CASEINE MASSAGE CREAMS
By H. C. Bradford
IT is probable that no single article has attracted more attention in pharmacy during the last five years than massage cream, and it is equally probable that no article ever carried so much weight, created so much interest, and sold in such quantities, and yet had so little real merit and value behind it. At first, being supposedly something new, the charm of novelty carried much with it, and was largely responsible for the popularity which these creams enjoy. Now, that this has very largely disappeared, the articles are beginning to find their true place, and to be appraised at something like their real value.
Greaseless creams, broadly considered, are of two general classes. The first, the kind discussed in this paper, has usually a base of caseine or of the solids of milk, variously combined and modified; the second is usually a stearin soap, also much modified and varied. That these creams should each fill a place has been amply demonstrated by the fact that they have sold steadily. A remark of a prominent pharmacist that "he had never known any one to buy the product the second time," has not held good in practice. Another thing that is peculiar is, that the public put these products in their proper place before the manufacturers did. At first, they were advertised and pushed very much in the same manner as the fatty creams. Now there is a very great difference. Most of the manufacturers are very wisely making a distinction between them and the fatty creams. In one booklet that came to the writer's attention, it was frankly stated that the massage cream would not perform the service of the fatty product, and the advice was given to procure and use that when it was indicated. Just who first introduced the caseine creams, or who decided that they would serve an acceptable purpose, it is impossible to say. Milk has long ranked high as a cosmetic. Baths of milk are spoken of in many ancient writings, and its use seems to have been more or less general the world over. All will remember the baths of milk by which the women of Rome were accustomed to seek to retain their youth and beauty.
Caseine is used very widely in the industrial world, entering into products that range all the way from sizes, cements and polishes, on up to products that have many of the physical characteristics of ivory and replace that costly substance in many articles. Its use as the base of a toilet cream, is now so general as to make that one of its staple uses. Creams are mostly made from the caseine freshly precipitated from milk, and it is here that many failures occur. There is no difficulty in the process, and the list of precipitants is a long one. Alum, borax, ammonia, magnesium sulphate, rennet, heat and many others are employed, but in spite of this variety, success is not always assured. There also seems to be a wide divergence of methods. As an example, some lay stress upon the thorough washing of the freshly precipitated product as essential; others say nothing about it, and the inference is, that they pay no attention to that part of the process. Washing is essential, especially if chemicals have been employed as precipitants, if only to be rid of them. It also removes the albumin, the whey and other liquids, and leaves the caseine cleaner and more manageable. Another stumbling block is in the use of whole milk. Most formulas merely specify "sweet milk," without the added adjective, "skimmed." The butter fat of whole milk interferes with all the processes, and is decidedly a nuisance. If fat is to be added, it should be at the last. The milk should also be fresh; that is, it should not have changed appreciably from the condition of fresh milk. The changes set up by the bacteria interfere with the results, and tend to disintegrate the caseine to a certain extent. At any rate, milk that has soured or changed does not make as good a product as that which is perfectly fresh. The next most common error is in the amount of moisture left in the cream. Under manipulation caseine will take up a considerable quantity of water, but on being left standing for a time, it will contract and expel this water, and if this should happen after the cream has been sold it will be unsatisfactory. No one wants a jar of cream with a layer of water on the top of it. The next defect is purely one of manipulation and does not occur asfrequently with freshly precipitated caseine bases as with creams made from the dry commercial product. Still, it does sometimes occur, because most makers have not learned how to overcome it. This is the peculiar "grainy" or granular appearance the caseine will sometimes take when it has been allowed to dry too much. Rubbing with water seems to do little good unless the product is also "ground"; some use alcohol; some employ oil of various sorts, while still others rely on some solid fat such as "cocoa butter." None of these makeshifts give more than ordinary results. The remedy is a trace of alkali. The best way to bring out all of the points connected with massage cream manufacture will be to give a typical recipe. It must never be forgotten, however, that the good judgment and skill of the operator, as well as the experience he may accumulate, will be of the utmost importance; worth more even than the formula, for the reason that the raw material with which we work is a most variable substance; perhaps it would be impossible to find one that varies more. Even milk secured from the same source and meeting all the tests will still be variable. From the birth of the calf, until lactation stops, the bovine does not supply the same product two days in succession. Nature varies it to meet the needs of the offspring, which is its natural use, and it is further varied by the methods of feeding and handling to which the cow is subject. It is, therefore, not only possible, but very probable, that a process may be worked out to the very finest points as to one sample of milk and give unqualified success, while the next lot of milk under the same method, will all go wrong. This is mentioned here, not as something unusual, but as a means of pointing out another source of failure that is too often ignored, or at least not given due consideration, as well as to emphasize the need for discretion, judgment and patience in doing work of this kind. The very best formula can be but little more than a direction laid down for general guidance, and not a course, of which every step is marked, and every shoal and shallow charted. The following formula is one that is so common that it is a type, and presumably, gives good results:
CASEINE CREAM—FORMULA NO. 1
Skimmed Sweet Milk - 1 3/4 gal.
