Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Minty Clean

Customized Skincare
Non-GMO
Home-Made
Old-Fashioned
Extremely Vegan
Skin Essentials

For hair, nail, and oral hygiene, see Heather.
For laundry, dish, and household cleaners, see Mom.
For garden hose repairs and dog crapping equipment, see Dad.

For customized aftershave, antibiotic/anti-fungal/antimicrobial ointment, bathing/body soap, deodorant, hand soap, lip balm, lotion, plain soap (for making other cleaning products), shave soap, sunscreen, vapor oil for colds, and maybe some other similar products you might like to suggest I start making, stay here.

Cost

Right now, making these products is costing me about $1.16 per ounce (does not include labor).  I'm trying really hard to reduce the cost by finding the lowest price and shipping combination available on each ingredient I use to create my products.  I will not charge my family members for my products unless they start charging me for theirs, though they're welcome to pay if they wish.

Premade Stuff

I've decided to start premaking soap in a pan and cutting it into bars about the size of normal bars of bath soap using the most commonly requested essential oils, currently tea tree and lavender.  You can still order custom orders with custom molds and oils.  The following premade ones are available for individual sale:


1. Order #7, ready 20 November 2013, muffin/hokey puck mold, 4 dpp (drops per pound) tea tree oil, 8 dpp lavender oil, clearance item contains titanium oxide, 97¢ per ounce:

2.39 ounce puck for $2.32
2.60 ounce puck for $2.53
2.68 ounce puck for $2.60

2. Order #8, ready 22 November 2013, 4 dpp tea tree oil, 8 dpp lavender oil, clearance item contains titanium oxide, 72¢ per ounce:

3.38 ounce bar for $2.44 - rectangle with grapes, cured in slanted mold
2.89 ounce cake for $2.09 - shell-shaped mold
4.51 ounce cake for $3.25 - round mold with apples, cured at a slant
4.72 ounce cake for $3.40 - round with cherries, cured a bit crooked
4.79 ounce cake for $3.45 - round with grapes, looks pretty straight to me

3. Order #11, ready 29 November 2013, 4 dpp tea tree oil 8 dpp lavender oil, clearance item contains titanium oxide, 58¢ per ounce:

4.51 ounce cake for $2.62 - weird donut mold
3.70 ounce cake for $2.15 - round swirly thing

4. Order #13, ready 1 December 2013, 6 dpp tea tree oil, 8 dpp lavender clearance item contains titanium oxide, 52¢ per ounce:

0.63 ounce chunk for 33¢ - Uneven triangle pyramidish leftover corner blob

5. Big block of plain soap, no essential oils.  Will be fully cured 12 December 2013.  Clearance item contains titanium oxide.

10.79 ounce block for $12.52
9.69 ounce block for $11.25
9.76 ounce block for $11.33
12.16 ounce block for $14.11
10.40 ounce block for $12.07
10.19 ounce block for $11.83

6. Assorted chunks of leftover deodorant sold by the ounce at $1.16 per ounce.

About My Products

I try my absolute best to make all my products 100% vegan and free of genetically modified organisms, gluten, heavy metals, peanuts, walnuts, and any known carcinogens.  My products have no coloring agents or even alcohol.  Since everything I start with is in its natural form, the colors and consistency of my products may vary.  And since I live in an old slanted house that moves when the wind blows, the molds may dry in a slanted position, but I'm trying to come up with solutions for that.

Molds

My default mold is a circular muffin mold about 2-1/2 to 2-3/4 inches in diameter because I have enough of that mold to make two pounds of soap per day.  I have a Photobucket album that shows what other molds I have here.  If you would like for me to use one of your molds, I'm willing to do so.  Stainless steel molds are the easiest to get the soap out of without damaging the soap or the mold.  The soap is a hot liquid when poured into the mold and must be left in the mold for 24 hours before being turned out on a wire rack to dry for two months.

How To Order

Send me an email and include the following information:

  • Which product you would like
  • How much you would like (in pounds or ounces, but if you're providing a container, you can just ask me to fill it up, whole-pounds only for soap)
  • What mold(s) you would like me to use if it's soap (you're welcome but not required to provide your own)
  • Any ingredient(s) you would like omitted
  • Any ingredient(s) you would like added (you're welcome but not required to provide your own)
Please note that bath/shower, hand, and shave soaps and deodorant will take two months to cure.

Regularly Stocked Ingredients

The following is a list of ingredients I use in my products.  The green ones are either not in stock, running low, or I'm having trouble finding them.  If you order a product with one or more of these ingredients, I may use alternative ingredients or take extra time to order some.  If I use alternative ingredients, they will still be held to the extreme standards I've set for all my ingredients.
Light peach ingredients will be deleted from this list in January 2014.
Light blue ingredients are proposed to be added December 2013 or January 2014.

