Creating products - end of the series and what's next!

I hope you've enjoyed this series on creating products! Keep those helpful hints coming!

I'm moving on to review some new ingredients I've bought and experimented with in the last few months. We'll start tomorrow with behenyl alcohol and take a look at some new surfactants, some new emulsifiers, and other ingredients!

I have to get ready for the Rated T for Teen Hallowe'en party so I'll see you tomorrow! (In case you're wondering, that's a half-pony, half-monkey monster, adorable abomination that is the main part of my costume for this year's party!)

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Creating products: Labels!

We don't necessarily think of labelling our products as being an essential part of product creation, but when you accidentally use mentholated foot lotion as a facial moisturizer, you'll realize that we must label everything!

Original post from January 24, 2010...Why you must label everything! 

Look at the picture to the left. Look at the picture to the right. If the sun wasn't shining through the window and you were using the same bottles, the products would look very much the same. The one on the left is leave in conditioner. The one on the right is summer time peppermint spray.

So in my eagerness to be more organized this morning, I decided to add the tiny bit of leave in conditioner in one bottle with the larger bottle. It wasn't until I smelled mint after my shower that I realized what I had done!

In this case, the mint spray has many of the same ingredients I would put into a leave in conditioner - panthenol, hydrosols, hydrolyzed proteins - so really the only down side is the fresh scent of mint that follows me instead of oatmeal, milk & honey (which smells a lot like marzipan to me - and I love marzipan!).

Again, I can't stress this enough - label everything!

When I'm making a prototype recipe for myself, I like to include the name of the product, a few ingredients, and the date I made it for future reference. I might include something like "especially for mom" or "great for Raymond", so the intended user knows it's for them. I recognize these aren't pretty labels - my handwriting is terrible and the layer of packing tape will come off eventually - but it is the best way to track which products I'm liking this week!

From the post originally written on December 9, 2010...Some ideas on how to make labels! 

Tara made this comment in this post: I love the pictures you post of your products. Maybe somewhere down the road, you could do a post on label making.


I admit the aesthetics of our products is not one of my strengths. I'm the mechanic - I figure out the formulas, create the recipes, tweak the products, and so on - and despite my love of English, I suck at creating cute or interesting names. And don't get me started on my inability to take nice photographs! But I do like to create what I consider nice labels.

I consider putting labels on my products essential because I need to know which version of which product I'm using. I generally write out the labels by hand for around the house (which is why you don't see a lot of them), but when I'm gifting my products, I want to make my labels lovely (and believe me, my handwriting is neither lovely nor legible).

I generally invest in full sheet labels because I can put a ton of different labels on one sheet and cut them out when I feel like it. Ensure you have the right type for your printer - you can use laser labels on inkjet, but you can't use inkjet on a laser printer. If you can't get the full sheet labels or don't feel like cutting them all out, I find the 4 x 2 shipping labels to be the most multifunctional for my needs because I can make them smaller as necessary. I've tried Avery and I've tried generic Staples' labels - the Staples' ones were just awful and I took them back the next day, so I have to suggest Avery.

I use Printshop for the Mac for my labels, but you can use any program that makes labels in the right size. Microsoft Word works okay, but I've found it can sometimes be a little off and you have to make sure your labels are well within the boundaries when you're creating them on the screen. (Your experience may vary by printer and ability to make a nice label!)

I can't draw or design a label to save my life, so I find interesting backgrounds, wallpapers (computer and real life), or pictures of fabrics to create a nice backdrop. Digital scrapbooking papers are fantastic for backgrounds, and you can find some great free kits out there. I love the Shabby Princess downloads and I covet the Pixel Decor tiles (very retro!). I collect fonts, and I admit I tend towards the retro. You can find great free fonts at the Font Diner (I love the diner fonts and holiday leftovers!) and Dafont.com for my fonts, but you can find some great ones at scrapbooking sites.

When you're gifting a product, you don't need to use the INCI names because that can get a little confusing for your giftee. I tend to use the proper names for things like my oils, but I will use the generic name for my surfactants. I will put in brackets what the ingredient might be - for instance, liquid Germall Plus (preservative) - because I want my giftee to know what's in the product and I won't assume they know Latin!

Click here and here to learn more about INCI names. These are essential for those of you who sell or are considering selling your products! If you're making products for sale, ensure you are following the labelling laws in your county, state, province, area, region, or country! And make sure you're using royalty free images. 

There are a few ways to make your labels waterproof. I used to have an Epsom printer with waterproof inks and they worked really well. But I've switched to to a Canon Pixma ($30 for an all in one!) and the ink runs. So I use the Krylon product Make it Last, clear sealer, to keep my labels pretty in the shower or bath. I make up my labels, spray them, wait about 10 minutes, then put them on my bottles. (I found mine at Michael's, but apparently you can get it at art stores!)

And now we come to cleaning bottles. I spray mine with rubbing alcohol, wait a second or two, then wipe it off with a paper towel. This ensures you don't have any surfactants or oils or other stuff that will get in the way of the product sticking.

Original post from December 10, 2010...An example of how I create labels. 

So here's an example of a label I use on my foot scrub bars. I package these in cellophane bags and close it with the label.

I like to include three major pieces of information - the name of the product and fragrance, instructions for use (if it isn't obvious), and a simplified ingredient list. (If you're selling your products, the simplified list isn't an option - please check your local authorities for their requirements.)

I try to use a really legible font for the instructions and ingredient list - in this case, I'm using American Typewriter in 8 point - with a cute font for the name. I generally make the background a little more opaque - I turn the opacity on the picture to 50% to 70%, depending upon the colour scheme - and I tend to make the background for the instructions and ingredient list white so it's easy to read.

Why the instructions? Sometimes it isn't obvious what to do with a product - I've seen the foot scrub bar and my sugar scrub used as facial products, despite the description of what it is and the instructions - so I find it best to include some guidelines on usage, especially for something like a foot scrub bar where someone could use it in the shower and slip! I like to write a little story in this section, something to whet the user's interest, and I tend to use a ton of adjectives (which might be a little cheesy, but anyone who knows me knows I love cheesiness!).

Here's an example of my Manly Man Body Wash label. I put the ingredients on a little label I put on the back of the bottle so as to preserve the minimalist nature of the presentation. I figure men aren't into hearts and flowers so much, and I needed a label that shouted "I am body wash! Use me and smell manly!" I think this might be my favourite label.

