# Emulsified Scrub Recipe



## agriffin

I've been working on an emulsified scrub and finally came up with one I really liked- wanted to share.

There are a few reasons I really like this one.
1.  It has liquid soap that helps cut some of the greasiness.  You can omit if you want.
2.  It's thick like peanut butter - but if you want to thin it down you certainly can.  Being thick makes it easier to ship.  
3.  No more layer of oil with scrub on the bottom.  Much easier to scoop out and use.

Ingredients:

40 g stearic acid
25 g emulsifying wax
20 g shea butter
20 g cocoa butter
60 g fractionated coconut oil
15 g jojoba oil
40 g unscented liquid soap
180 g water
3 % fragrance
Preservative
200 g sugar or salt

Supplies:

Microwaveable containers 
Thermometer
Scale
Stick Blender
Packaging containers

*Be sure to sterilize all of your equipment and containers if needed.

Instructions:

1.  Weigh out the stearic acid, emulsifying wax, shea butter and cocoa butter into a microwaveable container and heat until melted.

2.  Add the fractionated coconut oil and jojoba oil to melted mixture.

3.  In another microwaveable container weigh out the liquid soap and distilled water.  Heat in microwave until warm- not boiling.  Add to your prepared mix.

4.  With short bursts, use your stick blender to mix until emulsified.  

5.  Take temperature of the mixture.  When it has cooled down enough to add your preservative and fragrance stir them in.

6.  Mix in your sugar or salt.  Pour into your packaging containers and ENJOY!

I posted a recipe card download so you can print and also a giveaway on my blog.


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## Sunny

I printed off your little card and I'm putting it in my binder for later!  Your blog is just lovely!


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## Hazel

Thanks for sharing. I make an emulsifying scrub but mine doesn't include liquid soap. I'll have to try this and see which I like better.


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## agriffin

Hi Hazel - You where my motivation for making the scrub.  Let me know if you like the soap added.  After you had mentioned that you were making a scrub with goat's milk...I was like...gee I want to try a scrub!  Lol.  

Thanks, Sunny!

So I think I like sugar the best.  Both white and brown.  I did one with some sea salt and I couldn't even feel the scrub.  It wasn't abrasive at all.  I'd like to try apricot kernel or something like that.  There's seeds, but those are kinda expensive.  Haven't tried coffee yet.  What else is out there for scrubby-ness?


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## Hazel

Oatmeal, cornmeal (very, very scrubby - be careful), jojoba beads, coffee grounds (again - very scrubby - ouch - ask me how I know.  :shock: )

Shucks...thanks for crediting me for motivation.


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## Earthchild

Thanks for sharing!  Great blog!


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## Sunny

I have some ground walnut shell.. Just ordered it, haven't tried it yet. It was super cheap though, I got it from BB.

Coffee sounds painful, just my experience from soap, but I haven't tried it in a scrub either.


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## Hazel

I've only used it in soap but the last time I ran it through a coffee grinder first. Then I put it in the soap and I could barely feel the exfoliation. So,  I thought why not do this again and try it in a scrub? :idea:  

Of course, I haven't gotten around to doing it yet. Too many ideas, too little time.


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## agriffin

Yeah...I used folgers one time in soap and it was good.  Then another time I ground my own and I guess it doesn't do it as fine.  It was wayyyyy too scrubby.  

Walnut shell- I'll have to try that.  Let me know if you try it.

Hmmmm...I wonder if the cornmeal get's mooooshy over time?


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## IanT

This recipe has been added to SMF Tutorials



Sweet


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## Hazel

agriffin said:
			
		

> Hmmmm...I wonder if the cornmeal get's mooooshy over time?



So far it hasn't and I've been using it for over 4 weeks. I don't use it every day - only about 2 or 3 times a week.


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## agriffin

Hazel said:
			
		

> agriffin said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hmmmm...I wonder if the cornmeal get's mooooshy over time?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So far it hasn't and I've been using it for over 4 weeks. I don't use it every day - only about 2 or 3 times a week.
Click to expand...


