We have the coolest young intern in our Marketing Department. She’s only 16 and this is her first job, but it’s already clear that she’s going to do amazing things with her life. She’s smart, she’s funny and she’s a consummate multi-tasker. Take a look at the fun scrubs she made the other day. These were made with Apricot Seed Powder but they could easily be made with our super cool Jojoba Beads. This is Bakima’s perfect recipe and she’s letting me share it with you. Thanks Bakima!
Making these scrubs is SUPER easy and isn’t time consuming. Other things can also be used as the scrubby part of this equation: luffa, strawberry seeds, jojoba beads or any other exfoliant to create your silky smooth body scrub.
To make about 6 pounds (or 96 ounces) of product, you’ll need:
Sugar (we used normal white bleached sugar) – 6 cups
Fragrance (Bakima loves Passionfruit Rose. Basmati rice, China Rain, Tomato Leaf, and Fresh-Baked Bread are great options too!)
Exfoliant (This recipe used ground apricot seed A colorful option would be jojoba beads.) 2 Cups
Note about the Sugar and Exfoliant Choices: A 3:1 ratio use of sugar in relation to exfoliant is a good start- depending on the exfoliant you choose. Variables include the size of the granule – more could be too harsh or make it harder to “pipe” the product into its container in the end. The piping helps to create an aesthetic presentation so the piping is a great final touch.
Shea Butter 6 – 9 cups (you can add more to increase the long lasting moisturizing effects of the product)
emulsifying wax – 1 teaspoon
2 medium sized or large bowls (for mixing)
one container (get a clear one if you want to pipe the sides–> Piping means you make a design ( i.e. stripes, curves, swirls, etc.) using the scrub…..the blobs of product individually kind of turn out looking like pipes)
Melt the Emulsifying Wax in the microwave (in short segments of 1 minute max each).
Add the Shea Butter to melted wax and warm until uniformly liquid.
[While the mixture is melting: separate 3 cups of sugar into each bowl- let’s call them A and B and the exfoliant into JUST ONE-….we’ll go with bowl B. Mix the dry ingredients of bowl B together so the exfoliant is equally distributed throughout]
Once the wax/Shea Butter mixture is uniform, pour half into bowl A and add your fragrance of choice and mix until uniform. I like to heavily scent as much as you but add small amounts of fragrance at a time – mixing the scrub together each time. You can always add more fragrance, but you can’t take it out. If you add too much Wax/Shea Butter mixture you can counter it by adding sugar until your desired consistency is reached.
Pour the other half of the Wax/Shea Butter mixture into bowl B, add fragrance and mix.
TO PIPE PRODUCT INTO CONTAINER (make swirls or stripes):
You can place the scrubs into the fridge for 10 minutes to firm them up and make it easier to pipe.
You can load the scrubs into separate plastic ziplock bags, cut the corners, and use it as a squeeze tube to get more accurate lines (like you would do with frosting)
To pipe the product, you create your design along the outermost portion of the container. Stripes or swirls are easiest. Start from the base and then work up. The middle of the container can be filled using whichever pattern you wish.
Let the scrubs harden.
As Bakima often exclaims, “SCORE!” You’ve now made your own yummy scrub that is great for showers or use by the sink……or as a quick, personal present for a friend.
I followed this recipe to the “T” and everything worked out nicely….until the next morning. These scrubs turned solid and now I’m not sure what to do?! Please help a newbie out. π
They are a more solid product so you didn’t do anything wrong =) Just scoop/chip out and use and they do soften up nicely when used and with warm water =))
Thanks for the prompt response π I was planning on adding them to my product line but I’m just not convinced my buyers would be willing to “work at it” by chipping away some to use. There seems to be NO scooping of this product π Any suggestions for application instructions on my label? Thanks again for responding to a pretty old post. Blessings!
This one would be difficult to get scoopable but you could make this one scoopable (easily):
https://www.brambleberry.com/How-to-Make-Emulsified-Scrub-Online-Video-P4692.aspx
or this one using a premixed whipped soap base that is very scoopable:
http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/soaks-and-scrubs/cinnamon-sugar-scrub-part-two-gift-series-2/
Let me know if you have any other questions =)
Thanks lady! You rock!
Thanks for the tutorial, I really want to start making sugar scrubs soon!
Could you also use Optiphen as a preservative?
You could try that – I would do more like 75% liquid oil to 25% beeswax. It won’t have quite the same consistency but it’ll be pretty close =)
Sorry, just a short question-would it be possible to substitute half of the shea butter with a mixture of beeswax and oils? If so, what percentage should I use? AS you can see, I don’t have much shea butter left. Thanks!
Regarding Preservative use:
Can’t say for mold, but the sugar content is high enough that it should prohibit bacteria growth even if water gets in.
“Should” being the operative word…
I made up a batch last night, subbing Avocado butter (since I didn’t have any shea butter on hand,) going 1:1 sugar and dead sea salts, and scenting it with Ocean Rain (which went great with the pepper berry soap.) Luscious!
And so much better than having to mix liquid oils and the sugar every time you want to scrub down.
Preservative use is a personal preference thing. Because this is a non-water based product, in theory, you don’t need a preservative. But, people are using it in the shower – so they may introduce water to it. Phenonip at 1% would be great. LiquaPar Optima at 1% should also work.
What a great recipe, I can’t wait to try it! If making a large batch, would you need to add a preservative since it is a sugar scrub? If so, would it just be the usual 1% (I use LiquaPar Optima)? Thanks!
SingingWolf, do a 1% E-Wax ratio and you should be able to scale the project easily (up and down).
I meant to ask;
How do you figure the amount of e-wax for this type of project? I’ll be making a much smaller batch of this to begin with…starting with a pound of butters.
Those look fantastic! I’m going to have to try these with Avocado Butter since I don’t have any Shea Butter in the house….
That’s great! She is so lucky to work for such an inspiring person, and your lucky to have such an eager learner. She has a bright future!
Now this is totally cool~ what a bright future this young lady has!!
Looks good enough to eat! I’ll have to try this one.
Great job π
Very nice tutorial! I have always shied away from scrubs (I think partly b/c I can never find any that I like). I will have to try this… I hear a “Creative Weekend” calling to me. π
SJ