriously, I cannot stand articles such as, “What’s Turning Our Boys Into Girls?” Such pieces of “journalism” only make the problem seem ridiculous because of the unsoundness of the writing! Please beware of people looking to turn this into sensational news pieces, but do look for reasonable information to help you make up your own mind.

Plus, plastic is not excellent! Who likes to use cheap, disposable junk? Most of the plastic I have is either recycled or vintage, like my son’s toys.

What threat do you pose as an individual “manufacturer?”

The worst offenders aren’t scented bath and body product and perfume, but the more common stuff used in greater quantities — laundry detergent, especially dryer sheets, cleaning products, hair care products, dish detergent, and things like that. Those are always heavily scented, often to cover up the bad odors of other ingredients.

If you’re concerned about the environmental and health effects of making personal care products, but you don’t want to completely stop your hobby, consider changing to all-unscented household products, such as your kitchen and bathroom sprays, laundry products, and dish soaps.

Ebook: What you can make with the Popular Bath & Body Book

admin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:08:53 +0000

You can make almost any daily-use product you can think of using this method. The foundational recipes are body lotion, shampoo and conditioner, bath salts, body oil, exfoliating scrub, shower gel, alcohol-free body mist, and body powder.

But the recipes are the least part of the book. The real excitement comes from creatively designing and customizing your products beyond the basic. For example, I give you ideas for:

* Adding advanced ingredients, such as silk and shimmer
* Packing your products with super moisturizing power
* Designing your own fragrance blends with a beginner-friendly blending technique
* Recreating discontinued Bath and Body Works and Victoria’s Secret products
* Getting started with natural essential oils and aromatherapy with a few simple blending recipes

But I want to stress that I don’t do the thinking for you. Instead, I help you design your own recipes by helping you build on the basics. That’s much more fun.
The best quality of daily-use products possible

I truly believe that using my technique will give you the best quality of daily-use products possible. I cannot teach you anything that borders on dermatology; I am not a doctor, just a hobbyist.

But the products you use every day, such as shower gel, lotion, and shampoo, will come out so high in quality, you will never set foot in another Bath and Body Works again.

You can also make great gifts.

But you knew that, right? It’s really fun to present your friends and family with custom-scented stuff — I made a laundry-based toiletries set for my sister, who loves to clean and loves the scent of cleaning products. She did like the products, but also loved the fact that I designed it for her, using a trait of her personality that she is most proud of. You can easily do the same thing.

Ebook: Popular Bath & Body Book Cost Comparison

admin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:07:15 +0000

Let’s Make Satsuma Lotion! (The Body Shop)

The Body Shop charges $12 for 8.4 ounces of Satsuma lotion. To be fair, their lotion is pretty decent, a step above drugstore quality. But expensive! At this price, it would cost $182.86 for a gallon of Satsuma lotion.

One of my most expensive and highest-quality suppliers charges $35 for a gallon of their lotion, and the quality is incredible! The first four ingredients are:

* Water
* Shea butter
* Meadowfoam seed oil
* Avocado oil

Well, let’s take shipping into account – $14.98 for UPS Ground. And let’s add in some Satsuma fragrance ($15.00) and silk proteins ($5.00) to make it extra luxurious.

We’re still at $69.98 for an entire gallon of spa-quality Satsuma lotion. I don’t think you can get any better than this stuff, and it is almost 1/3 the cost of The Body Shop’s average quality.

Let’s Make Ginger Scrub!

Origins charges a staggering $25 for 8 ounces of ginger body scrub. It is very luxurious and excellent, but… have you seen what’s in it?

Salt. Sugar. Olive oil. Fragrance. That’s about it. In fact…

Here, I’m making the exact same stuff for $4.

All right, one more… Bath and Body Works’ Aromatherapy Sleep Shower Gel

Vanilla and lavender is such a winning combination, but can you believe that they charge $13 for only 10 ounces of body wash? That would mean that a gallon costs $166.40.

Let’s make it ourselves, and we’re going to use real essential oils of lavender and vanilla.

This is probably overkill, but the essential oils together cost $17.80 – one ounce of lavender, and half ounce of vanilla.

A gallon of high-quality shower gel base – containing aloe juice and extracts of witch hazel, horse chestnut seed, ivy and arnica montana – costs $33.22, including shipping. All together, we made a gallon of real aromatherapy shower gel for only $51.02. This is higher quality than Bath and Body Works’ gel, uses real essential oils, and costs 1/3 what you would pay at Bath and Body Works.

As you can see, making your own products gives you a higher quality for lower cost, one of the major benefits of “making stuff.” Even better is that once you have all the ingredients, whipping up a batch only takes about 5 minutes.

Ebook: About the Popular Bath & Body Method (beginner friendly)

admin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:48:32 +0000

Instead of making everything from scratch – you know, emulsions, fractionated oils, lye, chemicals – I use bulk unscented bases that are professionally made for this purpose.

Using product bases is a fairly new method that wasn’t available until a few years ago. It ensures that you get professional, usable products on the very first attempt. The bases I recommend are absolutely wonderful in terms of natural, high-quality ingredients. One supplier has shea butter as the second ingredient!

