Teach Soap

Hi everyone, I've just joined, this is my first post. I've been making soaps, lotions and potions, bath bombs etc for about 2 weeks and I'm loving it. But I live on a small island in the Caribbean and supplies are hard to come by. I have a small scale but it is not digital and trying to weigh out 1.2oz or this and 1.7 oz of that just isn't going to work. I've not been able to find a digital scale under $125 here!

Does anyone have a lotion recipe that I can use by volume, so I can use a cup of this, a tablespoon of that, a teaspoon of this one and so on....

I have tried to adjust the BB recipe but it didn't go quite right by volume instead and I had oil on the top of my lotion.
18 oz. Distilled Water
1.2 oz. Shea Butter
1.7 oz. Sweet Almond Oil
1 oz. Avocado Oil
1.2 oz. Emulsifying Wax
1 oz. Stearic Acid
.2 oz. Phenonip
.1 oz. Fragrance

All suggestions to make it nice and easy would be appreciated. Thank you

Making lotion by volume will not work. You really do need a scale; especially for a small amount of your preservative. Have you tried thrift stores or e bay for a scale?

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Sadly there are no dollar stores, thrift stores or the like in the Cayman Islands. Everything is really expensive here. And yes I could buy on ebay but the cost of overseas shipping and then the large customs import duties make this no real option either.

And for small weights, like the preservative you mention, I would have thought that a set of small measuring spoons or a pippette in ml would be more accurate than a scale. Even for small weights like 1.2 oz.

Hmm. looks like I am a bit stuck without a digital scale.

I highly suggest you find a different scale. Walmart.com sells a basic digital scale for under 30$, do they ship to your area? If not, I would look around. Also, you could check various on line sites for recipes that are shared for your private use. I dont know of anyone who sells that will give away their recipes, as they have worked long and hard to develop them. If you dont see something you like on Teach Soap you can check MMS, WSP, Snowdrift and others, they all have recipe pages. Good luck and welcome to the forum!

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

I just saw your post about the lack of stores in your area, maybe you could check with a local shop and see if they would be willing to special order you something? Just a though...

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

I checked Walmart and they do not ship overseas. Most of the budget suppliers do not, because the cost of the shipping is more than the price of the item.
I do find it difficult to craft on a small island, I make jewellery as well as this recent interest in bath and body supplies. I have to import everything and pay international shipping and duty which typically makes my supplies 60-80% more expensive than a US crafter.
If anyone would like to come to the Cayman Islands for a vacation and slip a digital scale in their luggage, it would make me very happy!
Along with 50lbs of soaping ingredients!

Hey- just found a really cool add-on for Amazon.com where you can check to see if an item can be shipped to your country: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefo ... n-ship-to/ I think it only works if you're using firefox for your web browser, though...
In any case, I found a couple of scales that can be sent to the Cayman Islands:
http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Precisio ... 810&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/Newline-Champagne ... 10&sr=8-15

Otherwise, I heard that there are companies in the US that allow you to, I guess, rent? a US mailing address so that you can have your items that you buy online get shipped to the address and then they forward your packages on to where you actually live. Companies like: shipito.com
bongous.com
usglobalmail.com
and there are others out there like these. I don't use any of these services and don't advocate for them. So, just do your research on the companies to see if you would like to try any of them out...

I hope you can figure out your importing problems and get some better shipping deals so that you can continue creating your body products!

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Tamra
New to soaping, long time crafter and artisan, avid learner of new things!

Well I am sure that next winter I would LOVE to try and smuggle you a scale! LOL The lack of supplies is about the only draw back that I can see to living in a tropical paradise, but I am sorry for that. Although I do envy your views, weather and inspirations, I don't think I could handle a lack of supplies for all of my crafts. I wish you luck in finding a supplier that you can afford!

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

Ha ha, yes you are right - what am I complaining about! I live in a house with a 180 degree view of the beach, the ocean and the sky and have no neighbours!
I think with no volume recipes I will have to "man-up" and import a digital scale. It looks like I can get one sent here and customs paid for probably around $100 all in. So a little cheaper than buying it already on the island.
Thanks for all of the helpful suggestions.
Deby

what about your local post office? they need scales... maybe you can order one online from them..?

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~Shell

Or maybe from a restaurant or restaurant supply store if you have one?

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!