I do have a girls' version of the Super Girl Action Wash with the warning that it "should only be used by girls who want to be super heroes when they grow up!" because I figure we all secretly long for an invisible airplane and lasso or a stake like Mr. Pointy and the ability to take on six ninjas in a fight without breaking a nail.

Original post from January 3, 2011...Downloadable labels

I've been asked to post my recent labels as a PDF, so here you are. (I have instructions on how to modify them in the PDF). I don't know how useful they will be as they are designed to fit on the bottles I own, but if you like them, then I'm a happy camper!

It's so much easier to use the laser printer than the colour printer in our house (I have to actually hook the computer up to the colour printer, whereas the laser is accessible from anywhere around the house - did I mention Raymond is also a computer genius?), so I started making black and white labels that looked like apothecary type labels. I love this style - if I ever had a business, I'd find it hard to choose between this style and the funky retro obnoxious type patterns with lime green and hot pink I normally love.

I found the idea from Slightly Off-Center (click here for her amazing labels), and I used her labels as templates originally - this is my beard conditioner "Hey Beardo". But I needed a larger one. So I went into The Print Shop 2 software and chose a frame that I liked. Then I found a line that had a decorative end. It's nothing fancy, but I'm happy with it. For the Hey Beardo, I added the instructions and ingredients on a separate label on the back of the container (but didn't think to take a picture of it).

I can't remember where I found the suggestions for these fonts, but visit DaFont.com and download Mouse Deco, EcuyerDAX, and Masquerade for some great old timey looking fonts.

Some links to great label templates can be found here.

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Creating products: Filling our bottles

Original post from July 13, 2009, modified today...

Filling containers can be such a huge pain in the bum! Here are a few things I thought I'd share...

Since I'm a surfactant junkie, I make a lot of bubble baths, body washes, and shampoos that need bottling. I find the easiest way is to get a funnel and pour it in. With a tottle or malibu bottle, I put the bottle into a Pyrex container and then pour it into the funnel. This keeps at least one hand free to clean up messes or get another bottle ready. (I try to have quite a few ready at a given time because once that funnel's full, I gotta move on very quickly!)

I find the bane of my existence is filling lotion containers. I always wait until the lotion has cooled completely before filling the bottles, and it's always a huge mess. I've taken to using piping bags - I have disposable and canvas ones - and I find these work well. I did try to use the cut-a-hole-in-a-sandwich-bag method, but I found I made a huge mess. (But then again, I am a very messy person, so it's not a surprise!)

I've tried using a syringe (sans needle) to fill the bottles and it worked very well. Syringe into container, suck up product, squish into bottle. The only problem is that the largest syringe I could find was 60 ml or about 1/4 cup. Fine for smaller bottles, not so much for larger ones as I found myself going back for more four or five times! It was great for topping off a container, like adding that extra teaspoon to a bottle! 

Again, line up the containers so you're ready, fill your piping bag, and go down the line. I usually fill them up about 3/4, then bang on the table to get the air out, then top it off. This is the annoying part - just as I think I've got a full container, I find another air bubble and have to top it off again!

If you're selling your products, you might have to weigh them before you cap them off. As I'm just giving mine away or keeping it for myself, I'm not that picky about bubbles or weights! 

I like filling jars...it's so easy! Scoop, bang on the table, and cap. If you want your jars to be very fancy, you can put these jar disk liners (also called dust covers or jar liners) on top of the product, then put the cap on it. When your friend/family member/customer opens it, she'll see this white cap making the product look very fancy and proper! 

If you have any suggestions, please comment! There are so many ways to fill bottles poorly, any ideas for doing it well are always welcome! (There are some great ideas in the original post, so I encourage you to check that out! But please comment as we're always looking to share great ideas!) 

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Creating products: Cool down phase

We've chosen a good recipe, we've assembled our ingredients, we've heated and held, and we've mixed! It's time to add the cool down ingredients. 

What do we put into our cool down phase? (Click here for the original post.) We put in the ingredients that might be sensitive to heat, such as our silicones (cyclomethicone and dimethicone), essential and fragrance oils, some preservatives, and extracts, amongst other things. For most ingredients, it's easy to find out whether they are heat sensitive or not - your supplier should have some information, and I've tried to include it in the information I've written about ingredients (look to your left and down a bit!) 

There are, however, some ingredients about which there is a dispute. For instance, I've seen allantoin recommended for the cool down phase but my supplier (and my textbook) recommend it for the heated water phase. If you're in doubt, talk to your supplier or do some experimenting. For instance, I've found allantoin in the cool down phase for me tends to result in shards, something I've not experienced by including it in the heated water phase. (For a longer, more in-depth post about how to figure out the right phase for your ingredient, click here.) 

After I've finished mixing, I like to assemble my cool down phase in a small container so I can clean up my counter to get ready for the packaging phase. Many times, a plastic shot glass is more than adequate to hold all the heat sensitive ingredients, but you can add the cool down phase directly into your product when it reaches the right temperature. Take notice if you have to dissolve the ingredient first - for instance, an extract or a powder - before adding it to the container. There's nothing worse than a powder that doesn't dissolve into your lotion, thereby ruining all that hard work! 

I like to let my product cool to about room temperature - so 20˚C to 25˚C - before packaging. 

Join me tomorrow for fun with packaging our products! 

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Creating products: Questions about mixing

There's been a lot of interest about mixing our products, and a lot of questions have arisen, so let's take a look at a few of the comments from the post on this topic!

Anonymous asked this question: Hi Susan thank you for the wonderful information so generously given here. After reading you post on blending lotions I wonder if I am over stirring my lotions. I have tried manual, stick blending & mixer but always end up with same result: even thought the finished lotion looks smooth when I put in the pots, the next day or so it starts to look like whipped milk cream that has been over whipped, kind of congealing which gets back to smooth texture after a bit of manual stirring but it doesn't stay smooth for long I have to keep on stirring every few days. Hope you can help me solve the mystery, thank you.

This doesn't sound like a mixing issue: It sounds like your lotion has failed. (Click here for the original and entire post.) If you have to keep stirring it to keep it smooth, it means that you don't have an emulsion - you have an oil phase and and a water phase that don't want to stay together.

Remember, we need three things to make an awesome emulsion in our products...

• chemical emulsification - this is where our emulsifier comes in. Pick a good emulsifier and use it at the right percentage! 
• heat emulsification - in general, solubility of our ingredients increases when they are heated. Click here for more about the heating and holding phase of our products. 
• mechanical agitation of some kind - mixing ingredients so they will stay emulsified. 

