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Ingredients I Use

This is a list of ingredients that I use in my soaps, lotions, and toiletries.
Aloe Vera Liquid, Aloe Vera Gel
Aloe Vera is a well known healing and soothing agent for damaged, dry skin. It is soothing and healing for burns, skin irritations, and raw open wounds. Liquid aloe Vera may be added to cosmetic formulations, soaps, and straight on the skin.

Apricot Oil
Apricot Kernel is a light but rich oil which is especially good for sensitive skin, as well as for any skin that is inflamed or dry. It can be used alone or in massage and is used quite often in lip balms and creams. It is particularly helpful for dehydrated, delicate, mature or sensitive skin. It has a high vitamin A content.

Avocado Oil
Avocado oil nourishes and restores dry, dehydrated, and mature skin. It is a rich, heavy oil that is best blended with other carrier oils. Skin problems, especially eczema and psoriasis, respond to its high content of vitamins A and E. Avocado oil is added to carrier oils, in a 10%-20% dilution, as an aid to skin moisturizing. This is a highly therapeutic oil which is rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, vitamins D and E, protein, pantothenic acid, and fatty acids.

Babassu Oil
This is the third, and best, oil for producing great lather in soaps. And it is also the most luxurious and expensive of all oils.

Beeswax
Beeswax has the sweet smell of honey. Beeswax makes a harder bar of soap and is also used in creams, lotions, lip balms and candle making. It contains a high percentage of unsaponifiables. At best, half of these substances participate in the normal soap making reaction. You can use it at about 1 oz per lb. of oils in your base oils to make your soaps harder.

Canola Oil
Canola oil is a good moisturizer but is less saturated than other fats, so it can be slow to saponify. Use it in place of more expensive oils like olive. Needs to be mixed with other saturated fats in order to speed up saponification. Use as a base oil up to 50%.

Castor Oil
Castor oil is often used to superfat. It attracts and holds moisture in the skin. Use it in combination with other vegetable oils to produce a nice hard bar of soap. You can add a bit at trace for superfatting or add it to other oils at a rate of no more than 30% in the beginning of the soapmaking process. Castor oil is also a superb lather booster when added with other oils. It is also essential in shampoo bars for its ability to add luster to your hair while rinsing out clean.

Cocoa Butter
Cocoa butter is used to make soaps harder. When used in soap as superfatting oil it acts to lay down a protective layer that holds the moisture to the skin, so it is an excellent skin softener. It has a natural chocolate scent but it is also available in unscented versions. You can use it anywhere from about 1 ounce to a pound at trace, to 15% of your total base oils, depending on your preference.

Coconut Oil
Coconut oil makes soaps lather beautifully but can be drying when it makes up a large portion of your soap's fats. It will make a very hard, white bar of soap with abundant lather. It even lathers in very hard water or even sea water). Coconut oil is a saturated fat. Use it at a percentage of no more than 20-30% in your base oils. Coconut oil is 1 of 3 oils that produce lather in soaps.

Emu Oil
An emu (Dromiceius novaehol-landiae) is a flightless, grey-feathered ratite bird of Australia, closely related to the ostrich. The oil comes from a thick pad of fat on the back of the bird that was initially provided by nature to protect the animal from the extreme temperatures of its Australian homeland. For centuries, the aborigines of Australia have been applying Emu oil to their wounds with excellent results Today, more and more it is being added to products worldwide to increase their effectiveness. It is found in muscle pain relievers, skin care products, and natural soaps.

Some of its properties are:
Anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, skin regenerative, high in oleic acid (oleic acid has better skin-penetrating qualities than vegetable oils), moisturizing, doesn’t clog pores, penetrates through several layers of skin.

