Bath Oil For Dry Winter Skin

I personally hate cold weather. I know many people enjoy Winter sports but I am not one of them. Regardless of whether you like Winter or not, your skin doesn't.

Bath Oil is a great way to pamper your skin and replenish lost moisture. Using Bath Oils is also a wonderful way to help you relax at the end of a hard day. The only ingredient in the bath oil you make at home is essential oils. You use a different essential oil, depending on the skin issues you have or what emotion you want to have as result of your bath. Some essential oils are more energizing while some are more calming.

Scented bath oils can turn a simple bath into an experience. Essential oils require only tiny amounts to impart their scent. Adding essential oil to a carrier oil will add further moisturizing benefits to your handmade bath oil. Some examples of carrier oils are mineral oil, coconut or almond oil.

As you are no doubt aware, oil and water do not mix. When using small amounts of oil or simply essential oil, the amount is not sufficient to create a problem. Using more oil, in an effort to make a maximum moisturizing effect, can result in an unsafe, slippery mess. To prevent this, you must use an emulsifier, to disperse the oil throughout the water. Two options are Polysorbate 20 or 80.
Figure your recipe using about 20% Polysorbate 80 or 20, and 80% bath oil. Add in 3-5% fragrance or essential oil.

For example:

• 2 ounces of Polysorbate 80 or 20
• 8 ounces of sweet almond oil
• 0.5 ounces of essential oil

1. Measure the Polysorbate 80/20 into the bottle.
2. Add the fragrance/essential oil and mix gently.
3. Add the almond oil and mix gently.

Use 1 Tablespoon per bath.

Here are a few examples of some Bath Oils you can try.

Neroli oil is great to use if you need to promote relaxation and sleep. It is known to have a sedative  effect. Put 10 drops directly into warm bath water and then sit back and relax.

If you suffer from back or joint pain add 2 drops of thyme essential oil to your bath as well as 4 drops of eucalyptus oil. Soak in the bath for at least 15 minutes.

To help relieve dry skin, add 4 drops chamomile essential oil, 4 drops palmarosa essential oil, 2 drops patchouli essential oil and 1 drop lavender essential oil to one teaspoon of vegetable oil and add to your bath water.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/89040-make-own-scented-bath-oils/#ixzz1hrkDgYqh

After the Holidays

As with everyone, the Holidays kept me busy, so, I haven't posted for a while. I hope everyone had a blessed holiday season and that the New Year will bring health and happiness to all.

I am working on a new post and plan to publish later today.

Using Silicones

Silicone oils help improve the absorption and feel of lotions and creams. They are also frequently used in hair products to add sheen. The most commonly used are Dimethicone and Cyclomethicone.

Silicone compounds are very versatile. There are two common types of silicones used in cosmetic products. The ring-like circular structures and straight or branched chains of silicones both have very different properties. Cyclic (circular) silicones (ie, cylcomethicones) evaporate quickly. This makes them suitable as carrier silicones as well as light degreasers for lotion or other emulsified products. Common applications include dry oil sprays, hair conditioners, and lotions. The use rates vary widely depending upon the application. Straight chain (dimethicones) silicones have a wide variety of properties based upon the length of the chain. Relative chain length is often differentiated by viscosity. The ultra-light ones are often blended with cyclomethicones for very quick soak-in.
The medium weight oils are commonly used to improve the feel of lotion products and can act as skin protectants.  Silicones are often modified for a variety of reasons, including improving water dispersion and "consumer feel." Silicone compounds are usually recommended for external use only. Silicones come in several grades depending upon the use. Choosing the correct grade is important to ensure safety of your customer.

Unmodified silicones stay on or near the surface of the skin. Not only are the molecules too big to physically enter past the upper living cells -- they associate with the upper layer of drying skin -- but they also cannot penetrate cell membranes due to their large size. They also dislike both the water and proteins inside cells. Cyclomethicones are unmodified silicones. They evaporae quickly after helping carry oils into the top layer of the skin. In hair products, cyclomethicone helps nutrients enter the hair shaft.Dimethicones are also unmodified silicones. They form a barrier layer on the skin which must be renewed as the skin sloughs off. Dimethicones coat the surface of the hair and lubricate it, improving combing providing detangling, and thus, hair loss and breakage.
Silicones form a protective layer which helps prevent transdermal water loss -- a very useful characteristic for many products. Silicone gums provide instant shine to hair. Silicones act to help seal moisture into the hair, which helps prevent many kinds of damage.