If you have a great emulsifier but aren't using it at the right amount, you'll get a fail. I don't think the issue is overmixing...I think the issue is a failed emulsion that has been temporarily held together by a lot of mechanical agitation! Take a look at your recipe and make sure you have the right kind of emulsifier and enough emulsifier for your oil phase, and ensure you are heating and holding for 20 minutes. If you're doing all of these things and you're still experiencing lotion fail, write to me with all the information (recipe, procedure, and so on) and I'll see if I can help further!

Vanillagirl writes: My emulsions are wonderfully stable (thanks to your info) but I find they end up with quite a lot of bubbles. I have been doing 500gm batches as I am new to this and am wondering if stickblending for 20 minutes to emulsify is too long. I subsequently add cooldown phase and sb a further 10 mins to ensure the ingredients are well mixed in. Am I blending too much? Thanks. 

I think you are. Twenty minutes is a long time and although it doesn't seem like you're ruining your emulsions, you're getting bubbles in them and you're taking a total of 30 minutes to mix a lotion. I'm all for mixing, but 30 minutes - that's time in which I could make something else!!! If your lotions are working well, then try mixing for a shorter period of time - say 5 minutes for the combining phase, 5 minutes for the cool down phase - and see if you have fewer bubbles. If your lotions are staying together through sheer will and mechanical emulsification, you might see some problems. But if you're using a well thought out recipe, you'll be just fine!

Leman writes: Also, my creams froth a lot when I use a milk frother. I mean I can hardly fill 50ml into a 100ml jar and I am thinking I must be doing something wrong or frothing too much or the fact that it is a milk frother!. Any ideas anyone? 

I wouldn't use a milk frother to mix your products...it's intended to froth milk, so it's going to mix a ton of air into the product. If you want to mix small batches, consider using a hand mixer with only one beater (I find this works great for my 100 gram batches!) or even mixing by hand (see below)

What's the best way to mix your products? 
Lise comments: I feel incredibly old fashioned-- I mix pretty much everything by hand unless I am doing a whipped butter or whipped cream (I have a whipped cream cleanser that I've done for years). Even then I only use a stick blender. I feel I have much better control this way. I also do whipping cream (the kind you eat) by hand too. :)

I love the fact that we have to clarify what whipping cream is to a group of bath & body crafters! Did I tell you about the time I smeared cake icing all over my hand to test if it was done? Yep, I make more products than I do food...but I digress...

melian writes: i use a stick blender, in fact until this blog i didn't realize you could make a successful (long term stable) emulsion without high-shear blending! i also don't spend 10 minutes (or more) with the sb, either. i think that if i continued with the sb until it cools, i'd have whipped cream rather than a nice lotion. i create the emulsion, then let it sit and stir it with a spoon now and then until it is at the temperature i want for whatever i'm doing next. i have discovered that adding eo or fo when it is cooled down is not the best idea, as unless i hit it with the sb again for a couple of minutes, it will sometimes seep out and gather at the top of my tube of lotion (in other words it wasn't emulsified into the lotion). using the sb at cool-down causes all sorts of whipped cream effect and foam and stuff.

And I like to use a mixer - it can get a bit foamy on top if I go a little crazy, so I do it on a slow speed with the beaters, not the whisk attachments. I also like to use a Kitchenaid if I need to do a large batch, but again I do it on a slow speed with the paddle attachment. If I'm making a body mousse or sugar scrub, I'll do it on about level 4 with the whisk attachment and I'll let it go for a while. Some people love the stick or immersion blender - I find it spatters for me, and my husband likes to reserve it for food.

The key to all of this stuff is to read what you can, then get into your workshop and try out what you've learned. It might work, it might not, but you'll learn something in the process! Then come back here and tell us your experiences so we can learn more!

If you're making little batches, I have a few suggestions for mixing...

• It sounds like a milk frother might be small enough, but it adds extra air, which isn't necessarily a good thing. 
• When making small batches, find something that works for you, like a hand mixer, stick blender, or mixing by hand (Click here for my post on the topic of small batch production). I can't imagine making something smaller than 100 grams - so much fiddly work and so many places to make mistakes thanks to 0.1 grams more than you intended. 
• A tall container - like a beaker - is a better choice than a wide container. I like to use the taller Mason type jars - 250 ml, not wide mouth - to make smaller batches. A shallow container makes it harder to mix. 

Well, that's it from me today. Share more of your experiences and thoughts in this post or in the original post - it's great we can learn from each other!

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Questions: What options are there for double boilers?

Quite a few people have written to me to ask about double boilers. The reason for using one? It's easier to control the temperature when we have our jug immersed in water as opposed to having all the ingredients in a pot on top of an element. There won't be any sharp changes in temperature - for instance, when you turn the element to high or low - because the water has to be heated, then our ingredients, so you're less likely to burn or overheat the ingredients.

You all know about my love of the electric fondue pot (here's a link to the manual for the one I own), but you don't have to get a special appliance to have a good double boiler. You can create one by putting water in a larger pot, then putting a smaller heat resistant container in it.

Create one on your stove top. A canning jar or big pot - like the one you see filled with crab legs costs about $15 at your local megamart - can make a great double boiler! Fill with a goodly amount of water, add your heat resistant container, and you've got yourself a double boiler!

If you don't have access to a stove in your workshop, you can go out and buy a plug-in double burner (I think they might be called a hot plate in some places) and create a double boiler in it with a pot and a jug/another pot. Or buy a crock pot.

The process of heating and holding is an essential part of making any product that might contain water. If you can't heat and hold for some reason - you don't have the equipment, you don't have the time, you don't think it necessary - perhaps making lotions, shampoos, conditioners, and other water containing ingredients isn't for you. I would normally never say something like that, but I'm continually confused as to why this process is considered optional and is even fought about in some circles! (Not physically, as we bath & body makers are a peaceful bunch, but I can see a time when there might be a heating & holding Thunderdome type situation, perhaps after the zombie apocalypse). There are so many good reasons, and - in my humble opinion - no bad reasons for heating and holding, and I encourage this process for everyone who wants to adhere to good manufacturing processes.

Join me tomorrow for another post on some topic - I haven't decided yet, to be honest, as I've still got a sugar/sushi hangover from Raymond's birthday lunch yesterday! So much sushi, so much cake, so much fun! Ooh, I think there's some left! To the kitchen I must go!

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Question: How to test temperature of your phases?

