Magnus8
Well-Known Member
I'll start off with my credentials, since they are pertinent to this discussion and form the basis of my knowledge.
First of all, I am a writer by tradition, and I tend to write sometimes very long-winded articles and posts. Let me apologize up front for that. I cannot help it. It is just the way I am. But those credentials are less pertinent to our discussion here than the credentials I will outline below.
I am a soap and lotion crafter by trade. I have studied and practiced and learned my craft over many years, using mostly books of previously handed down knowledge handed down to me. I have also learned through doing. By making what seems like tons of handcrafted soaps and lotions that I have sold at Farmers Markets, Specialty Markets, Trade Shows and through small businesses on commission. My products were very popular and we (my wife and I) had many repeat customers. But, like so many small businesses, we were unprepared to grow and at a certain time it grew beyond our capacities to sustain the business. Sadly, I closed my business at the end of last summer's Farmers Market season. I still regret it, but it was the best decision for the health of both my wife and I.
Now for the fun part!
We're here to make cannabis infused lotions and butters and creams -- oh my! We are all here to learn, I hope, for that is what this study hall will mostly be about. Learning. From each other as we progress in our handcrafted skillset and not only learn from each other, but teach each other along the way. I envision this study hall to be just that -- a virtual space of study. There will be laughter, I hope. There will be joy, I hope. There will be tears, but I hope not many!
So let's start off with a few definitiions, to lay the ground work so to speak. This will help us to craft our language so that we are all speaking the same one and so that we may communicate better and with more clarity.
So on with it.
What is the difference between Creams and Lotions, and why do I insist on calling Creams as Butters?
The first thing to note here is that most of you who have been making creams are making what we call in the professional world "body butters." There seems to be no difference between what I see here as creams and what I know to be body butters. As such, I will probably be found to call them body butters from time to time, though I will try to learn to use the language of the site and call them creams.
A body butter -- or cream -- is composed of oils and often beeswax to thicken the mix. So when someone tells me that they make a cream of coconut oil and grape seed oil and possibly avocado oil, combined with beeswax as a thickener, then they are telling me they are making a body butter.
A lotion is composed of oils and sometimes beeswax sometimes not that uses an emulsifying agent to combine them, much like mayonaisse is an emulsification between oil and water using egg yolks to emulsify them together. When someone tells me they are making a cream with coconut oil and grape seed oil and avocado oil, combined with water and BTMS-25 (an all-natural emulsifier derived from plants) as a thickener, then they are telling me they are making a lotion.
The primary difference between the two kinds of product are that one is an oil product and one is an oil and water product, where the water and oils are combined with some kind of emulsifying agent (because as we all know, water and oils don't normally mix together).
Now that's a lot to take in in one sitting. I urge you to read and re-read the above explanations until you truly understand them. If you get it quickly then great. Read on. If it takes some time to grasp these concepts, that's okay, too. But please try. Because in this study hall we'll be talking extensively about the two different kinds of products and attempting to learn how to develop our own creams or lotions that suit us -- or our patients -- best. For each has its good and bad qualities, and each is suitable to different purposes.
Whereas one situation might call for a cannabis infused body butter to be developed, another situation might call for a cannabis infused lotion. Only you can decide which application will suit you best at any given time.
Good night and good reading!
I bid you adieu!
First of all, I am a writer by tradition, and I tend to write sometimes very long-winded articles and posts. Let me apologize up front for that. I cannot help it. It is just the way I am. But those credentials are less pertinent to our discussion here than the credentials I will outline below.
I am a soap and lotion crafter by trade. I have studied and practiced and learned my craft over many years, using mostly books of previously handed down knowledge handed down to me. I have also learned through doing. By making what seems like tons of handcrafted soaps and lotions that I have sold at Farmers Markets, Specialty Markets, Trade Shows and through small businesses on commission. My products were very popular and we (my wife and I) had many repeat customers. But, like so many small businesses, we were unprepared to grow and at a certain time it grew beyond our capacities to sustain the business. Sadly, I closed my business at the end of last summer's Farmers Market season. I still regret it, but it was the best decision for the health of both my wife and I.
Now for the fun part!
We're here to make cannabis infused lotions and butters and creams -- oh my! We are all here to learn, I hope, for that is what this study hall will mostly be about. Learning. From each other as we progress in our handcrafted skillset and not only learn from each other, but teach each other along the way. I envision this study hall to be just that -- a virtual space of study. There will be laughter, I hope. There will be joy, I hope. There will be tears, but I hope not many!
So let's start off with a few definitiions, to lay the ground work so to speak. This will help us to craft our language so that we are all speaking the same one and so that we may communicate better and with more clarity.
So on with it.
What is the difference between Creams and Lotions, and why do I insist on calling Creams as Butters?
The first thing to note here is that most of you who have been making creams are making what we call in the professional world "body butters." There seems to be no difference between what I see here as creams and what I know to be body butters. As such, I will probably be found to call them body butters from time to time, though I will try to learn to use the language of the site and call them creams.
A body butter -- or cream -- is composed of oils and often beeswax to thicken the mix. So when someone tells me that they make a cream of coconut oil and grape seed oil and possibly avocado oil, combined with beeswax as a thickener, then they are telling me they are making a body butter.
A lotion is composed of oils and sometimes beeswax sometimes not that uses an emulsifying agent to combine them, much like mayonaisse is an emulsification between oil and water using egg yolks to emulsify them together. When someone tells me they are making a cream with coconut oil and grape seed oil and avocado oil, combined with water and BTMS-25 (an all-natural emulsifier derived from plants) as a thickener, then they are telling me they are making a lotion.
The primary difference between the two kinds of product are that one is an oil product and one is an oil and water product, where the water and oils are combined with some kind of emulsifying agent (because as we all know, water and oils don't normally mix together).
Now that's a lot to take in in one sitting. I urge you to read and re-read the above explanations until you truly understand them. If you get it quickly then great. Read on. If it takes some time to grasp these concepts, that's okay, too. But please try. Because in this study hall we'll be talking extensively about the two different kinds of products and attempting to learn how to develop our own creams or lotions that suit us -- or our patients -- best. For each has its good and bad qualities, and each is suitable to different purposes.
Whereas one situation might call for a cannabis infused body butter to be developed, another situation might call for a cannabis infused lotion. Only you can decide which application will suit you best at any given time.
Good night and good reading!
I bid you adieu!
) to make. 
I personally like the nutty earthy smell myself, but a lot of people don't. This is what I smell when I walk through my dining room, I have a batch of it melting in a crock pot right now.
