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Please critique my equipment for home lab.
I plan to make skincare at home to sell. (I live in the Philippines and, while I strive to be as sanitary/lab-grade as possible, it’s not a requirement for small, home-based cosmetics businesses here, so no need to worry about that.) I will be making everything from balms to serums to creams. Currently, I use a double boiler, microwave, stick blender, and good ol’ elbow grease to mix.
After scouring this forum for information on all things equipment, I’ve whittled everything down to the following:
1. Microwave (water phase)
2. Hot plate (oil phase)
3. 1 pc. Overhead stirrer
4. KitchenAid mixerI initially thought I would need a magnetic stirrer, but several people have pointed out that this would be useless for higher viscosity solutions. I also planned to get a commercial grade stick blender but I read it wouldn’t be as good as an overhead stirrer. For low shear mixing, I figured a KitchenAid would do the trick, as I have an extra one lying around.
Would these 4 equipment be a good starting point?
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4 Replies
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Note: As much as I’d like to get a brand name overhead stirrer, I’m going to have to buy from China because:
1. Ordering from the US and forwarding to the Philippines would essentially double the price of the equipment; and
2. Even if cost was not an issue, there’s the problem of 110V (US) vs 220V (Philippines). -
Good stick blender would be more useful than kitchen aid mixer. It creates high shear and doesn’t introduce as much air as a mixer, which is crucial for lotions.
You need thermometers, precise scale (0.01), glass beakers, and hot plates for both water and oil phase (miscowave is a bad idea). -
ngarayeva001 said:Good stick blender would be more useful than kitchen aid mixer. It creates high shear and doesn’t introduce as much air as a mixer, which is crucial for lotions.
You need thermometers, precise scale (0.01), glass beakers, and hot plates for both water and oil phase (miscowave is a bad idea).Thank you!
Yes, the scales and thermometer were a given. I currently use 2 scales and a candy thermometer.
Okay, microwave bad idea.
For the kitchenaid, I was thinking it would be good for low shear mixing?
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You listed an overhead stirrer, so you have low shear already, you need high now.
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