Cordy asked in this post on heating and holding: When heating and holding, do you take the temperature of each phase at intervals, or do you leave a thermometer in each container, or some other option? 

And Leman wrote in that same post: I always wonder whether I should be taking the temperature by not touching the tip of the thermometer to the base of the container. Thinking that the base of the container is hotter than the ingredients inside and it would not reflect a true measurement! What's the best way to measure?

I like to use a pocket thermometer (click here to see the one at Voyageur), but there are many other choices. You could go with an instant read (or relatively instant read) digital one - I bought a nice one for cooking at a cooking store for about $10 or so, but ask the proprietor if they are reliable because some can be a bit flaky - or a candy thermometer. Just make sure you have something reliable.

I like to keep the thermometer away from the bottom of the jug before I get to the 70˚C point because it could be taking the temperature of the container rather than the contents, but when I get to 70˚C, I tend to leave it in there - one in the water container, one in the oil container - and check it now and then. If you're like me - easily distracted with a tendency to start another project before the first one is finished - get a timer and set it for 20 minutes so you aren't leaving the lotion in the double boiler all day!

Do you have other suggestions for thermometers or how to test the temperature? Share your thoughts in the comments section!

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Question: Heating and holding butters and graininess?

A few questions have arisen about graininess in our butters and how they might relate to heating and holding. I've answered this question before, but let's get into it again!

In this post on heating and holding, Leman asks: When I make balms (non water) with shea butter it forms grainy bits after few days. Some people say when shea butter is melted it should be heated and held for 20mins at 70˚C temperature to prevent graininess and others say the faster you cool off the shea butter mixture by putting it into the freezer for few mins the less it will go grainy. And some say just to soften shea butter not melt. What's your experience with shea butter in anhydrous products?

In the same post, Kathy asks: If a butter, like shea or mango, is part of the oil phase, will heating it over 70 make the final product grainy? What does cause the grainy-ness?

Sometimes your mango or shea butters can get grainy (this can happen to cocoa butter, but not as often as the other butters). It isn't about to what temperature you heat your butters, it's about the fatty acid profile of the butter and how you cool it.

Let's look at the fatty acid profile of shea butter - 3 to 7% palmitic acid (C16), 35 to 45% stearic acid (C18), 40 to 55% oleic acid (C18:1), and 3 to 8% linoleic acid (C18:2). The palmitic and stearic acid have different melting and solidification points (the oleic and linoleic aren't solid fatty acids, so they aren't relevant for this situation). After melting, the palmitic and stearic acids will eventually turn solid again, but each does it at a different temperature. If they cool slowly, the fatty acids can crystallize into large clumps, which causes the graininess. If they cool quickly, they won't have time to crystallize and you'll have a smooth product.

If you are finding your mango or shea butter is always grainy no matter what you do, you can temper it the way you would temper chocolate. Melt your mango or shea butter completely (to a liquid), then pour into a mould or container of some kind and put it into the fridge or freezer to cool very quickly. Remove, store in a cool dark place, then use when you need it. This should eliminate the grains you're finding in your products. (The reasons you could be getting grains even when you've been cooling the product quickly could be due to the way you're storing it, the way your supplier is storing it, and possible melting and cooling while shipping from the supplier or from the manufacturer to the supplier.) This will increase the melting point of your mango or shea butter in future products, but it will eliminate the graininess so it's hooray time all around!

This is one of the reasons I suggest melting your butters slightly and to put your products into a fridge or freezer to cool: The less we melt the oils or the quicker we cool them, the less likely we are to see the grains!

AN IMPORTANT ASIDE: Lise and Robert - two very knowledgeable readers - have written the following in the comments (which is why it's a great idea to read them now and again!) 


Lise: As for shea butter (I use refined), I've found slow heating over very low heat keeps the butter 'grain-free'. I've discussed butters many times with my suppliers and have always gotten the same answer - don't cool in the refrigerator!


Robert: The advice which we received from (perhaps the world's largest supplier of Shea butter) is similar to that posted by Lise Anderson: Heat to 70C to melt butters and oils and cool in a temperature controlled environment between 18C to 20C. There was no mention of rapid cooling.


I've had good success with rapid cooling in the fridge and/or freezer for both shea and mango butter when I'm tempering them or when I'm making a lotion bar, butter, or other anhydrous product, but if the suppliers are saying different, then follow their lead! If they are suggesting cooling at room temperature, then cool at room temperature (which is generally 18˚C to 20˚C). I didn't find this worked for me - I still had grainy shea butter - but anecdotes don't make data, and "working for me" is my opinion, not data. I will still continue to do what I've been doing, but if you find that it isn't working for you to put your products in the fridge or freezer, then try room temperature! Please let me know the results! 


I'm not sure what this means for tempering your butters because the heating and cooling is an essential part of this process. I'm all ears! 

When it comes to lotions, if your shea butter is going to get grainy, it'll get grainy. You're more likely to get graininess from unrefined butters than refined or ultra refined butters. (I use white, ultra-refined from Soapcraft and I've never had a graininess issue.) If you are worried about graininess, temper your butter as noted above, then use it in your products. Or switch to a more refined version of the butter. Or buy your butter from another supplier.

If you want to see the original post on this topic, click here. For more frequently asked questions, look to your left to the section called frequently asked questions. I'm always adding to that list, so check it often! 

As an aside, people have asked me in the past about the swirl on top of my whipped butters. It's a normal whipped butter - like this recipe - that I put into a piping bag with an icing tip. The product at the top of this post was done with a 1M icing tip - my favourite - and the one just above was done with a tip with more spikes around the edges (can't remember the name, and can't find a picture! But it was one of hte smaller tips - the 1M is huge!)

Click here for a tutorial on how to use a 1M tip.

Join me for more formulating fun! 

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Creating products: Heating and holding

Let's start by defining what it means to "heat and hold"...
Heating and holding means heating the heated oil phase and heated water phase separately in two heat-resistant containers in indirect heat (like a double boiler) for 20 minutes at 70˚C or 158˚F. The 20 minutes starts when the ingredients reach the required temperature. 


What do we heat and hold? We heat and hold the heated oil phase and heated water phases of lotions, and we heat and hold the water phases of things like shampoos, body washes, bubble baths, and cleansers. We don't need to heat and hold the oil phase of something like a lotion bar if we are making anhydrous or non-water containing products. But if we have a water phase, that product must be heated and held.

