Tag: DIY & Crafts

Soap soap soap… decoration!

Violet Soap 2

LAB NOTES & SAFETY NOTICE
These are personal experiments for educational use only—not for commercial or consumer use. By proceeding, you assume all risks related to safety, testing, and regulatory compliance.
[Full Legal Disclaimer & Safety Requirements]

300 gr Coconut oil
400 gr Olive oil
150 gr Shea butter
50 gr Castor oil
50 gr Cocoa butter
50 gr Almond oil 

147 gr lye
330 water

but what I love of this soap is actually the decoration! 😀

I colored all the paste of violet, using a specific colorant for cold process soaps (but if you have micas you might want to try with that! BUT some micas do not keep their color in saponification: what you can do is drop some mica inside a small amount of water and lye just to see if the color changes in a strong alcaline environment – like soap is going to be – if the color stays same… you can use it to color your soaps! Yay! 😀 ).

Then I had some fresh leftovers of another soap which was white in color: I cut very small cubes and, using gloves, I rolled each cube in my hands to make it become a small ball! 😀
I also colored some paste with another drop of violet and that’s why some balls look more pinkish!

Eventually I collected all the little soap balls and poured on them a dark copper Mica! I mixed lightly until all were covered and simply dropped them in my soap (which was at a quite thick trace!). As you can see the result is a little dark mark around each ball! 😀

Hope you like this!
I loved the result! 😀

Have a great day!

[ps. as you can see I still haven’t got the hang on stamping soaps… but I will 😀 sooner or later 😀 ahahah]

Violet Soap

For more recipes click HERE 
To learn how to formulate cosmetics click HERE
For a list of online cosmetic ingredients suppliers click HERE 

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

DIY Karma Shampoo (extra delicate!) & chat on betaine

LAB NOTES & SAFETY NOTICE
These are personal experiments for educational use only—not for commercial or consumer use. By proceeding, you assume all risks related to safety, testing, and regulatory compliance.
[Full Legal Disclaimer & Safety Requirements]

Hello everyone! 😀

Make your own Karma Shampoo

Hello Hello! 😀 Today I’m sharing my experiment with a formula that is all about finding the perfect “Karma” for my hair. I know I’ve been experimenting with a lot of sulfate-free stuff lately, but sometimes you just want that really deep, satisfying clean that only SLES can give—especially if you’ve been using a lot of hairspray or if your hair just feels “heavy.”

The challenge I set for myself was: Can I use SLES but make it feel like a high-end, expensive boutique shampoo instead of something harsh?

The secret is all in the TMG (Trimethylglycine). (Trimethylglycine). I didn’t just want bubbles; I wanted protection. TMG is an anhydrous betaine that is a total powerhouse for hydration. Adding it to a SLES base is a game-changer because it helps protect the scalp and hair from the drying effects of the surfactants. It’s like giving your hair a big drink of water while you clean it!

The Formula

Phase A:

  • Water: to 100

  • Glycerin: 3

  • Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride: 0.2

Phase B:

  • Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES): 25

  • Cocamidopropyl Betaine: 10

  • Coco-Glucoside: 5

  • TMG (Trimethylglycine): 3

Phase C:

  • Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein: 1

  • Panthenol: 0.5

  • Preservative: (According to my usual lab choice)

  • Fragrance Oil: (Karma type scent)

  • Citric Acid: (To reach pH 5.5)

  • Salt (Sodium Chloride): (A pinch to thicken)

My notes from the experiment:

The best part was watching the texture change. When I started adding the Citric Acid to bring the pH down to 5.5, and then just a tiny pinch of salt at the very end, the shampoo turned into this gorgeous, thick “honey” consistency. It’s so satisfying to pour!

The result is exactly what I wanted. You get those huge, fluffy bubbles that everyone loves, but when you rinse it off, your hair doesn’t feel like “straw.” It feels clean, bouncy, and smells like a L**h dupe 😀 . It just goes to show that with the right balance, even the “strong” ingredients can have great Karma! ENJOY! 😀

Banana Smoothie – Hair Conditioner (with Cetrimonium Chloride)

Bananasmoothie2

LAB NOTES & SAFETY NOTICE
These are personal experiments for educational use only—not for commercial or consumer use. By proceeding, you assume all risks related to safety, testing, and regulatory compliance.
[Full Legal Disclaimer & Safety Requirements]

Lab Note: My “Banana Smoothie” Hair Conditioner

Hello Hello Everyone! 😀 I know I just posted a hair conditioner recipe recently, but I am way too excited about this one to wait!

In my last experiment, I used an eco-friendly emulsifier that was good, but it needed so many thickeners that I had to put it in a pot. This one is different. This is my Banana Smoothie—it’s creamy, but not too thick, so it actually pours into a bottle!

The star of the show? Mr. Cetrimonium Chloride! 😀 It is an amazing conditioner. It’s a “beast” at detangling (even though the cream itself is soft), and the effect lasts as long as it’s on your hair.

The Formula for my Smoothie:

Phase A:

  • Water to 100
  • Glycerin 2
  • Cetrimonium Chloride 4 (I have long, thin hair that knots if I just look at it, so I used 4% and it works amazingly!)

Phase B:

  • Cetearyl Alcohol 2 (This is the thickener. I only used 2% to keep it pourable. If you wanted a pot-cream, you’d go up to 5%!)
  • Shea Butter 0.5
  • Dicaprylyl Ether 0.5 (A very light synthetic oil)
  • Jojoba Oil 0.5 (Technically a wax—it never goes rancid!)

Phase C:

  • Wheat Proteins Powder 0.5
  • Polyquaternium 7 – 1
  • Quaternium 80 – 0.5 (These are extra conditioners, but Cetrimonium is so strong you could even omit these!)
  • Preservative (According to the type used)
  • Fragrance Oil (I used BANANA—hence the name! :D)
  • Citric Acid (To reach pH 4.5—you MUST add this!)

Notes from the Beaker:

  1. Heat it up: I heated both Phase A and Phase B to 70°C.
  2. The Golden Rule: For conditioners, it’s different! Phase A (Water) MUST be poured into Phase B (Oils). Not the other way around! Very important! 😀
  3. Mixing: I used the immersion mixer until it looked smooth, then stirred slowly by hand until it cooled down.
  4. One by One: I added the Phase C ingredients at the end, but I added them one by one. If you dump them all in, the texture can get cranky.
  5. The Oil Choice: I used Jojoba and a synthetic oil because they don’t go rancid. Since conditioner stays on the hair a bit, you don’t want oils that smell bad after a while!

Final Verdict: I am really satisfied! It smells like bananas, detangles like a dream, and actually fits in my squeeze bottles. I love it! 😀