A vast vat bath

As I wandered back into the batching area before the heat of the day kicked in I saw Chris heating up the area anyway.  Steam in the air and steaming soapy water pouring out of one of the tanks as clean up was underway.  Cleanliness is next to Godliness!

It is vital to have equipment total clean and able to pass inspection before they put another group of ingredients into the tanks and vats.  It is what you do on a Friday morning at 6:00 AM.

The Pied Piper

To hot to handle?? To cold to hold?

If wonder what it is like to work in a batching area cooking secret recipes for the hot fill lines in a factory and the outside temperature nears 100 degrees Fahrenheit, wonder no longer....

HOT,HOT,HOTTER, HOTTER, HOTTEST!

I give the boys in batching, Chris and Lee, a lot of credit for standing in and making us tick.  Way to go boys!

Unfortunately my office is air conditioned and I don't get the benefits of overheating and sweating all day.
But blogging is thirsty work so it is iced tea time!
The Pied Piper.

Slippery Facts about Mineral Oil

I was snooping around in the batching area yesterday as they were working on a super secret recipe for a sporting good manufacturer for whom we are making a new wonder product and I saw the boys put in some Mineral Oil.  And while the product they were making was not a cosmetic, I thought I would address the issue of Mineral Oil in cosmetics. 

Mineral oil provides many benefits for skin and hair. . Is mineral oil safe for cosmetic use?

Mineral oil is a common cosmetic ingredient that can be found in many skin and hair products. Over the years as natural products have grown in popularity, a number of beauty experts have criticized the ingredient and questioned its safety.  Misguided thinking.

Cosmetic Grade Mineral Oil

Mineral oil is a derivative of petroleum that is clear and odorless. The cosmetic grade mineral oil has been refined into a substance that is hypoallergenic, noncomedogenic (your new word for the day, means won't clog pores) and has many conditioning properties. After refinement, it does not resemble the same properties as petroleum or industrial mineral oil.

Cosmetics expert and beauty journalist, Paula Begoun, wrote on her website that cosmetic grade mineral oil is "one of the safest and most nonirritating moisturizing ingredients ever found." She points out that many of the critics of mineral oil are misinformed about cosmetic mineral oil and are also selling a natural alternative product. She also questions their motives.

The beauty industry often uses mineral oil as a conditioning ingredient because it is well-tolerated by people with sensitive skin, is noncomedogenic, and seals moisture into the skin effectively. Many of the most moisturizing body lotions contain mineral oil.

According to the Beautifulwithbrains.com site, many critics of mineral oil called it pore clogging and claimed it could suffocate skin. The site points out that cosmetic grade mineral oil will not clog pores and is nothing like the highly comedogenic (pore-clogging) industrial mineral oil.

Cosmetic grade mineral oil is occlusive and forms a barrier on the outside of the skin to hold moisture in. It does not suffocate skin. However, mineral oil shouldn't be used in a product that has pore-clogging ingredients because it could seal them in. There are also people who frequent acne boards, like acne.com, who experienced break-outs from using products with mineral oil in them

You are in safe hands with us!

The Pied Piper

Avid golfer, Undisclosed handicap.

Saukville, Wisconsin,1/27/12

USGA Woman’s  Open, Blackwolf Run and Alliance Packaging Group take sun exposure seriously!

Alliance Packaging Group is the authorized manufacturer of SPF Lip Balm, SPF Sunscreen and SPF face Stick for the USGA Woman’s Open at Blackwolf Run,the Kohler, Wisconsin golf course.  APG an FDA approved high quality Lab and manufacturer is pleased to be the providing these logoed items for the tournament.  The host club, the USGA and authorized vendors will be selling the collectable items at the event, July 5-8, 2012.

Alliance Packaging Group is a premier manufacturer of lip balm, body and skin care products specializing in formulation and private label products, Alliance Packaging Groups CEO Linda Kamal , an avid golfer with an undisclosed handicap, said “we are so pleased to have been allowed to make our products for this premier event, especially as it is so close to our manufacturing facility.  The hands free face stick will certainly be favored by the players as a way to apply needed sunscreen without using their hands.”

Alliance Packaging Is also celebrating State of Wisconsin recognition as an official Woman Business Enterprise.

The Pied Piper

Playing with steel drums

Chris and Lee have been playing with steel drums in the back.  Not the musical kind but the 55 gallon of materials kind.  As I wandered through the storage and batching area I noted over 200 black and blue barrels holding somewhere between 5000 and 10,000 gallons of raw materials. 

What are in those barrels?  The basis of much of our creation and manufacturing!  We have barrels upon barrels of things like Petrolatum, Mineral Oil, Tea Tree Oil (special stainless barrel for that) and Olive Oil.

Those drums may not be the kind you can play but they are sweet music to us...we make our lip balms, sunscreens, lotions and oils form those drums.
The Pied Piper