How do I heat and hold? (Click here for the original post!)
Weigh all your oil phase ingredients into a heat resistant container. Weigh all your water phase ingredients into a heat resistant container. Heat your double boiler up - I tend to boil up the water, then reduce the heat when I put my containers into the double boiler. Watch the temperature on your two containers. When they reach 70˚C or 158˚F, that's when the heating and holding starts. Get yourself a timer, set it for 20 minutes, and when the buzzer goes off, combine the two phases and mix!

The key to the heating and holding is the holding part. Heating things in a microwave enough to melt or boiling water is NOT enough to achieve the goals of heating and holding.

Why should I heat and hold? (Click here for the original post!)
1. Killing the nasties in our ingredients and/or water. When we heat the water and hold it, we will kill a lot of the gross little things that can get into our products.

2. Helping with emulsification. This one's a little more complicated.
Click here if you want to learn more about micelles before reading this post.
Click here if you want to see this post in full because it's really quite interesting! 

When we reach the critical micelle temperature or Krafft temperature - suggested as 70˚C to 80˚C for Polawax - we will see our micelles form properly, which means the emulsification has worked and we will get a nice lotion that shouldn't separate. If our oil phase is at 70˚C and our water phase is at 100˚C (boiling point of water in Celsius), then they may not come together properly. If our oil phase is lower than 70˚C, we might see a very unstable emulsion. When we heat something, we generally increase its solubility. Non-ionic emulsifiers (like Polawax or e-wax NF) are water soluble at low temperatures, oil soluble at higher temperatures. To form a good emulsion, we want it to be at the higher temperatures.

I realize there are times that you have made a lotion without heating and holding for the full 20 minutes, and I realize there are some very knowledgeable people out there who swear by heating the ingredients up in a microwave, but having something work once or twice doesn't mean it works all the time.

Why do we need two separate containers? We're going to mix it all together eventually and/or I don't have enough space to heat two containers in my double boiler? (Click here for original post.) 
Emulsification comes in three ways - heat emulsification, chemical emulsification, and mechanical emulsification. When you get an emulsion that works on day one but fails on day ten, it could be that you mixed it well enough to get a mechanical emulsion, but messed up on the chemical emulsification (not enough emulsifier or the wrong emulsifier) or the heat emulsification (not hot enough, phases not at the same temperature). It makes sense to heat all the ingredients in the same container - we ensure both phases are at the same temperature when we remove it from the heat to mix it - but it can make us think we have an emulsion when we don't. The phases need to be held separately so when they meet after the heat and hold, they have a chance to create an emulsion. If we have been holding them together, they could be doing the emulsification thing at much lower temperatures, which we know is unstable!

Here's a great quote from the legendary LabRat:

When you mix your emulsifiers, waxes, oils, water and other additives all together in one pot, you are making your emulsifier(s) work harder. That's not bad and it's not good but it's probably very inefficient.  

What if I can't heat and hold? 
As I mentioned in this post the other day, it's not expensive to visit your local thrift store and pick up an electric fondue pot or crock pot to help you heat and hold. Or you can create a double boiler on your stove top.

If you really can't heat and hold, then perhaps lotion making isn't for you. I know that must sound harsh, but I hope I've convinced you that it is essential to make safe, stable products. You can make anhydrous products (things that don't contain water) like lotion bars or scrubs because we don't generally heat and hold them, or you can make things like bath salts and bath bombs, but heating and holding is essential for things that contain water.

If you have any questions, please share them in the comments space for this post because this is a topic about which everyone seems to have questions! Join me tomorrow for more formulating fun!

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Question: What if you go over 70˚C when heating & holding?

In this post on heating and holding, Nedeia asks: What could go wrong if you heat your ingredients at more than 70 degrees, say 80? I do not have a crock pot , and the best way I have found to get the 2 phases at the right temp at the same time, is to place them into a bowl of hot water. they get to 70 degrees or a bit more, but I cannt hold at 70 for 20 minutes, the water will cool down eventually, and constantly heating it from time to time is not an option for someone that also needs to watch a kid :)


Using a 0.5-1% Optiphen would keep the lotion mold and germ free for a period of time, so... could I skip the hold period, especially because I cannot control the temperature without the risk of "burning" the oils?

You have two questions here, so let's take a look at question number one: What could go wrong if you go over 70˚C to 80˚C when heating and holding?

The short answer is that going to 80˚C isn't a bad thing when heating and holding, but I wouldn't want to go over. The long answer is this...

For some strange reason, we see our oils as remarkably fragile when it comes to heating and holding. This is the number one reason people say they don't want to heat and hold - they're worried about losing the goodness in the oils, speeding up oxidation, or having them burn. Oils can handle a lot more heat than we think!

All oils have a smoke point and we don't want heat our oils above that point, but they really aren't that fragile! For instance, camellia seed oil has a smoke point of 485˚F or 251.7˚C, grapeseed has a smoke point of 420˚F or 216 ˚C, and even flax seed can handle 225˚F or 107˚C (one of the lowest smoke points). As you can see, these oils can handle temperatures far higher than our heating and hold temperatures. (Click here for a handy dandy chart on smoke points from Wikipedia!) So leaving them at 70˚C/158˚F to 80˚C/176˚F for 20 minutes won't burn them or ruin the awesome power of their fatty acids!

Having said this, just because the oils can handle a little bit more heat doesn't mean we should heat our other ingredients up to higher levels! I wouldn't want to go over 80˚C for things like my water phase - more evaporation isn't a good thing - and I wouldn't want to expose my emulsifiers to something more than 80˚C. But it is safe, for the most part, to go over 70˚C when you're heating and holding. (Yes, there are some ingredients that we don't want to heat and hold and some that don't want to be over 70˚C, but I can't go into every ingredient in this post!)

Just make sure your two phases are around the same temperature when you add them. If your water phase is at 60˚C and your oil phase at 80˚C (or vice versa), this can lead to epic lotion failure. If you can get them within a few degrees of each other, all should be good!

There are a few different reasons to heat and hold our heated water phase and heated oil phase. The main two are to eliminate possible contamination and to get our ingredients to the phase inversion temperature so we can have an awesome and stable emulsion. (Click here for a lengthy post on heating and holding and click for another one on heating and holding the phases separately. Click here for a post on how and why lotions fail.)

I don't consider heating and holding optional. It is necessary to ensure we get a safe, stable lotion. If you don't have a crock pot, get something like one at a thrift store. (I could get you at least three crock pots at my local Sally Ann's for $10 each!) You can create a double boiler using two pots on a stove, but if you've got a little one running about, that's probably not an option either.

