How To Make Emulsified Sugar Scrubs

You asked for it, and here it is! A while ago, I made this Creamy Sugar Scrub, and some of you had asked for a tutorial on this, so I have put this post together for all of you :) 

I love using emulsified scrubs because you are, in essence, creating a lotion each time you shower! A basic lotion is simply oil + water + emulsifier (to help the oil + water mix). So when you make an oil + emulsifier scrub, you are creating an instant lotion each time the shower water hits the sugar scrub on your skin. The shower water activates the emulsifying agent in your scrub, and mixes with the oil to turn it into a wonderful lotion-y experience that leaves your skin soft and moisturized without being over-oily or heavy.

When I am making sugar scrubs, I like to use a mixture of raw sugar (bigger grains, more scrubby) and refined/granulated sugar (smaller grains, less scrubby), but you can use straight raw or straight refined, it really just depends how exfoliating you want your scrub to be:

Here is the recipe I used (not my usual, but a new one I wanted to try):

(adapted from this recipe) 

Makes approximately 16 ounces (4 x 4oz jars)

2.4 ounces Apricot Kernel Oil (or another light oil)

2.05 ounces Grape Seed Oil (or another light oil)

0.8 ounces Emulsifying Wax (traditional)

0.8 ounces Stearic Acid

0.8 ounces Shea Butter

0.8 ounces Cocoa Butter

4 mL fragrance of your choice

Preservative*

9 oz Sugar (raw or refined, or a mixture of both)

Directions:

Pour your oils into microwave-safe container:

Add stearic acid and e-wax:

Add cocoa butter and shea butter:

Gently melt all together in a microwave (or in a double-burner over low heat) until completely melted:

Let cool until temperature is just below your suppliers recommended temperature for adding fragrance and preservative; add both and stir well:

Fragrance:

Preservative:

Place bowl in fridge or freezer until a skin forms. I think I left mine a little too long…oopsie!

But it still worked just fine. Use a hand mixer and whip until thick and creamy (putting back in fridge or freezer for short intervals if mixture is too thin):

Once it is thick, add sugar (you may need to transfer your mixture to a bigger bowl) and mix until thoroughly combined:

Scoop into containers and make sure it is completely cool before putting the lids on:

*Tip: Even though sugar scrubs are anhydrous (not containing water), you should use a preservative because they will come into contact with water while being used. To calculate your preservative, you need to calculate it based on the total weight of your recipe (including the sugar) and calculate it according to your supplier’s recommended usage rates for your particular preservative. 

This recipe starts out quite soft but thickens up after a couple of days. I would encourage you to try different recipes and combinations of oils and butters, and varying amounts and combinations of sugars until you have a consistency and exfoliating factor that you love; experiment and enjoy!

Here is a video demonstrating the process from Anne-Marie at Brambleberry:

You may have also noticed my new logo! I wanted to give a huge shout-out to Gila from Cross The Lime, she did an amazing job on my Oil & Butter logo and was such a pleasure to work with, I just LOVE it...thank you Gila!

Also, you may remember from last year that this past week was a busy week in the Cee Gee household, we celebrate 3 birthdays this week, my husband and 2 sons all have birthdays within 1 week of each other. Here are the cakes I made for our sons this year:

First up, burgers (cupcakes) and fries (cookies):

And a sushi cake (black forest cake with Rice Krispies sushi):

Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you all have a great week!