HOW TO STERILIZE GLASS DROPPER BOTTLES FOR DIY SKINCARE There comes a time in any DIYers life where you gotta sterilize a few glass bottles. Making your own skincare is a great way to reduce single-use packaging and customize your products. Alternatively, refillable skincare is getting more accessible each day- but you'll need to ensure all containers are safely sanitized before refilling! Our simple 5-step guide to sanitizing your glass dropper bottle will have you refilling with more confidence and less contamination! Our guide for how to clean the glass droppers (including the pesky pipettes!) can be found at the bottom of this blog post. STEP 1: CLEAN & SOAK Ensure your bottle is empty. Products containing oils (like oil-based serums) can't go down the drain and should be put into your trash. Once the bottle is empty, give it a quick rinse to flush out any residual product. To help release any labels and ensure the container is clean, soak overnight in soapy water. STEP 2: RINSE, REPEAT Remove your labels. Depending on how long you soaked your bottles, this may take some elbow grease! Spritz with 70% Isopropyl Alcohol to remove any stickiness. Once de-labelled, rinse twice with warm water to get the remaining soap out of the bottles. STEP 3: BOIL FOR TEN MINUTES Being careful not to burn yourself (glass containers will get very hot) use tongs to place your glass bottles in boiling water. Boil for ten minutes. After ten minutes, use tongs to remove your bottles. They will be extremely hot so simply set them on a surface to allow them to cool down before handling. STEP 4: RINSE IN 70% ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL Once your glass bottles have cooled completely, rinse in 70% isopropyl alcohol. Submerge the glass bottles completely to sanitize. If you’re confident you can clean the whole inside surface of the bottle, pour just enough isopropyl alcohol into each bottle to clean. Simply swish and empty! STEP 5: AIR DRY Lay fresh paper towel down on a clean surface. Position each bottle upside down on the paper towel to let it drip dry. You’ll need to wait until the bottles have air dried completely before refilling. It's important to wait for all alcohol and and any residual water to completely evaporate before you refill or reuse. The best bet is to not be in a hurry and leave them to dry overnight, or for 24 hrs. Glass Bottle Creating glass containers can be accomplished by one of two different processes – the Blow and Blow, or the Press and Blow process. Each process is chosen based on the kind of glass bottle being made. All glass bottles start out as raw materials. Silica (sand), soda ash, limestone, and cullet (furnace-ready, recycled glass) are combined into a specific mixture based on the desired properties of the bottle. The mixture is then melted at high temperatures in the furnace until it becomes a molten material, ready for formation. The type of glass this mixture will produce is known as soda-lime glass, the most popular glass for food and beverages. Glass Forming Methods Molten glass gobs are cut by a perfectly-timed blade to ensure each gob is of equal weight before it goes into the forming machine. The weight of a gob is important to the formation process for each glass container being made. The molded glass is created by gravity feeding gobs of molten glass into a forming machine, where pressure forms the neck and basic shape of the bottle. Once the neck finish and the general glass bottle shape has been achieved, the form is known as a parison. To achieve the final container shape, one of two processes are used. Press and Blow Process The Press and Blow process is the most commonly used method in glass bottle manufacturing. It uses an individual section (IS) machine, which is separated into varying sections to produce several containers of the same size simultaneously. The molten glass is cut with a shearing blade into a specific gob size. The gob falls into the machine by force of gravity. A metal plunger is used to push the gob down into the mold, where it starts to take shape and become a parison. The parison is then transferred into the blow mold and reheated so that the parison is soft enough to finish off the dimensions of the glass. Once the parison is reheated to blowing temperature, air is injected to blow the container into shape. Press and blow methods are typically used for manufacturing wide-mouth bottles and jars as their size allows the plunger into the parison. Blow and Blow Process The Blow and Blow process is used to create narrow containers. It also requires an IS machine, where gobs of molten glass are gravity fed into the mold. The parison is created by using compressed air to form the neck finish and basic bottle shape. The parison is then flipped 180 degrees and reheated before air is again injected to blow the container into its final shape. Compressed air is once again used to blow the bottle into its desired shape. Blow and Blow methods are best used for glass bottle manufacturing requiring different neck thicknesses. Finishing the Process Regardless of the process used, once the bottle has been completely formed, it is removed from the mold and transferred to the annealing lehr. The lehr reheats the bottes to a temperature of about 1,050 degrees Fahrenheit then gradually cools them to about 390F. This process allows the glass to cool at an even rate - eliminating internal stresses in the glass that could lead to cracking or shattering. Bottles are then subjected to careful inspections to ensure they meet quality control guidelines. Any bottles showing imperfections, including bubbles, cracks, or misshapen areas, are removed from the line and used as cullet. All remaining bottles are sorted according to size and type. The bottles are then packaged on pallets and prepared for shipping. Roll On Bottles Vs. Dropper Bottles When comparing roll on glass bottle to dropper bottles, there are several differences that make them useful for different applications. Dropper bottles are great for dispensing essential oils into humidifiers, as many glass dropper bottles either come with a dropper or reducer which limits the amount of oils that can leave the bottle at a given time. That’s why, if you are searching for essential oils to place in your humidifier, you should consider using oils that are contained in a convenient dropper bottle. However, when compared to glass dropper bottles, essential oil roller bottles are intended for directly applying to the skin and areas of your body that are suffering from aches and pains. Several studies have shown that essential oils provide a number of stress and anxiety relief benefits, and have shown to also be effective for lowering your heart rate, and reducing levels of chronic pain. For this reason, roll on bottles can be incredibly useful for those that are experiencing some of the undesirable symptoms listed above. There are several areas located on your body where essential oils are most effective, which is why we will talk about how to use essential oil roller bottles to apply oils to the skin. Using Glass Roll On Bottles for Essential Oil Application Using our roll on bottles to apply essential oils on the body is incredibly easy. However, to maximize the benefits of essential oils, it is important to know the exact areas of the body that you should focus on when using essential oils. Before using your essential oil of choice, first start by vigorously shaking the roll on bottle to ensure that a desirable amount of oil is ready to be dispensed on the skin. Once your essential oil is ready to be applied, locate the areas of your body that are affecting you most. Many individuals will use their essential oil roller bottles on the temples, as this is a common area of pain for many suffering from headaches and migraines. Applying essential oils to other areas of the body, such as the chest, is great for helping to clear congested sinuses, and can provide users with a deeper, more restful sleep throughout the night. However, simply smelling your essential oil bottle or rolling a miniscule amount of oil underneath your nose can do much to provide extended stress relief after a long day. Hanging storage bins Another savvy idea from Ashley Johnston of Make It & Love It, these hanging bins are perfect for the office, craft room or anywhere you need a bit of extra storage space. Created with a simple cutting technique, this storage setup is versatile enough to be made from whatever empty shampoo or lotion bottles you happen to have around the house. After you’ve completed your bins, attach them to a piece of plywood for wall-mounted storage wherever you need it. We also love this idea from Bonnie of the blog Revolutionaries, who used her shampoo bottle bin as a sponge caddy in the kitchen sink, and this idea from Pya of Made in Mommyland, who painted her lotion bottle bins for a pop of color.