# CP Soap Sugar Scrub Cubes



## Scentapy (Jan 31, 2013)

Please don't shoot me if there is a thread already discussing this (and I am sure there has been).  I try to search and I am not always effective in finding my answers.

Does anyone make those single serving sugar scrub cubes from cured CP soap?  If so.... any advice on how to do that??


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## Genny (Jan 31, 2013)

I don't do it from cured soap, because I hate shredding and most of my cured soap is already scented.  I use my soap that's about 24 hours old, so it's still soft and I can divvy it up into different scented batches of scrubs.  Usually the lye is still active in the soap at this point, so I do use gloves.
I do 1/3 soap, 1/3 oil, 1/3 sugar.  Sometimes if the soap isn't quite soft enough to mix as is, I heat it with the oils just a little bit until it's soft enough to use.

I don't do cubes either, I do mini ice cream scoops, but that's just because I'm weird.


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## squigglz (Jan 31, 2013)

Those are adorable. May have to try this! Does it have to be soap made with certain oils or anything, or can it be any?


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## Scentapy (Jan 31, 2013)

Thank you!  I will give it a try & see what happens


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## Genny (Jan 31, 2013)

squigglz said:


> Those are adorable. May have to try this! Does it have to be soap made with certain oils or anything, or can it be any?



Thanks   I  just use my regular soap recipe.  What I usually do is when I have to make a batch of soap, I make a little extra and I set aside some of the uncolored,unfragranced batter, then the next day I make sugar scrubs with it.


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## melstan775 (Jan 31, 2013)

Do you use an ice cream scoop mold or just just a scooper.  
 New avatar is super adorable, btw.


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## Genny (Jan 31, 2013)

I use a mini ice cream scoop. I just scoop a little bit, pack it in, tip it over to release.  It takes about 5 minutes to do 2 dozen.

I saw that avatar and it just cracked me up, so I had to use it 



edited to say:  Okay, they're cookie dough scoops http://www.shop.com/Deluxe_Quick_Re...sourceid=298&gclid=CPP_xOHbkrUCFetDMgod8zUA0w

I found mine at the thrift store for .50


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## paillo (Jan 31, 2013)

i use small individual molds, the cheap 99 cent ones work fine, or silicone. i let them harden overnight then pop briefly in freezer, unmold, roll in sugar, and package.

my favorite recipe is our mayren's: 1 part butter (i usually use shea), 2 parts shredded cp (very fresh works best), at least two parts sugar. melt butter and soap, stir in sugar, knead with hands until right consistency, roll in sugar, press into molds.

works great except for salt soap, which is tricky...


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## Scentapy (Jan 31, 2013)

GREAT!!  Thanks everyone!  

BTW Genny.. I meant to tell you last night (but was so tired I forgot) that your sugar cubes are beautiful!!  I love the ice cream scoop shape


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## Genny (Jan 31, 2013)

Thanks Scentapy.  I've been told by a lot of people that they look like donut holes


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## chicklet (Jan 31, 2013)

I'm definitely going to try the 3 equal parts method.  I tried Mayren's 1-2-3 method, but I think I should have started with 2 parts sugar and adjusted up as needed because I couldn't get mine to stick together very well.  However, the pieces I did manage to make lumps out of are awesome in the shower.  I used 100% coconut oil soap that I superfatted (can't remember how much but I think maybe 15%).  I love how easily the coconut soap shreds and I am amazed at the lather of the sugar scrubs.


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## Miz Jenny (Jan 31, 2013)

Aren't these cubes/scoops kind of unwieldy to use? I must be missing the concept, no?


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## Genny (Jan 31, 2013)

MIZ JENNY said:


> Aren't these cubes/scoops kind of unwieldy to use? I must be missing the concept, no?



Unwieldy, how?  I'm confused by the question. (Doesn't take much to confuse me).


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## houseofwool (Jan 31, 2013)

I assume that Genny is using a scoop that looks just like the old fashioned ice cream scoop with the lever to scrape the contents out of the scoop.  I love them for making cookies, they all end up the same size that way.


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## rodeogal (Jan 31, 2013)

Hi Genny,  Do you have to let your sugar cubes cure since you are using fresh soap?  Also, can these be made with olive oil? Do these make the tub slick?

