Do I really have to tell you guys which brand of product I ended up having to fix on my own after buying 8 ounces of it and seeing it separate into a blob of butters with oils on top?
After that purchase, AfroVeda could officially suck it. I. Was. PISSED! My full-sized Totally Twisted Ginger Almond Butter separated before I could even use it for the first time! I kept having to stir it and put it on my hair quickly, before it separated again, but it looked so gross! I finally got sick of that little game and decided to put my knowledge of basic chemistry (and google) to use.
When a product separates, i.e. splits into oils and butters rather the luscious cream that you thought you bought, what’s happening is the emulsion is falling apart.
Oils and butters sometimes will not stay mixed, just as oil and water won’t, because the molecules of one substance act as little bar magnets (in that they have poles) whereas the other molecules do not. That attraction, or at least some strong hydrogen bonding, is needed for an emulsion to occur, in which one material is suspended in the other.
If you find that you have two substances that will not stay emulsified, you must use an emulsifier to stabilize the emulsion. Emulsifiers come in many shapes and forms: I, personally, ended up heading to Whole Foods and buying some liquid lecithin for about $5.99. It’s a natural emulsifier and some even take it as a supplement (for what reason, I do not even claim to know). I poured about a teaspoon into the 8 ounces of slop, mixed with an electric mixer, and put the butter back into it’s original container. Two days later, there is, admittedly, a little oil on top of the cream, but not even an eighth of what was there before! That’s a huge improvement!
As for AfroVeda…
I’ve never had the distinct pleasure of dealing with their customer service (this was an on-the-ground purchase), but the quality of the full-sized Totally Twisted Ginger Almond Butter just baffled me. What made things worse was the fact that the solution was so simple, and quick to boot. I’ve heard that the owner of AfroVeda has no help with her business, but selling a product in that condition is just unacceptable. Add to that mixture the huge price-hike in her products and my anger sits on top. This just won’t work.
AfroVeda, you no longer get my patronage.
Peace, Love, and Quality Products,
SuperCoils