Cool, I'll have to try cornmeal.

Thanks, Hazel!


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## Hazel

You're welcome!

You might want to grind the cornmeal up a little if it's coarse. It is very rough.


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## dubnica

I tried to make this surag scrub twice and I ended up with more of a conditioner looking goop then scrub.  First the preservative Optiphen broke down my emulsion so I kept whipping thinking it will blend back together but it kept separating.  I added sugar to it anyway (raw and regular)hoping it will all come together at the end- BUT NOPE.. what can I do with it now?


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## Lindy

Add a bit more ewax to get the emulsification to settle down....


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## dubnica

but the sugar melted in...its not scruby anymore...its like thick cream or something...I just want to re-use it...so maybe I should add more ewax and sugar?


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## agriffin

Hmmmm...I never have the sugar melt down all the way.  You can make this base, let it sit and add your scrub ingredients after it has cooled.  That might help.  

Since it's an emulsified scrub it is a lotion-like (or conditioner like) base for the scrub.  That is why I prefer it.  I don't like a jar full of oils.  

I'm not sure why your emulsion broke.  Did you try adding more ewax and sugar?  

I hope you can get it to work!


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## ewenique

Oooo, I'm going to try this.  Thanks for the recipe card download - so cute and handy!


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## BakingNana

I just LOVE your blog and thanks for the cute recipe card download.  I have a question on preservatives for the scrub.

Part of my sell is being paraben-free.  I found a site, Tri-K, that is marketing a "natural" preservative and they say the FDA has ruled does not even need to be listed on a label. ???  The name is Tristat Stabil.  Anyone know about this?  I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to make your scrub!!


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## BakingNana

ooops... should have posted a link.

http://www.tri-k.com/stabil.html


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## agriffin

Thanks BakingNana!  I have never heard of that.  I would start a new thread...Soapbuddy...Carebare...Lindy...all those good with preservative questions might chime in.  I usually stick with optiphen.


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## BakingNana

@ agriffin-I posted a new thread on it on the 11th (last Monday).  Guess no one has heard of it or tried it.  I may have to be the guinea pig.


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## Woodi

oh please, do be the guinea pig, BakingNana. We all get to be sometimes...


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## Lindy

Optiphen is a really good alternative to the paraben concerns.  Another one that is quite good is Liquid Germall Plus, although it can be more of a skin irritant.

Something I just recently learned is that when you buy Optiphen or any other preservative, ask for the Certificate of Analysis so you know when it was made, and when it needs to be re-certified.  This will help you make sure you are not getting preservative that is getting through its own shelf-life.


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## BakingNana

Lindy, thanks for the heads up.


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## soapbuddy

agriffin said:
			
		

> Thanks BakingNana!  I have never heard of that.  I would start a new thread...Soapbuddy...Carebare...Lindy...all those good with preservative questions might chime in.  I usually stick with optiphen.


I haven't heard of this new preservative either. For me, for this type of a formula, Optiphen seems to work the best and it's paraben free.


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## Sunny

I have heard of it very recently while reading... have not researched it at all but sounds interesting. As time goes on I'm sure we'll hear more about it!


(BTW!!)
I won this scrub in a drawing and it's GREAT! A very luxurious bath item and I enjoyed it very much. The texture was great but do not put your wet hands into it. Spoon it out.


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## opalgirl

how much preservative do you use?
Thanks!


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## carebear

depends on your preservative.  but actually the list is narrow as you will need an oil soluble one - like phenonip.  recommended use levels are generally 0.5-1%.


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## pixybratt

Thank you so much I hate pretty much any scrub but this may work for me


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## Catmehndi

tasha said:
			
		

> I have some ground walnut shell.. Just ordered it, haven't tried it yet. It was super cheap though, I got it from BB.
> 
> Coffee sounds painful, just my experience from soap, but I haven't tried it in a scrub either.



