Funky Scent in Emulsified Sugar Scrub

[JLeigh]

I'm new to all this, so most of what I do is still very experimental. I'm having a problem with scrubs (sugar and salt). First, I made an emulsified sugar scrub and used Bamboo Hemp FO which smelled horrible (very sour), so I tried to save it by adding Brambleberry's "Soapy Clean" FO to "sweeten" it up. Frankly, the combination of those two FOs smell terrible in the jar - like a diaper.

So I made another one with different scents and while it initially smelled much better, there was still an undertone of poopy diaper. Hard to describe LOL.

Here's my question: Is there something scent-related going on in the e-wax perhaps? The preservative (Optiphen), the oils (Safflower, Meadowfoam, Rice Bran) that cause a fragrance oil to change its smell somewhat?

Here's another thing: I tried it anyway and it worked beautifully in terms of consistency, clean rinse, absorption, skin softening...and it smelled fantastic once on my skin. It was great when applied - - it just smells in the jar.

I'm not fond of non-emulsified scrubs. They just tend to be scratchy and oily to me.

I'll try it again but maybe it isn't just bad FO choices? Any advice?

Thanks!
Leigh

 

[cmzaha]

Is this a base or your own recipe? Without knowing the ingredients it is hard to say. How did the fo's smell out of the bottle? If you made the base did you by chance use BTMS 50? I find it to be quite fishy smelling. Some bamboo fo's are very strong and not the greatest smelling. I have mixed bamboo fo's with aloe to cut the strong bamboo. 2 parts aloe to 1 part bamboo and my bamboo still borders on being to strong. Sorry I was not much help.

 

[Meganmischke]

What type of ewax are you using? Btms has a fishy smell to some people, including me. Other than that are your oils rancid?

 

[shunt2011]

I'm thinking maybe it's your choice of scents and perhaps they are morphing in your scrub. I make a lot of emulsified scrubs and haven't had a problem yet. But I made whipped shea with Cherry Almond and it's smelled so bad. It totally morphed on me. I've used it in other products with no problem. So sometimes it can just be the combination.

 

[JLeigh]

More info

I'm using very fresh oils and mango butter. I forgot to mention mango in my first post.

Here's what's in it:

Safflower Oil
Meadowfoam Oil
Rice bran Oil
Mango Butter
Emulsifying Wax - Traditional
Stearic Acid

The sugar I used, which I won't use again unless I want more of an earth tone is Morena (beige); it doesn't allow bright colors to show - it dulls them.

Thanks for all the help. I'll try it again with completely different fragrance oils to see if that helps.

If the e-wax I'm using is something any of you have had issues "corrupting" scents, please let me know!

Do I even need the Stearic Acid? I know that's a thickener, but do I need it? Emulsified scrubs seem to be really difficult for me.

 

[JLeigh]

What type of ewax are you using? Btms has a fishy smell to some people, including me. Other than that are your oils rancid?

I'll keep an eye (or, nose) out for that. I have some BTMS but didn't use it for this. Thanks!

 

[JLeigh]

Is this a base or your own recipe? Without knowing the ingredients it is hard to say. How did the fo's smell out of the bottle? If you made the base did you by chance use BTMS 50? I find it to be quite fishy smelling. Some bamboo fo's are very strong and not the greatest smelling. I have mixed bamboo fo's with aloe to cut the strong bamboo. 2 parts aloe to 1 part bamboo and my bamboo still borders on being to strong. Sorry I was not much help.

I'll try that. Good advice. I've had trouble with Bamboo FOs being "too much" or "too little" when trying to correct the amounts. I'll try Aloe Vera!

 

[cmzaha]

I'll try that. Good advice. I've had trouble with Bamboo FOs being "too much" or "too little" when trying to correct the amounts. I'll try Aloe Vera!

:-D oops my bad, I mean Aloe Vera FO not aloe vera gel

 

[JLeigh]

:-D oops my bad, I mean Aloe Vera FO not aloe vera gel

I saw this update and THANKS for clarifying! . I might have tried the gel!

 

[JLeigh]

Strange smell Identified

As some of you suggested, it was the Bamboo scent that was causing the weird smell. That, of course, is easy enough to correct.

I'm glad it was so simple! I used a different scent entirely and no odd scent.

Thanks everyone.

 

[houseofwool]

My sister is the lotion maker, and she says that there are certain EO's that morph with e-wax. My guess is that this particular FO just doesn't play nicely with this emulsifier.