Hand Made Christmas - Solid Lotion Puds

Making a gorgeous gift doesn't come much easier than this...

This is the first item in our mini series that will help you on your way this Christmas.

If you (like we) are determined to have a hand made Christmas this eye catching lotion "pud" is a lovely place to begin.  

In fact, this little recipe will lend itself to use as a lotion bar, bath melt or massage bar.  Only the mould you use will make the difference.  The balance of butters and oils enables the finished product to melt on contact with skin or indeed warm bath water.  So take your pick, adapt the recipe just by choice of mould and make the most of this versatile combination of ingredients.

Using just Mango Butter, Cocoa Butter and your choice of vegetable base oil, this is a cost effective recipe. Whilst we've suggested the Essential Oils used here (which are a wonderful therapeutic combination with a gorgeous aroma), you can of course adapt these to your favourites or substitute a fragrance oil instead.  A great combination would be a designer similar fragrance and a sprinkle of glitter for a lotion bar perfect for the party season.

Ingredients

(to make 4 x 50g puds)

90g Mango Butter

50g Cocoa Butter

60ml Grape Seed or similar vegetable base oil

1ml Rose Wood Essential Oil

0.25ml Tangerine Essential Oil

0.25ml Mandarin Essential Oil

0.5ml Lavender Essential Oil

You will also need; 4 x holly toppers, pipettes, a suitable mould ( for the image above we used a medium paper souffle case) and a heat source.

Melt the butters beginning with the Cocoa butter and adding the Mango as the Cocoa begins to melt.  Use a low heat setting if using a microwave.  Alternatively use a bowl over hot water but please ensure no water or steam enters the bowl of ingredients.  You may also melt directly in a pan. In all cases, ensure that the butters are only heated to the point of "just" melting. Do not overheat and do not leave unattended.

When the butters are liquid, add the base oil.  Stir and allow to cool to the point of slightly thickening.  ( not for too long - you will still need to pour the mix!)

Add the essential oils and stir thoroughly. 

Pour a small amount into each of the cases first and then fill with the remaining mix (doing so should ensure there is no seepage from the cases - this is also why you should not pour at too high a temperature).

Refrigerate until completely cold.

Peel off the cases and insert the holly topper if using 

So that the aroma lasts, wrap in cello bags, cling film or store in an airtight container until required.

Suggestions

To make bath melts select a small souffle case - this will hold around 30g which is sufficient for a bath melt.

To make a massage bar use a plastic or silicone mould with a capacity of around 50-80g.  Cool completely before attempting to remove from the mould.

If you'd like a massage bar that doesn't melt quite so quickly, increase the Cocoa Butter by 20%

#NatClean2012 Challenge - Week 5 - Lavender Carpet Freshener

This week's recipe is a really simple one, and our thanks go to Sam who recently reminded us about this fab recipe in a conversation on the Bathbomb.biz Ltd Facebook page.

Using just two natural ingredients you can create your own version of the commercially available carpet fresheners - without chemicals!

All you need is a quantity of Sodium Bicarbonate and some natural Lavender flowers.  Because you can make this ahead of time and keep some for later use, (and we recommend this because the aroma deepens over time) we would suggest that you find a suitable container just for the purpose.  Something like an old ice cream tub or a large coffee jar will be fine.

How much you make depends on the area of carpet you want to clean.  For an average sized rug you will need around 250g of Bicarbonate of Soda and a handful of Dried Lavender.

Simply mix the Bicarb with the Lavender and use immediately.  Sprinkle onto the carpet liberally - if you can leave it overnight so much the better.  If not, try to leave for a couple of hours and then vacuum up.  A definite plus is that your vacuum will also benefit from a Lavender aroma too!

If you don't like the idea of using Lavender flowers, or if you have a particularly light coloured carpet/rug then you can just use Bicarb on its own.

Alternatively add 5-10 drops of your favourite essential oil per 250g of Bicarbonate.  Stir the oil through the bicarbonate and leave overnight.  Before use, stir the mix and crumble any lumps.

Again, if in any doubt about the effects on your carpet please do a small test.

We hope you have been finding these #NatClean2012 recipes useful.  If you, like Sam, would like to share a recipe that you've found to be useful, do get in touch.  You can comment here, email or catch up with us on Facebook.

