Ia there such a thing as a sugar bar?

[Maythorn]

Jusk asking! Made the same way as a salt bar or is sugar just too sticky?

 

[Hazel]

People have made sugar cube scrubs with CP but not quite like salt bars. You have to grate the soap up and then add oil and sugar. I tried it once but I had problems getting the cubes to stick together - mine were very crumbly. I know Genny has made them and Mayren wrote a tutorial on it.

http://mayren.blogspot.com/2010/10/mayr ... ecipe.html

There's been several discussions about making sugar scrub from CP soap. Here's a link to one of them http://soapmakingforum.com/viewtopic.ph ... 2&p=189369 However, you can enter "sugar + cubes" as the keyword in Advanced Search and it will bring up more topics. Some might not be as informative as the topic in the above link.

 

[Maythorn]

Interesting tutorials. I think whenever you play with soap shreds it's so much more relaxing than the kind of stern cold process procedure that demands everything to all come together in what can be a short amount of time with the lye as the other big boss in charge besides onself. Sometimes it's THE boss and I just follow along hopefully trying to keep up.

I agree about sugar instead of salt for ouchies. I love to exfoliate with sugar and the only other exfoliant I use is baking soda which can really do the job and you don't want to go too far with it because it's surprisingly abrasive but starts out soft.

I have a failed bunch of Frankincense and Myrrh soaps (did they ever) and should be shredded for fun and made into something I don't feel downhearted about every time I look at them.

Thanks Hazel!

 

[Hazel]

You're welcome! Thanks for posting the question since I'm now thinking about attempting sugar cube scrubs again. They are really nice to use.

 

[Loolee]

Last night I had to rebatch some soap. It was very fluid and melted really well in the Crock pot. Why couldn't you just do a rebatch, then add some oils and the sugar. I would also add some sodium lactate.

I don't see a reason why that wouldn't work. Do you?

 

[lsg]

I tried making a cp bar with raw sugar. It appeared to have weeping around each grain of sugar.

 

[Hazel]

I just used regular sugar and a well cured bar to make mine. (Okay, I admit it. It was a really old and ugly bar so I didn't mind experimenting with it.) Do you think the weeping was caused by the higher moisture content of raw sugar?

 

[lsg]

I don't know what happened. I thought maybe the coarse sugar super heated during the gel stage, but that was just a guess. Hazel, did you rebatch and then add sugar?

 

[Hazel]

I just grated an old bar, warmed it a bit in the microwave until it was softened and then added oil and sugar. I pressed the mix into into little molds - they were only about .5 oz. I basically followed Mayren's instructions but as I said, mine were a little crumbly. Genny mentioned making these not too long ago. You might find her info helpful. viewtopic.php?f=16&t=33290

 

[Maythorn]

Any certain kind of sugar everyone prefers? Refined or raw (which isn't that called turbinado?). But sea salt might be better for the complexion in the fact that it contains wonderful minerals sugar doesn't. Not that I know of at at least.

 

[Hazel]

But sea salt might be better for the complexion in the fact that it contains wonderful minerals sugar doesn't. Not that I know of at at least.

Yes, but glycolic acid is derived from sugar cane. :wink:

To be fair, you're not really going to get much benefit from a sugar scrub as compared to using glycolic acid. It's been too long since I've studies alpha hydroxy acids so I can't remember all the benefits of glycolic acid. But you'll still get a little benefit as the sugar dissolves but you'll want to have the sugar on your skin at least for 3 to 5 minutes. Sugar would be better in a facial scrub since it is gentler and dissolves more easily. A sugar scrub is better for someone who has dry and/or sensitive skin and facial skin is generally the most sensitive. The sugar also helps as a humectant.

Sea salt may have some minerals and is supposedly good for detoxification. But what minerals are really absorbed and how much detoxification is occurring when it's used in a scrub? How long does it need to stay on the skin before any benefit is achieved? I know magnesium sulfate is easily absorbed by the skin but I think it takes about 10 - 15 minutes. However, I could be wrong and it might absorb more quickly. But as I said, it's been a long time and I've forgotten a lot. I really need to get my textbooks out and read them again.

I sometimes like using salt scrubs especially on my feet. I just prefer sugar scrubs. I have dry, sensitive and *cough* mature *cough* skin so I appreciate the gentler exfoliation and the hydrophilic qualities of sugar. It's going to be a personal preference.

I use regular granulated sugar or brown sugar in my scrubs.

 

[Maythorn]

I can cough like that too for both reasons. Thanks for that fact-check. It seems like maybe a good soak in Dead Sea Salts might be the best. If you aren't lucky enough to get to someday swim there. But other salts I'm hearing about like Himalayan Pink might also be rich in minerals to bathe in for the max benefit. I tried raw sugar in large granules on my face and body and I find finer to be much nicer. Off the original subject, really finely-ground cornmeal is a good body scrub mixed with some bodywash.

 

[Hazel]

I bought a cornmeal soap to try and I just about screamed the first time I used it. I didn't think cornmeal would be so abrasive. :shock: I like your tip to use "really finely ground" cornmeal. I'll remember your advice if I ever dare to use cornmeal.

 

[Hazel]

Update - I decided to try sugar cubes (well, really sugar blobs) to see how they'll turn out again after this discussion.

Woo hoo! They're turning out really nicely. I think I got the crumbly issue solved.

Cross your fingers...the real test will be this weekend when I've got time to do more and put them in molds.

 

[Maythorn]

Anxious to see! I think I'm going to buy a salt bar from someone on Etsy (never seen them at any store) and see if it stings my skin or not before I make a batch. Sugar I know is really my favorite exfoliater.

 

[Funky Son Soaps]

Interesting tutorials. I think whenever you play with soap shreds it's so much more relaxing than the kind of stern cold process procedure that demands everything to all come together in what can be a short amount of time with the lye as the other big boss in charge besides onself. Sometimes it's THE boss and I just follow along hopefully trying to keep up.

I agree about sugar instead of salt for ouchies. I love to exfoliate with sugar and the only other exfoliant I use is baking soda which can really do the job and you don't want to go too far with it because it's surprisingly abrasive but starts out soft.

I have a failed bunch of Frankincense and Myrrh soaps (did they ever) and should be shredded for fun and made into something I don't feel downhearted about every time I look at them.

Thanks Hazel!e and

How did your Frankincense and Myrrh soaps fail? I'm wanting to make some, but want to avoid any pitfalls, if I can. Thanks.



Sent from my iPad using Soap Making

 

[MzMolly65]

Hey folks .. chiming in on an old thread here. Looking at rebatching a lye heavy carrot buttermilk soap and wondering if I could use that in making Mayren's sugar scrub recipe.

Thoughts?

 

[cmzaha]

Yes if you add in some oil. I used to make them by rebatching then adding in sugar and some extra shea butter.

 

[MzMolly65]

Yes if you add in some oil. I used to make them by rebatching then adding in sugar and some extra shea butter.

Mayren's recipe is

1 Part - Oils/Butters total

2 Part - CP/HP Soap Shreds (chopped fine)

3 Part - Sugars (I mix white and raw sugars for texture)

Would I have to add additional oil to compensate for the lye heavy shreads or just follow the recipe exact?

 

[Ravenscourt Apothecary]

I've made a Coffee&Brown Sugar soap. It did have minor weeping, but curing resolved this issue. I used raw brown sugar, but definitely less than you would for a salt bar. I was merely going for a studded effect. Not sure I'll bother again, just the coffee grounds alone do that, and I don't have to worry about it overheating, weeping, etc (I like to CPOP all my batches and you can't do that with anything that has sugar).