Ingredients To Die For Blog

Sources for Miscellaneous Supplies needed in Manufacturing Emulsions

These sources are just companies, who specialize in the relevent areas of expertise which is always the best way to get the best that there is. It's best to let cosmetics companies be cosmetic companies, and spend their resources appropriately, and leave the mixers, scales, lab equipment, and so on … to the experts in those fields.

That's how the consumer best benefits from the marketplace.

• Scales

  • you can find small scales at your local office supply or restaurant supply

  • a great source for precision scales is http://www.oldwillknottscales.com/precision-scales.aspx

• Mixers

  • a great source for your sample size mixer, the Gizmo Plus Twist Mixer, is

    http://www.blendersbest.com/blackdeckergizmotwistmixernibgm100discontinued-p-5330.html

    or for the Oster 3 in 1 Twist Mixer, is

    http://www.oster.com/productdetails.aspx?pid=4031

  • you can find the mid size mixers, the Kitchen Aid or Ge Immersion Blenders at your local kitchen supply or cooking supplies stores

  • you can find the large batch mixers, the Waring and Ryobi industrial Immersion Blenders at your local restaurant supply stores

• Miscellaneous Equipment i.e., pH test strips and meters, disposable pipettes, glass pipettes, gloves, bowls, spatulas, calibrated cylinders, beakers, bunson burners...

  • these items will be difficult to find locally but, here are some professional suppliers that a lot of our customers have loved working with

    • http://www.indigo.com/test-strips/gph-test-strips/ph-paper-1-14.html

    • http://www.labsafety.com/store/Lab_Supplies_and_Equipment/Lab_Supplies/

• You can find a spreadsheet that will calculate your ingredient amounts and your cost on our website at the following link

  • http://www.ingredientstodiefor.com/item.php?item_id=865&category_id=115

• You can find the PDF's on the HLB System, PIT System on our website, in the library, at the following link

  • http://www.ingredientstodiefor.com/category.php?category_id=119

Steps to Prevent your Customer from using the INCI
to go around Your Business
by coming Directly to Us

In today's electronic age it is easier, than ever, for anyone to do a search of an INCI name, that is used exactly the way that we write it, and have it lead back to us. This may not be a good thing for your company as it allows your customers to go around you by coming directly to us, which is not our intention and we are happy to help you take steps to prevent this.

Our INCI is not intended to be copied, and pasted, directly onto a retail label as it would result in misbranding due to the language. We write the INCI, for each product, with two goals:

1. to help our customer, quickly, see what kind of ingredients are being use

2. to help our customer meet the disclosure requirements

While there are elements, in our posted INCI, that are required, there are several steps that you can take to help avoid traceability by eliminating language that is not required:

• almost every formulation will have a couple of ingredients that are used, at the same level, and can be re-arranged so that your INCI doesn't read exactly as ours

• almost every INCI will have descriptive key words that can be removed without violating the requirements of disclosure

• when we use descriptive words such as: purified water, vegetable glycerin and so on … those are key words being used for your benefit, not your customers benefit, and they should be removed

• the requirements for cosmetic labeling do not allow for the use of such descriptors as they imply that there is something wrong with other types of the same ingredient

When you are setting up your ingredient deck please send us an email, to info@ingredientstodiefor.com and we will help you eliminate, or re-arrange, item names to help you avoid that traceability.

Some tips in labeling conformance:
The use of an adjectives to further describe an ingredient, which imply inferiority in any other form are considered to be misbranded. To further describe water, such as purified, deionized, natural, spring, etc. Purified water is the drug name for water, as defined in the US Pharmacopoeia, and may only be listed on the labels of drugs that do not make cosmetic claims. Purified water on the product label is automatically considered a drug claim, constituting misbranding.

Parenthetically adding descriptors … “vitamin A, C, E, etc.” after the INCI name. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers vitamins as separate from cosmetic ingredients as they are not recognized as providing health benefits in the cosmetic product. Vitamin is automatically considered a food, with a nutritional / health value claim, constituting misbranding. The FDA does not object to stating that the product contains vitamins outside of the ingredient listing.

Another labeling mistake is highlighting the origins of ingredients by using terms like vegetable, natural, organic, or even certified organic. This constitutes misbranding as there is no recognized difference in chemicals from different origins; a molecule of glycerin is just that, as it is known that there is no data showing “certified organic” materials to be safer or different from other materials with the same INCI designation.

To help you eliminate 'desciptive' language, while still being in compliance with regualtions, please review the federal guideline 'exerpts' below.

