Teaching Tuesday- Safflower and Sunflower Oils

Today we are looking more in depth at Sunflower and Safflower Oils. They are both quite similar in many ways, and both are to be included in a healthy diet. They both can also be used for skin care and in many cosmetic formulations.

Sunflower Oil (Helianthus annuus) oil is extracted from the seeds of the sunflower.  Healthy, natural sunflower oil is produced from oil type sunflower seeds. It is light in taste and appearance, and it supplies more Vitamin E than any other vegetable oil. It is a combination of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats with low saturated fat levels. It is made up of predominately linoleic acid (48-74%), monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid oleic acid (14-40%), palmitic acid (4-9%) and stearic acid (1-7%).  There are three versions of sunflower produced, NuSun, linoleic, and high oleic sunflower oil. The variations in the unsaturated fatty acid profile are factors of both the growing climate and of the genetics of the plant itself.  But all sunflower oil has high vitamin E content, though.

High Oleic Sunflower Oil is great for your health. A diet that is rich in high-oleic-acid sunflower oil positively impacts cholesterol, triglycerides, and even factor VII coagulant activity. So you should substitute foods rich in saturated fat with foods that are rich in high-oleic-acid sunflower oil and margarine. This oil also is great for diets that are aimed at the prevention of heart disease. The versatility of this healthy oil is recognized by cooks internationally. Sunflower oil is valued for its light taste, its frying performance, and its health benefits. It has a very neutral taste, and provides excellent stability without hydrogenation. The high oleic sunflower oil offers a trans free oil solution for all the health conscious. It is appropriate for many applications, including baking, spray coating oils for cereal, crackers and dried fruit. It is also used in non-dairy creamers and many types of frying, as well as other uses. Since the patent on high oleic sunflower seed and oil has expired, more companies are now getting involved in producing and selling this version of the oil.

While Sunflower oil is used primarily in the food industry, it does have  applications in the cosmetic industry as well.  One of its best attributes is that it helps form a seal on the skin that retains moisture while allowing the skin to breath.  An interesting study found that when sunflower oil was used as a treatment for low birth weight pre-term infants, the infection rates were lowered  by 41%.  The theory being, that pre-mature babies have underdeveloped skin, which leaves them more susceptible to infections, and that the sunflower oil created a much needed barrier on the skin.


Many of the characteristics noted for sunflower oil also apply to safflower oil. Safflower is another species of the Asteraceae, the sunflower family. Like sunflower oil, safflower oil is polyunsaturated, therefore it is also useful in lessening the threat of arteriosclerosis. Safflower is also an annual crop. It is  native to the Old World, and the genus occurs naturally in the Mediterranean region, northeastern Africa, and southwestern Asia to India. There are positively identified archaeological records of safflower from 4000-year-old Egyptian tombs, including a find of single safflower flowers wrapped in willow leaves, that were placed with a mummy from the 18th Dynasty (ca. 1600 B.C.).

The flowers of the Safflower, Carthamus tinctorius, are pale yellow to red-orange, tubular disk florets. Since ancient times, orange pigments have been obtained from safflower. In fact, the name safflower may be derived from another plant, saffron, which was a precious, and very expensive, yellowish dye that was obtained from the stigmas of freshly opened flowers. The name Carthamus is the latinized form of the Arabic word, quartum or gurtum, which refers to the pigment color. Dyes were produced from fresh flowers, which were collected and dried.




Safflower Oil (Carthamus tinctorius) comes from the seeds of an herbaceous thistle like annual flower.  It is a polyunsaturated oil that is similar to sunflower oil in both nutrient values and shelf life.  Safflower and Sunflower oils are both relatively unstable when exposed to high heat, light or oxygen.  And both are good to use in low or no heat formulas.  Safflower oil contains the monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid oleic acid (78.9%), unsaturated omega-6 fatty acid linoleic (11%), palmitic acid (6.2%) and linolenic (.02%). It is a drying oil that is used in white, and light-colored. oil-based paints instead of linseed oil. It does not yellow with age like linseed oil and other similar oils. And safflower was used as a substitute for more precious oils. Likewise, safflower pigment was used as a substitute for, or an adulterant of saffron for many things, such as the coloring agent in cheeses. Safflower was particularly important as an oil and pigment in southern Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, and India, where early carpets (from these regions) used safflower dye. When it arrived in China, around 200-300 A.D. the dyes became important there as well. Safflower oil was considered inferior to sesame oil in China, but nonetheless it was, and is, mixed with sesame and cottonseed oil, in the preparation of Japanese tempura. Also, the Japanese cosmetic, beni, is made from safflower. Even French chalk was mixed with safflower in order to make a cosmetic. To this day, saffron rice is made with safflower in India and Afghanistan,  and that is what gives it the interesting orange color. Moreover, for centuries safflower has been used commonly in potions and folk medicines throughout the Old World.