Ground walnuts can be very 'ouchy' - hopefully what you get is ground finely enough, otherwise, your scrub might end up as a foot scrub... :shock:


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## SudsyKat

I thought I'd bump up this old thread because Hazel mentioned that she was going to make this scrub (with liquid soap) and compare it to the kind she usually makes. I was curious to see what your thoughts were, Hazel - or anyone else who has made the comparison. I have not yet made any emulsified scrub, so I'm very curious to hear what difference people notice between the two types. I thought about trying a recipe from swiftcraftymonkey's blog (there are a few on there) and none of those use liquid soap. Thanks!


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## Hazel

I'm sorry to disappoint you but I never got around to making it. I haven't done any scrubs since the one I did for the Nostalgia swap.

I...am...scum.   

Soap scum, that is. I've mainly been making soaps and bath fizzies because my family prefer these and don't really care for scrubs. I need to get motivated because I told Amanda I'd send her some scrubs for comparison.

I'm sorry Amanda. I'll get some made up this weekend.


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## my2scents

dubnica said:
			
		

> but the sugar melted in...its not scruby anymore...its like thick cream or something...I just want to re-use it...so maybe I should add more ewax and sugar?



That happened to me too, then I just took the stick blender to it & pulsed until it was thick again covered it & the next day then added a boatload of course Demerra brown suger & it worked perfectly.


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## photoshadows

Thanks Amanda for the recipe and thanks to SudsyKay for bumping the thread   Just a quick question. If you don't want to use the liquid soap in the recipe, do you substitute the same quantity of water or do you simply leave it out--no other adjustments required?


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## AmyW

Amanda, are you still watching this thread? 

I got everything to make this today finally, and can't decide what to use instead of the fco and jojoba oils (don't have either, but I have plenty of other oils, didn't want to buy more). If you were making this for you or a loved one, what would you use?

Soft oils: OO, Sunflower, Safflower, Sweet Almond, and Grape Seed

I also have other hard oils, not sure if they can be used with the same results: lard, tallow, palm, 76deg CO

I also have some vitamin e oil, would it be good to add to this?


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## Hazel

Amy - 

Not Amanda but I wanted to mention a few things.

This is just a suggestion but if your kids are going to use this scrub then you'll want to stick with using grapeseed, safflower and sunflower. These oils probably would be better for your skin, too. (I'm basing this info on one of your other posts.)

Olive isn't good for oily or large pored skin. You could probably use some 76 CO but your finished product might be very stiff with this and the butters.

I always add Vitamin E to all lotions, scrubs, etc. It helps to prevent rancidity and it's good for the skin.

Just my 2 cents.


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## AmyW

Thanks Hazel  I was thinking kinda-sorta along those lines but I'm still such a newb!


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## AmyW

Ugh, big flop. Was going perfect til I added the phenonip, totally lost the emulsion, added the sugar anyway and got this the picture below. Tried added 10g more e-wax, then 10g more, still no emulsion and now the sugar is all dissolved. I don't think I'm cut out for anything other than soap


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## agriffin

Zoinks!

I'll have to make this again and see if there is anything advice I can offer.  I've had a couple of people tell me the sugar dissolves or they lose the emulsion- I've never had those issues.  I made it several times with several different types of sugar..and scrubbies. 

And I agree with Hazel on the oil choices.


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## agriffin

photoshadows said:
			
		

> Thanks Amanda for the recipe and thanks to SudsyKay for bumping the thread   Just a quick question. If you don't want to use the liquid soap in the recipe, do you substitute the same quantity of water or do you simply leave it out--no other adjustments required?



Just saw this!  You can add a bit more water.  I like adding the liquid soap because it helps it wash off a bit and doesn't seem so oily.


