Puzzled

[Annem]

I made some salt scrub and after two weeks, there is mould on it. I didn't use water, just Azulene oil and dried rose petals. What went wrong?

 

[lsg]

I would guess it was the rose petals.

 

[Annem]

But they’re dry. Should I try with a different dried flower?

 

[Annem]

Would it have helped if I had sterilized the jars first?

 

[earlene]

When you say after 2 weeks, do you mean 2 weeks without being touched by human hands and not being used in the bath area with wet fingers?

If never used or touched, yes, I would also suspect the organic matter. Sugar + Organic matter with only the slightest contamination will lead to decay. Your hands have bacteria on them; all you need to do is touch a rose petal (dry or not) and there is bacteria transfer going on.

If used in the bath area with wet fingers (as in when dipping fingers into the jar of sugar scrub to scoop out a portion), then of course organisms are added to the scrub pot and growth of whatever is in the water or on you skin becomes a part of the mix that sugar and organic matter can feed.

And it doesn't matter what organic matter you use. Rose petals and any other flower - won't make a difference - it's all subject to decay. But remember, the sugar itself is food for living organisms, so, yes a good thorough cleaning, sanitizing and sterilization is necessary to reduce contamination opportunities. But once the item is in use in the bath area, organisms will be introduced.

 

[DeeAnna]

Even though rose petals have been dried, they aren't DRY, as in zero water.

And petals that protrude above the fats in the scrub will not be preserved by the scrub ingredients -- they are going to absorb water from the air and will support microbial growth. This is the same problem that happens to flower petals and rolled oats that people put on top of bar soap -- they also can become moldy. And it's also the same reason why the smears of jam on the sides of a jar get moldy when the main portion of jam remains fine.

If you want to make a self preserving anhydrous scrub, the scrub should contain only fats and an exfoliant (in this case, your salt). Sugar is also acceptable as an exfoliant in an anhydrous scrub because it is present in a very high concentration -- high enough to be self preserving. But sugar will work only if you don't challenge the mixture by adding other non-sugar carbohydrates, even small amounts of water, and a source of microbes.

Once a person adds other ingredients that create a balanced diet for microbes, the mixture is no longer self preserving. By adding petals, you added carbohydrates and a certain amount of water. And as Earlene pointed out, dipping the product out of the jar with fingers will also introduce more water and microbes.

I can't quite wrap my mind around using a scrub with rose petals in it. I'd think the petals would make a mess on your face and in the sink???

 

[Annem]

Even though rose petals have been dried, they aren't DRY, as in zero water.

And petals that protrude above the fats in the scrub will not be preserved by the scrub ingredients -- they are going to absorb water from the air and will support microbial growth. This is the same problem that happens to flower petals and rolled oats that people put on top of bar soap -- they also can become moldy. And it's also the same reason why the smears of jam on the sides of a jar get moldy when the main portion of jam remains fine.

If you want to make a self preserving anhydrous scrub, the scrub should contain only fats and an exfoliant (in this case, your salt). Sugar is also acceptable as an exfoliant in an anhydrous scrub because it is present in a very high concentration -- high enough to be self preserving. But sugar will work only if you don't challenge the mixture by adding other non-sugar carbohydrates, even small amounts of water, and a source of microbes.

Once a person adds other ingredients that create a balanced diet for microbes, the mixture is no longer self preserving. By adding petals, you added carbohydrates and a certain amount of water. And as Earlene pointed out, dipping the product out of the jar with fingers will also introduce more water and microbes.

I can't quite wrap my mind around using a scrub with rose petals in it. I'd think the petals would make a mess on your face and in the sink???

Wow! I got this recipe from Soap Queen. Well, I guess I'm going to use Otiphen (preservative). Added water seems to be in all of the soaps. I've been very careful to notice water that's in the soap base. Extra careful that I am not using water as an additive. I know enough not to use organics. I just figured that the rose petals were dry, that I wouldn't have trouble later. I use gloves. I checked the other containers and there were no problems. Well, thanks for educating me. I guess it's time for me, that I should make my own soaps, my own scrubs. Can I say this? Crap.

 

[DeeAnna]

In your original post you said, "...I didn't use water, just Azulene oil and dried rose petals...."

But in your last post, you imply you're also using a soap base in the scrub? So I'm confused -- to me a scrub is basically a mixture of fat (usually liquid oils) plus a scrubby material (salt, sugar, etc.) Other ingredients might be fragrance, colorant, and/or preservative.

If the scrub is something other than a fat + a scrubby material, people usually say how the scrub is different from the usual.

So what exactly are the ingredients in the scrub you made?

edit -- Reading between the lines a bit, I gather you added azulene oil (essential oil?) and petals to a purchased melt-and-pour soap base. Is this right?

 

[maryloucb]

I have never seen a scrub with petals or botanicals in it. I'm also curious as to what the recipe was.