Safflower cultivation is now widespread, and you can see many Safflower fields across the dry areas of the southwestern United States, because safflower is fairly drought resistant and salt tolerant. Each plant forms one to two dozen heads of flowers, which are quickly converted into full heads of fruits, because the flowers are self-compatible and self-pollinated. The presence of honey bees can also increase the production. The oil content of the achenes is frequently 30-45%, and the protein content can be as high as 24%. After the oil is expressed, the safflower seedcake can, and is often used for livestock feed. Then the remaining plant, if it's not too spiny, can be used for green fodder or silage. Making this a completely useful plant.


The Safflower oil is a light, odorless oil, and it works well for many cosmetic applications. Just like sunflower oil, safflower oil has a high vitamin E content as well, though not as high as the sunflower. Safflower oil is especially great for massage, either by itself, or when blended with other oils. And, because of its high burn point, it can also be used for stone massages. It makes a wonderful carrier oil for essential oils, and if you use the high oleic safflower oil, you will get a longer shelf life.  Just as sunflower oil, safflower oil acts as a protective barrier on the skin, while softening and relieving dryness. It is a wonderful oil to include in cosmetic preparations, as well as in your diet.

Make it Yourself Monday- Body Butter

Sorry for the delay in posting, for some reason the timer deal is not working again. Anyway, it's still Monday, so here we go! This recipe is for a type of balm, a body butter, or heel and elbow cream if you will. While this is not the recipe I use, should you decide to purchase instead of making it yourself, this is a great version of heel and elbow cream, and one I occasionally make for friends and family. If you are Vegan you will not want to use this recipe (but you can still buy the one in my shop) because it utilizes lanolin. Lanolin comes from sheep (they are not harmed in its gathering) and is what protects and water proofs them. So it makes sense that it is good for our skin too. If you have seriously dry and/or cracked heels, apply generous amounts to your feet before bed, and cover with some footies or socks.  Then just go to bed and let it do its thing. By morning you will see a huge difference!

Of course this butter is good for your skin everywhere, so use it on any dry or cracked area, or just use it for regular maintenance and skin softening. And feel free to use your favorite essential oil or EO blend.

You will need;
4oz Lanolin
2 oz Shea Butter
1 1/4 oz Avocado Oil
3 caps Vitamin E
1 1/2 oz Glycerin

Put the lanolin and the shea butter into a microwave safe container, and heat it, using short time bursts, until it is melted. You want to melt it without boiling it, so set it for 45 seconds or so, stir, and repeat until it is all melted. Generally this takes about 2 minutes. Once melted, stir in the remaining ingredients. Leave the Vitamin E for last. Puncture 3 gel tabs and put the oil into your mixture. Stir well then pour into a tin or jar. Once it sets up completely (after it is completely cooled), try it out. If you like yours to be more stiff/hard, you can add in some cocoa butter. Start out by adding 1 oz to this recipe and test from there until it is to your liking. If you like yours thinner, add some more oil. You can also exchange the avocado oil for an oil of your choosing. I prefer to use the avocado oil or some hemp, or olive oil for their skin-loving properties, but really it is a matter of personal preference.
Also, according to personal preference, you may add an EO or an EO blend. I am very partial to lavender for its calming, centering and relaxing qualities, especially since I like to apply my butter at night. Of course this is great to use any time of day and with any skin safe EO or EO blend. SO have fun experimenting! Just make sure that you don't use over  1/2 oz of EO, and with some, you may even need less. Always error on the side of too little, rather than too much. And if it is a new EO to you, use the patch test before applying to a large area of skin.

E R I N  GO   B R A G H !!!!
And Happy St. Patrick's Day to You!