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## AmyW

I found this:


> Phenonip® can be added to the aqueous phase readily up to its limit of solubility.
> 
> The relatively low aqueous solubility of Phenonip® means that if the water content of the formulation is low, it may not be convenient to add the preservative directly to water during manufacture. Heating the water to 60 - 700C prior to Phenonip® addition will, in most instances, allow the appropriate quantity to be dissolved.
> 
> For aqueous systems which cannot be heated, Phenonip® can be incorporated by preparing a concentrate in a suitable solvent, e.g. propylene glycol, and stirring this concentrate into the water to give a final Phenonip® concentration below its maximum water solubility.
> 
> *In emulsified systems, Phenonip® is readily dissolved in the liquid phase prior to emulsification although it is often good practice to divide the Phenonip® content between the aqueous and lipid phases during their preparation.
> *
> In surfactant and detergent based products Phenonip® can be dissolved in the surfactant prior to the addition of water and other ingredients.



It sounds like i should have split the phenonip up between the oils and water/soap well before I started SB'ing?


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## AmyW

Hmmm that didn't work either. I threw away the last batch and am working on it again, added half the phenonip to the oils, half to water. Tried to get emulsion and it seemed to start but by the time I pulled the SB away it started to separate and I haven't had a chance to add the FO or sugar. i wonder if my oils (went with sunflower and safflower) are causing it?


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## AmyW

I did it! 

I tossed the SB in the sink and got out my hand mixer, put the mix into a narrow, tall container (was a 1lb container from WSP for shea butter) and whipped the heck out of it and it stuck! 

I just used white sugar so it's almost pure white:


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## Hazel

AmyW said:
			
		

> Thanks Hazel  I was thinking kinda-sorta along those lines but I'm still such a newb!



No, you're not. You've learned very rapidly. I think you've done more in two months than I did in two years. You said you were already thinking about using them. You were just asking for confirmation of what you already knew. Sometimes there's too many choices or maybe just information overload which is why we post on the forum to clarify thoughts.

I'm sorry your scrub didn't work out the first time. Great save!


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## agriffin

Looks good, AmyW!


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## SudsyKat

Yay, Amy!! You give hope to us all (at least a Newbie like me for sure)!!!


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## AmyW

It's still holding the emulsion but all the sugar is dissolved again *scratching head* I threw in a 1/2 cup brown sugar earlier today. I only hand stirred it enough to get the sugar incorporated throughout, so I'm not sure why it dissolved. It's super thick as well, I think both my daughter and I would like it to be a little looser/thinner so I might try adding more water or something.


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## my2scents

Amy let your emulsion sit for a day or two then add a coarse sugar, This is what has worked for me. I've done this twice now & each time my sugar dissovled but after waiting 24 hours then adding coarse sugar it seemed to work perfectly.
  Next time I'm going to refridgerate it a bit & then see what happens, Not that my emulsion is warm at all but I think if the e wax in the mixture is on the cooler side it may thicken up & hold the suspension for the sugar.
   I'm speculation that when the sugar dissappears its due to the suspension in the emulsion not holding up , maybe as it settles the bubbles in the emulsion eat the sugar?


Ah heck  I don't know whats happening but my emulsion needs time to settle down before I add my sugar for whatever reason.


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## AmyW

Hazel said:
			
		

> AmyW said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks Hazel  I was thinking kinda-sorta along those lines but I'm still such a newb!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> No, you're not. You've learned very rapidly. I think you've done more in two months than I did in two years. You said you were already thinking about using them. You were just asking for confirmation of what you already knew. Sometimes there's too many choices or maybe just information overload which is why we post on the forum to clarify thoughts.
> 
> I'm sorry your scrub didn't work out the first time. Great save!
Click to expand...


Thank you, that means a lot to me!


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## AmyW

my2scents said:
			
		

> Amy let your emulsion sit for a day or two then add a coarse sugar, This is what has worked for me. I've done this twice now & each time my sugar dissovled but after waiting 24 hours then adding coarse sugar it seemed to work perfectly.
> Next time I'm going to refridgerate it a bit & then see what happens, Not that my emulsion is warm at all but I think if the e wax in the mixture is on the cooler side it may thicken up & hold the suspension for the sugar.
> I'm speculation that when the sugar dissappears its due to the suspension in the emulsion not holding up , maybe as it settles the bubbles in the emulsion eat the sugar?
> 
> 
> Ah heck  I don't know whats happening but my emulsion needs time to settle down before I add my sugar for whatever reason.



