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How to properly cool a batch before putting the top/cap on the samples??? Please Help!!!
Hello.
Can anyone advise how to properly cool my batch once I formulate my product and pour the hot gel in the jars before I put the tops/caps on? I’ve tried putting the top on each sample
once they have cooled for about 30 mins top less but once the top has been screwed on it creates condensation (a noticeable amount of water in the inside of the top/cap if I unscrew it say a few hours later so much condensation that I would have to wipe the
insides of each cap to get the water out. Then I tried leaving the top off for 1 1/2-2 hrs that was better in terms of no condensation once I put the tops/caps on my samples but then I ran into the dilemma that the samples did not evenly cool. The center of
the samples were not cured until hours after I placed the tops/caps on them and once the center of those samples finally cured it left a noticeable ring in the middle of all of the samples and it looked as if water droplets settled on top of the actual gel
but it was only that some tiny little spots did not cure properly so of the 2 senerios I do like the first one best.. that’s the one I use normally but unsure what to do about the condensation because the product did not fully cool down before I screwd the
tops on but with this senerio my samples evenly cure. Any suggestions that would not change the clarity of my finished product would be greatly appreciated. I’ve formulated a clear ringing gel. Thanks -
4 Replies
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@Pattsi thanks for the video!
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The way I allow my lotions and creams to cool off is by using my oven as the place where they cool down. They are safe from air currents carrying around cooties AND there’s no chance of anything falling into the containers while they cool off.
I figure my oven is probably quite clean since the temp. inside is often at over 350 F. AND I tend to clean up spills soon rather than what my mother-in-law would do (off-topic bringing up my mother-in-law 😃, but often her smoke detector would go off when she was using her oven due to spills NOT being cleaned up in her oven. Just thinking of this almost makes my eyes water)
To be EXTRA careful, you could heat your oven the DAY BEFORE for maybe 1/2 an hour at 300F. That should sterilize its surfaces.
I place my sanitized jars or bottles into a plastic bin or cookie sheet that I have sanitized beforehand with a clean handkerchief soaked in 70% ethanol. The handkerchief has ONLY ever been used for sanitizing hard surfaces like already clean jars/counter tops, mixing equipment & stuff like that. I put the jars/bottles in a bin or on a cookie sheet so they won’t fall through the grill in the oven, and it allows me to move around the jars/bottles all together.
After the jars/bottles are filled with the product, I cover the jars/bottles with another clean handkerchief that has ALSO been thoroughly saturated (then squeezed out so it’s not dripping wet) in 70% alcohol. I have a large-mouth glass jar of this alcohol specifically for soaking my handkerchiefs. I drape the wet handkerchief over the filled jars/bottles, being careful it does not droop onto the surface of any cream in the jars. The product can cool off through the pores of the fabric of the sanitized handkerchief.
I place them in the oven and close its door (obvious, but needed to be typed anyhow). Then I make a cup of tea to celebrate the successful production of cream or lotion.
The lids (cleaned by spritzing with 70% ethanol & allowed to dry, in the oven as well) are placed on the containers THE NEXT DAY.
PLEASE GO AHEAD AND CORRECT ME IF THIS IS WRONG.
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@Margaret Thanks so much for taking the time to respond! I appreciate an welcome all suggestions.
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