Rosehip oil has gotten a lot of hype in recent years, thanks in part to celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Middleton expressing their love for Trilogy Rosehip Oil.
It’ super moisturising.
We recently received a shipment of a new product which I’ve been very curious to test out to see if it does actually work – Vanilla Stabilizer for cold process soap.
I finally had the chance to make a soap last week so now I can finally share my results with you!
If you’ve been in the soap making world for a little while, you would have come across the term “discolouration” or “browns soap”. This means the fragrance oil you’ve scented your soap with likely contains something called vanillin (this is what gives the vanilla aroma) it is also the thing that discolours soap to various shades of brown. The higher the content of vanillin the darker brown the soap will go. This affects not only soap, but lotions, bath bombs and candles too.
This particular vanilla stabilizer is suitable ONLY for cold/hot process soap though. We do sell other stabilizers for Melt & Pour Soap and another for Lotions and Washes
So. Does it work?
Heck yeah it does!
Check out the results for yourself. This soap was made with our plain Vanilla fragrance oil and was split into three layers.
The bottom layer contains NO stabilizer.
The middle layer contains a ratio of 1 part stabilizer to 2 parts fragrance oil.
The top layer contains a ratio of 1 part stabilizer to 1 part fragrance oil.
As you can see, the stabilizer clearly works. The bottom part which contains none has gone a very dark brown which is typical of fragrances with a high vanillin content. The top two parts are hard to see a big difference. The stabilizer manufacturer recommends using a ratio of 1 part stabilzer to 2 parts fragrance where the fragrance oil contains a lower level of vanillin. Or a 1:1 ratio where the fragrance contains a high level of vanillin.
The very top of my soap is slightly lighter than the middle section, however I don’t think I would bother with using the extra stabilizer if the colour discolouration between them is so minimal. Of course, this is completely up to you. The soap will continue to darken as it cures over the next couple of weeks so the difference between the layers may become more noticeable to make the higher usage rate worthwhile (I’ll post an update if there are noticeable changes).
One of the most common questions I get regarding candle making is “what wax should I use?”
The wax that you should use is entirely dependent on the type of candle you want to make. Are you using a container, or making a free standing candle? Or perhaps you’d like to make a votive candle or wax melts?
Pillar Candles (Moulded Candles)
These are the candles which you make by pouring into a mould, usually made from aluminium or polycarbonate. Pillar candles need to be hard since they don’t go into a container. They need to stand on their own without becoming too soft, or even melting, in the hot sun and while burning.
Container and Tealight Candles
These are the most common type of candle that we make, as such there are a couple of different choices in wax. They are all pretty similar, but have a couple of differences that set them apart.
GW464 has the best fragrance throw of all the waxes and happens to be the easiest to use for consistent results (in my humble opinion!)
CB-Advanced doesn’t have as good a fragrance throw as the GW464, but it is the best wax on the market for achieving smooth finishes with the least amount of frosting.
CB-135 is similar to the GW464 but it is EcoSoya brand. This is a great wax to use if you’re using essential oils in your candles.
Votives
Votive candles are a cross between pillar and container candles. They’re hard, but not hard enough to stand alone while burning which is why you burn votive candles in a votive holder – they “puddle” when burning.
The GW416 has a higher melt point than the other waxes so is perfect for tarts and votives.
Here’s a handy table which outlines the properties of the available soy waxes that we currently stock.
| Wax | Use | Description | Form | FO Load | Melt Point | Pour Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GW464 Soy Wax | Container, Tealight | One of the easiest of the waxes to use. Has a lower melt point which helps with the burn and gives better glass adhesion. |
Flake | 8 – 10% | 46-49° | 60-65° |
| KeraSoy 4130 | Container, Tealight | Exceptionally smooth tops, biodegradable and vegan. Doesn’t require additives. Fantastic hot/cold throw. |
Pastille | 10 – 12% | 42-48° | 45-55° |
| Uniwax 5501 | Pillar, Melts, Votive | RSPO certified palm wax. Strong hot/cold throw. Can be blended with other waxes. |
Powder | 10 – 12% | 54-60°C | 75-80°C |
| Coconut Apricot Wax | Container, Tealight | Creates beautiful white, smooth candles with great container adhesion. Excellent fragrance throw and evenness of burn. |
Soft slab | 6 -10% | 76° | 68-76° |
If you haven’t read Part 1 of this post you can find it here
It’s been one week since I made the test bars of soap. It took that long just to be able to un-mould the bars in one piece. You can see from the photo below that the bars were still very soft and the edges smushed on a few of the bars. When using silicon moulds it’s a good idea to have a relatively hard recipe, unless you want to wait about 10 days before un-moulding!
