Does anyone make their own product/what about regulations of

[Go Yankees!]

I mean for massage lotion/oil, or things you might want to put together as little gifts to give your clients? I've seen such things mentioned here, but not a whole thread for it (that I've noticed- I miss whole threads a lot, though). I'd like to know IF anyone does this, WHAT they make, WHY, and recipes if possible (pretty please?), and are there any regulations in your state (or does anyone know if there are in Texas) about this and how do you make sure you "keep kosher"? Thanks!

 

[Erik Star]

I haven't made anything to give to clients, but I sell soaps during the holidays from where I work. I have also made lotion and you will need some kind of preservative as lotion is an emulsion using water and oil and will go bad quickly. In the fridge it might last a week or two without any kind of preservative. It will also help to have a thickener such as steric acid or your lotion will be runny.

A really great site for recipes is http://www.soapmakingforum.com
Not only are the recipes good but the info on there is highly informative with practically none of the drama that generally goes on in forums (not that I have visited that many). There's a ton of info there that you can find to help on how to make lotion, scrubs, soaps....

Scrubs are a good gift, I have made those as gifts but its better to put it in a container where water won't get into the product or there you will also want to use a perservative. Although, I have made scrubs for myself in a jar that was fine but I used it up within a few weeks. When giving those types of handcrafted things away, you don't want them going bad especially if you are giving them to clients!

Natural body care products are great, but it's better to make less at a time because they can go rancid quickly. Oil blends may be your easiest bet because there's no need really for perservative if you bottle them in small bottles so they don't sit around unused for too long.

Since I only know about selling soap, the law here in CA is that I have to list all ingredients on the label but I don't have to get the soap tested as long as I'm not making any claims such as it will help psoriasis or something like that.

You can try a search engine to find out what the laws are in your state, but if you are giving them away, then you shouldn't have to worry about regulations. But you would need to look up what constitutes kosher if you are giving to clients who are concerned about that.

 

[Master Buz Lawson]

You really need to make sure you list all ingredients on a label. If you use any kind of colorant, even food color, you'll need to put the FD&C number on it. Just in case people are allergic to something you might have put in whatever you're making. A good place to get packaging is http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com. I've used several recipes from here: http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com/recipe/default.asp.

 

[freeekle]

Ohhh, really great point about the allergies. I assumed that you might know your clients allergies, but you might not either...

Something I forgot to add about scrubs -- I have found that grapeseed oil is the least slippery in the shower--

To add to Trae's site recommendations: a really great product supply company is http://www.mountainroseherbs.com

I can't even begin to tell you how addictive it gets making your own beauty care products!!

 

[eldude]

I've not made "beauty care" products, so much as "health care" products (for personal use). I make what I call "baby balm" (for lack of a better term). It works WONDERS. I know we can't make any "claims", but I have used it successfully for all sorts of diaper rashes, and I have given jars of it to a friend who used to foster special needs/drug babies, and she has told me that it is the only thing that has worked on some of their chemical-induced diaper rashes. Not that I want to sell it, but it is the *first* thing that I have gotten really good at making, and I love studying herbs. I would LOVE to complete my herbal training and find a way to incorporate that into my practice.

 

[Matthew K]

Your balm sounds like a great option for your gift idea!

I guess what I meant was health care products. I like to make all natural --- no dyes, colorants, synthetic additives type of thing. Being someone who grew up very tomboyish and spent five years traveling around living outside, I just naturally associate beauty and health together whenever I think of body scrubs, soaps, lotions, cremes, shampoo.....

I also used to make comfrey salves but only for personal use while I was traveling. It was great for insect bites and bruises.

***if you want a swap, pm me and I can send you some soaps for some balm!!***

 

[myrika_05]

Hah- I do use comfrey in the balm. How'd you know?

I don't have any in "smaller" jars- we go through it pretty quickly, so I put it in 8oz jars. And I'm not sure what folks would think about me giving them "Baby balm", kwim?

Are there rules on where and how things like this are made, or just on how they're labeled? I know that if we were to start selling anything other than "for pain relief/management/prevention", we'd have to get a state sales tax license. Blah.

This is something I am thinking about for later. More "musing", so to speak. I don't have time to add anything else to my plate right now- or to have to keep track of either!