Feelin' it Friday- Mango Butter

TGIF! Today we are looking at Mango Butter,  Mango butter is a hard, white fat which melts at 101-102 degrees F. It comes from the fruit seed of the mango tree, botanically known as Mangifera indica. Although this fruit is largely grown in the sub-tropics of India, it also grows in other parts of the globe. From the seed, a firm "butter" is rendered. This tropical butter is similar in composition to both Shea and Cocoa butters, although the fatty acid content is slightly different. In its natural form, Mango Butter smells slightly sweet and fatty, but when it's refined, it is a very mild odor, and the scent is easily covered in any formulation. Also, when it is refined, it more easily melts at skin temperature. While it really doesn't apply well in a stand alone application, it can be warmed and melted, then used on the skin. It then disperses evenly and smoothly, as it leaves an emollient and protective layer. This butter is a wonderful additive in many formulas, as it is quite nourishing to the skin. In fact, Dermatologists often recommend Mango Butter to treat wrinkles, and those that use it report seeing lines and wrinkles disappearing within 4-6 weeks of using it daily.

Mango Butter has been traditionally used in the rain forests and the tropics for its skin softening, soothing, moisturizing and protective properties, as well as its ability to restore flexibility and reduce the degeneration of skin cells. It also protects against UV radiation. Mango butter has natural emollient properties, wound healing, and regenerative properties. It relieves dry skin, heals skin rashes, heals peeling after sun exposure, clears blemishes and wrinkles, and relieves itching. It is a great additive (or base) for many body care products, so look for it in your soaps, lotions, massage creams, balms, and hair care products.

Tripod Thursday- Soap, soap and more soap

This first slide show contains the new product shots that I have been working on. While I still have about 25 batches yet to get on film, you will get the idea from these. Please let me know what you think about these. In preparing for my new web site, I thought that more uniform product pictures would be best, but now I am questioning my decision.
The second slide show is of the soap making process and the majority of the soaps that I have now.

Enjoy!

What's Up Wednesday-More Soaps

This week has been pretty warm here in the Buckeye state, which has led to some Spring time restlessness. So this week I have been cleaning out the craft room, organizing drawers, or I should say, re-organizing, taking product photographs, and making soap. I actually have been attempting a new swirling technique that I had in my head. I have to admit that so far, it looked way better in my head than in real life! In fact, it hasn't looked like anything in real life. So I think I might have to give up on this one and just move on along! Lol
This week I made a Lime and Kumquat soap and some Restless Rain. They both smell great, even if they don't look exactly how I envisioned them.


This is Restless Rain

And this one Lime and Kumquat, maybe limekuat? lol

And these are the two previous, Amber nights is on the right and karma on the left. The amber nights is a deep, deep purple, two different shades. But I wanted a lighter one than I ended up with thanks to a heavy hand with the colorants as the batter was setting up very fast.

Coming up the rest of this week, more cleaning and organizing and more soaping of course. I am thinking that a nice oceany type and maybe a salt soap with eucalyptus, or a lavender eucalyptus blend, should be on the list for the end of this week.  Guess you'll find out next week!

Happy hump day to you, hope yours is full of sunshine and warmth! Come back tomorrow to see what pictures will be shared on Tripod Thursday. Friday will be all about Mango Butter, so be sure to come on back to check out, Feelin' it Friday!

-Soap Oils

Ever wonder just what is in a good, handcrafted bar of soap? Well, lots of good things of course! Lol But the simple fact of the matter is, all soap is fat + lye. Remember that fats are oils, both solid and liquid. It is the type of fat, or fats, and the additives that set each handmade soap apart. I keep stressing "handmade" because most any soap that you buy from a big box store is going to be a syndant bar, a detergent bar, in other words, a made with synthetics bar. Just check out the ingredients.  Commercially made soaps are more harsh, using less fats and removing or harvesting the natural glycerin that is a byproduct of soap production.  
Anyway, there are not just one or two oils to choose from to make soap, and there are certainly not just one or two oils that are good for using in the soap. We jokingly say "too many oils, too little time", yet to most Soapers this is really not a joke. We are constantly experimenting and reformulating, striving for that perfect combination of oils. The problem is, there is not just ONE perfect combination, rather, there are many! So we find our favorites and stick to them, until we find new favorites. But I digress again....


So how do soap makers decide which oils to use? Certainly each Artisan has their personal favorites, for a myriad of reasons, I am sure. While availability and cost must factor in, hopefully there is an understanding of the oil's properties, as well as an understanding of how those properties will enhance the soap and benefit the user.  So here are just a few of the fats that are commonly used in soaping. Well, I say commonly, but I should have said, that I commonly use in soaping.  



Apricot Kernel Oil (Prunus armeniaca) – is expressed from apricot kernels. It is known for its ability to penetrate the skin easily, leaving it soft and smooth. It is a very lightweight emollient, high in oleic and linoleic acids. It’s also high in minerals,  as well as vitamins A and  E. It's gentle enough for a baby, and it is very similar, both in how it feels, and in its properties, to sweet almond oil, to which many are allergic to. 