I love this idea!  I have a jar of scrub my friend made from Dawn and sugar.  It has really gotten dried out however.


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## Genny (Jan 31, 2013)

rodeogal said:


> Hi Genny,  Do you have to let your sugar cubes cure since you are using fresh soap?  Also, can these be made with olive oil? Do these make the tub slick?
> 
> I love this idea!  I have a jar of scrub my friend made from Dawn and sugar.  It has really gotten dried out however.



Yep, I do let them cure.  You can use whichever oils or soap recipe you'd like.  Although olive oil will be a little greasier feeling & 100% coconut soap would be pretty hard LOL

Yes, these can make tubs & shower flowers slick.


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## Hazel (Jan 31, 2013)

Genny said:


> Thanks   I  just use my regular soap recipe.  What I usually do is when I have to make a batch of soap, I make a little extra and I set aside some of the uncolored,unfragranced batter, then the next day I make sugar scrubs with it.




What a great idea! I never thought of setting some soap aside for sugar soaps. I've always just poured the overflow into little molds. I'll have to give this a try. Thanks for sharing the tip! :grin:


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## Scentapy (Jan 31, 2013)

Have you found that they are easily "crushable"?


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## Genny (Jan 31, 2013)

Scentapy said:


> Have you found that they are easily "crushable"?



Once you get them a little wet they crush easily.


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## paillo (Jan 31, 2013)

I'm thinking about buying a silicone mold for the real sugar-cube size, 1/2" x 1/2" x 1/2" and making single use ones to package in jars. Thinking it may be tough to unmold such little ones without damage though. Currently I individually wrap like salt water taffees in wax paper, label each one, and package several different varieties per box - a lot of work.

I too use really fresh soap - preferably from the day before, and let the scrubbies cure along with the cut soap. I just use the ugliest bar I've cut and smoosh it for my base. (And I'm a terrible cutter so I usually have at least a couple badly-cut bars to use  I'm like Genny and hate grating cured bars - they never incorporate as well as really fresh soap, though I'm trying to plow through some cured ones that I can't repurpose as felties...


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## Kansas Farm Girl (Jan 31, 2013)

Genny - I would love to try this too, so just want to make sure I have the right idea - you take soap you made yesterday, if it's not soft enough you melt it a bit with your oil, then do you just mix those with the sugar? Do you knead them together until they are well mixed then make the cute little balls? To use I assume you pull one out and scrub with it?  I gotta' try this.


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## Genny (Jan 31, 2013)

Kansas Farm Girl said:


> Genny - I would love to try this too, so just want to make sure I have the right idea - you take soap you made yesterday, if it's not soft enough you melt it a bit with your oil, then do you just mix those with the sugar? Do you knead them together until they are well mixed then make the cute little balls? To use I assume you pull one out and scrub with it?  I gotta' try this.



Yes to all those questions.


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## Miz Jenny (Feb 1, 2013)

Genny said:


> Once you get them a little wet they crush easily.


 This is what I meant by unwieldy. Now, I'm thinking what a cute idea. Instead of digging into a jar, just grab a scoop of sugar. Do you roll in sugar then cure?


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## Genny (Feb 1, 2013)

MIZ JENNY said:


> Do you roll in sugar then cure?



Yep, they're mixed with sugar and then I roll each one in sugar.  They get cured for 4-6 weeks just like my regular soaps


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## Miz Jenny (Feb 1, 2013)

Genny said:


> Yep, they're mixed with sugar and then I roll each one in sugar.  They get cured for 4-6 weeks just like my regular soaps



Tres cool! My coconut milk soap receipe makes a bit more than my molds hold, so I'm totally going to make these next time. Thanks for sharing the technique; it's a generous gesture, on your part.


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## chicklet (Feb 1, 2013)

I like the individual sugar scrubs so much better than the sugar scrub stuff you scoop out of jars.  For one thing, the scrubs have soap in them so you don't feel as oily when done.  They exfoliate well and moisturize, but they're not oily feeling.  Plus, my experience with the kind you scoop is that water gets in the jar because it's usually kept it in the shower and then before long it's all icky.  The scrubs I leave on the vanity and just grab one as I'm getting into the shower.  My daughter has drier skin than me so she prefers the scoopable kind.  To each her own!