Federal Labeling Requirements:
The ingredients must be declared in descending order of predominance. Color additives (21 CFR 701.3(f)(3)) and ingredients present at one percent or less (21 CFR 701.3(f)(2)) may be declared without regard for predominance. The ingredients must be identified by the names established or adopted by regulation (21 CFR 701.3(c)); those accepted by the FDA as exempt from public disclosure may be stated as "and other ingredients" (21 CFR 701.3(a)).

Cosmetics which are also drugs must first identify the drug ingredient(s) as "active ingredient(s)" before listing the cosmetic ingredients (21 CFR 701.3(d)).

All label statements required by regulation must be in the English language and must be placed on the label or labeling with such prominence and conspicuousness that they are readily noticed and understood by consumers under customary conditions of purchase (21 CFR 701.2).

The ingredient declaration must be conspicuous so that it is likely to be read at the time of purchase. It may appear on any information panel of the package, i.e., the folding carton, box wrapping if the immediate container is so packaged, and may also appear on a firmly affixed tag, tape or card. The letters must not be less than 1/16 of an inch in height (21 CFR 701.3 (b)). If the total package surface available to bear labeling is less than 12 square inches, the letters must not be less than 1/32 of an inch in height (21 CFR 701.3(p)). Off-package ingredient labeling is permitted if the cosmetic is held in tightly compartmented trays or racks, it is not enclosed in a folding carton, and the package surface area is less than 12 square inches (21 CFR 701.3(i)).

HAPPY CRAFTING!
From the Ingredients To Die For staff

Palm Oil as a substitute for Cocoa Butter! Damaged Coconut Oil crops! Oil Instability! Main Stream Manufacturers making a global move to natural ingredients! What does all of this mean? A serious imbalance in the supply and demand of oleochemicals and sharp market price increases that will affect all avenues of the natural product, and personal care, industry.

At Ingredients To Die For our first priority is, and has always been, to supply top quality state of the art ingredients at the lowest prices among our competitors. With that driving force in mind we have tried to weather the storm of increasing prices, that has been going on since the middle of 2010, as the shortages became apparent. We had hoped that the market would stabilize and the prices would go back down. Unfortunately, the opposite has happened and the prices are going up at, even, higher rates this year. It is with regret that we are evaluating our prices with the knowledge that they will have to be increased in order to guarantee the supply chain. We will, as always, continue to watch the prices of our competitors to ensure that our customers are still getting the best value for their, hard earned, dollar.

We are all going to see increases in anything, and everything, that is produced from coconut and / or palm oils. In today’s natural market that is just about everything so, prices will be effected across the board from fatty acids, and alcohols, to emulsifiers, oils, and bases.

We bring in materials from many different manufacturers. All of them, having their own customers, that they must answer to, who don't appreciate their price increases, just as you don't appreciate ours. They are all watching the market very closely, with the hope that it will soon stabilize, just as we are, and you will be. The analysis of the current market conditions has come back the same, from everyone, and they are all saying the same thing … the increased cost is probably going to be the reality for a long time. We hope that the situation turns around and we can all go back to normal prices. In the meantime, we wanted you to be aware that this is not a short term situation and just as they were forced to pass their increased supply costs on to us, and we on to you, it is inevitable that you increase your own prices, to your customers, and educate them about the issues as there are several factors effecting the cost of oleochemicals, across the board, which is beyond anyone's control.

We will keep you advised as information becomes available. Rest assured that we do not take the situation lightly and we will continue to strive to be your one stop shopping source with the most competitive prices, and highest quality ingredients, so that we may continue to deliver the same perceived value that has always been at the foundation of our business model … we do understand that just as you are our customer, and we answer to you, you have your own customers that you must answer to. We apologize for that inconvenience.

We appreciate your business, and your patience, as we all weather the storm.

Ingredients To Die For is pleased to announce the launch of our long awaited Organicals Body cleansers. All formulated to cleanse the skin gently, and effectively, while also protecting the skins pH mantle and natural oils.  With vegetable derived surfactants, thickeners, and natural preservatives, your skin is left soft, supple, hydrated and most importantly, intact and healthy so that it can do what it was meant to do, provide a barrier from outside contaminants and absorb nutrients.

This line was specially developed to meet the demands of the ever growing natural market. In todays natural market it is no longer enough to be natural, or pure. We have to go beyond that and deliver products that are natural, with no petro chemicals, peg's, silicones or ethoxylates and the products need to deliver the same high performance as their synthetic counter parts, while also being easy to work with and use. It is no longer the norm to accept the “trade-off's” that we once did when it comes to natural products.

