Dazed and confused

[Courtneyb]

Hello all! I'm a newcomer to both the forum and soapmaking. I've been thinking about making soaps, scrubs, etc for awhile now but never had the time until recently.

Last weekend my daughter and I decided to try a coconut oil sugar scrub we found on Pinterest (I know mistake #1 right? lol). I've read that coconut oil is supposed to be solid but ours is liquid. According to the jar, it's pure and unrefined. The scrub came out ok. It's a little oily, which is fine because I live in the desert with hard water but the coconut smell is truly overpowering.

So my questions...did we use the right coconut oil? Is there a way to lessen the over powering smell? Also, all this research and watching YouTube has my head spinning. Is there a starting point I should be focusing on more?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[cmzaha]

In Chandler AZ I can imagine even 92 degree coconut oil will be liquid. Most Coconut oil we buy is considered 76 degree coconut oil which means it liquefies at 76 degrees. It sounds like you may have virgin coconut oil which will smell just like coconuts. Nothing wrong with using it other than cost and coconut scent. My sis lived for yrs in Casa Grande now she is in Maricopa. Hot place to live in! :razz:

 

[IrishLass]

Ditto what Carolyn said. I doubt that even 92 degree coconut would stay solid in the desert.

Do you want to know what I think sounds really awesome? What if you were to add some melted cocoa butter or other kind of butter like shea or mango butter to it- maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of the coconut oil amount that you used in the recipe, mix it up into the scrub, and then let it sit to firm up. That would add hardness to it, make it feel more buttery instead of oily, and also cut down on the coconut smell (although I'm one of those that loves the smell of coconut!).


IrishLass

 

[DeeAnna]

My notes say shea melts 89-95 deg F, so it may be borderline melty in your climate unless the product is kept in an air conditioned environment. I do think the mango and/or cocoa butters would be nice additions -- they melt at 100 to 102 deg F. They will also add a drier feel to the recipe, compared with shea. Good luck and have fun tweaking the recipe to suit your tastes!

 

[Meganmischke]

Emulsified scrubs should stay firm and definitely not oily. I love love love them!

 

[Courtneyb]

I figured it had to do with heat, even I melt at 92 degrees Thank you for reassuring me.

 

[seven]

+1 on emulsified scrub. using oil alone is def too heavy and sticky for my taste. i live in tropical climate, and my coconut oil is never solid. the one that has a strong smell is usually the virgin one. the standard one that we use for cooking is smell-less.