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## rodeogal (Feb 5, 2013)

I made some of these with oatmeal honey soap I had.  I used part oil/part butter, sugar, and the soap. When I got it all blended, I swear it looked like german chocolate frosting!  I put it in ice cube trays but was unable to pack it because it was pretty 'runny'.  They set up fine, but are not overly pretty.  However, I have used one and loved it.

There are holes in the bottoms where they did not get pressed in the mold good.  Should these be pretty stiff when they are first made?  There is no way I could have done the cookie scoop trick on these.  Also, are all the measurments done by weight like everything else?  Thanks!  I want to do these again!


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## Genny (Feb 5, 2013)

I do mine all by weights.  Mine are hard enough right away to be able to roll them around in sugar without them falling apart.  

When you say oatmeal honey soap that you had, you're talking CP that was freshly made?


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## rodeogal (Feb 5, 2013)

Genny, No it was not fresh.  It was actually about 4 weeks old.  I grated it, but did not melt it.  I just heated it a little to get it softer and mixed it with my oil/butter and sugar.

Perhaps I need to add more sugar.


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## Kansas Farm Girl (Feb 6, 2013)

I made some soap over the weekend just to make these balls, after less than 24 hrs it was pretty hard, but I was able to mash it up and mix in the oil and sugar - that's when I discovered that I was almost out of sugar and didn't have enough to do the entire loaf like I planned (bummer). So made what I could with the amount of sugar I had. When I got them mixed up the were like really sticky cookie dough but I was able to scoop and plop into the sugar to roll them around.  I have them out drying now. Every time I look at them I think of sugar cookies - the kind you make into balls and roll in sugar just before putting in the oven. I didn't realize when I made the soap and used just a touch of coral coloring and wild mountain honey scent that they would look and smell like cookies! I have to be careful not to pop one into my mouth when I turn them. Now that I have more sugar I want to make the rest of the loaf into the balls and after letting them cure give them to my testers and see how they like them. I did try with some of the scrapings from the bowl and liked the feel of them that soon, so I have to think they will be heaven in 6 weeks. Thank you Genny for posting this,  I can't wait for them to be ready.


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## Genny (Feb 6, 2013)

rodeogal said:


> Genny, No it was not fresh.  It was actually about 4 weeks old.  I grated it, but did not melt it.  I just heated it a little to get it softer and mixed it with my oil/butter and sugar.
> 
> Perhaps I need to add more sugar.



Yeah, I always found that when using older soap the finished scrubs were much softer & mushy so instead of using oil with those, I used shea butter.


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## rodeogal (Feb 19, 2013)

Hey Genny,  I made some more sugar cube scrubs yesterday.  I used your formula and some shredded oatmeal honey soap that was fully cured.  What I did differently this time was finely shred the soap then melted it with my oils.  I used a cookie scoop - that worked great!  Since I used the oatmeal/honey soap, mine are the color of raw peanut butter cookies.  After they had set for a while I rolled them in sugar.  By the time hubby came home they looked like donut holes, just like you said.  LOL  he thought they were cookies that were ready to go in the oven. ( I had them on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.) Yikes!  Thank you so much for sharing and helping everyone!


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## Miz Jenny (Feb 21, 2013)

I'm going to use grated, cured soap, for my scoops. Should I still melt in fats? Which fats? Ratio of fat to grated soap?


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## angelsthreeinc (Sep 9, 2014)

Wow this is a great thread! I want to make some sugar scrubs and Xmas gifts for coworkers!


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## MzMolly65 (Sep 10, 2014)

I will always recommend Mayren's sugar scrub 1,2,3 recipe.  It's easy and the scrubs are so fantastic.  I'm a fan and make a lot of these with soaps that didn't quite turn out or scraps left over from clean up or carvings.

http://mayren.blogspot.com/2010/10/mayrens-12345-sugar-scrub-cube-recipe.html


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## DeeAnna (Sep 10, 2014)

I have been playing around with this idea for a bit. The overall texture of my sugar scrubs is like stiff waxy clay. When I use a scrub, it doesn't "smoosh" apart or crumble very well, so it's hard to use. I feel like I'm trying to smoosh and rub awkward rubbery clumps of stuff onto my skin rather than scrub my face with a nice paste. 