Some of its uses are:
* Assists with the healing of bed sores.
* When applied to a new cut, scrape or burn, assists with prevention of scars.
* Provides sunburn relief.
* Massage on muscle aches and strains.
* Very helpful for arthritis pain and inflammation.
* Provides canker sore relief.
* Useful for diaper and heat rash.
* Massage on children who have "growing pains" in their extremities.
* Assists with prevention of stretch marks; once stretch marks are present, assists with eliminating accompanying dryness and itchiness. Makes tight skin more supple.
* Good skin lubricant; also useful in sexual applications. Many people use so-called "baby oil" for their babies, for their skin care, and for sexual lubrication. Are you aware that the main ingredient in "baby oil" is mineral oil which is derived from petroleum? You won’t find anything natural in petroleum. Yet, this is what thousands of people are using on their babies and on their private parts. Is it any wonder that every day more cancers and unusual diseases are being found in infants, children and adults?
Emu oil, when first applied to the skin, is greasy; however, within 5-10 minutes one notices that the oil is slowly being absorbed by the skin leaving a great feeling of overall smoothness on the skin. You can use it straight or you can add essential oils of your choice. The bottle of Emu oil should be shaken ever so lightly to mix the contents prior to each use.

Honey -
(not an oil but can be used as an additive) Honey is also a humectant, so it helps retain moisture on the skin in much the same way as glycerin. Use it at about 2 Tablespoons per pound of oils, added at trace.

Jojoba
Jojoba helps to promote a stable lather and is good at conditioning skin. Because of its expense, it's usually used to superfat soap batches or in shampoo bars. It is an excellent emollient for skin conditions like psoriasis, because it has a chemical composition very close to the skin's own sebum. It is suitable for all skin types, beneficial for spotty and acne conditions, and good for sensitive and oily skin. It also helps to unclog the pores and remove any embedded grime, restores and conditions the hair. When using Jojoba in soap, limit its usage to one or two ounces per pound at trace. Jojoba naturally accelerates tracing in soap recipes. Used as a superfatting oil.

Macadamia Oil
Macadamia is luxurious and slightly expensive oil. It has a long shelf life so it can be purchased in quantity for a good price. It is a wonderful addition to any soap. It is easily absorbed into the skin and acts as an emollient protecting skin cells from deterioration and thus leading to better condition for your skin. Use for superfatting your soap. Use 1 ounce per pound at trace.

Mango Butter
Mango butter is taken from the seed kernels of the fruit of the mango tree. It is similar in texture to shea butter and is much softer than cocoa butter. It has a very light yellow/mango color.

Neem Oil
Extracted from the bark of the Neem Tree. This oil has the ability to treat a variety of skin disorders such as dandruff. Use as a base oil up to 40%.

Olive Oil
Olive oil is excellent as a base oil in soaps, either in whole (Castile soap) or in part. Avoid extra virgin olive oil. It is great for cooking but not for soap making. The lower the grade the better. Olive Oil prevents the loss of your skin's natural moisture, softens skin and attracts external moisture to your skin. It helps keeps your skin soft, supple and younger looking. If you're making an especially mild soap, use Olive oil. Use as a base oil up to 100%.

Palm Oil
Palm oil is produced from the pulp or flesh of the fruit of the oil palm. Palm oil contains an equal proportion of unsaturated acids, containing about 40% oleic acids (monounsaturated), 44% palmitic acids and oleic acids, which are also the major fatty acids produced by the body. It is a natural source of Vitamin E, the tocopherols, and tocotrienols and is also a very rich source of beta-carotene, an important source of Vitamin A. Palm oil is physically and chemically different from either palm kernel or coconut oil and should not be considered similar to these oils. Palm oil also contains a much higher proportion of palmitic acids than other fats and oils. It is also known as vegetable tallow and adds firmness to bar soaps, giving a pale white-yellow color.

Palm Kernel Oil
Like Palm Oil, Palm Kernel oil makes a soap that is very hard and lathers well. It has most of the same qualities as palm oil. Use it as a Base oil at 20-30%. Palm Kernel oil (PKO) is the second of three oils that produces great lather in soaps.

