Baby powder.

Date: Mon, 11 Dec 1995 11:31:16 -0800
Sender: HERB.TREARNPC.EGE.EDU.TR
From: Howie Brounstein <howieb.TELEPORT.COM>
Subject: Cornstarch and Essential oils

>Would anyone have any suggestions on how to add an herbal scent to corn starch? I'm trying to make a baby powder using corn starch as the base. Thanks.

First, Put the corn startch in a jar and add the essentail oil to the corn starch. Shake it up a bit. Let it sit in a warm, but not hot, place for a few hours.

Second, take the cornstarch and sift it through a screen, pushing the clumps of of oil/cornstrach through the holes so that they break up and mix with the rest of the cornstarch powder. This may take a few times through the screen. It also puffs up the corn starch, making it easier to use.

Lastly, let the whole mixture sit in a sealed jar for at least a day. This is important so that the aroma permeates the whole batch.

Careful though, the process can look suspicious. I used to sell a variety of these kinds of body powders. Once my mom came to visit during this. She wanted to take a picture of me working for the relatives. Those pictures of me and my employee with an enourmous bowl of white powder weighing out 40 gram baggies on a triple beam raised a few eyebrows at the developing lab, I'm sure ;-)

Oh yes, a final word of caution: you do not want to breath too much of the powder when sifting.

Enjoy, these are fun to make and use.

Howie B http://botanicalstudies.net/howie.html
C&W Herbs, Inc.
Eugene, Or USA
howieb.teleport.com