Aloe Vera Gel (aftershave and both lotions)
Apple (all OLD soaps)
Chamomile Essential Oil (aroma therapy lotion)
Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil (antibiotic ointment)
Coconut Oil (almost all products)
Cornstarch (deodorant)
Eucalyptus Essential Oil (vapor oil)
Lavender Essential Oil (aftershave, shave soap, and vapor oil) (Thank you, Mom! 20 September 2013)
Palm Oil (all soaps)
Peppermint Essential Oil (aftershave)
Rice Bran Wax (antibiotic ointment)
Rose Essential Oil (aroma therapy lotion)
Rosemary Essential Oil (aftershave and vapor oil)
Safflower Oil (all OLD soaps)
Shea Butter (all soaps except plain, lip balm, and sunscreen)
Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) (deodorant)
Sodium Hydroxide (Lye) (all NEW soaps)
Soy Flour (all OLD soaps)
Tea Tree [Essential] Oil (all soaps except plain, deodorant, and aroma therapy lotion)
Titanium Oxide (all OLD soaps)
Zinc Oxide (aroma therapy lotion and sunscreen)

Any help acquiring or finding these ingredients at a low cost will be appreciated.  Lower cost ingredients help to reduce the cost of my products while higher cost ingredients help to increase the cost of my products.  They must always be 100% vegan, non-GM, etc.

Minty Clean's Wish List

(Try to avoid aluminum and plastic.  And lead and mercury and other heavy metals and petroleum products.)

Stick Blender
Soap molds you wish I had
Stainless steel (or glass =s) double boiler
Stainless steel wire racks (can't have too many of these)
Stainless steel deep 1/2 TBSP, 1/8 tsp, 1/16 tsp (plastic ones break on shea butter and coconut oil)
Any interesting, cute, or funny soap molds made of stainless steel, iron, or glass (steel is easier to turn out)

My products and their ingredients:

According to their manufacturers, none of the following ingredients are genetically modified.  You may request that I add or remove any ingredient from any product.  Obviously some changes would cause the product to not work or fall apart, but adding essential oils shouldn't screw things up too much.

Aftershave
Immediate
Aloe vera gel, lavender essential oil, peppermint essential oil, and rosemary essential oil.

Antibiotic/Anti-fungal/Antimicrobial Ointment

Immediate
Coconut oil and cinnamon bark essential oil.


Aroma Therapy Lotion (for skin rashes, itches, or any sort of fungus)*
Immediate
Aloe vera gel, zinc oxide, tea tree [essential] oil, rose essential oil, and chamomile essential oil.

Bathing/Body Soap
Two months
(OLD) Coconut oil, palm oil, safflower oil, glycerin, water, shea butter, soy flour, apple, titanium oxide (if desired), and tea tree [essential] oil.
(PROPOSED) Lye (water and sodium hydroxide), olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, shea butter, and tea tree [essential] oil.
Note: I will cure double the recommended time to make absolutely certain no lye remains.

Deodorant
Two months
Coconut oil, cornstarch, sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), shea butter, and tea tree [essential] oil.


Facial Cleanser (for oily skin)*
Coming soon!
Possibly being developed by Heather =)

Facial Mask
Coming soon!
Possibly being developed by Heather =)

Hand Soap
Two months
(OLD) Coconut oil, palm oil, safflower oil, glycerin, water, shea butter, soy flour, apple, titanium oxide (if desired), and tea tree [essential] oil.
(PROPOSED) Lye (water and sodium hydroxide), olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, shea butter, and tea tree [essential] oil.
Note: I will cure double the recommended time to make absolutely certain no lye remains.

Lip Balm
Overnight
Olive oil, shea butter, and coconut oil.


Moisturizing Lotion (for dry skin)*
Immediate
Aloe vera gel.

Plain Soap (to be used as an ingredient in other products)
Two days
(OLD) Coconut oil, palm oil, safflower oil, glycerin, water, soy flour, apple, and titanium oxide (if desired).
(PROPOSED) Lye (water and sodium hydroxide), olive oil, coconut oil, and palm oil.
Note: I will cure double the recommended time to make absolutely certain no lye remains.

Shave Soap (for legs and beards)
Two months
(OLD) Coconut oil, palm oil, safflower oil, glycerin, water, shea butter, soy flour, apple, titanium oxide (if desired), lavender essential oil, and tea tree [essential] oil.
(PROPOSED) Lye (water and sodium hydroxide), olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, lavender essential oil, and tea tree [essential] oil.
Note: I will cure double the recommended time to make absolutely certain no lye remains.

Sunscreen (estimated SPF 30)*
Overnight
Coconut oil, shea butter, and zinc oxide.

Vapor Oil for colds* (similar to Vicks Vaporub)
Overnight
Coconut oil, eucalyptus essential oil, rosemary essential oil, and lavender essential oil.

♥ ♥ ♥

* The material provided in this blog entry is strictly for informational and educational purposes only.  It's not meant to replace or substitute for the recommendations or advice of your physician or health care provider.  The information contained in this blog entry should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease.  If you believe you have a medical condition or problem, contact your health care provider.

The statements contained in this blog entry have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  The products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease.  We just think it's fun to smear stuff all over our bodies and slide naked across the kitchen floor.