Perfect, I will make another batch soon (my daughter is obsessed with the WSP coffee mocha, I want a different scent for me) and wait 1-2 days to add the sugar. Thanks!


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## SudsyKat

I made this recipe yesterday and had the same problem. I used plain old white sugar (because I've read that that's the most pleasing level of scrubbiness, compared to coarser sugars). I added when the emulsion was "cooled", but not flat out cold. In the future, keeping the emulsion cool when adding the sugar seems like a good idea. Also, I read on this post on "swiftcraftymonkey" - http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2010/09/experiments-in-workshop-golden-shea.html - she says she likes to use between 125% and 150% sugar. In this recipe, the 100% total ingredients (before sugar) equal 427 grams. So, in this recipe, 125% to 150% would amount to between 533 and 640 grams of sugar. I only added 200. If I added that much more, maybe the sheer volume of sugar keeps it from being absorbed by the liquid? Amy, how much sugar did you end up adding, total?


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## my2scents

*Update*

O.K. guys based on the previous issues with the dissolving sugar/salt I just did an experiment to confirm my thoughts.
 Made a batch of this scrub all the way to the last step which is adding the sugar or salt.
 If you wait overnight & just cover your emulsion with plastic wrap & leave it sit BEFORE you add your sugar/salt you will find your emulsion much more stable & thicker. No more dissolving Yay!
  when you stir in your sugar/salt it stays nicely distributed throughout your emulsion & most importantly the crystals stay nice and scrubby.
   I personally like my scrubs VERY scrubby so I found that theres not quite enough sugar/salt ratio in this recipe for me so I have been adding ALOT more , just dumping it in until I'm happy with the amount.
 EVERYBODY I've given this scrub to LOVES it, it leaves your skin sooooo soft & no excess oil.


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## shadowdancer

Ive just had a thought (As one does :S ) if I wanted to grate some plain castille, would this work if I melted it into water first for the addition of the "liquid soap" part of this recipe?  

Hmmm perhaps I should give it a whirl and see if it will stay in emulsion? 

LOVE this recipe BTW, and am going to give this new idea a whirl. I've got sooo much soap sitting around here


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## TamiJ

Hello everyone!

I'm new to the forum and thought that I would bump up this topic to see if anyone may be able to share their thoughts with me on something I'm working on with this recipe.

I make a scoopable sugar scrub that looks like a scoop of ice cream that I put on the top of some of our products.  I love the scrub and the creaminess of it but I've been using a Foaming Bath Whip base for it and have been looking for a different recipe so that I can get away from using the base.  This sounds like it is a wonderful recipe!  I'm getting ready to make it right now, in fact!

What I'm wondering is if this recipe will thicken up enough to be able to form the ice cream scoop or if I may need to change things around a bit - maybe adding some High Melt Coconut Oil?  Or possibly increase the amount of Cocoa Butter?

Any thoughts?

Also, I wanted to thank Lindy for mentioning that the Germall Plus can cause skin irritation.  My 15 year old daughter is one of my 'testers' on all of my products and I couldn't figure out why her excema all of a sudden flared up on her after 2 years of testing products.  After Lindy's comment, I went back and looked through my notes and sure enough, her flare ups happened after I switched over from Phenonip to Germall Plus.  (I feel so bad for her...    - guess I need to switch back...)

Anyway, thank you, Lindy!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day! ~Tami


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## saltydog

Hi Everyone, I hope you don't mind me bumping this one more time   

I've been searching for preservative info and came across this thread.  I've been reading it with interest, as I've lately become obsessed with sugar scrubs. 
I've been using Phenonip as my preservative, but I'm interested in something paraben-free so I was looking at the Optiphen family. 
It seems that Optiphen has no ph requirements, while Optiphen Plus does. 

