Scrubby soap question

[Fragola]

Planning to do an intensely scrubby soap with more grain sizes in it.

Wondering how large the grain size can be. Whole sesame seeds or I have some 3-5 mm salt - would that be too extreme ?

Sugar would be a good choice, but I feel I need a larger grain than the sugar I have been able to find.

Also wondering about the quantities. Would it make any sense 2 tsp fine powder, 2 tsp coarser powder, and 2 tsp largest grain ?

Or you wouldn't be able to feel the fine one, because it's too fine, while with the largest grain, you'll just feel now and then a scratch on the skin.

 

[tlm884]

I have used espresso ground coffee, coconut, and scottish oatmeal. Espresso ground coffee (that hasnt been brewed before) is incredibly scrubby. I used it in the shower and I darn near ripped my skin off, I use those soaps for my hands now. Coconut isn't very scrubby however. I found Scottish Oatmeal at my local grocery store. It is a coarse ground oatmeal and I use it without grinding it anymore. It worked pretty well, but I only got to use it a couple times. I left it in the shower and it got wet and melted.

I have seen some people use sand before (if you collect your own sand make sure its screened, washed, then baked in the oven for a while to kill anything that may be in it).

Another alternative would be charcoal. I just bought some charcoal from a pet store that is used for aquarium filters. It is pretty coarse and I am sure it would be a great scrubby soap.

Other alternatives are ground loofah, epsom salts, blueberry seeds.

Hope this helps!

 

[Fragola]

Thanks for the suggestions. You didn't mention the quantities though ...

I tried ground coffee and found it moderately scrubby. Would expresso coffee be different ? There is some charcoal I made, I could try that.

 

[fiddletree]

Thanks for the suggestions. You didn't mention the quantities though ...

I tried ground coffee and found it moderately scrubby. Would expresso coffee be different ? There is some charcoal I made, I could try that.

Espresso is more finely ground. So I guess it would be less scrubby. I'm looking into the same thing- my mechanic wants a scrubby soap!

 

[tlm884]

I honestly eyeball it, I never measured my exfoliants. However, a quick search showed me this site.

http://spottedhipposoap.blogspot.com/20 ... s-for.html

It has a few different exolfiants and recommend amounts.

And this as well

http://www.teachsoap.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6089

On a side note, there is this liquid hand scrub called Orange something. I can't remember the exact name, but it uses pumice and I use it at work when I spill paint pigments on myself and it gets it off! An exfoliant with orange oils to cut grease may be your best bet!

 

[Soapy Gurl]

Did you use brewed coffee or unbrewed? I used unbrewed and put a lot in my last soap and I had the same problem, it about rips my skin off. If you want something more scrubby than that, I don't have a lot of suggestions. Strawberry seeds are pretty sharp. If you want it more scrubby, put more in. I like loofah because it is a soft scrubby.

 

[tlm884]

I used unbrewed coffee. It was harsh on my skin. If I were to guess I'd say I used 3TBSP in a pound of soap

 

[Fragola]

Probably I didn't add enough coffee. What about poppy seeds ? Just by looking at them, they seem more scrubby than coffee would be, but I haven't tried those.

Also, I'd like to have a more color neutral alternative. On top of that, I am considering the mess it leaves in the bathtub.

Anybody has any thoughts about my 3-5 mm grain salt ?

An exfoliant with orange oils to cut grease may be your best bet!

How would that work ? I did hear something about citrus oils and grease ... Are we talking orange EO ? How much ppo ?

 

[paillo]

i love poppy seeds, you can use in small or larger quantities depending on how scrubby you want it. i made a guinness stout kitchen soap that was really scrubby, great for lathering up after gardening cornmeal is another that is relatively gentle.

 

[Padamae]

I have used many Things. When I make coffee Soap I make it in a coffee press then use the ground coffee used in making the coffee. I have used ground wallnut shells. The i scrubest had was using the corncob used fir tumbling ; cleaning brass for reloading. It seems to take on the color if the soap though. I had a friends d put sand in melt and pour and it clogged her drain.

 

[Sunny]

charcoal
rolled oats
steel cut oatmeal
coffee (if you can grind it yourself, grind it on a coarser grind if you want more scratch)
sand
ground walnut shell
pumice
loofah
seeds (poppy, strawberry, blueberry, cranberry... whatever ya got)
apricot kernel meal
salt downright hurts/cuts skin if it's a really large crystal. I used himalayan pink salt, really coarse, for the tops of a pretty salt bar once and my FIL cut himself with it.


lots of stuff you can add at 1 tbsp ppo, I say if you want more scratch go up to 2-3 tbsp ppo. I *accidentally* did this last night with charcoal. -_- I ended up with probably 2 tbsp ppo. Still waiting to try it out obviously but I could feel by washing the pot that it was a bit scratchy!

 

[fiddletree]

I think that 3-5 mm salt sounds painful!! I think that could actually cut you.... I've bled from course salt before so I personally wouldn't.

 

[kharmon320]

I might be wrong, but I thought it was Fryja who posted not so long ago that she added grits to a soap for her hubby. Never tried that, but she seemed pleased with it.

If I'm thinking of the wrong person, forgive me Fryja.

 

[Kleine Teufel]

I use 10 grams of poppy seeds per pound of oil. I absolutely love it, however, I've never tried any other scrubby textures in my soaps, so I'm not much help. :/

 

[cp chick]

Last weekend I made a batch for my mechanic husband with cornmeal added as a scrubber. There was a small wedge left over after cutting and it seems to work well. I didn't measure the cornmeal - just eyeballed it, but probably about 1 Tbsp PPO.

 

[tlm884]

Orange or Lemon EO contains limonene which cuts grease. I would use around an oz PPO.

 

[Soapy Gurl]

The mechanic's soap you buy is orange EO and pumice for exfoliation. It isn't scrubby and in rough. Fine ground pumice is actually sand like. I have used up to 1oz of orange EO ppo in a cocoa butter soap. That is probably where I would go. It smelled nice but the scent did fade. The properties should stay.