Let's Talk Body Butter

 You know, whenever I see a headline that starts with "Let's Talk...", my first thought is let's not. In this case, though, it's not a bad thing. 

Body Butters are one of those items I have a love/hate relationship with. So often, when I  make them, they end up too hard. They're fine when they're applied but I don't like that hard texture, having to dig it out of a tub. When they're like that, I'd rather use a lotion or rich cream that I can easily scoop out of a tub.

I'm lucky enough to work with a woman who prefers body butter to lotions and has used a lot of them over the years. If anyone knows anything about body butter, and what they should be like, it's her. I've been working with her to find the "perfect" body butter texture and I've finally come up with a recipe that meets her high standards! That's exciting!

One of the things I've learned is that the hard oil to soft oil ratio is important. I've tried recipes that are 60/40 hard to soft and they end up being too hard. They might be fine in warmer months but we're heading towards winter and the final butter is just too hard. I've tried recipes that are closer to 50/50 and those end up being much more along the lines of what I've been looking for.

As lovely (and edible) as this looks, it ended up being too hard and didn't apply as smoothly as I was hoping it would. Even though it's useable, I consider this a fail.

The final thing that gave me the texture I was looking for was the addition of some Arrowroot powder. It took that skin feel over the top! I'll be putting it in all my body butters from here on in.

And then there's this one... close to 50/50 solid oils to liquid oils, with the addition of Arrowroot powder. This one is like putting your finger into buttercream frosting and applies like liquid silk, melting on contact and soaking in quickly, leaving skin moisturized but not oily. Heavenly!

I don't think I'll be offering body butter all year round; summers around here just get too hot for them. However, when fall and winter roll around, I think body butters are the perfect offering. And, seriously, a little goes a long way. Seriously!

Here's a short video showint the difference in the texture of the two butters. The second one is just so much more appealing. 

I've made a small batch for my next market (Oct. 30), inspired by autumn. One of the oils I used is Pumpkin Seed oil; the butter has been coloured with a combination of Sea Buckthorn oil and a bit of orange mica and it's scented with a beautiful soft fragrance called Autumn Walk. The manufacturer's description is as follows: This delightful fragance perfectly captures the essence of Fall. The scents of brisk air and crisp leaves join woody notes of rich mountain pine, cedar, and golden aspen while whiffs of forest berries, sage, and clove swirl delicately in the backdrop. 

Update on the Vitamin C Serum

I've been using the Vitamin C serum pretty much daily since I made it in April (is it really that long ago??) and I'm impressed.

The colour of the serum really hasn't changed much, perhaps it has a bit more of a yellow tinge than when I first made it but after six months it really hasn't changed as much as I thought it would. I suppose the fact that it's in a black treatment pump bottle helps. 

I'm almost at the end of the first bottle and will need to make more soon. Christmas markets, however, are on the horizon and that will require my time and attention before I can make anything for myself. 

Vitamin Sea Serum - testing

 Over on my main blog, Strings 'n Things, I wrote about a Vitamin C serum that I'm experimenting with. (I had planned on posting that post here but Blogger wasn't cooperating.) It's made with all sorts of wonderful ingredients, including some that are meant to help keep the Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) from oxidizing. It also includes an ingredient called Sea Kelp Bioferment, which is, basically, lacto-fermented seaweed, which is why the working name for this serum is Vitamin Sea Serum. (Clever huh?)

Vitamin C, or L-ascorbic acid, is quite stable when it's in a solid (powder) form but when it's in a solution, it oxidizes rather quickly. If you make a very simple Vitamin C serum, you'd have to remake it every 7-10 days. Eventually, the solution will discolour to orange and then brown. That's how you'll know that it has oxidized. It can also discolour your hair if you manage to get it in your hair. As I did. I couldn't figure out at first why the hair around my face was turning orange. Yup, oxidizing Vitamin C serum. 

To that end, I eventually came across the recipe I now use. And, because I know that L-ascorbic acid eventually oxidizes, I decided to put this serum to the test. 

It isn't the easiest to see in this picture but in that pipette is a bit of the Vitamin Sea Serum. I've put in on my kitchen window sill, where it gets full sun in the mornings. I'm going to leave it there until it starts to change colour. I want to know how long that takes. So far, it's been 24 hours with no visible change. 

I'll keep you updated. 

I'm Back... with a dilemma

I have a dilemma of sorts.  

I keep wanting to send customers to my website so they can see all the soaps I currently have available but I haven't had the time or the energy to keep updating the site. It was especially difficult when I had a market every weekend while still working full time at my day job.

This year, though, the markets are once a month so there should be no more excuse not to update. Right?

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be attempting to do just that. I intend to create a separate page that will have all the soaps I currently have available for sale. It will not be a commerce website, just a showcase of what's currently available.

If you're local to me, you're more than welcome to email me or message me for options for purchase. Orders may be picked up at my home or my work; we can work that out. At this time, I do not offer shipping.

Flax & Sandalwood Soap