Our new Organicals Body cleansers were developed to do just that. A true revolution in natural cleansers, these Organicals Body cleansers are 100% natural,with only vegetable derived ingredients, which undergo only clean processing without residual, or undesireable, by-products. No petro's, peg's, sulfates, ethoxylates, parabens, formaldehyde donors or lipid disruption.

The bottom line is a comprehensive line of natural cleansers that are clean, and pure, but still deliver the high performance that the natural market demands, while also being easy to work with and offering a luxurious feel, plenty of soft foam, and healthy skin. Now all you need to do is add the product to your bottle, add the fragrance, and shake it. If you don't want to add fragrance that will work, as well. The new Organicals Body cleansers are thick enough to use unscented and will only thicken slightly as you add fragrance, so you no longer need to work to adjust the viscosity when you need to offer both to your customers. Also developed with less of the natural odor, that we've all come to expect from natural cleansers, these cleansers will only take about one half of the usual fragrance, lowering your cost and minimizing the potential for sensitivities and irritation. All but the Glycolic Face Wash are suitable for head to toe use so that you can offer the new two-in-one products that are all the rage. As these cleansers are at a higher price point, than we're used to, we avoided the addition of botanical extracts but, they are developed to allow for customization with up to 5.0% water based ingredients so you can create the label appeal, and performance, that you desire without having to invest in multiple products.

With a cleanser to meet every need we've developed our basic wash plus several others to address specific skin conditions: All of our new Organical Body cleansers deliver a soft silky, almost creamy, feel on the skin, utilizing only mild surfactants to avoid stripping the skins natural oils and disrupting the lipid barrier, along with panthenol to feed the skin a healthy dose of ProVitamin B5 and allantoin for anti-inflammatory protection.

Organicals Soothing is in a base of pure Aloe Vera Leaf Juice to enhance the structure of the skin while delivering a host of vitamins and amino acids, while the polysacharides instantly hydrate to prevent dryness and irritation.

Organicals Bubbles is in the same Soothing base but, is developed to deliver plenty of soft, delicate, luscious foam for those, long, comforting soaks.

Organicals Hand Wash is in the same Soothing Base but, is developed with advanced hydration to keep the hands from drying out, and in optimal condition, even with repeated use.

Organicals Shampoo is in the same Soothing base but, is developed with botanical extracts to nurture and deep clease the follicles for a healthy scalp that can nourish the hair, additional panthenol to provide lustre and volume, and just enough protein to help repair damaged hair without building up and causing brittleness.

Organicals Glycolic Face Wash Next Generation (NG) delivers all of the attributes of its predecessor but, with the naturalness, and purity, of our new Organicals Cleansers. This is the only new cleanser that is not recommended for head to toe use as the pH is not suitable for the scalp, hair, or full body application. This is intended strictly for those customers that have come to rely on the power of the AHA's for smoother, clearer, younger looking skin.

Three steps to prevent the dry winter months from giving you dry winter skin

The winter months can wreak havoc on your skin, turning your plump, hydrated skin into tight, parched, skin.  Not only is the dry cold air outside bad for your skin but, unfortunately, when you turn up the heat in your home to take the chill out of the air you are also taking the moisture out of the air and out of your skin.  For many that means dry, rough, skin.  It's not a lost cause though, you can easily make a few changes to your bath and body routine to keep your skin healthy, radiant, and hydrated, even in the the cold weather. 

This is the time to avoid using products containing humectants, which will draw even more moisture out of your skin because the air is so dry.  The answer is simple...load your skin with emollients that will moisturize and nourish your skin and give you back the radiance of healthy skin. 

The skin is one of our most important organs.  Unfortunately it is also our most abused organ.  The skin has a complex function and multiple jobs to perform.  With the state of today’s environment that is not an easy task, as it is subjected to an onslaught of contaminants, almost every minute, of every day.  Your skin may be the first thing that people see, and a dead giveaway to your age and condition, but it also serves as the body's barrier to environmental toxins.  It can perform these functions best when it is in ideal condition, which means maintaining the proper pH and hydration levels.  The pH is easy, just use good quality, natural, products that are not loaded with unhealthy chemicals and toxins.  The proper hydration is a little more challenging but, also easily addressed, with good care.

STEP ONE: Use a gentle cleanser that gets your skin clean without stripping it of its natural, protective, oils.  This is one of the areas that is often overlooked.  When you help your skin maintain its own natural moisture levels you get a glow that you won't get from any moisturizer, only healthy skin.

For The Body - Organicals Body Wash Soothing...formulated to cleanse the skin gently, and effectively, while also protecting the skins pH mantle and natural oils.  With vegetable derived     surfactants, thickeners, and natural preservatives, your skin is left soft, supple, and hydrated but, most importantly, intact and healthy, so that it can do what it was meant to do, provide a barrier from outside contaminants and absorb nutrients.

