Preserving breast milk for jewelry

[Naomidom]

yes a plaster is not a good idea. It failed. I will let you know the exact chemical preservatives like the mix kit you bought.Let me watch results of different mixtures for few more months and i will share. Take care

Hi! Any results to share by now? I've been following the thread for a long time and am very curious :p
Thanks anyway for testing!

 

[sarajf]

Hi guys, so I'm running out of time with my breastfeeding journey and milk stash so I did order a kit. Including this " magic powder" . Now my question is, is there any home DIY way to find out what this post is? Or what can I do with it to find out? After I'm done with my breast milk ring, I would love to do this for living so I'm desperate to find out. Thanks

 

[Tom.G]

If the stuff is from a large company, the product may be registered with government. If so, there could be an SDS (MSDS Material Safety Data Sheet) available on-line.

Or.

Find an analytical laboratory and have them analyze it. There are WAY to many possible compounds/chemicals for a DIY investigation. (and a whole bunch of equipment needed!)

Or.

Search on-line for the product name, followed by 'MSDS', or preceeded by 'contents',... well, you get the idea.

Or.

Follow the idea from @Fervent Freyja in post #35 https://www.physicsforums.com/posts/6498631

Good Luck!

Cheers,
Tom

 

[JediJ2308]

Hi guys, so I'm running out of time with my breastfeeding journey and milk stash so I did order a kit. Including this " magic powder" . Now my question is, is there any home DIY way to find out what this post is? Or what can I do with it to find out? After I'm done with my breast milk ring, I would love to do this for living so I'm desperate to find out. Thanks

Let us know if you run it to an analytical library! I'm actually looking to do this myself so I will update if I find out. The "secret ingredients" are killing me as I'm just trying to make some for my group of breastfeeding mommies.

 

[JediJ2308]

I found an Etsy page and bought the download! Here are the ingredients:

1. baking powder
2. baking soda
3. arrowroot powder
4. pickling lime (calcium hydroxide)
5. calcium chloride pulverized
6. borax
7. EDTA (calcium disodium)
8. lye (pulverized)

The download has a ton of info like amounts and directions. Worth it in my opinion for those of us who want to do this full time, otherwise just buy a small amount of the powder for your own personal use. https://www.etsy.com/listing/103142...der&ref=sr_gallery-1-6&organic_search_click=1

 

[Inelemind]

Hi Everyone. I read the whole thread. Any new information about this? Did someone find some good ingredients to make this very secret and magical preservative powder for breastmilk jewelry?
I am from Argentina and to buy the "magic" overseas is really, really, expensive for me.

 

[Inelemind]

Hi, thanks for the response! Yes I want to completely eliminate all fluid/ anything that can go bad from the breast milk! Our goal is to preserve the milk into a dry powder form that will not mold/turn colors in the future. (We want the powdered milk to remain a white/off white color to be appealing to the eyes) There’s some others online that have discovered a way to preserve it through the pasteurization process that I believe eliminates the bacteria, that would cause it to go bad eventually (unfortunately they will not share their processes) During this they add a mixture of powdered chemicals that help to preserve it. I’m comfortable working with resin and the jewelry making process, I just need assistance with what chemicals would be best to achieve the preservation of the milk.

The only videos online are of the DIY kit nature and do not tell what the included preservation compound is made of. I’ll attach the link so you can better see what I’m trying to accomplish.

thanks!

Did you find the way to do it?without buy the magical preservative powder?

 

[Inelemind]

I found an Etsy page and bought the download! Here are the ingredients:

1. baking powder
2. baking soda
3. arrowroot powder
4. pickling lime (calcium hydroxide)
5. calcium chloride pulverized
6. borax
7. EDTA (calcium disodium)
8. lye (pulverized)

The download has a ton of info like amounts and directions. Worth it in my opinion for those of us who want to do this full time, otherwise just buy a small amount of the powder for your own personal use. https://www.etsy.com/listing/103142...der&ref=sr_gallery-1-6&organic_search_click=1

Did you use it? Let me know how it works, please. Thanks!

 

[JediJ2308]

Did you use it? Let me know how it works, please. Thanks!