Does this mean the original formula is better for an emulsified scrub? I've never ph tested my scrub before..do I need to??

Thanks!!


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## HomemadeBathGoodies

Do you base the percentage of the preservative on the amount of oils before sugar, or the Total amount with the sugar?


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## saltydog

HomemadeBathGoodies said:
			
		

> Do you base the percentage of the preservative on the amount of oils before sugar, or the Total amount with the sugar?



hi, not sure if you're asking me, but i base it on the scrub base without the sugar.


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## Hazel

I base my percentage on the total weight of oils and sugar. But I'm a bit paranoid about bacterial skin infection.  :wink:


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## HomemadeBathGoodies

ummm...this has gotten me all confused again. Personally I think its best to add it with the sugars included, but I know alot of people just add it to the base recipe. I dont want things growing in my product, nor do I want to add to much preservative in my product either.


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## saltydog

Hazel said:
			
		

> I base my percentage on the total weight of oils and sugar. But I'm a bit paranoid about bacterial skin infection.  :wink:



uh oh..now i'm really worried! hope i didn't misunderstand, i'll have to dump all my lovely scrub?!
i tried to ask Swift the question, but i couldn't sign into my Google account for some reason. i'll try again when i have more time and let you know if she responds


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## saltydog

ok, i feel better now, this makes me think basing the amount of preservative on the amount of scrub base alone is sufficient.  i searched Swifts site a bit more and found this:

_"If I take a look at my sugar scrubs, I use about 140% sugar to 100% oils, which means I'm well above the numbers for killing bacteria and yeast. 
So should I use a preservative in my salt or sugar scrub? 
I'm still firmly on the side of "yes", because I'm always worried about 
what the end user will do with the product, but there is some 
evidence here that you could use lower levels of preservatives 
or possibly none. 
(Please do not take this that I am endorsing not using preservatives in scrubs!)" _
http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2 ... y-and.html

i hope this helps!


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## Hazel

I'm just saying this is what I do. I had heard you don't have to use preservative for the total amount of the weight. I choose to do this since the recommended percentage of preservative is so small compared to the batch weight. I don't make a large amount at a time. But as an example, if I made a scrub batch with a total weight of 32 oz, I'd only use 5 g of preservative. I think that's a very minimal amount to add for safety but this is just my personal opinion.


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## saltydog

Hazel said:
			
		

> I'm just saying this is what I do.



Oh, i hear you on that, and when i read your reasoning it made sense, so i just had to check myself.  I make small batches too, (I don't think I've even made 32 oz at a time?) and I didn't want to throw it away, as _it's quite lovely,_ 
but if it turned out I was doing things wrong, i would have. I just posted the quote because I thought it might clear things up for someone else too. 

Hey, before HomemadeBathGoodies had mentioned it, I had never even considered incorporating the sugar amount when figuring out how much preservative!

I haven't been doing this long enough to not 'go by the book', if you know what I mean. Someday I'll get there, but not now. If i didn't respect your knowledge, i probably wouldn't have even looked further into it.  :wink:


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## Hazel

I've only made 32 oz twice. I give them out at Christmas time for presents. Then whatever is left after I fill the jars is what I use. Since it takes me awhile to get through what's left, I feel more comfortable about using preservative for the total weight. You probably wouldn't have to use as much preservative if you're only making small batches and will be using it up fairly quickly. 

I have to admit I use more preservative than may be necessary. The recommended range on the preservative I use for scrubs is .4%-.8%. I use .5% but the preservative always is slightly more than I calculate since my scale isn't the best. It doesn't weigh small amounts very well so my actual percentage might be closer to .7%-.8%. I also have a bad habit of starting to use something and then setting it aside for awhile to try something else. I'm bath product junkie.


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## Kleine Teufel

Oddball question... Instead of salt and liquid soap, could you use crumbled up salt soap? I had some bars that didn't quite want to come out of the mold, and have a good bit of crumbles from these bars that I'd like to put to use!


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