Silicones have varying properties which affects how they are used. Their solubility in a variety of ingredients is a most important consideration. Silicones usually blend readily with each other to provide desired properties. The solubility of silicones in other ingredients varies and must be observed when formulating.

Unmodified silicones are insoluble in water and other polar compounds. They will emulsify well, though, using the more common emulsifying agents. All-silicone emulsions are possible. Silicones can be modified or changed to improve water solublity. Silicone oils dissolve well in and will dissolve non-polar materials. These include essential oils, mineral oil, fixed oils, light esters, and sunscreen agents. Solubility decreases, however, as the size and viscosity of the silicone increases. Silicone oils are somewhat soluble in waxes, lanolin, castor oil and similar materials. The viscosity limitation is higher in these materials than it is for the fixed oils.

Usage rates of silicone compounds varies, however, is generally quite low. Their usual applications include lotions, salves, conditioners and bath products that use 1 to 5 % silicone as an additive to modify "feel" and provide skin protection. Cyclomethicones are most commonly used, with the low- to medium- viscosity dimethicones. Different types of silicone may be used alone or together. Many formulas use 2 parts cyclomethicone to 1 part dimethicone. Cyclomethicone may be used alone to carry essential oils in a dry oil spray -- referred to commonly as "dry perfume oil sprays".

How About a Few Various Bath & Body Recipes

Sure-Fire Bath Bombs

Dry Ingredients:
1 Cup Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Citric Acid
Mix dry ingredients well.
Add:
2 1/2 Tablespoons Sunflower Oil
2 Tablespoons Polysorbate 20
2 Teaspoons of Fragrance or Essential Oil.

Blend Thouroughly. Pack tightly into molds. Turn molds over and tap lightly to remove product. Dry overnight.


Warming Thai-Ginger Massage Oil

Mix:
4 parts Grapeseed Oil
1 Part Avocado Oil
1 Part Jojoba Oil
1 part Sunflower Oil
Add:
10 drops Sandalwood Essential Oil
7 drops Ginger Essential Oil
5 drops Ylang Ylang Essential Oil
3 drops Lemongrass Essential Oil
2 drops Vetiver Essential Oil
2 drops Black Pepper Essential Oil

Mix well. Store in spray bottle or bottle with dispensing lid, for easy use.

Herbal Stick Deodorant

4 Teaspoons Beeswax
2 Teaspoons Cocoa Butter
1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
3 drops Castor Oil
15 drops Rosemary Essential Oil
15 drops Lavender Essential Oil

Heat wax and butter together until just melted. Add remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Pour into deodorant stick container. Allow to cool and harden. 


Cocoa-Hemp Lip Lube

3 ounces Beeswax
2 ounces Cocoa Butter
3 ounces Shea Butter
2 ounces Hemp Oil
2 ounces Jojoba Oil
1 1/2 Teaspoons Flavor Oil
Color (optional) * make sure colorants are lip safe. Please!

Melt butters until just melted. Add oils and flavor. Pour into lip tubes and allow to cool.


Shea-Mango Bath Melts

2 Cups Baking Soda
1 Cup Citric Acid
Mix well and spoon loosely into molds.
Melt remaining ingredients together. Mix well and pour over dry ingredients, mixing gently with toothpick to coat dry ingredients completely:
50 grams Shea Butter
25 grams Mango Butter
5 grams Sweet Almond Oil
3 grams Wheat Germ Oil
12 grams Polysorbate 20
4 grams fragrance / essential Oil
Place in freezer for 15-30 minutes  or until completely cool. Gently remove from mold.

Lotion versus Cream

Basically, the only difference between lotion and cream is that cream is generally thicker, a bit greasier and has a fuller, more waxy texture. Creams are great for feet, knees and elbows or for especially dry skin.
Generally speaking, Emulsifying wax is used in lotions. This waxy material emulsifies your water and oils together. Usage varies based on the combination of thickeners but normal usage rates are between 3 and 6% of the total weight of your recipe.
For creams, Cetearyl Alcohol is used most often as the emulsifier. It consists of fatty alcohol derived from natural oils and fats (cetyl and stearyl alcohol) and is used to thicken and stabilize formulations. Cetearyl Alcohol imparts an emollient feel to the skin. Recommended usage level: 1-25%. Due to the higher percentage available for use as opposed to emulsifying wax, this helps add additional thickness and body to creams.

