Sugar Scrub Info

[LisaAnne]

Well I've been on this all day, the whole lotion community is looking for a natural emulsifying agent. You have the closest as far as natural. I imagine you knew this, but I see it is the stearic acid that is in the butters. Kokum at 56, Mango and Shea next down to cocoa at 33%. Palm kernel flakes at 16%.
Anionic oil in water emulsifier, thickening and stabilizing agent.
It isn't considered stable, but it's sugar (or maybe salt) scrub and I'm not selling.
I do not like wax on my skin. So, looks like no wax in my foot scrub.

 

[DeeAnna]

Actually it's the combination of stearic + palmitic that is the key.

My latest scrubs and body butters use lard or tallow as the solid fat. Neither of them is super high in stearic alone if you compare them to kokum-shea-mango-cocoa butters. If you look at the combination of stearic and palmitic, however, then tallow and lard start looking much more interesting for products of this type. And they really do work nicely.

We see the same thing in shave soap recipes -- a high combined stearic + palmitic content gives good performance.

I'm not sure what emulsifier you are using, but why wouldn't it be stable in your scrub? Your words are a bit cryptic, so I might be missing the point you're trying to make, but I'm trying to follow along. In the scrub, as formulated, the emulsifier is not actually functioning as an emulsifier. It is adding some thickening to the scrub, certainly, but there's no water in which to emulsify the fats. It's only when the scrub is rinsed off that the emulsifier actually functions as an emulsifier.

 

[LisaAnne]

Shoot, I was wondering why all the e-waxes when there was no water. I missed the point, it's for rinsing. Like the polysorbate in bath melts.

Okay, now I see, the Ewax is used for its rinsing abilities, I somehow forgot that part. Am I right?
My main point is, I no longer need to copy a recipe. I can formulate my own. Thanks for your help! And your patience!

 

[DeeAnna]

"... the Ewax is used for its rinsing abilities, I somehow forgot that part. Am I right? ..."

Yes, perfect! Adjust the e-wax % in the base so the right amount of fat is left on the skin after rinsing. More emulsifier = drier finish, less fat on the skin. The water temperature also affects the amount of fat left behind, so this is not an exact science. I experimented with less and more emulsifier and found a % that left a pleasant lotiony coating on my skin with mildly warm to cool water. I would expect as you change your hard fat (from tallow to palm for example), you'd need to change the % of emulsifier to get the same performance.

"...I no longer need to copy a recipe. I can formulate my own...."

Go for it! Glad I could help.

 

[TBandCW]

I thought ewax was to help make the scrub more solid? I also used beeswax too and I'm lovin' the way it turned out! Just ordered the soft and silky ewax yesterday from WSP. I can't wait to try it! I'm learning a lot from this thread, thanks to everyone who is posting!

 

[DeeAnna]

"...I thought ewax was to help make the scrub more solid?..."

The main job of the emulsifier is not to thicken the product. It's to make the fats in the scrub soluble in water at the time you begin to rinse the product off.

Although the secondary job of the emulsifier is to help to thicken the scrub, you don't strictly need any emulsifier if all you want is an ingredient to add thickness. You could make a non-emulsified scrub based on wax or solid fat and tweak the amounts of those ingredients to get the consistency you want.

 

[LisaAnne]

I thought ewax was to help make the scrub more solid? I also used beeswax too and I'm lovin' the way it turned out! Just ordered the soft and silky ewax yesterday from WSP. I can't wait to try it! I'm learning a lot from this thread, thanks to everyone who is posting!

Glad someone benefits from my slow learning , also I must tell you between deeanna and swiftcraftmonkey the last couple of days I have a much better understanding of waxes, silicone and such.

 

[rainlily]

Does anyone have any experience using Surfpro Surfactin? It's a naturally derived emulsifier from Lotioncrafter. I've been looking for something for my sugar scrub, liquid soap and oil mix. TIA

 

[DeeAnna]

Your question is so specific about the emulsifier, but is generic about the products you want to use it in. It doesn't really fit well into this thread. I recommend you create a new thread with a well written title. You're more likely to get more people reading and answering than you will by burying your question in this older thread.

Also, please introduce yourself in the Intro forum so we can get to know you better!

 

[rainlily]

thank you

 

[linne1gi]

You can use beeswax, just start with a bit less as beeswax is harder than soy wax. I use beeswax in mine. Will take a bit of testing to get it to the consistency you like.

Beeswax is a hardener, but not an emulsifier.

 

[rainlily]

Thank you. I'm trying something that can be squirted out of a bottle. I'm testing coconut oil at the moment.

 

[shunt2011]

Beeswax is a hardener, but not an emulsifier.

I use beeswax as well as an emulsifier. I didn’t say it was an emulsifier. And an emulsifier is a thickener not a hardener.

 

[Cellador]

Thank you. I'm trying something that can be squirted out of a bottle. I'm testing coconut oil at the moment.

I have used a liquid solubilizer (Cromollient and/or AquaEm) for a squeezable scrub before. I have not used the Surfpro though.

 

[rainlily]

Hmmm...Thank you. I'll look into that.