As for the second question - can you skip the hold period? - no. Yes, your preservative will work to stave off contamination, but you need to heat and hold the lotion to ensure you start with lower levels of contamination. We are never going to get rid of the bacteria, yeast, and other nasties entirely because they're everywhere in the environment, but heating and holding can substantially reduce those nasties! Why start off the shelf life of your lotion with ickiness when it's so easily avoided? (Although, having said this, Optiphen is not considered a broad spectrum preservative, so there's always the chance of mould!) As well, don't you want a well emulsified lotion?

If you really want to avoid heating and holding, you could consider an emulsifier like Sucragel AOF. I find this product limited in that I can't make a thick lotion and it feels sticky, but it can be used without heating and holding. I have no idea how much it costs or where to get it - Susan from Saffire Blue sent me samples of it for posts for her blog, but I don't see it in her shop yet - but if you really can't find the time or equipment to heat and hold, this might be an option! (Click here for the video on how to use it!)

To summarize this post in a few sentences: You can go higher than the heating and holding temperature of 70˚C/158˚F without ruining your oils, and heating and holding is an essential part of lotion making to reduce the risk of contamination and to ensure we make a good lotion.

Join me tomorrow for more fun formulating!

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Creating products - a moment or two on finding recipes

I realized when I wrote the post about choosing a recipe, I didn't really go into as much detail as I would have liked. So let's take a moment to analyze recipes! (I realize I'm illustrating this post with a picture of a lotion bar, but it's one of those pictures I really like!)  

How should a lotion recipe look? The general standard is to have a heated water phase, heated oil phase, and a cool down phase. A lotion should have a water, oil, emulsifier, and preservative as the minimum. An ideal recipe will be written in percentages or, at the very minimum, the total of all the ingredients should total 100%.

Why is this? Because it's so much easier to embiggen a recipe for larger batches when it's written in percentages, and it's much easier to substitute ingredients. When it's written in percentages, you can see very clearly what is in the recipe and make changes if it's not written properly.

Here's a for instance...

18 grams water
15 grams oil
3 grams Polawax (emulsifier)
 1 gram preservative (liquid Germall Plus)

Will this recipe work?

We know for an oil in water recipe, we want the water to be more than 50% of the total recipe. In this case, we have 37 grams of product and 18 grams of water, for a grand total of about 48.6% water, which means we don't have enough. Do we have enough Polawax? We know for Polawax, we want to have 25% of the total oil phase in emulsifier, so if we're using 15 grams of oil, we want to have 3.75 grams of emulsifier (round it up to 4 to make life easier!) And we know that we can only use 0.5% liquid Germall Plus maximum in a recipe - at 1 gram in 37 grams (2.7%), we're at almost six times the maximum suggested usage levels! EEK!

So can we re-write this? Yes. Just figure out how much of each ingredient we have in the recipe.

18 grams of water - 18/37 (the amount of water divided by the total recipe amount) = 48.6% water
15 grams of oil - 15/37 = 40.5% oil
3 grams Polawax - 3/37 =8.1% Polawax
1 liquid Germall Plus - 1/37 = 2.7% liquid Germall Plus

Okay, so we know how much of each ingredient we should have and we know how to modify them, right? Switch the preservative to the suggested usage rate - so 0.5% liquid Germall Plus - add 0.5% to 1% fragrance oil, and you've got yourself a recipe.

Divide the recipe up into the various phases now - heated water, heated oil, and cool down phases. Put all the water soluble ingredients into the heated water phase and all the oil soluble ingredients into the heated oil phase. (Click here for information on solubility!) Put anything that is temperature sensitive into the cool down phase, regardless of their water or oil solubility. (Confused about when to add an ingredient? Click here for some guidelines!)

HEATED WATER PHASE
48.5% water

HEATED OIL PHASE
40% oil
10% Polawax

COOL DOWN PHASE
0.5% liquid Germall Plus
1% fragrance oil

I've increased the emulsifier to make up 25% of the oil phase. (If you don't know why I would do this for Polawax, click here. This isn't the rule for every emulsifier - just Polawax!) I've decreased the preservative to a safe level, and I've added some fragrance. My recipe adds up to 100%. I still wouldn't make this recipe - it's so boring with no humectants or film formers or other wonderful things, and I'm never sure about those recipes that skirt the edge of the 50% oil or water mark - but at least I know I'm using my ingredients at safe levels.

For more information on choosing recipes, click here for a post on how to know if you have a good recipe or not! 

What should you do if you encounter a recipe that doesn't work? My suggestion is to write to the recipe writer and let them know of your experiences. It could be that you make some kind of substitution that didn't work or it could be that the recipe is just lousy. Present this information to them in a questioning way - "Hey, Swift, I'm just wondering why this recipe didn't work for me?" versus "You suck!" - because there's always a chance the problem lies with your ingredients and methods, and there's far too much meanness out there these days! I know that I want to know if a recipe didn't work for you, but some recipe writers do not. Be prepared for attitude, and if the recipe writer doesn't want to hear it, let it go, but warn your friends or post something on the blog so other readers won't be in the same mess in the future. (Can you tell this has been my experience lately? I never know when to let go because I always see people as wanting to learn and I can't grasp when they want to keep their heads in the sand!)

If you encounter a recipe on this blog that didn't work for you, please write to me (sjbarclay@telus.net) with the link to the specific recipe, information on which ingredients you might have switched, and information on your process! I really do need those details, and if you don't include them in your e-mail, I'll have to write you back and ask for them before answering the pertinent questions! 

Join me tomorrow for more helpful hints on formulating!

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Question: How do I modify the recipe when I add or subtract an ingredient?

This question comes up a lot, and although I thought I'd covered it before, I figured this question deserved its own post!

How do I modify a recipe when I add or subtract an ingredient? For the most part, we take the same percentage from the water in the heated water phase. A few examples...

You add 10% aloe vera to a lotion. Take 10% away from the water amount.

You add 2% panthenol to a shampoo. Remove 2% from the water amount.

You add 2% panthenol, 5% liquid green tea extract, 2% hydrolyzed oat protein, 0.5% polyquat 44 to a conditioner. Remove 9.5% from the water amount.

If you use 20% lavender hydrosol, 10% aloe vera, 10% chamomile hydrosol, 0.5% powdered grapeseed extract, 0.5% powdered honeysuckle extract, 0.5% allantoin, 0.5% MSM, 2% niacinamide, and 2% salicylic acid, you would remove 44% from the water phase.

