Magnus8's Canna Cream, Body Butter & Canna Lotion Study Hall

[Magnus8]

re: Magnus8's Canna Cream - Body Butter - & Canna Lotion Study Hall

My beeswax I get comes in a 1 lb block. I use a saw to cut in in 1/4 then the grater to shave it into my butter.

Good plan! I would still melt that beeswax before adding it to your oils. It will melt much faster, probably.

 

[Lady Cannafan]

re: Magnus8's Canna Cream - Body Butter - & Canna Lotion Study Hall

I'm so sorry, but i misread your posting. I thought you were working with hemp seeds, not the oil already deried from them. my message above was designed to release those very oils that you are already working with!

I'm such a silly ass sometimes...

And you make me giggle too. Yes, the oil already extracted from the seeds. I looked into extracting that oil myself....ah ....no. I'll just buy the oil. I do use the hemp seeds ground up as you stated for other things though. Very good for you!!

Also, I would like to offer up a suggestion for melting down the various oils and butters. If you're going to be melting down a lot of it, or a couple of different types, the best investment I ever made was a 3 crock pot mini buffet server. Some brands are called "triple slow cooker", this is a Bella brand.

I can have coco oil in one end already to portion out, Afr. Shea butter in the other end and maybe beeswax in the middle. All ready to portion. Each crock has their own setting switch, and there is a low setting which is mandatory for me. I use little tags in front of each crock to let me know what is in it. (Because I will forget! ) Right now it's coco oil, and some infused body butter mix in process in the center one.

Very easy to clean, the crocks come completely out for cleaning. You can get them regular price around $40.00, but great deals can be found on fleabay etc.

There is another little unit that I used to use for melting wax in other creative ventures of mine. This is a single mini crock, made by Rival, called "little dipper". Perfect for keeping something liquefied and waiting. You can't remove the crock part on this unit, so it's a bit harder to clean up.

Hope that is helpful!

 

[Dave Groomer]

re: Magnus8's Canna Cream - Body Butter - & Canna Lotion Study Hall

Good plan! I would still melt that beeswax before adding it to your oils. It will melt much faster, probably.

I usually put the oil in a double boiler and add the beeswax in and is melts into the oil and I put it in jars. If there is a better way, let me know.

 

[Lady Cannafan]

re: Magnus8's Canna Cream - Body Butter - & Canna Lotion Study Hall

Using an exfoliate is a wonderful idea, though I've only ever used them in soaps I've made. Using them in a moisturizing bar is a great idea though you'd have to wipe them off afterward!

And lavender essential oil is a great one to use. you might think about combining it with Tea Tree Oil, too. TTO has antibacterial qualities and helps to relax sore and aching muscles. It's a wonderful additive to bars, creams and lotions. It has a rather strong smell, which might overpower the smell of your lavender, but it's healing qualities are second to none. I keep a bottle of straight fractionated coconut oil infused with drops of peppermint and tea trea oil by the bedside for my back and my wife-bot's arthritic hands. She often wakes in the morning and cannot even move them. Then I have to run in the FCO with the TTO and the PO just to get her hands to work. And it works! Such a simple remedy!

As for the beeswax, I would stick with between 5% - 8% of your total concoction. Above that and it can get waxy and can act as a barrier for your carrier oil and its precious canna cargo from entering the skin. The more beeswax you use, the less effective your pain relief will be.

Try considering using some thicker, solid oils into your product. Maybe Shea Butter. It is one of the best skin loving oils around. Helps t heal cuts and abrasions (I have personal proof of this) and helps to support your carrier oil in delivering its precious cargo to the muscles. The problem wth SB is that it can be a bit greasy if you use too much. I'd stick with between 2% - 5% MAX for SB.

After SB, if your concoction is too soft, still, try using LARD!

WHAT??!!? LARD? ARE YOU MAD? SICK? TWISTED?

Consider this: When settlers were learning how to farm this great land (yes I know I'm Canadian, but we had settlers too), they had no access to coconut oil, shea butter, grape seed oil, pumpkin seed oil, etc etc. Now did they? What DID they have access to? Lard. Easily produced on the farm and sold into the cities, it was used to concoct night creams with the addition of beeswax and borax to emulsify it into a smooth, creamy concoction that moisturized their dry skin (from farming the great western lands where it is very dry environment), cooled their faces, soothed their raw skin and generally was a wonderful all around moisturizer. They didn't use fractionated coconut oil, they didn't use regular coconut oil, they didn't use grape seed oil, they certainly didn't use precious olive oil. No. They used lard. An oil that was easily produced on the farm and was kept in the larder, which they had access to.

