Lab Tips: Cleaning Away Fats

Any anhydrous mixture with a large percentage of butters and/or waxes is inevitably going to leave a layer of product on your equipment that can be a major chore to remove.

Fats and waxes don't just magically melt away with a bit of detergent and water - especially if they have had time to set up and cool. And your water pipes will thank you for not pouring melted fats and waxes into them because they WILL harden into a clogged mass and cause all kinds of plumbing hell that costs a fortune to repair (can you tell I speak from experience?).

So today, I’m going to share a simple and effective way to clean your containers and tools after making a batch of balms, solid lotion bars, or other fat-rich products without causing plumber anxiety.

Work Fast and Work Warm

While containers and tools are still warm, wipe away excess product with a paper towel (or 2).

To work warm, you have to act immediately after pouring. While this is easiest from a cleaning perspective, it’s not always possible, so if your equipment has cooled and the product has stiffened up and set, gently reheat just enough to where you can easily wipe away the fats.

If you have been using a water bath, it’s just a question of placing the container back over the warm water briefly. If your heat source has cooled in the meantime and you happen to have a microwave available, place any (microwave safe) containers in the oven and do a few short bursts of heat to soften and remelt the product so it can be wiped away.

Don’t Skimp on the Paper Towel

With beakers or glass containers, wipe the inside with paper towel to remove as much excess as possible.

Do your best to remove everything (read: change the paper as often as needed). I generally use between 3-5 sheets of paper towel for each beaker.

When your beaker (or glass container) looks like this (slightly frosted), it is relatively easy to clean away any remainder with ordinary detergent and hot water.

Some folks have suggested saving the fatty paper towels to use as fire starters. I think this sounds like a useful idea but am not a fire starting expert, so if you have tried this or have any additional tips, please feel free to share!

Every Last Bit

Finish the cleanup process with a pass of boiling water (or dip into a basin of boiled water) before drying and storing your equipment. This will remove every last bit of residue.

Alternative Cleanup Methods

You can also use a (70% solution) of isopropyl alcohol to break down fats. Simply spray the solution onto/into the container, let sit momentarily and then wipe the fats away. This may need to be repeated a few times depending on how much there is to remove.

A 70% solution means it is a mixture of 70% isopropyl alcohol with 30% distilled water. If you have access to both ingredients, you can easily make your own .

Baking soda is said to be useful for removing fats but as I haven't tried this on my cosmetic making equipment, I am unsure of how best to use it. Perhaps making a paste with it and applying? If you have tried this please feel free to share your experiences.

Do Tell

If you have any tips for cleaning fats off of equipment, please feel free to share in a comment below.

Book of Natural Balms - Volume 1

Emerald Body Oil

This is a quick peek at a custom order for a steady client. I named it emerald body oil. Because this was made to order, the formula was mixed in the final container - a lovely glass bottle with serum pump. I paused to take this photo before giving the bottle a shake.

Ingredients include a combination of handcrafted oil infusions in different oils. The result is both pleasantly fragrant and refreshing. One of the herbs is meadowsweet (a beautifully fragrant herb).

Below: the final product

Follow me on Instagram for up to the minute peeks at what’s going on in the LisaLise lab.

Preservative Free Salve Batch Umpty-Dillion

See that bottle up there? It’s batch number umpty-dillion of a preservative-free salve that pretty much defies the normal rules of cosmetics making.

How does it defy the rules?

• It contains water, but no preservative, yet stays fresh for months

• It is an emulsion without a (standard) emulsifier, yet remains stable for months

• It contains handcrafted botanical infusions and tinctures, yet defies contamination and stays fresh for months

Cool, huh?

The (homegrown) botanicals in the pictured batch are rosemary (tincture) and helichrysum (infused oil).

Counting Batches

I’ve been using this salve formula for many years and have made so many variations of it (both with and without preservative) that I would probably have a hard time counting the actual batch size. It’s great for sensitive, dry and mature skin and I use it for everything from night cream to foot balm, so there is at any given time a bottle of it in my stock.

If you’re interested in making a version of it (that contains preservative) , there’s a how to in the book below.

Do Tell

Do you have a favorite formula that is easily tweakable just keeps on going? Please share in a comment below

An Introduction to Natural Cosmetic Emulsions - Hand-Stirred Lotions and Creams

LisaLise Newsletter

Sign up for the LisaLise Newsletter to stay in the loop about ingredients and processes. You’ll also get formulating tips & tricks, free formulas and how-to’s and loads of natural cosmetic inspiration.

Cool Cosmetic Containers

Look at this selection of cool containers! These are all from a lovely company in the UK who sell both skincare but also offer a selection of accessories and cosmetic containers. They kindly offered to send me a few samples of their products (how could I possible refuse a kind offer like that?!) and this generous amount was in the box I received.

I’ve got a few balms and projects in the making that I will be testing these out in (and promise to share).

Meantime, if you’re in the UK and looking for sustainable packaging in smaller amounts, pop over and visit Cineálta right here.

Do Tell

Are you a fan of sustainable packaging?