Enjoy :)

Top 10 Tips - Bath Bombs

As we've had many people asking for help with their Bath Bomb making recently, we thought it would be a good idea to revisit this earlier post.

Hand made bath bombs are a joy to use and so much fun to make.  With a few pointers, it's simple to learn to create your own bath fizzers easily at home and it's a great activity to share with children.  Once you've mastered the basics, you can create gifts for friends and family to be proud of.  After all, there's nothing quite like a hand made gift!

As always, feel free to contact us if you need more help 

1) Select your Citric Acid carefully; Super fine granules (table salt size) are best. Powder is too volatile, whilst coarse granules have a lumpy appearance and may "bobble" as your bath bombs dry out.

2) Be fussy about your Bicarb! Fine food grade Sodium Bicarbonate is best. Technical grade may contain unwanted impurities and granular varieties will result in a coarse looking bath bomb.

3) Want smooth bath bombs? Use Cornflour (Cornstarch) as 10-15% of your dry ingredient content. Cornflour also helps control the fizzing reaction between the ingredients as you are mixing.

4) Dry Ingredients = food grade.   Some of the ingredients such as Bicarb, Citric & Cornflour can be sourced in food stores.

5)Wet ingredients = cosmetic/toiletry grade. Fragrance, colours, etc should be purchased as cosmetic/toiletry grade.  Essential oils should be pure or blended with base oils.

6) Don't use water. Really, don't. Using water to bind your mix causes fizzing & expansion in the mixing process. Fact. Result = stressful and unattractive mad panic to get the mix to stick and mould without turning into a fizzing flop. (You can do it - but why?!) Vegetable Base Oils (Sweet almond, Grape Seed etc) or Witch hazel work well. Witch Hazel speeds the drying time so that your bath bombs can be safely handled/removed from their moulds within minutes.(depending upon the size of the mould) 

7) Spray your "wet" ingredients onto the mix. If using Witch Hazel to bind, always spritz from a fine mist "finger" spray. Oil can be "dripped" into your mix or sprayed on with the aid of a trigger type spray (the sort you get on a Febreeze bottle). Spraying helps distribute the oil more evenly and therefore there is less risk of some premature fizzing in the bowl.

8) Wear gloves and mix with your hands. You will learn to detect the correct consistency for making the perfect bath bombs, but believe me you will get there faster by using your hands as opposed to a spoon. Simply spray or pour with one hand whilst mixing with the other.

9) Ensure your moulds or containers are dry. Keep them away from the bowl when mixing/spritzing to avoid wetting them accidentally.  Sound obvious? Hmmm well we've been there.  Wet moulds = stuck & stranded creations! If this happens and you cannot remove your bath bomb - run the whole mould under the tap - it's preferrable to breaking the mould.  Alternatively, I've taken an entire-mould-stranded-but-otherwise-perfect bath bomb into the bath before. (Waste not want not as my Gramma said.) 

10) Don't over wet your mix; aim to achieve the same consistency that is needed to make really good sandcastles.  Damp enough to hold together but not sloppy. You can always add more moisture but if you've overdone it, it's almost impossible to recover your mix and adding more dry ingredient rarely helps.

11) Avoid steamy kitchens! Set your creations aside to dry in a damp free atmosphere.  If you've cooked a roast, rustled up some bath bombs and set them aside in your kitchen you may find when you return to admire them later that they've developed "bobbles". This is simply the damp in the air and can be avoided.

We hope these have been useful tips...We'd love to hear your experiences, so please do comment below :)

PS... ok so there are 11 top tips. Things don't always go to plan.... a bit like making bath bombs! Perhaps the best things in life are meant to be a little harder to achieve?  Philosophy aside, if you'd like a few more free recipes, hints and tips - why not sign up to our newsletter?  We won't spam you, but we will send you exclusive offers, the latest product news and free tips & recipes from time to time

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Simple Scrubs

Our feet work hard and it's easy to forget to care for them.  Today's simple recipe is for a reviving Peppermint Foot Scrub that's so easy to make and a real treat to use, there's no reason you shouldn't pamper your feet daily.

Ingredients

50g Pumice Grains
50ml Wheatgerm Oil
50ml Grape Seed or Sweet Almond Oil
0.5 - 1ml Peppermint Essential Oil

Optional

Chromium Oxide Green Pigment (Hydrated) - fabulous colour for this particular scrub, a kind of blueish green that works well with the Peppermint theme.