Here is a recipe for you to try:

Ballerina Foot Cream

5 ounces Shea Butter
3 ounces Whea Germ Oil
2 ounces Jojoba Oil
2 ounce Macadamia Nut Oil
0.5 ounces Phenonip (preservative)
16 ounces Distilled Water
8 ounces Cetearyl Alcohol
0.5 ounces Peppermint Essential Oil

 Melt cetearyl alcohol, oils and butter together just until liquid. Add Phenonip. Heat water until approximately the same temperature as the oil mixture. Slowly pour oil mixture into the water while mixing with a stick blender or regular kitchen mixer. If the oils begin to solidify, heat the water a bit more. The mixture should remain liquid, but somewhat thick (about the consistency of thin gravy) during the mixing process. Once the water and oils are well mixed, add essential oil and mix again. If the mixtures thickens too much, you can heat it briefly (10-15 seconds at a time) in the microwave. **Heating too hot will cause excess air to be incorporated into the cream as it is being mixed. It can also deactivate the preservative, placing your product as risk for contamination.**
Pour into tubs while still warm. Product will thicken as it cools. ENJOY!!!

Fizzy Bath Bombs

Bath Bombs are a  popular and fun bath item. Plus, a bonus is that they can be beneficial to the skin as well, depending on the ingredients used to create them. The basic ingredients for bath bombs are citric acid and baking soda. In addition to these two ingredients, oils and / or butters are added, along with fragrance and color.

Basic Recipe:
1 part citric acid (1 cup)
2 parts baking soda (2 cups)
Witch Hazel in a spray bottle
Color
Fragrance

Blend the citric acid and baking soda. It is of utmost importance to blend these two ingredients extremely well. Failing to do so will result in a grainy bath bomb. This doesn't hurt the bath bomb or make it unusable, it just makes it less pretty.
After blending the citric acid and baking soda, add your colorant. Dry colors work best, however, liquids can also be used, but, you run the risk of setting off the fizz trigger and once that happens, you can't stop it. Color tends to show up after the witch hazel is added, so, don't get too carried away. Add the fragrance, according to personal taste, keeping in mind that the bath bomb will be adding fragrance to a tub full of water, so, will dilute considerably.
Now, for the trickiest part. Spritz the dry ingredients you have just mixed with Witch Hazel, mixing as you spritz to moisten evenly. Be careful!!! Too much will start the fizzing!!! When the mixture is just moist enough to stick together when you squeeze some in your hand, it is good enough. Time to put it in the mold. You can use any type of plastic mold, according to whatever size you want. Press the mixture firmly into the mold cavity, pressing as much as you can into it. Turn mold over and gently tap the bottom to remove the bomb from the mold. If it falls apart, you may need to add a wee bit more witch hazel. Work quickly tho because once the mixture starts to dry out, it will harden and you will not be able to get it to stick together.
You can also use a meatball maker to make round bath bombs. Once  you have the mixture ready for the mold, simply use the meatball maker, scooping up an excess amount of mixture, to allow for sufficient mixture for compression.
Allow bombs to air dry for 24 - 48 hours.

To make a more moisturizing bath bomb, you can add oils and or butters to your recipe. Using the basic recipe, add 1- 2 Tablespoons of Almond Oil or melted Cocoa Butter to the well mixed citric acid and baking soda mixture and proceed with the recipe. You will notice that you don't need as much Witch Hazel since the oils and butters help the mixture stick together.  **When adding oils or butters to your bath bombs, residual oil may lay on the bottom of the tub after the water has been drained, creating a slippery condition. PLEASE keep this in mind and use necessary caution when using your bath bombs. I recommend cleaning the tub immediately after using an oil rich bath bomb to resolve slippery conditions.

Additional ingredients can be added to bath bombs to make them prettier. Colored sugar sprinkles or glitter are a couple popular choices.  SLS Powder can also be added if you want a Bubble Bath Bomb. Just add 4 Tablespoons of SLS powder to the basic recipe. Bath bombs which contain oil do not bubble as much as the basic bath bomb, so, if you want lots of bubbles, skip the oil.

Bombs away!!!!! Here is a picture of some Beach Ball Bath Bombs I made this past Summer.