Formulating tips & techniques: Substituting oils, butters, and esters for other oils, butters, and esters

In this post, Let’s formulate: Chamomile & aloe botanical summer time body butter (formula), Andrea asked: Can I leave isopropyl myristate (IPM) out (don’t have any) and add a different oil? Or just leave it out? The short answer is yes, you can substitute it. The longer answer is that unless I indicate otherwise in...

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Discussion: How do you handle your large (and growing) inventory of formulating ingredients?

In the July Q&A, Marta asked, I was wondering how you handle your large (and growing) inventory of formulating ingredients. Do you truly discard them when they are beyond the stated shelf life? Perhaps you just know which ingredients you can store for longer than recommended. Or, perhaps everything is refrigerated (seems impossible). In knitting we...

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Discussion: How do you keep track of your formulas? (Originally on Patreon)

In the December Q&A, Terri asked: My question is about recipe management and keeping ingredient inventories low but adequate to cover a given time period. I have been using a digital cooking app called Living Cookbook to create recipes and ingredients because it allows me to quickly scale them and create a shopping list when...

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Subscribers’ Q&A: Can we cover our containers while heating and holding? Is colloidal silver a preservative?

In the June Q&A, Charlette asked: I never hear other people doing this–but does anyone ever cover their water phase while it’s being heated/held? I have a small glass sauce pan cover that I wash real well and swipe with alcohol so it’s clean and use it to cover the water phase. I have also used...

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Discussion: How do you clean up after a day of formulating?

In the post, Discussion: How do you sanitize your workspace before formulating, Sarah wondered: Does anyone here have a favorite grease-cutting cleanser/method for cleaning little glass bottles and jars? I’ve tried very hot water, dish detergent and d-Limonene, but it still took many round of cleaning and I still don’t think it’s enough…am I going to...

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