Perhaps my scrubs need to cure a bit before use? Or am I just using them wrong? Or do I have unrealistic expectations? I really like this idea, but need some advice.

I'm throwing myself at your mercy by admitting this in public. I'm a nerdy girl and didn't learn about these finer things of life when I was younger. 

DeeAnna <- feeling rather embarrassed and clueless.....


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## AKjulz (Sep 11, 2014)

DeeAnna, though I cannot help with your scrub problems I can add that mine don't smoosh either!  Over all I like them and have had great comments from testers, but I think they would be nicer and more effective if they were softer.  I use the 1-2-3 (or is it 3-2-1 I forget at the moment) with cured shredded melted soap and Shea for the oil.  They basically feel like sugared soap...hard


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## Saponista (Sep 11, 2014)

I'm having problems too, mine feel waxy and don't squish apart when you want them to. I also tried making a batch of sugar soap in a similar manner to making salt soap. I.e. adding sugar as a % of the oils to a batch of cold process soap and moulding it then curing it. It heated up too much and my white sugar went brown and I ended up with a sticky mess which is still curing but I think will still be too hard.


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## kitterz (Sep 11, 2014)

Saponista said:


> I'm having problems too, mine feel waxy and don't squish apart when you want them to. I also tried making a batch of sugar soap in a similar manner to making salt soap. I.e. adding sugar as a % of the oils to a batch of cold process soap and moulding it then curing it. It heated up too much and my white sugar went brown and I ended up with a sticky mess which is still curing but I think will still be too hard.



I used some left over soap from a batch that was a little too much for my mold and added sugar to it, put into a small mold and straight into the freezer to prevent it from heating.

Took them out the next morning and now waiting for them to finish curing. I have squeezed them lightly from time to time to see if they are hardening up and so far they have not gone too hard and the white sugar is still white . Maybe try that?


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## Susie (Sep 11, 2014)

DeeAnna said:


> I have been playing around with this idea for a bit. The overall texture of my sugar scrubs is like stiff waxy clay. When I use a scrub, it doesn't "smoosh" apart or crumble very well, so it's hard to use. I feel like I'm trying to smoosh and rub awkward rubbery clumps of stuff onto my skin rather than scrub my face with a nice paste.
> 
> Perhaps my scrubs need to cure a bit before use? Or am I just using them wrong? Or do I have unrealistic expectations? I really like this idea, but need some advice.
> 
> ...



Mine does not set up into a hard form, it is smooshy.  I use a liquid oil or coconut oil for the oil, and if using an older soap, I add about a teaspoon of water per ounce of grated soap to help it melt.  My sis-in-law prefers the scoopable kind of scrub.(And I just re-use the container that she bought at the store.)

DeeAnna, I was a nerdy girl also.  And my mother's hobbies were fishing and hunting, so, there were no "beauty secrets" taught in my house.  I am learning this stuff as I go along also.


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## DeeAnna (Sep 12, 2014)

Well, hey, so I'm not the only one who is feeling a bit clueless about the sugar cube scrubs and feeling awkward about being nerdy. Whew! 

Seriously -- it really makes me feel better. Thanks, all.

Since I wrote my first post, I've been playing around with a couple of ideas. One is along Susie's suggestion of adding a tiny bit of water to the mixture. It's pretty clear the soap I used needs much less water than my idea of "tiny". So more work there.

Another is to use some of the paste I made for liquid soap. I used pretty much the 1-2-3 (or is it 3-2-1?) recipe, but using LS paste in place of the CP soap shreds and coconut oil for the oil. First try with the basic recipe is promising -- more smooshy, less waxy, but rather more oily. Second try was adding a tiny bit of water to a portion of the first recipe. Again, my idea of tiny is way too much, so the result is too runny.