Not yet, just found it. ;)

 

[Inelemind]

Not yet, just found it. ;)

Can you friend me on Fcbk? ele Novo. I would appreciate if you can keep me on track about this. Thanks

 

[Geee]

Hey all. I have been doing some experimentation too. I have been sucessfully keeping powdered milk (just pasteurized, dehydrated and ground into powder) for 2 over two years and it didn't change color. It was already yellowish a bit after dehydration, but not off colored. Could the interaction with the resin be the problem? I'll be posting my results here.

 

[Melka]

Hey all. I have been doing some experimentation too. I have been sucessfully keeping powdered milk (just pasteurized, dehydrated and ground into powder) for 2 over two years and it didn't change color. It was already yellowish a bit after dehydration, but not off colored. Could the interaction with the resin be the problem? I'll be posting my results here.

Hello,

Some resins react with uv light and become a little darker. I use a resin with an uv filter. So far there is no change in color.

 

[Naomidom]

Hey all. I have been doing some experimentation too. I have been sucessfully keeping powdered milk (just pasteurized, dehydrated and ground into powder) for 2 over two years and it didn't change color. It was already yellowish a bit after dehydration, but not off colored. Could the interaction with the resin be the problem? I'll be posting my results here.

Oh wow! That would be great! I'm looking forward to reading the results!
Are you willing to share the process?

 

[Naomidom]

I found an Etsy page and bought the download! Here are the ingredients:

1. baking powder
2. baking soda
3. arrowroot powder
4. pickling lime (calcium hydroxide)
5. calcium chloride pulverized
6. borax
7. EDTA (calcium disodium)
8. lye (pulverized)

The download has a ton of info like amounts and directions. Worth it in my opinion for those of us who want to do this full time, otherwise just buy a small amount of the powder for your own personal use. https://www.etsy.com/listing/103142...der&ref=sr_gallery-1-6&organic_search_click=1

Do you know if this "recipe" keeps the color forever? If it's worth it, i would love to download it as well. But I'm just a little bit scared that this is a scam. Or it starts yellowing after 6 months.

 

[Geee]

Do you know if this "recipe" keeps the color forever? If it's worth it, i would love to download it as well. But I'm just a little bit scared that this is a scam. Or it starts yellowing after 6 months.

There are two things that can turn yellow, the preserved milk or the resin. Every resin will turn yellow at some point, because of oxydation. The milk can also turn yellow if not well preserved. The recipe on Etsy looks very sound and rational, as the ingredients will all help to prevent everything from degrading. However, I suspect the result will be whity-white, not really the color of human milk...

All of the ingredients prevent microorganisms from deteriorating the milk. This is something I think you can achieve with heating and dehydrating well. I also skim my samples, because fat doesn't seem to go well with resin. What I made two years ago was a pasteurized milk torouhgly dehydrated and it preserved well for two years... However, it wasn't kept in the sun. And I didn't make a jewel back then.

No matter what you try, this recipe or another, you can inspire yourself from tried and true manners of preserving food stuff: desinfecting everything, heating, dehydrating, removing air (sous vide), using chemicals to make the food inhospitable for microorganims, like using salt. One could even think of radiation. But since you are not going to eat it, you can also inspire yourself from the cosmetic industry. It makes a very large playground. :)

My personal goal is to try to stay very close to the milk itself. I do not like how white a lot of milk jewel turns out. I fell what I am seeing is more the colour of the preserving powder, not the actual milk. So I'm continuing to experiment.

 

[skaran]

There are two things that can turn yellow, the preserved milk or the resin. Every resin will turn yellow at some point, because of oxydation. The milk can also turn yellow if not well preserved. The recipe on Etsy looks very sound and rational, as the ingredients will all help to prevent everything from degrading. However, I suspect the result will be whity-white, not really the color of human milk...

All of the ingredients prevent microorganisms from deteriorating the milk. This is something I think you can achieve with heating and dehydrating well. I also skim my samples, because fat doesn't seem to go well with resin. What I made two years ago was a pasteurized milk torouhgly dehydrated and it preserved well for two years... However, it wasn't kept in the sun. And I didn't make a jewel back then.

