ingredient

Better crafting through chemistry: Stearic acid (updated for 2025)

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Stearic acid in a tin plate, which is a white flaky solid.

Oh, stearic acid, how we love you as a thickener! Inexpensive and multi-functional, you make a lotion become a decadent cream! Stearic acid is a saturated, long chain fatty acid with 18 carbon molecules, which is to say it is a chain of carbons and hydrogens with a carboxyl group (that COOH you see at...

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Emollients you will love: Cacay oil (INCI: Caryodendron orinocense seed oil)

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Cacay oil (INCI: Caryodendron orinocense seed oil) – might also be called Kahai oil – is a light, quick absorbing, non-greasy oil with a slightly nutty odour that works as a dry oil with a matte appearing finish with some dewiness and good emollience. It’s cold pressed from the seeds of the Caryodendron orinocense tree...

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Q&A: What is Undaria pinnatifida (seaweed) powder? Where can I find it? How can I make this gorgeous OSEA Undaria Algae Body Oil?

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In the monthly Q&A, Donna asked, Hello, I am trying to duplicate a body oil that has seaweed/algae as an ingredient, undaria pinnatifida powder to be specific. I can’t find a similar ingredient that will work in oil. All other ingredients are oils or extracts. Does anyone have a suggestion? The body oil is OSEA Undaria Algae...

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Better crafting through chemistry: Esters – isopropyl myristate (IPM) – updated, 2021

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A cup of isopropyl myristate. It's being poured from a bottle into a plastic shot glass that sits on a brown coffee table.

Original post from 2009!  If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you’ll know I’m a fan of isopropyl myristate or IPM. I use it primarily as a dry or astringent emollient to reduce the greasy feeling of other oils in a lotion or lotion bar. You can use it in large...

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Ingredient: Calendula extract (water soluble)

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A white bottle with the label "calendula extract" sits on a white counter beside a plastic shot glass that contains a brown liquid, which is the extract.

I’ve used this one so many times, but I’ve never written an entire post on it, which is surprising as I love it so much! I’ve written about the oil soluble extract or infused oil, which is awesome, but let’s take a few minutes to consider the water soluble aspects of this wonderful flower! So...

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