Test this out: Stick the pad of your finger onto a bar of lard and pull away the tiniest bit of it. Smooth and rub this lard into the back of your other hand and rub it there. Let it sit. After about 5 - 8 minutes, test the feel of your skin. It will be silky smooth, glass-like almost, and wonderfully moisturized. I asssure you, you will be shocked.

We cringe from using animal fats because we've become so accustomed to using only vegetable oils for our concoctions. But if you want to produce a cream or body butter that remains relatively solid at room temperatures, then lard might be your answer.

And if you STILL don't trust me on this issue, then produce a small batch of concoction using about 20% - 30% lard as one of your carrier oils. Work with it. See how it works. Feel it. Test it. Try it. You might be pleasantly surprised.

WARNING: Do not even TRY suggesting this to a vegan client! They won't be happy about it.

It always troubles me how the healing knowledge of ages past gets lost through misinformation, prejudice and cover ups...

I do not know how I missed this post earlier, I'm so glad I came back to read a couple things through again.

Thanks for the suggestion on the amount of beeswax. That will be very helpful, I was going at it a bit blindly at the time. Winging it might describe it better.
I do add Tea Tree Oil, matter of fact the scrub bars had several different oils in them, but I wanted the lavender to be prominent.
I thought that the ground hemp seeds might be too scratchy, but they really worked out well and weren't scratchy at all. I also added ground almonds. The dry patches of skin on my arms showed a marked improvement after using the bar. I really love the bars, but they need to be less soft. I used mostly shea butter as the main oil in this batch pretty much for the very qualities of it that you stated. So, I'll use your suggestion on that beeswax.

Here's what the bars looked like on the first attempt:

It's funny that you mentioned lard. Back when I first started into the homemade soaps (I absolutely refuse to say how long ago that was and reveal my age! ), I remember asking my mother to save her lard for me and "Can I borrow some lye please?". She asked me what in the world I needed that for. When I said making soap, she almost choked. She had no idea lye was used in something she used on her face!

Again, excellent post.

 

[Magnus8]

re: Magnus8's Canna Cream - Body Butter - & Canna Lotion Study Hall

And you make me giggle too. Yes, the oil already extracted from the seeds. I looked into extracting that oil myself....ah ....no. I'll just buy the oil. I do use the hemp seeds ground up as you stated for other things though. Very good for you!!

Also, I would like to offer up a suggestion for melting down the various oils and butters. If you're going to be melting down a lot of it, or a couple of different types, the best investment I ever made was a 3 crock pot mini buffet server. Some brands are called "triple slow cooker", this is a Bella brand.

I can have coco oil in one end already to portion out, Afr. Shea butter in the other end and maybe beeswax in the middle. All ready to portion. Each crock has their own setting switch, and there is a low setting which is mandatory for me. I use little tags in front of each crock to let me know what is in it. (Because I will forget! ) Right now it's coco oil, and some infused body butter mix in process in the center one.

Very easy to clean, the crocks come completely out for cleaning. You can get them regular price around $40.00, but great deals can be found on fleabay etc.

There is another little unit that I used to use for melting wax in other creative ventures of mine. This is a single mini crock, made by Rival, called "little dipper". Perfect for keeping something liquefied and waiting. You can't remove the crock part on this unit, so it's a bit harder to clean up.

Hope that is helpful!

Nice plan -- that's almost exactly what I use. I use a 3 vessel crock pot, just like you do. It is very helpful for all the reasons you stated. I use mine mostly for infusing herbs besides cannabis. You don't know me and my story yet, so let me give you a very brief synopsis.

I came to this site looking for information on dosing and alternative methods of dosing than smoking. I don't mind smoking cannabis, but I wanted to get more effective, longer lasting relief from my incredibly debilitating back pain and terrible anxiety disorder (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) and my depression. A whole whack of disorders in my body and mind.

Over the last years, the doctors have used many medications with me. Right now I am on a Fentanyl patch (200 mcg/hr) and T4s and a host of pssych meds. I want to get off most, if not all, of my meds.

The doctors are now telling me that they are taking away my Fentanyl patch which gives me such relief from the pain, as well as the T4s. I told them that I wanted to start cannabis therapy. They agreed and are now sending me to a doctor in the same clinnic who looks after their cannabis patients. So on Wednesday I have my first appointment with that doctor. I hope that when I walk out of the clinic that day I will be able to use cannabis legally.