I realize many of the ingredients in this last example are powdered, but that doesn't change that we remove the additions from the water amount. This will change the consistency of the product - you've added 6% powders and removed 6% water, which will likely make it thicker - but you've kept the recipe relatively the same.

It doesn't matter if your added ingredient is in the heated water, heated oil, or cool down phase. You still remove the addition from the water amount.

A final example: You add 5% oils to a lotion. Remove 5% from the water amount - AND recalculate your oil phase. You have 5% more oil in your product, so you must recalculate your emulsifier. For Polawax, you would add 1.25% more, and remove a total of 6.25% from your water phase. (If you are using an emulsifier other than Polawax, you'll have to recalculate according to the manufacturer's suggested usage rates.) For the most part, it's easier to substitute one oil for another rather than doing all the recalculating, but I encourage you to add more oils and recalculate as it is one of the first steps to making your own recipes!

If you want to know more about modifying lotions and how to add or subtract ingredients, I wrote about it fairly extensively in the learning to formulate series few months ago. I'm writing this on my iPhone so I can't link, but if you can't wait for me to update this post tomorrow, scroll down and look for formulating in the labels. It's one of the first few posts.

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Question: How do we know what version of an ingredient to use and how to substitute it?

Ellbie writes in this post: Hi Susan. I have a question that is a little off topic but seems to fit into this series of posts. Some ingredients are available in liquid or solid so when you are looking at a recipe how do you know which is listed? AND how do figure out how much to use if you have the opposite? Thanks! This blog is so incredibly awesome!

Wow, what great questions! And the answers are - I'm not sure. We as recipe writers really need to be aware that what we have in our workshop may differ from what's in yours!

Unfortunately, there's isn't an easy rule to figure out how much of a powdered ingredient to add to your product in place of a liquid one. So we have to do a little more work to make sure we have the same ingredient amounts.

Knowing your ingredients really helps in this situation! (I think I've gone from gentle reminding to nagging now! But it's true!)

If you see something like 5% green tea in the heated water phase, then we know that can't be the powdered stuff as it tends to be heat sensitive and tends to be used at 0.5%. If we saw 5% green tea being used in the cool down phase, we'd still know it must be the liquid because 5% powdered green tea extract wouldn't dissolve well in any product and we'd have a ton of precipitate at the bottom of our container. (Click here for a post on solubility!) So we know this recipe uses liquid green tea extract, is just awful and full of lumps of green tea extract, or they're missing the decimal place and zero in front of the 5%!

If you see someone using 2% panthenol in the heated phase and something like "stir until dissolved", you know you have a powdered panthenol there because normally you'd add it to the cool down phase and it wouldn't have to dissolve. If you see something like aloe vera, odds are really good that it's aloe vera liquid or extract, not the gel, because the gel doesn't get used all that often.

Aloe vera gel is not the stuff that comes out of the plant as a gel. (It is aloe vera, but not a natural gel.) It's a gel that is gellified by using a carbomer to make a gel. I don't think I've come upon a recipe yet that has used aloe vera gel without using the words "aloe vera gel". People seem to think that aloe vera gel is more natural or organic, and I guess it could be, if your definition of natural or organic includes up to 2% carbomer and a neutralizer like TEA. (Click here for more information on making gels!) What you want is the aloe vera extract or powdered/concentrated aloe vera or aloe vera juice. 

With something like surfactants, it's easy to figure out the active amount and make that the same as the original recipe. For instance, let's say we have some 65% active SCI and the recipe calls for 85% active SCI. If we are using 20% SCI, this would mean we are using 17% active SCI in the recipe. So figure out how much 65% SCI you need to make up 17% - about 24% to 25% - add it to the product, and remove something else to make up for the difference.

If you have liquid green tea extract, how do you use it in place of powdered? Again, knowing your ingredients helps here (or at least having a reference with information on usage rates). Let's say I have a recipe with 0.5% green tea extract in the cool down phase. Find out the usage levels of the powdered version - 0.1% to 0.5%. Find out the usage levels of the liquid version - 1% to 5%. Find out in which phase you would use the one you have, then use it. I'd use 5% of the liquid because they'll both get used at their maximum levels. (This worked out well because of the suggested usage rates, but it won't always be that easy!)

Having said this, for the most part, once you've got the type of ingredient figured out, you're there. The liquid and solid versions of an ingredient tend to be the same and do the same thing, so if you have powdered panthenol you know it'll work as well as liquid panthenol. There will always be exceptions to any rule, so the best thing is to know the ingredients and how to substitute them.

Where to make space for those extra ingredients when we add more of something? If you're adding something to the water phase, remove an equal percentage of water. If you're adding something to the oil phase, count that as part of the oil phase and ensure you are either recalculating how much emulsifier you will need or removing some of the oils. (For instance, let's say you have 20% olive oil, and you add 5% hazelnut oil, remove 5% olive oil so you still have 20% oils in your oil phase!)

Great question, Ellbie, and not at all off topic! I hope I answered it for you. As with anything in cosmetic chemistry, there isn't a handy dandy jingle to remember to make it easier to figure these things out. Know your ingredients, know what they want you to have, and substitute accordingly. If that fails, write to the recipe writer and ask them what they mean!

Join me tomorrow for a few more questions and comments!

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Creating products: Questions about Polawax versus other emulsifying waxes

We've had some great questions and comments come out of the creating products series so far, so I thought I'd share them with you over the next few days! Please feel free to share your thoughts on any post by writing in the comments box (and I don't care how old the post might be - I'm always checking them!) 

Which version of Polawax do you use? There is only one, and that's Polawax by Croda. Your supplier might call it something else, but it is NOT the same as e-wax or emulsifying wax. Yes, the INCI name might be Emulsifying Wax NF and it is an emulsifying wax in the generic sense, but it is a proprietary blend of ingredients and we don't know exactly what is in it! If a supplier is carrying Polawax, they will let you know by calling it Polawax. (They'd be crazy not to as they can charge more for it than emulsifying wax NF).

So Polawax is an emulsifying wax and its INCI is emulsifying wax NF, but it is not the same as emulsifying wax as suppliers don't tend to use the generic term to refer to Polawax. 

What is the emulsifying wax we see in our suppliers' shops? It can be many things, but it's almost always a mix of at least one low HLB emulsfier and one high HLB emulsifier. What you see at one supplier as emulsifying wax isn't necessarily what you'll find at another supplier.