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## firedancer (Sep 12, 2014)

I use my left over soap, from planing. Melt the soap (2 cups) after soap flakes have melted I add 1 cup oil of choice and then 3 cups of sugar. I also add color and fragrance, as i notice both are needed. I mold while still warm, as the mix gets kinda like playdough if I fiddle about. I like to use the very soft silicon molds like they sell on eBay, as the cubes release fairly easy. Was thinking about rolling them out and using cookie cutters, but maybe next time.  After about 12 hours I roll them in sugar and glitter. They sell really well.



Sent from my iPad using Soap Making


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## DeeAnna (Sep 12, 2014)

Someone (Genny? Lindy?) uses a small food-portion scoop to make little "ice cream scoops" out of her sugar scrubs. She then rolls the scoops in loose sugar. Very nice and perhaps easier to form than putting the dough in molds. 

I'm still pondering on my "smooshy-ness" problem....


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## cmzaha (Sep 12, 2014)

I made these for a couple of years until they quite selling well. I have tried different ways of making them my original was similiar to the 123 method. I did find adding in some glycerin would help but they still really never smooshed like the ones made with m&p. In fact mine would just get harder with time, like any cp soap. I have some that are 3 yrs old and they are hard as a rock, but good foot scrubbies


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## Hazel (Sep 14, 2014)

kitterz said:


> I used some left over soap from a batch that was a little too much for my mold and added sugar to it,



I do the same as kitterz - just use some leftover soap for sugar scrubs. Mine smoosh easily for awhile but like cmzaha's, they become harder over  time. Not as hard as bar soap but they crumble more than smoosh. I also have combined LS paste with CP shreds in sugar scrub soap and I didn't have to use as much oil to get them to stick together. That was the batch I made to look like Christmas cookies.

I don't know why you're experiencing waxiness and they're not smooshing very well. I take it you're not using a wax of any kind in your recipe. I don't know what oils you're using but is it possible something is interacting with the sugar? I just use regular oils like lard, sunflower, olive, coconut and castor.


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## DeeAnna (Sep 14, 2014)

No, Hazel, I'm not using wax -- I'm sticking pretty much to the 3-2-1 recipe of sugar, soap, and oil. One possibility on my first try is that I might have overcooked the soap and dried it out. I kept playing with the amount of sugar in proportion to the soap and oil, so I kept warming the soap-oil-sugar mixture with short bursts in the microwave. It didn't get hot enough to burn, but I noticed the soap texture got firmer and firmer as I messed around with it. So maybe I should just chalk it up to beginner's bad luck and just try again without messing around so much.


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## Susie (Sep 14, 2014)

I only heat the soap/water/oil in the micro to melt it all together.  Then I add the sugar/color/EO and stir like mad.  Then, smoosh into a container.  I think you are overheating your sugar, as it will get more brittle as you heat it like that.


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## Hazel (Sep 14, 2014)

DeeAnna said:


> No, Hazel, I'm not using wax -- I'm sticking  pretty much to the 3-2-1 recipe of sugar, soap, and oil.




I didn't think you were using any wax since you would have mentioned it. That's why I phrased my comment that way. However, it's easy for me to miss comments so it was possible you had said and I didn't see it. Also, I know some people like to add beeswax or stearic acid in their soap and I didn't know if you did it, too. 

It could be overcooked. I don't know. I can say when I first tried sugar cube scrubs, I didn't have a lot of luck getting a decent scrub by using Mayren's version and using a microwave. Plus, I hated shredding a lot of soap. It wasn't until I followed Genny's suggestion to use fresh soap that I got some which worked out well. I had to play around with the proportions because I don't do a third of everything like Genny. I tried it that way and I thought they were too oily. Now I just add sugar and a little oil until the soap stays together. Then I press into molds. 

I wish I could help you but as you said it might have been overcooked. Just a suggestion, you might want to also try the fresh soap way. It might work out better with your recipes. Good luck!


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## DeeAnna (Sep 15, 2014)

Thanks for the suggestions to try the fresh soap. It seems like y'all are having the best results from that. I haven't tried it yet to see how that works, and I agree that this should be my next step. I truly appreciate the ideas and help! 

Now to get that fresh soap made. I'm heading into my overly busy, overly stressful work season. It seems like I just barely cope when dealing with anything else besides work. <sigh> I guess I'm going to have to look at making soap as de-stress therapy as much as anything.


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