Body Melt tutorial- Exotic Mango

It's time for another simple and yummy project: Body melts with the exotic mango fragrance.

Body melts are, from a chemical point of view butters and fats with a higher consistency than ordinary butters. While you have to pour butter in a jar and apply it from a jar, you can apply the body melt as a single piece. There are unlimited possibilities (as much as your available molds). These are easier to apply than a butter, yet they melt with skin contact and with a little pressure applied during the application and leave a very pleasant skin feel. Since they are free of water, there is no need to apply any preservative, you don't need any homogenizer or complicated mixer. The preparation is as easy as M&P soap and you can pour them in any available mold from small chocolate molds to milky way molds. You can even pour them in bigger molds and then cut the melt into small pieces for an easier application.

The formulation is a mix of butters. You may apply very little amounts of liquid oils or lipophilic extracts (less than 2%). Then you need essential oils or fragrances (0,5-1,0%). I recommend application of 0,5% alpha-Tocopherol both as an antioxidant and for its skin caring and emolliency benefits. Depending on the fragrance and other ingredients, you may want to add a fat soluble/dispersible pigments and colorants. This is generally 1-2 drops of dispersion per 100 gr mixture which is less than a pinch of powder pigment. 

Be aware that body melts are generally good and practical during cold months. They have a melting point of around 30 degrees Celsius. If you are living in a hot area and during summer, you should keep them in the fridge to avoid melting.

For this body melt, I chose a blend of cocoa butter, shea butter, Mango butter, Babassu oil and partially hydrogenated soybean oil. I love this blend. Then I decided to apply our exotic mango fragrance and a few drops of D&C Red#30 dispersed in Glycerin. Since the pigment is dispersed in glycerin, and glycerin and oil are not really miscible, you should apply max. 1 drop of color per 100 gr fatty ingredients. I decided to apply a silicone mold with cavities formed as small flowers. Each flower is about 15 gr. You are free to apply smaller or bigger molds. Keep in mind that the mold should be put in fridge after you've poured the mixture, so make sure that you've enough space in the fridge as you're choosing your mold and calculating your ingredients.

Before we proceed, please have a look at our earlier posts on Basic equipment and utensil for a cosmetic lab and hygienic manufacturing practice in cosmetic lab. 

You may as well have a look at my earlier tutorial for Chili body melts from last year.

Here we go with Mango body melts.

For 100 gr body melt you'll need:

63,0% cocoa butter, preferably unrefined (63,0 gr) 

21,0% Shea butter (21,0 gr)

8,0% Soy bean oil, partially hydrogenated (melting point 38 ^oC) (8,0 gr)

5,0% Babassu oil (5,0 gr)

2,0% Mango butter (2,0 gr)

0,5% alpha-Tocopherol (vitamin E) (0,5 gr, ca 8-10 drops )

0,5% Exotic Mango fragrance oil (0,5 gr, ca 8-10 drops)

optional: 1-2 drops of D&C Red#30 (1% dispersion in Glycerin)

You may need as well

a glass beaker

glass rod or spatula for stirring

disposable pipettes

a suitable mold (a silicone form is the most suitable)

a water bath

Instruction:

One: Melt cocoa butter in a beaker in water bath. Do not let the temperature exceed 60 degrees Celsius.  

Two: When cocoa butter is melted stop heating and add shea butter, Mango butter, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, babassu oil and Tocopherol. Stir with a glass rod while the mixture cools down. 

Three: At around 50 ^oC add the fragrance oil and the color and fill in a silicone mold with a steady hand.

Four: Put the mold immediately in the fridge. Keep the mold, depending on the mols size from a couple of hours to 10 hrs in the fridge. Push the pieces out of the mold as soon as you take the mold out of the fridge.

You don't need to keep the body melts in the fridge but avoid direct sunshine and keeping near a stove or radiator.

Enjoy the excellent feel yourself or make a beautiful gift for a friend.

You can purchase all ingredients you need @skinChakra® online shop.

Happy Mixing  and have fun