For most people, the main reasons for making products “from scratch” are:
1) The ability to use high quality natural ingredients but still have a reasonable cost.
If you see “shea butter lotion” in Whole Foods or Origins, it costs an arm and a leg, and there’s not much shea butter in it. In the past, making shea butter lotion from scratch was the only way you could get real shea butter lotion at an affordable price.

But now, many spa suppliers have opened up their unscented base catalogs for crafters like us. You don’t have to make your own basic shea butter lotion if you don’t want to spend the time – you can just buy the base and add your own cool ingredients to it.
2) Getting products in your favorite scents.
Using bases is perfect for this! You can cut straight to the fun part, scenting your toiletries with your signature scents. Some fragrances are so hard to find, especially old-fashioned florals like lilac and honeysuckle, that the only thing to do is make them yourself!

I have an entire section devoted to helping you choose, find, and make your own fragrances. It was so much fun to write, and I think it will help you find the perfect fragrances for your bath and body products!
3) Using your creativity
For me, this is the main reason to “make stuff.” Creativity! It wakes up the brain. But making products from scratch is often a chore that gets in the way of creativity, at least for me. I have to go through the motions of making a basic lotion or gel before I can add my “mad science” ingredients (silk, weird botanical extracts, whatever!)

In fact, for me, making bases is a boring task that I hate. It’s a lot like stretching and gesso-ing canvases before you can paint on them! (I went to art and design school.) By using bases, I don’t have to worry if my products will turn out (or worry that my expensive extra ingredients will be wasted.)
Want to experience a pioneer activity or lifestyle
The bases method is admittedly modern. If what you’re after is to experience the romance of using historical methods, then you should make everything from raw materials! It can be incredibly fun, it just takes practice. Many people do it, though, and if you persevere, you will get good at it.

One thing, though… if you want to get started making products from scratch, do not learn from websites. You’ll spend more time researching and trying to cobble together enough information to hack it. Some of these sites are from amateur enthusiasts who don’t know how to teach that well, and they may promote wrong information about ingredients and safety practices.

Instead, go to Borders or Amazon and buy some real, published books with photos. Read the reviews or do your own flip-through. This alone will save you a lot of frustration.

If you just want to make good, basic products, try my method. By using bases, you save a lot of time and gruntwork. Your products will be ready to use or give in about 5 minutes (unless you do something experimental.)

Ready to get started? Buy “How To Make Popular Bath and Body Products” in combination with the Perfume Fast Guide for only $27.

Ebook: Popular Bath & Body FAQ

admin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:22:30 +0000

Is your method less creative than making products from scratch?

Absolutely not! In fact, I think this method makes you more creative; that is why I teach it. You can find out more about my philosophy in the free sample, but I compare it to being a master chef.

The master chef designs the menu – the creative part – but doesn’t work on the line, chopping veggies or making a basic white sauce. The chef just adds the spices and invents the dishes – just like you will do with bath and body products.

Have you written any other instructional bath and body books?

Yes. My first book, the popular “Fast Guide to Making Your Own Bath Bombs & Fizzies,” has been dowloaded over 10,000 times this year. I’ve helped a lot of people make perfect, rock-hard bath bombs!

My second book is being revised, and it’s about how to get started making your own perfume. I hope to complete that by the end of the year, but it takes as long as it takes.

I am interested in making products – especially lotion – from scratch.

I don’t teach that in this book, but the information is still useful. It’s what you will do after you make a basic lotion or shower gel – customizing it with your own unique ingredients.

If you’re a total beginner, I recommend that you start with my method first. Yes, it is self-serving, but it’s also completely sincere. I have seen too many people get frustrated when their lotions or liquid soaps don’t turn out right, and they give up on the hobby altogether.

I don’t live in the US. Can I still use this book?

Well, you can, but I can’t honestly recommend it to you. You will still learn the method, but you will have to find your own suppliers. In addition, most of the suppliers are in the US – the US has the biggest health and beauty market in the world.

I am a complete, total beginner to this stuff. Are you sure I can make bath and body products?

My book was written for “complete, total beginners.” If you can’t cook at all, then I don’t recommend it. But if you can handle making tea or Top Ramen, you should be all good.

Where do you get the professional cosmetic bases?

I give you a great list in my book. If you want to start with one supplier and see how you like this method, request the free sample pages and recipe.

How does the cost of my products compare to buying them at The Body Shop or Bath and Body Works?

Your savings will average around 25% – 50% of what you would pay at stores, and it’s all higher quality. I give you some ingredient and cost comparisons – read those!

You are a complete stranger to me, and I’m nervous about giving you my credit card number. How do I know I can trust you?

I use PayPal, which gives you additional protection on top of what you get from your credit card. I don’t store or even see your credit card number — only PayPal sees it. If you’re really nervous, you can use a personal check. Just email me for my address.

Also, just send me an email and say hi, or if you have comments and questions! You can find my email here.

You can also browse the rest of this website’s articles on making stuff, and my values of creativity, frugality, and landfill-friendliness.

You can even visit my Etsy shop where I occasionally sell scented soy candles.