When Cocoa Loco went Uh Oh


If I had all kinds of super expensive fancy equipment to test my products, I would be able to finish developing them a lot faster.

My products are all tested 'in real time'. Sometimes that means having to dump a product after months of it 'behaving nicely'. Some products will actually fool you and behave nicely for what seems like forever – then go wonky (practically) overnight.


My latest lip balm did just that. It suddenly went grainy after 5 steady months of non-stop, problem-free use.

Sigh.

Back to the drawing board.

Shoot the Shea

I know what the problem is, and I am going to have to drop the one ingredient I was most pleased about bringing into this formula: shea butter.

Regardless of which supplier I order from, shea has always been a bucket of worms to work with. In some combinations and with some production methods, it's pretty consistent (even though it always needs to be treated like a baby).

Where it really gets iffy is with warmer temperatures. You can't make a lip balm without involving temperatures.

Every wax and butter has a different melting point. To get the perfect texture and stability, things have to be done in a certain order and the temp must be monitored constantly. And even if you've checked and double checked and worked uninterrupted with the concentration of a safecracker, it still goes wrong sometimes.

Next batch will be shea free.

Stay tuned.

PS: There's still a bit of time to get in on this giveaway

Comments

Tina Rasmussen, CPH said…
I know that feeling! So annoying when it behaves sometimes, then sometimes goes all grainy and not so wonderful on you (me).
Is shea the only butter that acts like that? I have not have any other butter do it yet, but then I have only beeb making my own cosmetics for a little while, not like you. I like macademia and coffee cause they seem to stay soft and so has the mango and avocado I've tried.

Have a great weekend! Tina
LisaLise said…
Hi Tina,

I've pretty much only had this grainy experience with shea butter. It sounds like you are working with some exciting butters! May I ask who your supplier is? I've never worked with macadamia butter, and I think it would be fun to try.
Tina Rasmussen, CPH said…
Of course Lise! I love macadamia butter :-) The smell and texture and it made the most wonderful whipped body butter. Ive bought it from both akomaskincare.co.uk and ofasimplenature.co.uk
Tina
LisaLise said…
Hi Tina,

Thanks!! This is great! I can't wait to check these out! :)
Rikke said…
Hej Lise

Der er altså også andre markedsførte produkter, der bøvler med grynet Shea. Jeg har en såkaldt "Calm balm" fra Karmameju. Den blev altså også grynet efter nogle måneder. Jeg siger det bare ;-).....

Kh Rikke
LisaLise said…
Tak Rikke! det er vel nok dejligt at vide at jeg ikke er den eneste der slås med shea. Lige så meget som jeg elsker det, så kan det være noget så frustrerende at arbejde med!
Tina Rasmussen, CPH said…
Thought of this post when I was in Magasin the other day looking at the (in my opinion) overprized Eve Lom products - one of the sample balms was all grainy too.
I am trying other butters though cause I just like the ssmooth feel better than the grainy one.
LisaLise said…
Hej Tina - I've got an upcoming post on shea graininess-- a reader sent me some very interesting info that I am checking out..