So, the results…
I’m very happy to see that none of the colours I tested have morphed at all. The colours are ‘what you see is what you get’. So when choosing one of our micas you don’t have to worry about the beautiful purple powder turning grey when it mixes with your soap.
A couple of observations I had were
So there it is. Keep in mind that none of these test bars had any fragrance added, so if you’re having trouble with discolouration it’s probably a fragrance issue. We try to note on all our fragrances whether they can cause discolouration so be sure to check the descriptions when purchasing your fragrance oils.
As someone who has made cold process soap for several years now, I have certainly experienced my share of soap fails. Usually it was because I was unprepared or because I hadn’t looked up how a fragrance oil performs (‘cement’ soap in a bowl is NOT what I generally strive for!) Colours have also been a major sticking point for me in the past. I used to have a real problem getting a nice purple, it would always turn a washed out grey colour – ick! I’m still having issues getting a nice true red using mica, but that’s another topic all together!
These days I’m careful about what colours I use in my soaps, I tend to stick to my tried and true favourites. That way, when I plan on having a beautiful four colour swirl, it turns out as planned with nice distinct colours.
A few months ago we switched to a much better supplier for our micas. So far every mica I’ve tested has been stable in cold process soap, which means they don’t morph (change to an unexpected colour)!
I tested each of our new micas in a basic recipe containing Coconut, Palm, Canola and Pomace Olive Oil but didn’t add any fragrance in case of discolouration issues. I used a ratio of 1/2tsp of mica per 100 grams of soap. So for 1 kilo of soap the usage rate would be 5tsp of mica.
I premixed each mica in a teaspoon of canola oil so that any lumps of powder would be fully dispersed before adding to the soap mix.
One thing to note about using micas as opposed to other colourants such as oxides, is they can speed up trace very slightly. It’s never been an issue as the acceleration is mild, but it is something to be aware of. I tested our Ultramarine Blue and Chromium Green Oxide at the same time as these micas and the oxides didn’t affect the soap mixture consistency at all, even when the mix was left sitting for a while before I poured it into the moulds. Once I added the mica to the soap the mixture went from a thin trace to a thin/medium trace after sitting for a couple of minutes.
Each of the colours are very vibrant after being poured and have stayed true with no colour morphing at all. I haven’t gelled these soaps, they were left to set uncovered on my work bench.
As a side note – I used half the amount of oxide as I did for the mica. Usually oxides produce a very concentrated colour so you don’t need as much for a bright colour. So for the Ultramarine Blue and Chromium Green soaps above I used 1/4tsp oxide per 100 grams.
After 24 hours you can see the colours are still stable. They are losing that shiny sparkly look as they dry, which is completely normal. You can only keep the sparkle from micas when using a clear melt and pour soap base, but as far as the actual colour goes, so far they’re all performing excellently!
I’ll leave these soaps to harden in the silicon moulds for another few days over the weekend. I used a very slow tracing soft recipe so I wouldn’t be rushed when making these test soaps. As a result I need to be patient before un-moulding them so they don’t break apart in the cavity!
I’ll write an update next week after the soaps have been un-moulded and have had a little more curing time.
Stay tuned…
One of the most common questions in candle making is what wick should I use. We carry a full range of sizes from tea light wicks to large container candle wicks.
The size wick you need depends on the diameter (width) of your container. All our wicks are 150mm in length so as long as your container isn’t taller than 135mm then our wicks will be suitable for you.
Once you have determined what the diameter of your container is you can choose the suitable wick size from the table below.
CDN (Stabilo) Wicks |
|
|---|---|
| CDN Wicks | Container Diameter |
| CDN3 | 22mm – tealight |
| CDN4 | 33mm – tealight |
| CDN5 | 35-40mm |
| CDN6 | 40-45mm |
| CDN7 | 45-50mm |
| CDN8 | 50-55mm |
| CDN10 | 55-60mm |
| CDN12 | 60-65mm |
| CDN14 | 65-70mm |
| CDN16 | 70-75mm |
| CDN18 | 75-80mm |
| CDN20 | 80-85mm |
| CDN22 | 85-90mm |
| CDN24 | 90-95mm |
| CDN26 | 95-100mm |
ECO Series Wicks |
|
|---|---|
| ECO Wicks | Container Diameter |
| ECO-1 | 25-35mm |
| ECO-2 | 35-50mm |
| ECO-4 | 50-60mm |
| ECO-6 | 60-70mm |
| ECO-8 | 70-75mm |
| ECO-10 | 75-80mm |
| ECO-12 | 80-90mm |
| ECO-14 | 85-95mm |
Having so many fragrances to choose from can be a little overwhelming when you’re first starting out. Often people get stuck trying to pick just one or two scents, or want to make sure the fragrances that they choose are going to be a popular choice with their customers, so inevitably we get asked pretty regularly… “what are your best selling fragrances?”
