BellaOnline Forums Hobbies and Crafts Soapmaking Round Tea Bags & Silica Gel Powder

Does anyone have a source for empty round tea bags or silica gel powder?

Try contacting a tea manufacturer....for the first,anyway....cruise google for them both, or the latter....

Thanks for your suggestion. Of course, I've already googled. Trying to get info from a manufacturer about their suppliers is next to impossible I have found. About the silica gel powder, the sad thing is I saw it referenced HERE and I emailed the author of the article asking for information about the supplier which was mentioned by name, as if everyone already knew this individual. This person has not responded yet and it has been over a week.

Thanks for replying. I'll keep searching.

How does silica gel help in soap making? Just curious.

I found it referenced here for use in scrubs:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art14560.asp

I wish I knew who "Dawn" was.

Hi! Silica Gel powder is used to dry flowers, so you can often find it in craft stores in the flower section. I bought a 1 1/2 pound tub of it for around $9 at Joann Fabrics a few months ago. I use the powder to make sachets to put in storage boxes to help absorb moisture (like the packets that come in shoe boxes.) I've never tried it in bath & beauty recipes though. The safety warnings on the manufacturer's website seem to indicate it is a skin irritant so I'm not sure it would be safe in a scrub recipe. ( safety instructions )I would do plenty of research before trying this. HTH

Lisa

Thanks for that info. I'll keep that in mind. I was just curious about it's uses after reading the suggestion for putting it in scrubs. On another forum there was a discussion about "bath jelly" and how it was made. Someone theorized they used silica gel powder to make it. I had never heard of anything like it. Here's a link if you've never heard of it either:
https://id70.securedata.net/cgi-bin/smivavm?jellybath/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

If you need Silica GEl for scrubbing, you can use any other crystals that will not dissolve in soap and will not hurt the skin while scrubbing it.

Hi: Fumed silica maybe found at Lotion Crafter Lotion Crafter

Fumed silica is different from silica gel. Silica gel is a dessicant used to keep things dry while fumed silica is used in powdered food products to keep them free flowing as well other uses. Fumed silica can be used in bath scrubs to thicken it. I have used fumed silica and it is a wonderful product which is light as a feather. So when purchasing, a couple ounces goes a long way.

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