Method

Use a separate bowl for this recipe; it should be one you're happy to keep for your beauty crafting only.

Combine all ingredients thoroughly - begin with the pumice and pigment if using and then add base oils and Essential Oil stirring for several minutes to combine.

Decant into suitable containers.  Deli pots or PET jars with lids for example.

This recipe will make around 3 x 50ml scrubs.

There's no preservative in this recipe; it's a tricky thing to preserve an oil rich product against water borne bacteria as a result many presevatives are ineffective in this respect.  Hence the making of small batches and using them fresh - a 50ml pot will be used in a couple of weeks in this house. 

Avoid introducing water to the pot and your product will be fine. Similarly if you're not using the product it will keep for many months undisturbed.  When using, don't sit in the bath and put a wet hand into the pot to scoop some out - try a spoon or spatula instead.

A great gift idea with some small Peppermint Bath Fizzers as well?

Top Ten Tips for Making Bath Bombs

1) Select your Citric Acid carefully; Super fine granules (table salt size) are best. Powder is too volatile, whilst coarse granules have a lumpy appearance and may "bobble" as your bath bombs dry out.

2) Be fussy about your Bicarb! Fine food grade Sodium Bicarbonate is best. Technical grade may contain unwanted impurities and granular varieties will result in a coarse looking bath bomb.

3) Want smooth bath bombs? Use Cornflour (Cornstarch) as 10-15% of your dry ingredient content. Cornflour also helps control the fizzing reaction between the ingredients as you are mixing.

4) Dry Ingredients = food grade.   Some of the ingredients such as Bicarb, Citric & Cornflour can be sourced in food stores.

5)Wet ingredients = cosmetic/toiletry grade. Fragrance, colours, etc should be purchased as cosmetic/toiletry grade.  Essential oils should be pure or blended with base oils.

6) Don't use water. Really, don't. Using water to bind your mix causes fizzing & expansion in the mixing process. Fact. Result = stressful and unattractive mad panic to get the mix to stick and mould without turning into a fizzing flop. (You can do it - but why?!) Vegetable Base Oils (Sweet almond, Grape Seed etc) or Witch hazel work well. Witch Hazel speeds the drying time so that your bath bombs can be safely handled/removed from their moulds within minutes.(depending upon the size of the mould) 

7) Spray your "wet" ingredients onto the mix. If using Witch Hazel to bind, always spritz from a fine mist "finger" spray. Oil can be "dripped" into your mix or sprayed on with the aid of a trigger type spray (the sort you get on a Febreeze bottle). Spraying helps distribute the oil more evenly and therefore there is less risk of some premature fizzing in the bowl.

8) Wear gloves and mix with your hands. You will learn to detect the correct consistency for making the perfect bath bombs, but believe me you will get there faster by using your hands as opposed to a spoon. Simply spray or pour with one hand whilst mixing with the other.

9) Ensure your moulds or containers are dry. Keep them away from the bowl when mixing/spritzing to avoid wetting them accidentally.  Sound obvious? Hmmm well we've been there.  Wet moulds = stuck & stranded creations! If this happens and you cannot remove your bath bomb - run the whole mould under the tap - it's preferrable to breaking the mould.  Alternatively, I've taken an entire-mould-stranded-but-otherwise-perfect bath bomb into the bath before. (Waste not want not as my Gramma said.) 

10) Don't over wet your mix; aim to achieve the same consistency that is needed to make really good sandcastles.  Damp enough to hold together but not sloppy. You can always add more moisture but if you've overdone it, it's almost impossible to recover your mix and adding more dry ingredient rarely helps.

11) Avoid steamy kitchens! Set your creations aside to dry in a damp free atmosphere.  If you've cooked a roast, rustled up some bath bombs and set them aside in your kitchen you may find when you return to admire them later that they've developed "bobbles". This is simply the damp in the air and can be avoided.

We hope these have been useful tips...We'd love to hear your experiences, so please do comment below :)


PS... ok so there are 11 top tips. Things don't always go to plan.... a bit like making bath bombs! Perhaps the best things in life are meant to be a little harder to achieve?  Philosophy aside, if you'd like a few more free recipes, hints and tips - why not sign up to our newsletter?