So here it is! In order of popularity, these are our 20 top selling fragrances. This list is dynamic so will change as the popular scents come in and out of favour. Also, it might not show any of our newer fragrances until they’ve been around for a little while and catch up with the old favourites.
[bestselling_product_categories cats=”8″ per_cat=”20″ columns=”4″]
What is a Surfactant?
Surfactant is short for “surface active agent”. It’s molecular structure, in simple terms, is made up of a head and tail. The head is water loving and the tail is oil loving. Which basically means it’s an emulsifier – something that brings oil and water together.
Surfactants are also detergents, they foam and lather up to remove oil and dirt from your skin or clothes. Most surfactants are considered “mild cleansers”.
There are four different classes of surfactants, which is why you see multiple surfactants used in one recipe, as they bring different properties to the formulation, a well balanced recipe will always include at least two different surfactants.
Anionic
These bring lots of lather and foam, but they can also be irritating which is why you need to add other ingredients for mildness. Anionic surfactants have a negatively charged water-loving head. They’re the most commonly used surfactants due to their ability to create high foaming, bubbling and high cleansing products such as shampoo, body wash and bubble bath. Anionic surfactants include :
Amphoteric
These add mildness and viscosity, but they’re less foaming than the anionic which is why you normally see amphoteric and anionic surfactants together in recipes. Amphoteric surfactants can be either positive or negatively charged depending on the pH of your finished product. Amphoteric surfactants include :
Non-Ionic
These have no foaming capabilities which is why they’re not commonly used as the main surfactant. They’re great for using as emulsifiers, but can slightly reduce the foam from other surfactants. They are a gentle cleanser and have the capability to be used as an emollient, softening the skin. Non-Ionic surfactants include :
Cationic
These are generally found in conditioning ingredients. Cationic surfactants have a positively charged water-loving head, which means they are the opposite of anionic surfactants. Because of their positive charge cationic surfactants have lot’s of skin nourishing benefits. They will reduce the foaming of your recipe so are generally only used in small quantities (around 1-3%) in recipes like conditioner where foaming is not necessary. Cationic surfactants include :
In summary, an anionic surfactant will offer good bubbles, foam, and lather but might be a little harsh. So we add an amphoteric surfactant to the recipe to make it milder and thicker. I like to add a cationic surfactant to my hair products to offer some conditioning at about 2 to 3% maximum, and I’d include a non-ionic surfactant if I had a large amount of oil I wanted to emulsify.
What are some basic surfactants to get you started?
In my workshop I always have a few different surfactants on hand, they’re the ones I use in several different recipes – my go to surfactants!
SLSa (Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate)
This comes in a very fine powder form (the powder is so fine it’s actually a good idea to wear a mask when using it so you don’t inhale too much powder.) It’s a mild cleanser and provides tons of bubbles and long lasting foam which is why you see it in all my bubble bath recipes – like my foaming bath truffle recipe. SLSa is derived from coconut and palm oils which means it’s 100% of natural origin, unlike SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate), which is produced in a lab by combining lauryl alcohol (from petroleum or coconut oil) with sulfur trioxide gas or chlorosulfuric acid.
I’d say this is an essential ingredient for anyone who wants to formulate their own body products. It has good foaming properties, with good flash foam, lather and bubbles. It helps to reduce the harshness of other surfactants. It’s also a good anti-static for hair which is great for someone like me who has a serious problem with frizz! It’s not a great cleanser, but that’s why we use it in combination with other surfactants.
This comes in pellet or flake form and has a waxy texture. Emulsifying wax offers emulsification (combines oil and water) with the addition of emolliency so your lotions will have a bit of slip and glide. Used in recipes around 3-6%. A must have for making things like lotions, creams and other recipes with a high water content.
Caffeine powder is one of those ingredients that have enjoyed a rapid “rise to fame” over the last couple of years. It is not only an ingredient in a growing number of food and beverages, it’s also being used by some of the leading brands of make up and skin care companies.
There have been several studies which have highlighted some potential benefits from including caffeine powder in our cosmetic formulations, these include:
There are many claims throughout the cosmetic industry. People are always looking for the next “miracle cure” to wrinkles, scars, blemishes… (and the list could go on.) In my experience there is nothing on earth that can “cure” us of a natural ageing process, but if I find a healthy, affordable ingredient like caffeine powder that could potentially help to slow things down even the tiniest bit, then what’s the harm in using it?
Stay tuned for my first recipe using caffeine powder!