For The Face - Youthful Glo AHA / BHA Natural Face Wash...formulated to address the issues of dull, dry, and congested skin with the best that nature has to offer. With natural,     gentle,     cleansers that also offer smoothness and hydration;  aloe vera, and other botanical extracts, to soothe and nurture;  and natural alpha, and beta, hydroxy acids to revitalize, and refine; leaving your skin clean, fresh, and pampered.

STEP TWO: Every couple of days use a good scrub, or exfoliating wash, to cleanse the skin and remove impurities from the pores, eliminating the dead skin sitting on the surface.  There are a couple of  ways to do this;  either through chemical exfoliation like the AHA's, or through physical exfoliation using powders, grains and esters.  Either method will, effectively eliminate the dry skin that is responsible for the dull, patchy, look that comes with winter.  We like the physical exfoliation, in the winter, because it removes skin and debris while also adding light moisture and gives you some instant gratification as they remove all of the rough, dead, skin leaving behind soft, ultra smooth, skin.

For The Body - Babassu Body Polish or Vanilla & Apricot Sugar Scrub...made with     nurturing oils and butters to moisturize, and protect, while sugar and botanical powders buff away dull, dry, surface cells to detoxify and restore healthy skin and optimal function.

For The Face - Bamboo & Cranberry Natural Foaming Facial Scrub...the soft, delicate, foam removes dirt and oil while the powders remove the dead surface cells, and impurities, that     accumulate and result in dry, patchy, and uneven skin tone.  Smooth and luxurious while also being gentle and effective.  Foams readily, and rinses cleanly, taking the dull, dry, surface cells, and leaving your skin feeling smooth and supple with the glow of healthy radiant skin.  This     fabulous scrub also has gentle cleansers so it can just replace your normal cleanser.

STEP THREE: Add a oil treatment to your bath and body routine.  Oils will help to lock in your skins natural moisture and you will be way ahead of the game to eliminating dull, dry, skin.  There is nothing else that will contribute that healthy glow to skin like oils do.  They smooth onto damp skin, and emulsify with the water left on the skin, to instantly soothe and hydrate, leaving your skin soft and dewy.

For The Body - Smooth & Silky Body Balm...super packed with nurturing butters, nourishing oils and esters, and powerful plant extracts to protect and moisturize.  The combination of     ingredients give this balm a silky feeling that your skin will drink up almost instantly.  Leaving you with super dewy radiant skin, that is touch-ably soft and smooth. 


For The Face - Protect & Repair Facial Oil...fights the damage caused by environmental stress with high powered carrier oils blended to deliver essential fatty acids, to the skin, with a     nutrient rich combination of the precious oils known to be restructuring, regenerative and repairing.

DON'T FORGET FRAGRANCE: This time of year brings back memories, and fondness, of days gone by and essential oils can do that better than anything else.  Warm notes of ginger, and other spices, can make your mouth water and take you all the way back to your mothers kitchen and holiday gatherings.  Some customer favorites for the winter months:

AT138 Warming Chai...with warm notes of ginger and vanilla to slow you down after dealing with the hussle, and bustle, of the holiday season.
AT180 Sugar & Spice...with sweet floral notes to soothe the mood, and spicy notes to trigger desire, this smooth blend will make you feel re-newed after a long day
AT569 Candy Apple...with sweet fruit notes and warm amber notes put you in the festive mood
AT570 Candy Cane...with mints, and citrus, to lift your mood even after the worst day   

If we can help give us a call or send us an email and we'll be happy to help you, and your customers, put your best face forward!!!

The Ingredients To Die For team – working for you!!!

We at Ingredients To Die For would like to wish all of our customers a great holiday season and year to come.

The same is true for our wonderful employees who give us so much throughout the year. In that spirit we will be closing for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays so that they may enjoy the holidays with their family and friends while we also take care of end of year inventory and accounting.

Thanksgiving Hours
We will be closed Wednesday 11/24 through - Friday 11/26.
Tuesday Nov. 24th is the last day to get orders out before the Thanksgiving Holiday. All orders that come in while we are closed will be processed on the Monday and Tuesday of the week we get back.

Christmas Hours
Closed December 24th - January 2rd.
Thursday Dec. 23th is the last day to get orders out before the end of the year. All orders that come in while we are closed will be processed within the week that we re-open. We will bring in extra staff in order to get the holiday orders out without jeopardizing our ability to process incoming orders.