Solution of Formaldehyde - 2 dr.
Borax - 3 3/4 oz.
Alum - 7 3/4 oz.
Boiling Water - 4 pints
Cold Water - 2 gal.
Mix the formaldehyde solution thoroughly with the milk and heat the solution to 50° C. The desired color should also be added to the milk at this time. It is thus carried down with the curd and distributed in a much better manner than is otherwise possible. One hundred and thirty-five minims of the solution of carmine, N. F., has been found to give a satisfactory tint to the above quantity. Now dissolve the borax in two pints of boiling water, and stir briskly into the milk; as soon as the mixing is complete, strain it through muslin or cheese-cloth. Dissolve the alum in the remainder of the boiling water and add the solution slowly and with constant stirring to the milk mixture. It is this that really precipitates the caseine. The other only made it ready, as it were. Let the curd settle to the bottom of the vessel, and if the supernatant liquid is not perfectly clear, add more alum solution of the strength stated above until it is. This done, drain off the liquid and wash the curd until the washings are tasteless or nearly so. This is best done by having it in a pail or other like container with a faucet or spigot at the bottom, so the wash water can be easily drawn off. Now get the curd into a bag of cheese-cloth and press it with the hands, and let drain until it weighs 3 pounds and 2 ounces. This will give about the proper amount of water. Next work in the perfume, and it is ready for package. If the job has been done properly, and if the cream has not been allowed to dry too much while getting down to the proper weight, it will be found satisfactorily smooth. However, if the air has gotten too much access, it will be more or less "grainy," especially around the edges. If this graininess is only slight it will be best to simply remove and discard the affected portion, but if it is general, it had best be treated. As stated above, the remedy is a trace of caustic alkali. Either potassium or sodium hydroxide may be used, or a mixture of the two. Ten grains to the ounce of product is about the maximum, and probably less will serve. It all depends on the extent of the drying process. Dissolve the alkali in a little water—the least that will serve, and rub it smoothly and evenly into the curd. It will smooth out and dispel those rough granular spots almost like magic. As soon as this is seen to be done, get the product into the tubes with the least possible delay. Tubes are the best package in some respects, and in some others, they are almost the very worst. The chief product of the market is packed in a small, wide-mouthed bottle, with a ground stopper. That is an ideal package, but expensive. A jar, with a small, thin "washer" or "gasket" of paraffined board or rubber, so that it would screw down practically air-tight, would be ideal, but no such package is known, at least to the writer, and few, if any, of the ordinary jars would stand the insertion of the gasket. It is easy enough to keep the jar in perfect condition until finally sold, by running paraffin on top of the cream, but after its use is begun comes the trouble. If used slowly, it is almost sure to dry and spoil, and that kills the sale of a second package.
CASEINE CREAM—FORMULA NO. 2
Glycerin - 1 oz.
Ammonia Water - 1 oz.
Borax - 2 dr.
Boric Acid - 1 dr.
Fresh Skimmed Milk - 1 gal.
Mix the milk and the ammonia, then put on the fire and heat until the milk curdles. Let it stand overnight or about twelve hours, and strain through cheese-cloth. If it. was heated sufficiently, and not too much, this will give a nice, smooth curd. Let it stand another twelve hours, then mix in the other ingredients, add the color and perfume, and it is ready to package. This is a good example of the use of heat to curdle the caseine, assisted here by the ammonia. It will also be noted that no washing is required. If properly done, all the caseine will be precipitated and the whey and other liquids will flow from the strainer almost clear. This has the advantage of making a smooth, soft, even curd, in which the other ingredients can be incorporated with little labor. It is further fortified by the glycerin. This is an excellent formula, and has been used with success. As previously stated, it can not be too often reiterated that success with these creams depends almost entirely on the judgment, skill and experience of the operator. The wide variety of materials, and.the great latitude in processes make that plain, and indeed, nothing else could be expected, when the exceedingly variable nature of the raw material is considered. Next will be an example of the use of magnesium sulphate, as the chief precipitant, but assisted somewhat by a small amount of alum, as well as slight heating. This precipitation could be accomplished entirely with the magnesium salt if desired, and this is done in many cases, but the excess required is more difficult to wash out.
