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In this post, A few thoughts for a lazy Saturday, Fuchia asks: A bit off topic but I’m curious about making a Vitamin C cream. I have a face cream recipe I make now and love (it does not contain Vitamin C but uses Optiphen Plus as a preservative) and keep reading online that you can...
In this post, Lotion bars: Tweaking the waxes, Tracy asks: I was wondering if it would be okay to add an antioxidant like ROE or Vitamin E T-50 to extend the life of the oils? If so, does it matter which one is used? Yes, you can add anti-oxidants to any oil soluble product to extend...
Vitamin E is not a preservative. It is an anti-oxidant. An anti-oxidant will slow down the rancidity of your oils. A preservative prevents the contamination of your product by things like bacteria, yeast, or mold. Vitamin E will not prevent contamination of your products, but it will retard the rancidity of the oils in your...
Why did I say yesterday that we don’t encounter rancidity as much as we encounter other things like contamination? Because we really shouldn’t be making batches so large that they outlive the shelf life of the product. So let’s say you want to make this manicure balm, how long is the shelf life? LANOLIN &...
In this post on anti-oxidants, Bridget asks: I’ve read that many antioxidants are light sensitive. They will quickly become inactivated with exposure to light. I know vitamin C is like this. That’s why C serums have to be packaged in opaque or amber bottles. I have read that vitamin E is also light sensitive. So...