The Natural Beauty Workshop

Reader Question: Product License

Hi, Do I need a license to make and sell soap body products such as lotion, cream and body oils? - Rosy

Dear Rosy,

Thanks for contacting us with your question.  The need for special licensing varies locally.  To start any business, you'll need to register locally, and with the federal government.  How you register will depend greatly on what type of business you decide to start.  You can choose from a variety of business types, including sole proprietor, LLC, or corporation.  This process can be a little intimidating, so I recommend contacting a local book keeper or accountant to help you get started.  You can also find help at online resources, such as The Small Business Administration's Web Site.  

As a soap or cosmetic maker, you may need special licensing depending on your state's regulations.  Look up your local government web site to get started.  If you can find a phone number for the business/trade licensing department in your state, give them a call and find out what is required in your area.  On a federal level, you can voluntarily register with the FDA as a cosmetics manufacturer.  Take a look at the pros and cons of registering with the FDA on the FDA web site.  Even if you don't register, it is a good idea to study the rules and regulations for cosmetics manufacturers on the FDA web site.

Another thing you should seriously consider is purchasing liability insurance.  This is something that no seasoned soap maker goes without.  Liability can be a serious issue when it comes to cosmetics.  Protecting yourself with the proper insurance can be a key step in ensuring your business's success.  You can talk to a local insurance agent about liability insurance for your business, or you can purchase insurance through a cosmetics related organization such as The Indie Beauty Network or the Hand Crafted Soapmaker's Guild. In addition to providing insurance, these two organizations can be incredibly useful resources of information when starting your own business.

Thanks again for contacting us with your question, Rosy.  We wish you the best of luck with your new business!

-Emmy

Reader Question: Essential Oils for Baby Oil

We recently received the following question from Stephanie through our Plugoo Chat Window.

How many drops of essential oil per ounce should I use? I made a wonderful baby oil and not only want the benefits of the essentials oils but also the aroma. What is safe? My baby is 4 months old. - Stephanie

Dear Stephanie,

Thank you for contacting us with your question.  When using Essential Oils in baby care products it is more important than ever to make sure you are using a safe dilution.  Baby's skin is very sensitive, as are their internal systems.  An overdose, or a misused Essential Oil can be very dangerous for babies.  Before using any Essential Oil in any baby product, look up the usage rate for that particular Essential Oil in the particular product, for the specific age of the child.  Unfortunately, there is no safe "rule of thumb" when it comes to Essential Oils, especially when used with babies and children.  Also, it is important to double check the use of the Essential Oil with your child's physician to make sure it is safe.  We some great books in our book store that can be used as a references for using Essential Oils safely with children and babies.  Check out Aromatherapy for the Healthy Child by Valerie Ann Worwood and Aromatherapy & Massage for Mother & Baby by Allison England.  You can also find some helpful articles in our Beauty by the Batch Library. 

African American Hair Care Recipes

Jenni asked:

Are there any hair recipes for African American coarse hair? Conditioner, mask, etc.?

Hi Jenni.  We do offer several hair care recipes that should work well on African American hair.  Check out our Hair Care Recipes section to view our complete selection.  My favorites for conditioning hair are the Jasmine Acai Berry Pomade and the Ayurvedic Hair Cream.  For more DIY natural hair care recipes, check out the Homemade Hair Recipes Section on MotownGirl.com.  The site offers several easy recipes for African American Hair care, using many ingredients carried by From Nature With Love!  If you're looking to purchase finished products, check out the artisans included in the Ethnic Hair Care Section on Beauty by the Batch.  You'll find a great selection of hand crafted hair care products listed in each shop.

Reader Question: Can Honey be Used as a Preservative?

Can Honey Granules be used as a preservative in a scrub recipe? - Anonymous Plugoo Chat User

Although Honey does have natural antiseptic properties, it would not be an effective preservative in a skin care formula.  For personal use, you can try adding Grapefruit Seed Extract as an antibacterial agent, and/or Vitamin E T80 as an antioxidant.  

Reader Question: Lotion Recipes & Liquid Castile Soap Recipes

Do you have any good recipes that include essential oils and fragrant oils in lotions and/or liquid castile soap? - Anonymous Plugoo User

Essential Oils and Fragrance Oils can both be used to add scent or properties to lotions and liquid soaps.  

Here's a simple lotion recipe that uses some of my favorite Essential Oils.  Blossom Body Cream can also be made with Fragrance Oils, just leave the Essential Oils out of the recipe, and add one teaspoon of your favorite Fragrance Oil in its place.

You can add Fragrance Oil to Liquid Castile at a rate of 5% (about 24 ml per 16 ounces of soap) or you can add Essential Oils at between 1 - 3%, depending on the Essential Oil you are using.  As always, make sure you research the safety and recommended usage for any Essential Oil before using it in a recipe. In general, the aroma of Liquid Castile Soap blends best with sharp scents such as citrus, herbs, or fruits.

Reader Question: Arnica Oil in Melt & Pour Base

As a former massage therapist, I have used arnica oil for massages, but am curious if it can be used in a melt and pour base, and if so how much may I use per pound of soap? - Anonymous Plugoo User

Thanks for your question!  You can certainly incorporate the properties of Arnica into Melt & Pour Soap. There are two different ingredients that you can use.  I'll go over each of them to help you pick.

• Arnica Oil - This Arnica Infused Soybean Oil will add a bonus of moisturizing power to your Melt & Pour Soap, however, it can reduce the lather.  Add Arnica Oil at a rate of 1 tablespoon per pound of soap to your recipes.
• Arnica CO2 Extract - This super concentrated Arnica Extract can be added at a much smaller rate than Arnica Oil.  Add just 1 - 2% to your Melt & Pour Soap to infuse the base with Arnica properties. 