CASEINE CREAM—FORMULA NO. 3
Freshly Precipitated Caseine - 100 parts
Boric Acid - 20 parts
Oil of Theobroma - 10 parts
Color Perfume of each, sufficient
Melt the oil of theobroma and rub to a paste with the boric acid, and triturate to a smooth, even cream with the caseine, working in the perfume and color at the same time. The caseine is precipitated as follows: Fresh Skimmed Milk 500 parts Magnesium Sulphate 50 parts Alum 5 parts Dissolve the magnesium sulphate in just the amount of warm water that will serve; mix the solution with the milk and set the mixture aside for an hour or so. Heat it then to about 130° F. (and in no case allow the temperature to exceed 145° F.), and add the alum, dissolved also in just sufficient hot water. Continue the heat until it is clear that the caseine is entirely precipitated, then transfer to a cheese-cloth strainer, and wash with water until the washings are almost tasteless. It is then handled as directed above. This formula brings in a new element in the shape of a fat. This could be, and often is, added to the product of any formula, but its only use here is to exemplify the use of a particular fat. "Cocoa butter" seems to be by far the most popular for this purpose, and while there are doubtless a number of reasons for this, the chief and most important one is that it imparts the desirable quality of smoothness to the product. This lack of smoothness (it hardly suits to call it roughness) is the chief defect of most massage creams. Despite the most patient effort, the caseine always tends to aggregate into particles, and this is almost entirely overcome by this small amount of "cocoa butter." The only disadvantage of this added fat is that the product is no longer, in the strict sense of the term, a "greaseless" cream, but this seems to be generally ignored by the manufacturers of many of the products on the market. The next formula is one which has much to recommend it, though it differs but little from those already given. Its great advantages are the ease of manipulation and the small amount of time and labor required. In those respects it is a great advance on $he others, and it makes a nice product. It is only another evidence of the great latitude allowable in working with a raw material of such indefinite and variable composition.
CASEINE CREAM—FORMULA NO. 4
Fresh Skimmed Milk - 1 gal
Borax - 3 oz
Boric Acid - 3 oz
Powdered Alum - 6 oz
Glycerine - 1 1/2 oz
Sodium Benzoate - 4 dr.
Put the borax and the boric acid into the milk, stir until dissolved, then heat to boiling. The mixture must not boil, but should come just to the boilingpoint. Then remove from the fire, add the alum dissolved in the smallest possible quantity of hot water, stir thoroughly, and let stand for twenty-four hours. Strain, wash the curd a few times by decantation, let drain for an hour or so, then mix in the glycerin, the benzoate, the perfume, and the color, and it is ready to package up. It will be noted how simple and easy is this process, which relies almost entirely on the agency of heat to separate the caseine. Of course, the borax and other things have some effect, and the alum is added to make sure, but heating to the boiling-point will almost always separate all the coagulated portion of the curd. This heating process is one to be carried out with care. A water-bath will hardly serve, since the degree of heat boiling water gives off will hardly boil milk, especially as the boiling-point is raised by the various chemicals that have been added. The heating is best done on top of a stove or range—not next the naked flame. The mixture should be carefully watched, and constantly stirred, and as soon as it shows signs of boiling, it should be removed from the source of heat. Another point of importance, not only in this, but in nearly all formulas, is the length of time the curd is to drain, after the washing, before it is finished up. The duration of time lies between very narrow limits. The cream should contain all the water it can permanently hold, but on the other hand, it must not contain too much. In the first formula, it is stated that 15 pints of milk gave a curd, ready for conversion into cream, weighing 3 pounds and 2 ounces, and this yield will do as a guide. Generally 5 pints of milk will produce about 1 pound of curd fit for use as a massage cream, but as the yield is variable, the only real guide is judgment and experience. In no other product known to this writer, is it so necessary to rely on the skill of the operator. We will conclude this caseine cream article with a formula directing the use of the dry commercial product. This is now an article of commerce, and its use not only obviates the "fussing" with the milk, but in the writer's opinion, it makes a smoother and less "grainy" product. In getting the caseine for massage cream, be sure that the use to which it is to be put is specified. The makers of dry caseine make many different grades and qualities. Just what the difference is, is hard to say, but the difference does exist, and a product that would serve admirably as a "size" for paper or as a shoe polish ingredient will hardly do for creams, any more than the latter quality will serve for infant food. The difference in price charged for these various grades is also a very important matter. Given the proper quality of caseine, the fabrication of a cream from it is a matter of but little time and labor.
CASEINE CREAM—FORMULA NO. 5
Dry Caseine 9 oz.
Potassium Hydroxide 100 grn.
Sodium Hydroxide 20 grn.
Glycerin 4 oz.
Phenol 140 grn.
Water 32 oz.
Dissolve the potassium and sodium hydroxides in the water; add the caseine, taking care that it is as free from lumps as possible. Heat on a water-bath until it is dissolved to a smooth, heavy cream mass. Work in the glycerin, color, perfume and phenol, and when the whole is thoroughly incorporated, transfer to the packages. The cream made by this recipe possesses one advantage over those previously noted, and that is in the ability of the operator to vary the consistency to almost any desired extent. As the recipe stands, it will make a product that is just about right for jars or tubes, but it can be made harder or softer, as desired, by merely increasing or decreasing the amount of water. This is an advantage in another way, which is that in the making, this can be determined and more water may be added, or evaporation may be carried a little further in order to make it of the proper consistency. This affords a marked contrast to watching a bag of freshly precipitated moist caseine as it loses its surplus moisture by the slow dropping of the fluid from it, the operator in the meanwhile wondering whether the proper percentage of water has been reached. As the writer was about to conclude this paper his attention was called, by accident, to a method of manipulation for the preparation of massage cream that is worth publication. He was called by his "better half" to pass judgment on a flavoring for that well-known dish, "cottage cheese," and in studying the process of manufacture found it was a highly satisfactory way for making a massage cream.
...TO BE CONTINUED
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