NECESSARY EQUIPMENT LIST TO MAKE A LOTION
(Click here if you live in Turkey, for the Turkish version of this page for information on where to buy equipment in Turkey).
1. SCALE – Two types – one for large amounts and one for small amounts:-
Large –
UK: Smart Weigh – 0.1gr t0 1000gr
US: Smart Weigh – 0.1gr to 1000gr
Small –
US: Digital Jewelry Scale – 0.01 to 500gr
2. NON-MERCURY GLASS LAB THERMOMETER (buy 2 at least as over time they will break):
UK: From betterequipped- Red spirit filled thermometer
US: Glass Thermometers on ebay
3. STICK BLENDER for lotions over 300gr (lots of choices here – some photos so you can visualise what they look like –
Stick blenders
4. MINI-MIXER for lotions under 300gr (a coffee frother can break an emulsion so isn’t advisable) –
UK: Mini mixer on ebay
US: Lotioncraftar Minipro Mixer
5. TWO METAL TRIVETS / RINGS/COOLING RACKS (to place the beakers on top of so the beakers don’t touch the bottom of the saucepan) – comes in all sorts of forms – a ring or cooling rack.
UK: Round Cooling Racks from ebay UK
US: Brambelberry double boiler maker
(OR if you can’t find one you can use an empty tuna or sardine can or even a cookie cutter.)
6. TWO AUTOCLAVABLE POLYPROPYLENE CHEMICAL RESISTANT LAB BEAKERS
UK: Lab beakers from betterequipped
US: lotioncrafter tri-corner beakers or autoclavable beakers from ebay
7.JUG – to hold your cool down phase ingredients
8. SANITIZER – I usually sanitise all my equipment and actually everything that touches my ingredients/lotion including bottles/jars before I make my lotion.
UK: IPA 70% – Isopropanol Alcohol 70% 1L SPRAY BOTTLE
Or you can use Milton (fluid version is better than the tablets or wipes) which you can get from pharmacists – it’s used to sterilise baby bottles.
US: you can use 70% isopropyl alcohol (walgreens and walmart sells).
*70% is better than 100% as the water in the solution denatures the microorganisms’s proteins.