[Margaret]

Thanks Matt!!!!

[Margaret]

Thanks to ALL for your input.

[Margaret]

I was hoping someone could give me a guess as to the TYPE of mold? (fungus)

I know that an analysis is the best way to do it, but I thought someone with experience might have an idea what sort of mold I have cultured ????. If not, no big whoop.

I did this trial to prove to those who like “all natural, preservative-free” lotions how very WRONG they are in thinking it’s safe, since a picture is worth approx. 8,092 words.

[Margaret]

I thought mad cow disease was caused by prions found in the brain & spinal cord. Meh. What do I know?

[Margaret]

Thanks for the link to the video. It was neat.

He DID show a chart that declared soap & shampoo to have pHs of 11, which is wrong, but otherwise, it was a good video.

[Margaret]

I LOVE:

That we can now get notified of responses to our questions. FanTAStic!

That you, Perry, have gone to the trouble to re-create this fantastic site. I have read and actually remembered many things from many people here. Rock on man!

I do NOT love so much:

That it’s a little tricky to post a new question. One has to first click on the TOPIC they want, THEN the box appearances for ‘New Discussion’. It would easier for MY brain if one would first click on ‘New Discussion’, then you can pick the variety of query you have.

That you have to click on the ‘…’ at the top to find the FORUM. I would be ecstatic if the forum had its own heading/title the same way your blog does.

[Margaret]

Thanks SO much for the link & your own responses!

[Margaret]

Ooooowa. I’ll try your suggestions!

Thanks man!

[Margaret]

@MarkBroussard: you MUST be spanked! 
Further to tallow from grass-fed. It’s $25 for 750 grams. Tallow from grain-fed cattle is $16 for 1500 grams. I’m sure the grass-fed is magical.  

[Margaret]

I had once asked if I could order stearic acid FROM TALLOW. I was given the response, “Only YOU would buy it” Such a WASTE to NOT use up the fat from the cattle industry. It’s nice to see it being used by some large soap manufacturers, at least. I am lucky enough to be able to BUY the waste fat from the local Water Buffalo people around here at least. Saves it from anaerobic decomposition in our local landfill. 

[Margaret]

A previous member of this group thought that tallow is NOT used  because, as he said, “PETA would be all over them”.  Maybe this was referring to LARGE companies, who’d be noticed by PETA, but not small ones(?). 

[Margaret]

O.K. thanks all you fine people!

 I had NOT realized this Tristat & Optiphen are different combinations of phenoxyethanol & capryly glycol. 

  I have been using the phenoxyethanol with the Germall +  only the last 1 1/2 years approx.  because it’s supposed to be slightly volatile from what I read on a real cosmetic chemist’s blog/web-site, so I figured I’d add that to the CREAM since fingers go into the product.  I’m happy to read I can just go back to Germall + only. Woopee  !

I use sodium phytate at 0.3%. Once that’s gone I’ll go back to the EDTA at 0.2%.

[Margaret]

@ozgirl YES, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head regarding how this fragrance company is marketing their new line of FOs.

[Margaret]

I too am clueless as to WHY PFAS would be in fragrance oils, but I have been wrong many times, thus my question to those who know WAY more than I do. They may as well add :”Now, without plutonium!”  to their list of claims. 

[Margaret]

Thanks for your comment!

[Margaret]

Har har! So true about what the labels declares. How many times have we all been disappointed by a supposedly “delicious” food item or fragrance for example(s), and it turns out to be gross? Thanks for your response.

[Margaret]

I did not know sodium stearate could be used in other types of “deodorant”. I assumed it was only good to hold together glycol deodorant sticks. Thanks for the response!

[Margaret]

I had NO idea sodium stearate can hold together the stuff in that product. I only use sodium stearate to make my propylene glycol & dipropylene glycol deodorant sticks. Thanks for the response!

[Margaret]

Eutrophication means a body of water has had nutrients (that normally occur in only small amounts), added to it. The increased nutrients result in algae now having so much nutrients, they grow like crazy & produce algal blooms. This leads to the water becoming depleted in oxygen (due to the algal blooms) and then fish & other life forms in the water suffocate & die from lack of oxygen.

Phosphorus was found to be a main cause of this eutrophication so it was banned in laundry detergents, BUT it seems nitrogen might also be a factor.

Here is more info. on eutrophication of bodies of water and WHY phosphorus was seen as the cause.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.6b02204

pubs.acs.org

Just a moment...

Just a moment...

[Margaret]

It is MUCH better without the IPM. Who knew? (Not me, thus my question here)

[Margaret]

Yes, Liquid Germall +. I had that correct in my original post but made the boo-boo when writing out the ingredient list (that Abdullah had asked for).

I liked the dramatic music that accompanied the video you attached ????.

[Margaret]

ANSWERS TO ABDULLAH’S QUESTIONS:

Were you using the unpreserved cream after production?

I ONLY put 1 finger into each jar about every second day after making it. I washed my fingers after that. I did NOT put my finger into the jar after I saw the mold and I am not very keen on taking a whiff of it with the mold growing in it ????, sorry! Sometimes I’d leave the lids off BOTH jars, just for kicks for maybe 20 minutes. I did NOT spit into the jars or have my cat stick her paw into them, nothing like that.

Can you write the ingredients list?

Sodium lactate, sodium phytate, allantoin, propylene glycol, glycerine, citric acid, and of course water.

Water Buffalo tallow, polawax emulsifier, dimethicone, vitamin E, xanthan gum.

The PRESERVED sample also got cyclomethicone & fragrance added at the same time as the 0.5% liquid germall preservative.

To what degree did you heat your water and for how long?

Water phase got to just under 80 Celsius. It was held at over 75 Celsius for 22 minutes. Same thing with the lipids phase.

What type of water do you use?

It is tap water, from snow melt. I “can” the water by boiling it for 25 minutes in canning jars. Our water is extremely soft, but I still use the chelator to be extra safe. The mineral content is 6 digereedoos. According to the U.S. Geological Survey website, any water under 50 digereedoos is regarded as “soft”

This photo shows how I heat the water & lipid phases. The contents are protected from stuff landing in them because I use canning jars with their lids into which a hole has been drilled. I do NOT lose any measurable amount of water this way (versus people who heat their water phase in an open container, tsk, tsk). The thermometers are held near the surface of the water & lipids phases with a clamp IF needed. The lids and clamps get drenched with 70% ethanol before I start this heating phase.

[Margaret]

Their claim of this crappy formula lasting 3 years almost made my hair go frizzy.

I am nervous about using a simple 2 year old lotion I made in which I use Germall preservative, never mind some crap these people make with pine sap as a preservative (AND it’s loaded with plant extracts too, apparently), for christ’s sake.

[Margaret]

Nope. I did not want to add to the poopulation. We have a cat.

I will be giving a letter to the manager of the store that stocks this crap, and I’ll include the Health Canada recalls & point out to the manager that this moronic company is STILL, NOT using a REAL preservative. The company’s pine sap they use to preserve this sorry excuse of a conditioner (and also the baby lotion) is NOT “cutting it”.

I had already pointed this fact out to the store manager a few years ago, and she said something along the lines of “we haven’t had any complaints”.

[Margaret]

This shit (Carina Organics) is sold at a nearby store where you can refill bottles & jars. It really makes me mad. Thanks so much for your responses.