Icurrently have a grow I am nurturing. 4 plants. 2 Big Buds and 2 Pineapple Express. It is, at this moment, an illegal grow in my back closet. It is illegal because I don't yet have my papers that will allow me to grow for myself. Those papers will come in in a few weeks, but I have to get my legal medical marijuana papers first before I can apply to grow for myself.

There, that's the short synopsis of my current medical and growing situation. Let it be known that I will be experimenting on developing my own canna body butters and canna lotions along with all of you! This study hall really is a place to experiment nd come back to the group with all of our findings. I will be doing it, too.

 

[Magnus8]

re: Magnus8's Canna Cream - Body Butter - & Canna Lotion Study Hall

I usually put the oil in a double boiler and add the beeswax in and is melts into the oil and I put it in jars. If there is a better way, let me know.

Hey SG,

That method would work fine, too. The key is just to get all the beeswax melted so that you don't have clumps of it leftover in your product.

 

[Lady Cannafan]

re: Magnus8's Canna Cream - Body Butter - & Canna Lotion Study Hall

Nice plan -- that's almost exactly what I use. I use a 3 vessel crock pot, just like you do. It is very helpful for all the reasons you stated. I use mine mostly for infusing herbs besides cannabis. You don't know me and my story yet, so let me give you a very brief synopsis.

I came to this site looking for information on dosing and alternative methods of dosing than smoking. I don't mind smoking cannabis, but I wanted to get more effective, longer lasting relief from my incredibly debilitating back pain and terrible anxiety disorder (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) and my depression. A whole whack of disorders in my body and mind.

Over the last years, the doctors have used many medications with me. Right now I am on a Fentanyl patch (200 mcg/hr) and T4s and a host of pssych meds. I want to get off most, if not all, of my meds.

The doctors are now telling me that they are taking away my Fentanyl patch which gives me such relief from the pain, as well as the T4s. I told them that I wanted to start cannabis therapy. They agreed and are now sending me to a doctor in the same clinnic who looks after their cannabis patients. So on Wednesday I have my first appointment with that doctor. I hope that when I walk out of the clinic that day I will be able to use cannabis legally.

Icurrently have a grow I am nurturing. 4 plants. 2 Big Buds and 2 Pineapple Express. It is, at this moment, an illegal grow in my back closet. It is illegal because I don't yet have my papers that will allow me to grow for myself. Those papers will come in in a few weeks, but I have to get my legal medical marijuana papers first before I can apply to grow for myself.

There, that's the short synopsis of my current medical and growing situation. Let it be known that I will be experimenting on developing my own canna body butters and canna lotions along with all of you! This study hall really is a place to experiment nd come back to the group with all of our findings. I will be doing it, too.

I am sending tons of good Karma for Wednesday! I am so happy to read that they agreed with the Cannabis therapy. Chalk up another win for people who need this!

Thank you for the story. I just know that you will be able to find relief with this earth given plant. The history and continuing results of the healing qualities of this herb cannot be refuted, it is given to us by this earth, and it's our right to use it!

We'll all help each other along the way. Ya just can't stay depressed around here.

 

[SweetSue]

re: Magnus8's Canna Cream - Body Butter - & Canna Lotion Study Hall

I'm really excited about this launch Magnus. You guys are going to work out some wonderful formulations.

 

[kelticBlue]

re: Magnus8's Canna Cream - Body Butter - & Canna Lotion Study Hall

 

[Magnus8]

I would like to tell you about 3 primary methods for infusing herbs in oil. And since cannabis is an herb, it, too, may be infused in various different oils this way.

First of all, let's dismiss this notion that Coconut Oil (CO) is the best oil to use when infusing cannabis. Yes, I will agree that CO might be the best oil to use to infuse cannabis when infusing for edible or some other means of taking cannabinoids into the body, such as through the use of suppositories. But for topicals, CO is NOT the best means of transmission through the skin barrier into the tissues and muscles and tendons of the body.

I am also not about to hazard a guess at to which oil IS the best oil to use to carry cannabinoids past the skin barrier into the body, since that will be the homework of the members of this study hall to figure out over time and through experimentation. Already, SuperGroomer is experimenting with infusing Grape Seed Oil with cannabis as I write this tonight.

But the fact remains that the CO molecuels are so large that they do not easily pass througgh the skin barrier. There may be other reasons why the skin will not let CO pass, but I do know that its size is one feature for this. It is just too big.