No matter what you try, this recipe or another, you can inspire yourself from tried and true manners of preserving food stuff: desinfecting everything, heating, dehydrating, removing air (sous vide), using chemicals to make the food inhospitable for microorganims, like using salt. One could even think of radiation. But since you are not going to eat it, you can also inspire yourself from the cosmetic industry. It makes a very large playground. :)

My personal goal is to try to stay very close to the milk itself. I do not like how white a lot of milk jewel turns out. I fell what I am seeing is more the colour of the preserving powder, not the actual milk. So I'm continuing to experiment.

Hello, I just found this thread after searching for hours on what the “secret ingredients” for this breast milk preservation powder are. This is the closest I have gotten! I would also like to start making crafts for other moms and unfortunately the process seems to be such a closely guarded secret. I also want to keep the color as accurate to the milk as possible.

Do you think all of the ingredients in this Etsy recipe would really be necessary in order to prevent deterioration of the milk? If they all essentially do that, maybe we could just use some of those ingredients and achieve the same effect, without too much impact on color?

 

[Geee]

I think yes and no - the rationale for every ingredient in the recipe is sound. I'm not a chemist, my last courses were in high school, however, I wouldn't try to change the recipe from Etsy too much, it seems very well balanced and everything has a function. Ingredients interact with each other, if you understand well why each one is there, you could try to omit some, however, it is biological stuff and milk will degrade. If her recipe, as she claims, is tried and true, you would have to experiment yourself and see what happens in time. The point is not really the impact on the color, but creating an environment inhospitable for microorganism and preventing the impact of UV. You are essentially preventing food from rotting...

 

[Lesha]

breast milk + preservative (Optiphen) + citric acid (mix those three)
boil in double boiler (not sure if best boil then mix or mix then boil)
leave to dry on wax paper for minimum 2 days then put in mold then apply resin (anyone can suggest UV filter resin?!)

 

[Agnesdavid]

Thank you for your reply, i am in experimenting process. I have a gold and silver jewelry studio on my own. Once i’ve done with experimenting, i will be doing any kind of design. I totally understand that you don't want to share your secrets, but this forum/ platform is for sharing information, not to sneak , read new ideas and say i won't share mine.

hi folks, once i’ve done with experimenting i will share which products i use with measures. I just need few months to share here . Wait for it :)

Hi are you found it

 

[Lesha]

I found this on reddit if anyone wants to try..

 

[Lesha]

I found this on reddit if anyone wants to try..

and they provided pic of their result

 

[danaNZ]

Yes, exactly. How much of the plaster to add and how much optiphen will be your experiment. Use cow’s milk until you are satisfied with it.
If it sets too slowly, add an accelerator.
https://www.usg.com/content/usgcom/.../gypsum-plaster-accelerator.160216.html#!back

If it sets too quickly, try a retarder.
https://www.usg.com/content/usgcom/en/products/walls/drywall/plasters/gypsum-plaster-retarder.html

borax is a good set retarder for plaster and it has antifungal properties as well. Two-fer!

What the!? that's amazing, this "special preservation powder" is sold in the 5 grams for a bit of money, to realize its something as simple as plaster of paris is amazing, and even more amazing is the way you have explained how it works! thank you very much!

 

[mooni]

Hi is there any updates ??

 

[Naomidom]

breast milk + preservative (Optiphen) + citric acid (mix those three)
boil in double boiler (not sure if best boil then mix or mix then boil)
leave to dry on wax paper for minimum 2 days then put in mold then apply resin (anyone can suggest UV filter resin?!)

Have you tried and tested this? Seems quite simple. So I'm curious to learn if this method works, even after months no discoloration.

 

[Naomidom]

I found this on reddit if anyone wants to try..

Has anyone tried this? Does it work?

 

[Naomidom]

Hi are you found it

Hi, can you share any results? :)

 

[Resin Artist]

did mixing the plaster of Paris and raw breast milk work? Did the plaster alter the natural color at all?

