Scrub Tutorial

Scrub Tutorial

Level: Intermediate

There is really very little experience required for this class. As long as you can measure ingredients properly and use a hand mixer and whisk, you're good to go! Patience will help, too.

Recipe that we will be using for class (percentages first):

60% Sugar (combo of white and coarse sugar, see measurement for amts)

12% Butters (2% should be cocoa butter, the other 10 can be Shea or mango)

20% Oils

3% E-wax

3% Stearic Acid

2% Fragrance Oil

Preservative of choice at proper usage amount

In specific measurements, we will be making about 1200g (or ~40 ounces) of scrub. I've tried to list alternate ingredients that can be subbed for another whenever I could. If you have a question about a sub feel free to ask. My method of making scrubs is a lot like experimenting in the kitchen.

720 g sugar total

- 500 g regular white sugar

- 220 g coarse brown sugar, either demerara or turbinado

120 g Shea Butter (can be subbed with Mango)

24 g Cocoa Butter

240 g oils

- 100 g heavier oil * (Sesame, Jojoba, Macadamia nut oil),

- 120 g lighter oil * (Apricot Kernel Oil, Cherry Kernel Oil, Rice Bran Oil)

- 20 g Wheat germ, Vit. E can be used as well

36 g E-wax

36 g Stearic Acid

24 g FO

*** Preservative in proper usage amount *** mine is a 1% rate so 12 g

* On heavier vs. lighter oils - this is based on my perception and isn't scientific in any way, it's just how I mentally categorize my oils.

Tools for needed:

Heat resistant bowl for our mixture, hand mixer (stand mixer not necessary and actually not recommended for a new scrub creator), whisk, method by which to melt your oils (I go double-boiler style), scale, small bowl to measure out some of the smaller quantity ingredients, and finally containers to house your finished scrub!

Just a reminder to make sure you have a CLEAN workspace and have washed your hands so no nasty germies come hang out in your scrub!

I measured out 120 g of Shea (I used unrefined this time), 100 g Macadamia Nut oil, 120g Apricot Kernel Oil, 20 g Wheat germ Oil, 36 g e-wax, 36 g stearic acid and 24 g cocoa butter into a metal bowl.

I then placed the bowl on the stove, double boiler style to get things melted.

It usually takes me between 10 and 15 minutes for me to melt everything down.

All melted now!

You can also take the butters/oils off of the heat if there's just a few little unmelted particles (if you're in a rush!). That doesn't impact anything at the end and the carry over heat will probably finish off the melting, anyways.

After all the oils are melted, the temp is around 180 degrees

I prefer to let me mixture stay off of the heat and cool down for a little bit before starting to mix in the sugar. So if you need to go check on something, now's the time. Give the bowl a good 10-15 minutes to cool off, some.

I didn't mention it in the instructions, but you can color your scrub as well. If you'd like to color your scrub, start thinking about what to use! I usually go for FD&C colors or micas.

After your temp goes down to about 130 degrees, go ahead and add in half of your white sugar (250 g in my case).

Using a hand mixer, start blending in that sugar! I mix on the lowest speed.

Go ahead and add in the second half of your white sugar. Keep mixing away.

Things are very loose and liquidy right now -- that's completely okay! After you've blended for a while, take the temp of your mixture. You should be getting close to being able to add some preservative. I'll be adding that soon, but first am adding my FO now, and mixing some more.

I'm adding in my mica now.

You mixture will still want to separate out and that's okay. We're just going to mix things in while loose and liquid so we get proper dispersion.

As you can see, mine is still very, very sloppy and soupy. That's to be expected.

For those who are at this stage and thinking - OMG this mess will never make a scrub that means things are going just right.

Editorial note: I usually start making a scrub in the evening, right after dinner. That way I get things melted and mixed and then I let the whole darned thing sit overnight to thicken up. There's a lot of waiting involved and I prefer to wait while I'm sleeping!

Time for my preservative! I'm using Optiphen for this, feel free to use whatever you like for a butter/oil emulsion (water-free).

At this point your color, fragrance and preservative should all be mixed in. The only thing left is your coarse sugar!

Go ahead and measure that and dump it in.

If you'd like to add any other scrubbies, go ahead and do that now.

Ground coffee, jojoba spheres, seeds, ground kernels, etc....

Mix everything together. Things will still be loose and want to separate, although not quite as much as in the beginning. Go ahead and use the hand mixer for just a few more minutes. If you use the hand mixer too much you'll incorporate more air into the mix than you might want.

Here's everything all mixed in.

If you stop mixing and let things sit, the oil will want to separate back out and look like this.

Things stay loose and oily longer in the summer than in the winter. If you want to speed things up and your mixture is essentially at room temp (or a little warmer) then you can put the bowl in the fridge for a while.

I personally recommend letting the bowl sit at room temp for several hours before putting in the fridge. Take a spatula or whisk and stir it up every once in a while.

There's the finished scrub, all nice and creamy, now. After a few stirs, it's still fluid enough to scoop into containers, so that's good. Keep in mind that things will continue to set up for another 12 hours or so. It's better to put into containers at this stage, while things still have some play.

Here's some scrub in a container -- it's a little messy getting it in, I recommend a clean spoon and some paper towels!

One final note -- if after the overnight it's still runny, you can add more sugar to stiffen things up. Alternate adding white and coarse sugar (the white will really help the consistency more than the coarse) until it feels more like the way you want it.