New Directions Aromatics' self-emulsifying wax (INCI: Cetearyl Alcohol (and) Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate), Ingredients to Die For's emulsifying wax is actually Lipowax PA (INCI: Emulsifying wax NF), the Personal Formulator's emulsifying wax has an INCI of  Cetearyl Alcohol (and) Polysorbate 60 (click here for the MSDS),  and Gracefruit's emulsifying wax is Polawax. These are all very different products. One might be a flake, while another is a pastille, and still another is a pellet. (Polawax comes in those little white pastilles or flatter pellet - look left.) Odds are that none of these are the same product and the results you get with one might not be replicated with another. But they would all be considered emulsifying wax.

If you're using something other than Polawax, you might have to adapt your recipe slightly. Voyageur Soap & Candle suggests using 1% more e-wax than Polawax, so you'd want to figure out your recipes using the 25% rule (figure out how much oil you have, then use 25% of that amount in Polawax as the emulsifier - and that rule ONLY applies to Polawax), then add another 1% to ensure stability.

Please note that every emulsifier is different. What works for one emulsifying wax - the 25% rule, for instance - doesn't work for another. BTMS-50 emulsifies at much lower levels than Polawax and I've found that using 8% Ritamulse SCG seems to be the lowest I want to go, even with a 20% oil phase. If you want to use something called emulsifying wax NF that isn't Polawax, consult with your supplier and find out what she suggests as the usage rate, or ask them for the data bulletin and suggested usage rates from the company.

I can't stress enough how important it is to learn your INCI names so you know what you're buying from your suppliers. Click here to learn more about INCI names.

Join me tomorrow for more questions about creating products!

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Creating products: Assembling your ingredients - weighing and measuring

When I've prepared my space by cleaning and tidying it up, I get ready to measure!

I like to get some fresh water into my double boiler, then set the dial to the highest setting to get it to the boiling point. (If you want to learn more about my electric fondue pot that I use as a double boiler, click here.) I turn it down when I'm heating and holding, but I like to get it to a rolling boil to start.

Get all your ingredients and containers together. (In cooking, I think this is called mise en place or everything in place.) On my workbench, I tend to organize them into heated water, heated oil, and cool down phases. After use, I tick off the ingredient in my notebook, then put it on the other side of my workbench. This way I know what I've used and what I haven't!

We weigh all our ingredients in bath and body product creation into heatproof containers. Although I love my beaker, I tend to use Pyrex jugs of all sizes because I can't afford to have tons of beakers around. (Although the new shape of the Pyrex jugs are annoying because you can only get one into the double boiler at a time! This will not do!) Mason jars are good as well as they can take more heat. Get a wire ring to put into your double boiler so the jars don't touch the bottom of the container.

Why do we weigh our products? Because it's more accurate! Learn more in this post! And click here for learning how to convert percentages to weights and click here for learning how to convert weights to percentages!

When you've measured out your various phases, it's time to put your containers into the double boiler and heat and hold. But wait...let's take a moment to review some equipment you might consider buying for crafting fun! Join me tomorrow for that topic!

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Creating products: Assembling your ingredients - preparing your space

I'm not an organized woman, but I think I'm doing okay in the workshop. I have all my ingredients organized into different bins. If you look at at this picture, on the bottom row (from left to right) I have boxes of surfactants, oils, extracts and hydrosols, other ingredients, and powdered ingredients that aren't salts (they are in the box on the second to last row on the right). On the second shelf from the top I have my box of solid oils (babassu, coconut, virgin coconut oil) and my box of butters (shea, cocoa, mango, and so on). This organization might make sense only to me, but I'm the only one who has to know where everything is! (I have a few other boxes and those consist of things I just bought, things I want to use, and things I want to keep in my line of sight because otherwise I'll forget to use them, and a cupboard of fragrances and colours!)

The other shelves are really messy because I have a ton of Pyrex jugs and plastic jugs and wooden spoons and molds and other supplies I use for craft group, but otherwise everything has a home.

When you get into your working space, make it clean and tidy. Get the things you need close by - paper towels, spoons, mixing devices, scale, pipettes, thermometers - and make sure you have your notebook open and a pen right next to it.

For cleaning, some people insist on an as-close-to-sterile as possible workspace. This means cleaning the counter and equipment with alcohol and ensuring all the utensils and containers are newly washed. For some people, using a finger to scrape things off a spoon into a tin can is adequate (click here for video - and no, I don't know what bee's oil might be! Whatever you see in this video, do the exact opposite in your own workshop and you'll be just fine!) Wearing plastic gloves is always a good idea and goggles can be very useful as well. A lovely apron or lab coat will protect your clothes, but I always make a point of wearing an old shirt and shorts as well as my apron because at some point, I will get greasy! (Yes, I buy Spray & Wash and OxyClean in bulk!)

I've put down some spare pieces of laminate flooring on my workbench to make it easier to clean, and I have a glass cutting board on top of that (easier to clean up!). I've got one of those anti-fatigue mats on the floor, so I can remove it and clean it off when it gets covered in those inevitable spills!

Cleanliness is essential, but tidiness isn't. I've found, though, that having your workspace organized and free of clutter is a good thing. You'll find fewer things are knocked over, and you'll have more space to do everything you want to do! I might be the Queen of Clutterdom, but I can't stand having my wonderful and useful counter space taken up with stuff! 

My mom is laughing as I write this as I really am the reigning monarch of messiness. I'm a flat surface abuser who tends to be more floor-ganized than organized, and I'm telling you about the dangers of clutter! I think I might have to find her some kind of medication because she's rolling around the floor now, holding her sides, trying to breathe as she does that thing with her hands that women always do when we're laughing really hard saying, "Stop, stop. Too much!" Wow, I didn't think she'd find it THIS funny! 

Create a cool down and filling space. We don't think or talk about this part of making products much, but when you've finished one project and want to get into a second one, that 8 cup Pyrex jug of lotion will get in your way! Find a flat clean space, and put your product there to cool with a dishcloth or other fabric thing loosely draped over the top. (I don't use plastic wrap because I don't want condensation plus I really hate plastic wrap! It's never easy to get off the roll and it clings to itself. Nope, I use a nice clean towel that I can use again and again!) Don't put your product into the fridge when it's warm as you run the risk of heating up your fridge! Clean this space, if necessary.

Prepare this space as well. Get your bottles ready with funnels or other filling things nearby, and make sure you have paper towels handy. Make sure the space is easy to wipe down if/when you spill.

Join me tomorrow for some helpful hints on the weighing and measuring of our ingredients!

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