Personally, I would probably use the Arnica CO2 Extract over the Arnica Oil in a Melt & Pour Soap.  Melt & Pour Soap needs all the lather it can get, so I would be hesitant to risk reducing it by adding Arnica Oil.

Have a tip for adding Arnica to Melt & Pour Soap?  Share it with us in the comments below.

Reader Question - Using Jojoba Esters in Body Butters

It's almost that time again when the summer months will be very hot and humid in North Carolina.  I wanted you to tell me about the different jojoba waxes; (50,60,70).  I wanted to know if you think that adding the MP-70 jojoba wax with some beeswax will help the body butters from melting so much.  My butters are getting popular; and they are oil based; and I didn't necessarily want to change from oil based to water based because that's what makes them so unique, I need all the help that I can get.  I usually keep them on ice--then I give to customers, I tell customers NOT to leave them in the car or in the pocketbook.  Any more suggestions will be appreciated. - Antoinette

Hello Antoinette,

Thanks for asking about Jojoba Esters.  Like liquid Jojoba, Jojoba Esters are a very special type of wax.  When they are cool, they are firm and waxy, but when they are warmed they melt into the lovely and familiar texture of Jojoba Oil.  I find Jojoba Esters to be a great way to increase the firmness of whipped body butters without making them feel overly waxy.  They harden well, but will soften upon skin contact, making them a perfect additive for Body Butters.  To determine exactly how much of the Esters to add to your existing formula, I would recommend experimenting with Jojoba Esters 70, the hardest of the esters, by adding it to your body butters at a rate of 5%, 10%, and 15%.  (The softer esters aren't likely to make a noticeable difference in this type of formula.)  Compare the three experimental batches to see how they feel on your skin, and how the behave when you subject them to various temperatures.  Of course, no additive can completely protect an oil based product from melting in extreme temperatures, but by adding Jojoba Esters you may be able to improve your butters' resilience slightly.  Many handmade skin care purveyors choose not to offer their body butters online during the summer for this very reason. Mail and UPS trucks can get extremely hot. So hot, that even firm lip balms have been known to melt during transit.  Another option you might consider, is to notify your customers of the danger of melting, and then let them choose, based on their local temperatures, whether or not to take the chance of ordering it during the summer.

Does anyone else have tips for dealing with summer heat and melting products?  How do you protect your recipes when the weather heats up?  Share your experiences in the comments below.

Reader Question: Using Floral Waters to Create Body Splashes & Linen Waters

How do I make a Linen Water or Body Splash using the Floral Waters (FNWL)? - Brenda

Hi Brenda.  Making Linen Waters and Body Splashes from our line of Floral Waters is easy. Start off by picking a Floral Water to work with, or a blend of Floral Waters if you'd prefer a unique scent.  If you'd like the formula to be very strong, you can use the Floral Waters at full strength.  If you'd prefer a lighter scent, you can cut the Floral Waters with as much as 50% Distilled Water.  If you do choose to add Distilled Water to the Floral Water, you'll need to add an additional preservative.  Try using Liquid Germall Plus at a rate of .1%. That works out to about 4 grams per gallon of Body Spray or Linen Water. 

Reader Question - Scent Help

As I am working to develop my product line, I find that I am stuck with the number of scents to offer. I would like to have a nice range of scents that cover earthy, floral, fruity, exotic, masculine, feminine and fresh, which will probably be unisex. Do you have a recommendation of a maximum # of scents and also, do you recommend a way to go about signature scent development? ~ Amber

Dear Amber,

Thanks for contacting me with your question.  Developing custom scent blends sounds like it would be a great solution for you.  It helps to set you apart form the crowd, and creating the blends can be lots of fun.  It will take a lot of experimentation to develop blends that you and your customers love, but it can also be very worthwhile. 

We have a great article on blending custom scents on our log. I'll give you the link so you can check it out.

Building an Aroma

As for how many scents to add to your line, that is up to you and your customers. Many businesses start out with a smaller number of great scents, and expand the line as the popularity or demand grows, but having a larger line of scents has its advantages too.

Do you have any tips for Amber on how to develop her line of scents?  If so, please share them with us in the comments below.

Reader Question - Linen Sprays

Do you have a recipe for room/linen sprays? ~ Deirdre

Dear Deidre,

Thank you for contacting us regarding Room and Linen Sprays.  There are several ways that you can make these kinds of products. In this email I've listed my two favorite methods.

The first, and simplest way to make a spray like this is to use Floral Waters. Floral Waters are synthetically fragranced, water dispersible scents. They come in a wide variety of pleasant aromas. These can be used at full strength in a sprayer bottle or they can be cut with up to 50% distilled water. If you cut these Floral Waters with extra water you should add .1% Liquid Germall Plus as a preservative.

You can also create fragrant sprays by dispersing Fragrance Oils, Candle Fragrance Oils, or certain Essential Oils in water. In order to do this you'll need to mix your Oil with an equal amount of Polysorbate 20.  1/4 ounce of Fragrance Oil or Candle Fragrance Oil combined with 1/4 Ounce Polysorbate 20 is enough to scent between 4 oz. and 8 oz. of Distilled Water. Simply add the oil and Polysorbate to the water and shake well. These work best packaged in sprayer top bottles. As with Floral Waters, you should add .1% Liquid Germall Plus as a preservative.

While certain Essential Oils can be used in these Sprays many, Essential Oils can rapidly degrade plastic sprayers and bottles, even when diluted in water. While Citrus and Spice Oils are the most notorious plastic degraders, all Essential Oils should be used with caution.  Create small test batches before creating a large amount and see whether or not your sprayers hold up to your formula.

Do you have any simple recipe for linen sprays to share with Deidre?  If so, please tell us about them in the comments below.