When CO is spread over the skin it remains there. It does not sink into the skin. It rests like a layer of grease on top of the skin. Any cannabinoids that are infused within it remain there, too -- on top of the skin. This is why CCO oil is not an adequate carrier for cannabinoids to enter the bloodstream, ease aching muscles, relax tightened tendons, generally to pass through the skin barrier and work that magic that cannabinoids are meant to work.

We must find another carrier oil that will perform this duty. In order to do this, we must start from a place of experience, tradition and gathered knowledge to determine an adequate carrier oil that will perform this duty for us in our formulations. And in order to test out our theories, we must infuse a lot of cannabis into a lot of oil.

This is where tonight's discussion comes into play. I will lay the grounds for how herbal medical techniques are traditionally used to infuse oils with herbal medicine.

The first technique for infusing oil with herbs:

The first technique requires no additional heat than the sun provides. It is possibly the most un-intrusive, easy and least-damaging technique to those precious oils and that even more precious cargo they are addressed to carry into the body past the skin barrier. The problem is, it takes about 2 months to perform, and who has that kind of time (at least right away, for their first 2 or 3 efforts at infusing cannabis into oil).

First, you fill mason jars with cannabis. We will take as our standard unit of cannabis measurement to be about 1 ounce of good flowers or 1.5 ounces of good trim. You fill a large mason jar with this product. Then fill to the top of the jar the carrier oil you would like to infuse. Then cover with the mason jar's cover and twist tightly. This you then set upon a sunny windosill and, as you pass by each day, give it a good shake to mix the oil up. Let sit for up to 2 months. After 2 months, the infusion should be done. Voila! You have infused your oil with cannabis.

You can discern the problems with this method without my delineating them, the primary one being time. Who has the time to wait for this infusion to finish? Unless you already have jars and jars of infused oil infused by another means to use in the meantime while you wait and wait and wait for your windowsill infusion to be done.

On the other hand, this method of infusion has the least chance of breaking down the carrier oil at the molecular level, since the only heat applied is the heat of the sun. And likewise, it has the least chance of damaging those precious cannabinoids for the same reasons. But leaving that aside, it is a very impractical method of infusing our carrier oils with our precious cargo -- our cannnabinoids.

The second technique for infusing carrier oils with herbs:

This method takes the least amount of time, and barring preparation activity, will only take you between 5 - 6 or so hours.

In this method, you take your precious flowers or trim and add it to a crockpot or slowcooker (are they not the same thing? I'm not sure exactly.). Then you add your carrier oil to the pot, turn it on high. When the oil has reached a rather hot temperature you then turn the pot to low and leave it sit for 5 - 6 hours. You may also start out your pot on low but you will need to add another hour on to your total "cooking" time. Be sure to stir at least once every half an hour.

You may already see t,he problem with this method or you may not. The high heat involved produced by the slowcooker may damage both our carrier oil and its precious cargo -- our amazing cannabinoids.

The third technique for infusing oils with herbs:

This third technique is the one I prefer to use as it has the best tradeoffs between damaging those special carrier oils and their precious cargo and the other side of the equation -- the actual time we each have in the day to devote to these persuits of pleasure. This methodology requires about two to three days of our time. When rushed it can be done over one weekend, but when trying to do as good a procedure as possible, it requires three days.

You place your flowers or trim and carrier oil into the slowcooker and turn it onto high. Watch it carefully and as soon as it reaches a high temperature turn the pot OFF. Let the oils cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. When the oils have returned to room temp, turn the pot to high again. Turn it off immediately again. Stir and stir again. Repeat repeatedly over and over again throughout the course of two to three days.


After finishing all three methods of extraction, you must drain the oil through first a cheesecloth and then through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.

So those are the primary means of infusing carrier oils with herbal medicines used commonly in the world of handcrafting soaps and lotions, creams and body butters. I hope this information is helpful!

 

[Lady Cannafan]

................

The first technique for infusing oil with herbs:

The first technique requires no additional heat than the sun provides. It is possibly the most un-intrusive, easy and least-damaging technique to those precious oils and that even more precious cargo they are addressed to carry into the body past the skin barrier. The problem is, it takes about 2 months to perform, and who has that kind of time (at least right away, for their first 2 or 3 efforts at infusing cannabis into oil).

First, you fill mason jars with cannabis. We will take as our standard unit of cannabis measurement to be about 1 ounce of good flowers or 1.5 ounces of good trim. You fill a large mason jar with this product. Then fill to the top of the jar the carrier oil you would like to infuse. Then cover with the mason jar's cover and twist tightly. This you then set upon a sunny windosill and, as you pass by each day, give it a good shake to mix the oil up. Let sit for up to 2 months. After 2 months, the infusion should be done. Voila! You have infused your oil with cannabis.