Avocado Oil (Persea americana) – This oil comes from....yep, you guessed it, the pulp, of the fruit, of the avocado tree. It is categorized as a vegetable oil, but the avocado is really a fruit since it has a stone. It is a great oil (and fruit), rich in protein, vitamins A, D and E, as well as lecithin and potassium. It is highly  moisturizing, and studies have actually indicated that this oil increases the collagen in the skin, which makes this a great oil for any skin, especially for aging skin. It is also purported to relieve the itching and dryness of psoriasis and eczema, as well as reduce age spots, alleviate scars and sun damage. 


Babassu Oil (Orbignya Oleifera (babassu) seed oil) is a solid, white fat, that melts when it touches the skin. In fact, it actually draws heat from the skin in order to initiate the melting. The resulting heat transfer produces a cooling effect on the skin as well. And the Babassu oil forms a protective, soothing coating when its applied. It leaves the skin with a very pleasant, velvety feeling, and has been used for centuries to soothe dry skin. 
This oil is cold pressed from the fruit kernels of the Babassu palm, which is native to the southeastern Amazon region of Brazil. It is ultra-refined without chemicals, and is a superior emollient. It is beneficial for both dry and oily complexions, and gently moisturizes the skin without contributing to an oily sheen. It's properties make it especially suitable for eczema, itchy, dry and inflamed skin. It contains about 70% lipids (fats), glycosides, vitamins and minerals, and it creates a nice, mild soap with good lather. This oil is a bit on the pricier side, but I really feel it is worth it! 

Besides that, the tree that bears the fruit used to make this oil is highly sustainable and quite beneficial. The fruit is used to produce products such as medicines, beauty aids, and beverages. The seeds contain the oil, which is used for cooking, as well as soap making. The leaves of the tree are used to provide thatch for houses, and woven into mats for constructing house walls. The stems are even used for timbers. Natives make use of every part of this tree, as well as benefiting from the exporting and sale of the oil.

Caster Oil (Ricinus communis) comes from the castor bean plant. I use cold pressed castor oil in almost all of my soaps. It is a humecant, meaning that it actually attracts and pulls moisture to the skin. Castor oil is a skin softener and emollient. It is great for many skin conditions, including psoriasis. When added to soap, it helps to create a nice, bubbly soap lather. Almost every bar of soap that I make has castor oil in it, it just adds so much! 

Coconut oil  (Cocos nucifera) is an oil that is not only in almost every bar of soap that I make, but is in most every bar that everyone makes. Why? It produces a nice, hard, bubbly bar of soap. Coconut will bubble and lather in the hardest of water, and has been used for centuries as a cleanser. But it is also, in the correct proportions, very moisturizing. Coconut oil presents as a solid, but melts as it is warmed by the skin.  

Hemp Seed Oil (Cannabis sativa) has a high amount of essential fatty acids, and is considered a wonderful healing oil for all skin types. It is a very emollient, nourishing, balancing and restorative oil, so it is great for all skin conditions, even the most severe. Many studies have been done on this oil and all report great results. This is not the same cannabis variety that produces marijuana. This plant has so little THC that, even if you grew it, rolled it and smoked it, you would not get high. So don't worry about its use. It is even gentle enough for a baby! For more in depth info on hemp seed oil, check out this past post, as well as this one, from my exotic oil series.

Olive Oil (olea Europaea (olive) oil) is another oil that is in almost every bar of soap made. In fact, some soap has nothing else with it, Castile Soap, and some has just another oil or two with it, Bastile Soap. Why? Olive oil is exceptionally mild. In fact, it is almost always chosen for baby soaps and soaps for sensitive skin. While it doesn't really produce much in the way of bubbles, it does have a nice, rich, albeit maybe a bit slimy lather. Used alone, this soap may take some getting used to. But as a part of a base, this is considered the king of soaping oils. Not only is it a humecant, attracting moisture to the skin, but at the same time, this oil allows your skin to breathe, as well as preventing it from losing  its natural moisture. Olive oil keeps the skin soft and supple, and is very emollient. This is a wonderful oil for many skin conditions and is a good for infants to elders.

Of course these are but a few of the oils available, and are not even all of the oils that I regularly use. But these are my top "go to" oils. For more oil information, check out my Exotic Oils series from about this time last year. You can start with Babassu oil (3-1-11), and find about two a week, sometimes more, through the 5-27-11 Wheat Germ oil post.