What Did you Buy?

What's in that product - what did you buy?

There are many posts containing varying viewpoints of ingredients. I don't think anyone has posted photos or explained how certain ingredients are used in their product. (If this has been posted before I was unable to find it.)

I use raw ingredients to make the products I sell and I thought some of you may be interested in what they are. I'm not a photographer by any means but hope these photos and descriptions are of some help. These are random ingredients contained in SCS Shave Creme.

1.) Cosmetic grade Shea Butter. It is a soft butter and will melt at body temperature. Generally white to pale off-white and odorless. I placed an amount double of what you now see on the back of my hand. In the time it took to turn on my camera and change it to macro about one-half of it has melted onto my skin. Shea is a very skin-friendly butter widely known for it's capability of moisturization. This Shea Butter is taken from thenuts produced by the Karite tree in Africa. I purchase Shea Butter in either one or five pound blocks.

2.) Sodium Coco Sulfate. Sodium Coco Sulfate is a "natural" alternative to Sodium Lauryl Sulfate in the form of flakes. Sodium Coco Sulfate is obtained from pure coconut oil. As long as you are not sensitive to coconuts or it's derivitives, SCS should be very skin-friently for you. It leaves skin and hair with a conditioned feel. It can be used in shampoos, hand soaps, bath products, shaving creams and medicated ointments. It is especially useful for cream products. I purchase Coco in 50 to 100 pound quantities.
Sue

3.) Stearic Acid. What is Stearic ?.... the word Acid can conjure up some ugly ideas. Stearic Acid is a saturated fatty acid that comes from many animal and vegetable fats and oils. The Cosmetic Grade Stearic Acid I use is all vegetable. It is useful as an emulsifier and also thickener. A great majority of the shaving creme you buy will contain Stearic Acid. To my hands it feels soft and smooth and leaves the skin on my hands feeling very conditioned but not greasy at all.


4.) Methycellulose. This emulsifier and thickener is available in food grade and cosmetic grade. It is manufactured and not naturally derived. The fine powder will dissolve in cold water but not hot. It's one of the most 'difficult to manage' additives I use. Added too soon will result in a gritty feel; added too late and .....well, it just can't be done. Trust me on that and don't ask me how I know.

Sue

5.) Emulsifying Wax. These flakes do exactly like what the name sounds like....emulsify. EW is in many of the products you buy. It feels smooth to the touch and is completely odorless. It can and is used to emulsify many of the products you purchase from many manufacturers. It'sversatility makes it useful in many products.

6.) Mango Butter. This is another of the many emollient butters available. The kind I use is ultra refined cosmetic grade. Compared to Shea it is very firm and will crumble if cut too thin. You can see knife marks in the photo. Had this been Shea the softness would have eliminated those marks. I cut this block about a month ago making Apricot Mango shaving creme and they are as visible now as then.

Sue

Wow, great stuff Sue. Very informative. Thanks.

This is a photo of Sodium Laurel Sulfoacetate. I use SLSa in place of SLS or Sodium Laurel Sulfate. Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate is milder to the skin than Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. It is stable in hard water, so much so that it is often used to replace soap whenever soap sensitization is found. It is often confused with it's sound-alike and often blamed bully of a brother, Sodium Laurel Sulfate. Products with SLSa will produce a lather. To my hands if feels like any other powder.

If this topic is of any interest, I will post other ingredients.

Sue

With all these ingredients Sue, especially the butter, how about the ingredients for a nice pound cake.

Seriously though, I do find it interesting to see what goes into these products that we put our faces in front of on a daily basis.

Nicely done.

Thanks, Sue, very helpful and informative. Now I don't have to become a chemist.

Thank you Sue. This is a very interesting thread.

Keep 'em coming, thanks.

Sue, this is great information! Might you, or someone else, be willing to add this information to the wiki?

AWESOME THREAD SUE!

wow. who knew?

Very interesting.

Not only did you provide us with info, the fact you showed most of the products in your hands should allay any fears about what goes into your homemade soaps-not that I have any(as everyone here knows, I'm a sucker for SCS products![and glad of it!]).

Great job!



Marty

Great thread - very informative.

What a great thread, Sue! Excellent descriptions...from what they do to how they feel...really interesting stuff!

Great info & pics, Sue! Love the soaps, btw!

Awesome Thread Sue!!! keep them coming!!!!!

letterk said:

Sue, this is great information! Might you, or someone else, be willing to add this information to the wiki?

Click to expand...

+1

Good stuff, Sue. Now I finally know what stearic acid is.

Hi Sue, Thank you!!

Why don't you also jump in here today? Your ingredients for the shave creme you hand-make and mine are quite different. Both I and I think these Gentlemen would like to see a photo of one of your unusual raw ingredients; Boswellia Serrata Extract.

A photo would show how this ingredient appears in it's raw state in your stock. It would also be interesting to know how this extract from a tree in India is beneficial.

I think another ingredient of interest would be the surfactant, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate. A photo of how it looks in it's raw state and description of it's feel to the touch in your hand? If it's a flake product raw, how does the size compare to a coin.? Perhaps you can add that to a photo.

Maybe some photos of your S/C in developmental state as I had posted a couple months ago?

I am surprised at the interest of this thread as I was unsure of posting it initially. I think your contribution will be most welcome.

Sue