Hi I have also been looking for an additive to add to breastmilk, I bought a 'breastmilk preservative powder' on line expensive for just 4g. I made my jewellery with it and it was pleasing with a lovely milky colour (very much looks like Granite) my customer was over the moon. The secret powder looked and felt like plaster of paris so purchased a bag. Had some left over milk and with my customers permission I tried it with pop it reacted the same and dried, I ground it into a powder exactly as I did before but when I added it to the resin even though the now powder looked very white the colour after mixed looked a little grey after adding a little white Mica powder it looked better but I felt it lost its natural beauty after seeing the first batch. So I don't think this secret preserving powder that's on the market currently is plaster of paris. However I'm still searching and experimenting before I'm happy to sell my breastmilk jewellery.

 

[Tom.G]

How about trying Talc, maybe with the Mica?

 

[Resin Artist]

How about trying Talc, maybe with the Mica?

Thank you Tom I will try that. Its just trial and Error till I find the perfect compound to add. This weekend I will be trialling Jypsom and your Idea of Talc , although the POP with Mica turned out well in the end but not as white as I'd like it.

 

[Tom.G]

Chalk (calcium carbonate, and/or calcium sulfate) may also be worth trying.

"Chalk" is one of those catch-all terms in that several different materials are given the name. Try a Google search for 'chalk' to find a few.

 

[amybeth518]

Hi, I'm very curious if you have found any way to successfully use breast milk into resin jewelry, without discoloration.
I would really like to try this myself, but there is no greater secret on the internet, than the method for preserving breastmilk for resin. Nobody will help me.
So maybe you can tell me your experiences?

It's a year later but i just starting this experiment. I'm 3 mo ths in and have used sodium benzoyl and corn startch, dehydrate kin my air fryer) for 26 ish hours in a glass container. After a few days, scratch it out, grind it down and put in resin. I'm goi g to try plaster of Paris on wax paper. That sounds fairly easy, at least easier then what I'm doing now.

[Moderator's note: Personal data removed. Please do not post email addresses on PF.]

 

[Naomidom]

Hi I have also been looking for an additive to add to breastmilk, I bought a 'breastmilk preservative powder' on line expensive for just 4g. I made my jewellery with it and it was pleasing with a lovely milky colour (very much looks like Granite) my customer was over the moon. The secret powder looked and felt like plaster of paris so purchased a bag. Had some left over milk and with my customers permission I tried it with pop it reacted the same and dried, I ground it into a powder exactly as I did before but when I added it to the resin even though the now powder looked very white the colour after mixed looked a little grey after adding a little white Mica powder it looked better but I felt it lost its natural beauty after seeing the first batch. So I don't think this secret preserving powder that's on the market currently is plaster of paris. However I'm still searching and experimenting before I'm happy to sell my breastmilk jewellery.

Sounds very interesting. Please do share any experiences you encounter with your experiments. Looks like you're really getting somewhere :)

 

[Tinoy]

You have my hopes, i just want to create my own breastmilk jewelry that will last that's all. I hope you successfully have "the secret method"

 

[Mike S.]

There are a great many methods in industry for preserving milk: powdered milk, condensed milk, evaporated milk, boiled milk, gamma irradiation, dulce de leche, baked milk, yoghurt, cheese... it makes you think about all the sweet options the babies are missing out on, but fresh antibodies are the only way to go I have to admit. Here's a home science project for homemade casein "plastic" ( https://learning-center.homesciencetools.com/article/casein-plastic-project/ ); I don't know if the "plastic" is stable long term but maybe the project will be usable when Junior is older. There's actually some history to it, might be usable ( https://www.realmilkpaint.com/blog/tips/history-of-casein-plastic/ ). Sweetened condensed milk seems like another option - gives a liquid appearance and it seems to last a long time in a can on the kitchen shelf. Heat sterilization, sugar, vinegar, lyophilization, formaldehyde, gamma rays ... there are doubtless a huge number of ways to do what you want, but you might not want to play with all of them. ;)

 

[Naomidom]

You have my hopes, i just want to create my own breastmilk jewelry that will last that's all. I hope you successfully have "the secret method"

I really just hope someone shares their experiences, bad and good. So we can all learn from it :)