At Ingredients To Die For our formulators are always in the lab creating new products for our customers.  We are excited to bring you this new, 100% vegetable, scrub Babassu Body Polish.  This wonderful scrub is a product To Die For, once you use it you will love it.  One thing you can count on when buying from Ingredients To Die For is getting a product that performs.  So many companies out there make false claims and their customers have no idea that they aren't going to work and their hard earned money will just be wasted on them, but here at Ingredients To Die For you can count on our products performing and doing what we say they will do.  This wonderful new product is based on Babassu Oil which is a very fast absorbing oil, making it ideal for cosmetics, bath and body products.  That's why we created a new scrub based using the oil, it's oil based but, will not leave you greasy.  It has a combination of natural oils, butters and gentle abrasives, in a thick cream base, to remove the dry surface cells that hinder the skins function and result in a dull, dry appearance.  This product uses our new 100% vegetable derived preservative VegeCide, which is from stearic and undecylenic vegetable fatty acids, which not only preserves naturally but offers re-fatting of the skin for better resistance to environmental toxins.

We also added a unique feature to this product that you will love, have your customers apply this wet after their shower and they'll notice that it emulsifies with the water and turns into a lotion, right on their skin, for clean rinsing and powder soft, moisturized skin.

Our Babassu Body Polish is loaded with fantastic ingredients to make this a wonderful great new product.  We loaded it Organic Shea Butter, Organic Coconut oil, Babassu Oil, VegeCide, Hydrolyzed Oat Flour and Walnut Shell Powder.  Would you like to know why we added each of these ingredients?  If so, check out our tech sheet.

For a truly cooling experience and enhanced tissue detoxification try adding one of our tissue detox essential oil blends;  AT513 Cooling Grapefruit Mint or AT223 Invigorating Rosemary Mint.

We are always changing and bringing in new products while our formulators are always working on new prdoucts to meet the needs of our customers.  There are many wholesale companies out there, but not many make products like we do at the price we can offer them.  Most of our competitors are making lotions, creams and scrubs based on older techonology, while you can count on Ingredients To Die For to use newer cleaner ingredients to make a better product then the competition.  We are a company that you can count on,  with our wide range of products you can create your entire line with our products.  You can have the state of the art ingredients at prices you and your customers can afford.  Anyone can make a lotion using e-wax and stearic acid but very few companies can make creams and lotions using the ingredients that we use.

VegeMoist

We also are always looking for newer cleaner ingredients to help you create a more NATURAL product.  At Ingredients To Die For we know that the consumers are looking for products that are more and more natural and we are not just bringing in natural products, the one thing that you can count on is that we understand and know each and every product that we bring in.  We are proud to bring you VegeMoist that is a Food Grade moisturizer derived from Beet Sugar.  Being a betaine, and one of the four classes of osmolytes, it acts to maintain intracellular water levels, preventing damage due to environmental stressors such as UV radiation, and oxidation. This important function allows the cells to function more efficiently, preventing damage and the dehydration responsible for the look of parched, sallow and discolored skin. Unlike traditional humectants, which draw moisture from the environment, VegeMoist adds hydration directly, through it's abundant source of sacharides making it a suitable choice for any climate or environment. With it's cellular hydrating activity VegeMoist is the perfect choice for any formulas designed to improve skin function, especially anti-aging skin care and super moisturizing body care.

Oat & Honey Gentle Face Scrub / Mask

We are proud to bring you a new ALL NATURAL scrub.  This new scrub is designed for sensitive skin, if you have customers that is sensitive to other exflotiants this scrub is for them.  It has a light exflotiant that is perfect for sensitive skin.  This gentle scrub effectively removes the dull, dry surface cells while also soothing and moisturizing the skin.  We formulated this scrub to address irritated, dry and sensitive skin, while using best that nature has to offer.  We use some of the most natural ingredients to create a gentle cleanser, imflammation, soothing, prevent irritation, moisture repair and even skin tone. A natural facial scrub with soft, airy foam to gently cleanse and remove impurities while helping to remove the dead surface cells that can accumulate, especially with mature and pre-maturely aged skin, leaving the complexion dry, patchy and uneven. Smooth and luxurious while also being gentle and moisturizing. A light and fluffy creamy gel with true natural appeal. Foams readily and rinses clean, taking dull dry surface cells with it, leaving your skin feeling smooth and supple with the glow of healthy radiant skin. The multi functionality of this base allows it to be used as a gentle scrub or a hydrating mask, depending on your skins needs. The perfect choice for sensitive, dry or damaged skin types. Bring the spa to your customers and they'll keep coming back for more.

We at Ingredients To Die For would like to wish all of our customers a great Fourth of July, we will be closed in observation of our countries birthday.  We will reopen on Tuesday July 6th.