Better crafting through chemistry: Allantoin

I touched on allantoin a little in the occlusion post…click here to find out about more occlusives! Allantoin, also called 5-ureidohydantoin or glyoxyldiureide, is a fantastic skin protectant that softens skin (it’s a keratolytic, meaning it causes the keratin to soften), causes rapid cell regeneration and proliferation, and is approved by the FDA to temporarily...

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Mineral make-up – Part 12: Using ultramarine blue

Ultramarine blue is a great way to get a light blue colour without all the awesome power of blue iron oxide. You can use a little more, and if you already like the blueyness of it, it only takes a bit of base or mica to make this a sparkly treat! Compare the ultramarine blue...

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Fun with silk! (updated)

It’s hard to make generalizations about silk as you can get so many different kinds – liquid, powder, low molecular weight, high molecular weight, and so on. The molecular weight is important because the lower the molecular weight, the more likely the protein will actually penetrate the skin and hair and act as a humectant...

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Fun with phytokeratin

The best picture I could find was this one…of my campsite famous roasted corn on an open fire. Freshly picked that day, roasted until it’s sweet, then covered in creamy butter and salt! Yum! But that has very little to do with this post…except that I mention corn. Now I’m hungry! Phytokeratin is a proprietary...

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Fun with hydrolyzed oat protein

Oats are also called “avena sativa” – look for this ingredient on labels of your favourite products. I love hydrolyzed oat protein – I put it in nearly everything! Although the suggested usage is 1 to 5%, I tend to use about 2% due to cost. It is a humectant, so I use it for...

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