Emulsified sugar scrub is runny.

[silhouette]

Hi. Made my first emulsified sugar scrub. It turned out runny.
My recipe
10% ewax
10% stearic acid
10% cocoa butter
68% sunflower oil
1% eo
1% preservative.
Added150 g sugar. It is sort of runny.
I live in a tropical climate. I really don't want to sound dumb but could the climate be the reason or any thing wrong with my recipe.

Please please some body reply and help me out

Thanks

 

[osso]

You can increase the butter to make it firmer. Also, you didn't say how much of the recipe you used in relation to the sugar. Adding more sugar is a possibility.

 

[silhouette]

Thanks osso for replying last time when I posted nobody replied.
I used 150% of sugar.

 

[LisaAnne]

I made a scrub last night, I used more butters than you did. I had oil on top also so I put it in fridge for 10 minutes and then added a little oil. I just checked it this morning and it's seem like a good texture. But I can't really know, I've never used it or made it before.

 

[DeeAnna]

Definitely too much liquid fat in proportion to solid fat and thickener. My emulsified sugar scrub is only 47% liquid oil. for example. Every recipe will be a little different so what works for me might not be quite right for you, but you need to tweak the ratio of liquid to solid.

 

[LisaAnne]

After all my questions to you and reading DeeAnna I'm very happy with my scrub. Upping the butters was perfect. Just checked it again and it's nice and creamy. Feels great.

 

[silhouette]

Thanks DeeAnna. I will remember to keep my liquid oils at 47%.

 

[DeeAnna]

It's a rough number to start with -- 47% is what worked okay for me, but it's not a hard and fast number. You may like more or less than that for your particular recipe and your preferences.

 

[San87635]

I had a Similar recipe with 62% oils and had the same runny texture in a hot climate also had a very slippery tub eventhough it didnt feel that way on my skin. I found another formula but ice never seen ewax added so high:
50% oils
20.5% butters
22% ewax
2% stearic acid
2% beeswax
2.5% FO
1% preservative
Does this seem normal?

 

[DeeAnna]

In a product like this, the relative proportions and the total percentages of emulsifier and thickener should be based on two things -- the thickness of the product in the jar and how much of the fats rinse off when the product is used.

An emulsifier (the ewax) thickens AND makes fats soluble in water (aka emulsifies). A thickener (the stearic + wax) just adds thickness.

At 24% ewax + stearic + wax, this product will probably be a firm-ish paste in the jar. WIth a whopping 20% ewax, I'd say almost all of the product will rinse off when it's used on the skin, so it could even leave the skin a little dry. But take these thoughts for what you paid for them -- I don't know what the original maker's goals were for this product, and I haven't tried this formulation to know how it performs for me.

A person could use the same total of 24% combined emulsifier + thickener, but shift the proportions so there is less ewax and more stearic + wax. That would still create a product that is firm in the jar, but as the proportion of ewax drops, the emulsifier will not perform as efficiently and less fat will rinse off the skin. My goal for this kind of product is to leave a dewy trace of fat after rinsing with lukewarm water, so the skin feels smooth and relaxed and a separate moisturizer isn't required.

Water temperature also plays a part in the amount of product that rinses off. Warm water = more rinse off at the same % of emulsifier. So a product used in cool or cold water might need more emulsifier to give the same results.

 

[San87635]

I don't mind the texture of the scrub being thick because I am in the Caribbean and it gets quite hot here. I am also looking to reduce the slippery feeling in the tub after and of course retain some moisturizer on the skin too. What do you suggest I do with the wax portion of the formula to accomplish this? My previous formula 62% oil 15% butters 10% stearic acid, 8% ewax 5% beeswax felt great on my skin but tub was too greasy and the consistency changed with the temperature.

 

[San87635]

From looking around in other posts, I get the impression my initial formula had too much oils and not enough butters.from your feedback I have too much total waxes, so I need about 20% total waxes (ewax,bwax,stearic acid). So how does this formula sound please,
36% oils,
37% butters (shea and cocoa)
22% waxes (10% ewax, 7% stearic acid, 5% beeswax)
FO 1.5 -2%
Vitamin e oil 1%
Optiphen 1-1.5%
Appreciate your feedback.

 

[DeeAnna]

I'm not trying to tell you anything about the specific percentage of thickeners, emulsifier, and fats, because I do not have a clue what will work best for your situation.

The only way to figure out the proportions is to test various blends and see for yourself. I made over 10 test batches to figure out the proportions that worked best for my climate and my preferences.