Shea Butter
Shea butter is also called African Karité butter. This refined butter is expressed from the pits of the fruit of the African butter tree. It is smooth, creamy and white. There are no impurities whatsoever. Shea is extremely moisturizing and gentle to the skin. In soaps, it gives a very luxurious feel to the finished product. It can also be added to creams and lotions or used alone for massage or skin cream.

Tallow
Tallow is made from beef fat. Its advantages are that it is cheap, easily obtainable, and makes a nice hard, white bar of soap. Use it as a base oil. Recommended at 70% max of total oils.

Vegetable Shortening or Soybean Oil
Vegetable shortening is normally made out of soybean oil. It is cheap and readily available and produces a mild, stable lather. Use it in combination with other exotic or moisturizing oils. Use this as half of your fats to keep costs down. It is a good filler and makes a very hard white bar when used alone and when mixed with other oils it makes a wonderful hard bar of soap. Use vegetable shortening as a base oil or combine it with other, harder oils for better results. Recommend use as base up to 50% of total oils.

Wheat Germ Oil
This oil is thick, sticky and antioxidant. It's also very rich in vitamin E. Can be used to nourish dry or cracked skin and soothes skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis. Helps to prevent and reduce scarring and may prevent stretch marks. Mature skin, in particular, will benefit from wheat germ oil. Some people use it as a preservative in vegetable oils, soaps and toiletries, and others totally disagree as to its preservative powers. On its own, wheat germ oil oxidizes rapidly. It should be kept refrigerated. Use at 1 ounce per pound added at trace.

Baking Soda
Baking Soda, a sodium bicarbonate, is a naturally occurring substance that is present in all living things--it helps living things maintain the pH balance necessary for life. Baking soda is made from soda ash, also known as sodium carbonate.

Citric Acid
One of the most widely used acids in the cosmetic industry, it is derived from citrus fruit by fermentation of crude sugars. Used as a preservative to adjust acid-alkali balance. It is also used as an astringent, alone or in astringent compounds. Among the cosmetic products in which it is frequently found are freckle and nail bleaches, bath preparations, skin fresheners, depilatories and hair rinses.

Glycerin
An odorless, colorless, syrupy derivative of olive oil, glycerin has long been used as a benign solvent, lubricant, and preservative. It is sweet tasting, warming to the skin, and edible.

Stearic Acid
Occurs naturally in butter acids, tallow, and other animal fats and oils. A white waxy natural fatty acid, it is the major ingredient used in making bar soap and lubricants. It gives pearliness to hand creams. It is vegetable based, either from palm or coconut. It’s white and granulated.

Vitamin E
With today’s concerns over the safety of synthetic ingredients, why risk your product’s success by using synthetic antioxidants? There are two classes of natural Vitamin E: tocopherols and tocotrienols. We offer you all natural low d-alpha mixed tocopherols or T-50. Tocopherols: A term used to describe the collection of all the tocopherols in Vitamin E that occur naturally in food. There are 4 types of tocopherols: d-alpha, d-beta, d-gamma and d-delta. Low d-alpha mixed tocopherols are often used to slow the onset of rancidity in fats & oils. Natural oxidants are isolated from vegetable oils and concentrated to contain a mixture of d-alpha (commonly known as Vitamin E), d-beta, d-gamma and d-delta tocopherols. T-50 is all natural, low d-alpha mixed tocopherols, has 500 mg total tocopherols, and is a brownish-red, clear, viscous oil. When you compare prices between the gel caps verses the Tocopherols pound per pound, Tocopherols is a whole lot cheaper to use, not to mention that you will be using all natural Vitamin E and not a synthetic. At proper usage levels T-50 doesn’t contribute odor, taste or color to the end product. Tocopherols are nature’s perfect antioxidant. The optimal level of tocopherols in finished products will range from 0.01% to 0.2% of the fat or oil content. Because antioxidants can only prevent oxidation, not reverse it, it is important to add the antioxidant as early in the process as possible.