You can discern the problems with this method without my delineating them, the primary one being time. Who has the time to wait for this infusion to finish? Unless you already have jars and jars of infused oil infused by another means to use in the meantime while you wait and wait and wait for your windowsill infusion to be done.

On the other hand, this method of infusion has the least chance of breaking down the carrier oil at the molecular level, since the only heat applied is the heat of the sun. And likewise, it has the least chance of damaging those precious cannabinoids for the same reasons. But leaving that aside, it is a very impractical method of infusing our carrier oils with our precious cargo -- our cannnabinoids.

..........................

My concern with this particular method would be the long term light. I've been told, and read over and over again, that light will degrade the THC. Do you have any personal opinions on that Magnus8? Or does anyone else have any thoughts/facts/information on that?

 

[DrZiggy]

Air, light, heat, time...Can all degrade THC

 

[jingo]

My concern with this particular method would be the long term light. I've been told, and read over and over again, that light will degrade the THC. Do you have any personal opinions on that Magnus8? Or does anyone else have any thoughts/facts/information on that?

Yes the sunlight does break it down first it will convert THCa to THC and then CBN. But, that's exactly what we try and do with a decarb. So with some experimentation a person I think could use this method to replace the decarb.

 

[Lady Cannafan]

Thanks guys, I was just digging into that a little bit. It's been a while since I've gone digging, my shovel is rusty. I realize this happens with time and all that, my concern was leaving it there in the sun for two full months...just how much degradation would occur. Thinking shelf life here on the end product, I guess...

I think method three with a slight revision of my own, will be what I do from here.

 

[Dave Groomer]

When I get home, I will be putting the new butter together. My plan is to take 8oz of my infused GSO and mix it with 8oz of uninfused GSO. This should give me the same "strength" as my old recipe, since only the coconut oil was infused in that. I put it in a double boiler and add 2oz beeswax. Do you think that is too much on the Beeswax?

 

[jingo]

Re: Magnus8's Canna Cream - Body Butter - & Canna Lotion Study Hall

I use a completely different method than the three mentioned above. For mine I do a qwet extraction with everclear, then I put the etoh into a water distiller modified for etoh and reduce my etoh.

Once I have a set amount of cannabis infused etoh, I can put 70 mil of the extraction in with a pound of butter and I have infused butter. I can do the same for most oils, just process in my distiller.

 

[Lady Cannafan]

Re: Magnus8's Canna Cream - Body Butter - & Canna Lotion Study Hall

I use a completely different method than the three mentioned above. For mine I do a qwet extraction with everclear, then I put the etoh into a water distiller modified for etoh and reduce my etoh.

Once I have a set amount of cannabis infused etoh, I can put 70 mil of the extraction in with a pound of butter and I have infused butter. I can do the same for most oils, just process in my distiller.

Did you mod your water distiller yourself, or buy one that was already set up for it?

 

[Magnus8]

My concern with this particular method would be the long term light. I've been told, and read over and over again, that light will degrade the THC. Do you have any personal opinions on that Magnus8? Or does anyone else have any thoughts/facts/information on that?

Hey Cannafan,

In fact I didn't know that light degrades THC, but I wouldn't doubt it. Sunlight degrades numerous herbs. I cannot remember which are the worst contenders right now when it is early morning and I still haven't had my third coffee (yet alone my first, I'm still drinking last night's leftover cold tea. Mmmmmm... I love it!). I would trust in what you've heard until you learn otherwise. I was only trying to delineate the most common methods of infusion when I wrote that post. Thanks so much, Cannafan, for bringing that to our attention!

 

[Magnus8]

Air, light, heat, time...Can all degrade THC

I have said it before and I must stress again that I am new to working with cannabis. That's one of the reasons I, for one, am here. Thanks for teaching me this, DrZiggy and Cannafan!

 

[Magnus8]

Thanks guys, I was just digging into that a little bit. It's been a while since I've gone digging, my shovel is rusty. I realize this happens with time and all that, my concern was leaving it there in the sun for two full months...just how much degradation would occur. Thinking shelf life here on the end product, I guess...

I think method three with a slight revision of my own, will be what I do from here.

Method three is the one that I use,for numerous reasons.

What is your adjustment to the method, if you don't mind me asking? Inquiring minds want to know...