Sugar Cube Scrubs

I love making bath products and I especially love the challenge of replicating/improving some of the items I see in the stores.  Recently I brought a great item at LUSH - a single use sugar scrub.   These little scrubs are fun to use and they smell like heaven!    There were only two drawbacks - the scrubs dissolve too fast so that the minute the scrub hit the water it dissolved and ran through my fingers AND the LUSH product contains baking soda and cream of tartar which stings a little when using the scrub after shaving my legs.  I did a little research and found some other recipes for single use sugar cube scrubs.  I tried a few that only used oils, cocoa butter and sugar but those recipes proved to be too rough when using on the skin.  Many of the recipes included melt and pour soap base as a binder and, even though I don’t want the scrub to become soap-like, I decided to give it a try.  It has taken quite a bit of experimentation and tweaking to make a final formula.  This is the process of developing the recipe for a single use sugar scrub.

Beginning Recipe:

• Soap
• Cocoa Butter
• Sugar
• Fragrance (I did two scents for spring: a refreshing lemongrass/coconut and a tart blackcurrent)
• Color (green for the lemongrass and coconut; pink for the blackcurrent)
• Jojoba

After mixing up the ingredients, the mixture was poured into a silicone bite size brownie pan and left for about an hour to firm up.  After unmolding the squares, I cut each into 4 cubes.   This batch set beautifully and looked and smelled amazing; however, when I tried to use them in the shower there proved to be too much soap and the cube did not dissolve in the water properly. Overall, it felt too harsh and didn’t really lather.

The melt and pour soap base should have added enough bubbles, however, with all the oils I added to make the scrub moisturizing  the overall lather was diminished.   I decided to add a surfactant called sodium lauroyl lactylate.  Sodium lauroyl lactylate is derived from milk and coconut oil and it is a safe, skin-friendly cleanser for both skin and hair.  I love it because it removes oil, dirt and bacteria without drying or irritating skin.  And it adds a TON of bubbles.   Vegetable Glycerin is a natural humectant that will draw moisture to the skin without having to use oil - so I added some.  In the end, I threw in some emulsifying wax in the hopes it would bind the mixture together better.

Rebatch 1

• Soap
• Cocoa Butter
• Sugar
• Fragrance (I did two scents for spring: a refreshing lemongrass/coconut and a tart blackcurrent)
• Color (green for the lemongrass and coconut; pink for the blackcurrent)
• Jojoba Oil

• Sodium lauroyl lactylate (a surfactant that adds lather to the product)
• Glycerin
• Emuslfying Wax (binds water and oil combinations)

This batch never set properly  and stayed too “wet” and oily to be practical.  However, it was great for use – it had a ton of lather and it felt smooth on the skin; not harsh at all.  Plus my skin felt so soft after using the scrub.  But look at that picture - there is no way I could pack these melty cubes up.  

Because the scrub worked well, the next formula is only tweaked a bit.  Natrasorb Bath is a modified starch that is designed to absorb excess oil and leave the skin feeling soft and silky.  Even better, when the starch comes into contact with water, it immediately dissolves which releases its load of oils and fragrances directly into the warm water.

  A few scoops will help to firm up the cubes. A little amount of clay was added to provide a slippery feel to the scrub when applied to the skin. 

Rebatch 2:

• Soap
• Cocoa Butter
• Sugar
• Fragrance (I did two scents for spring: a refreshing lemongrass/coconut and a tart blackcurrent)
• Color (green for the lemongrass and coconut; pink for the blackcurrent)
• Jojoba Oil

• Sodium lauroyl lactylate (a surfactant that adds lather to the product)
• Glycerin
• Natrasorb Bath

I just packed the mixture with a ton of Natrasorb and extra white sugar.  In fact, the resulting mixture was crumbly in texture - not pourable like the original soap mixture.  The dough was packed into the brownie pan (much like you would do with the bath bombs) and left for about an hour to set.  They popped out of the mold nicely and I cut about half of them into quarters, while leaving the other half to be a larger size scrub.  The finishing touch was a light coat of corn starch to keep the cubes dry .
I am very happy with the final product!  

But now I am not sure I needed the melt and pour base after all.  If anyone wants a creamy sugar scrub in a convenient single use cube - let me know.

Floating Dots Soap

This was such a fun soap to think up and create.  To make it, I mixed the color with a little glycerin and added it to clear soap base.  Then I poured a thin layer of the colored soap into a baking sheet.  When the soap cools - it stays flexible because of the addition of the glycerin.  Simply cut shapes out of the sheet of soap.  For this soap I punched out two sizes of circles in blue and green.  After pouring one layer of clear, I added a few of the dots; then poured another layer and added more dots.  I repeated this process a total of 4 times. This technique allows the dots to overlap at different depths, thus - Floating Dots. 

The scent is a fruity mix of pink sugar and cranberry. 

Today's Tincture

Tincturing is a wonderful way to capture the natural essence of herbs; and it is so easy to do. To make a tincture, grind up fresh or dried herbs, place in glass container and cover with alcohol (because I use the tincture only in perfumes – I use perfumer’s grade alcohol which is odorless and colorless). The tinctures need to be cured anywhere from 10 days to 2 months – depending on the herb being tinctured and the desired strength of the final scent.

Today I am tincturing juniper berries in honor of the weather turning cooler. There are two fragrances on my mind as I prepare the juniper berries today. One is a Holiday scent with frankincense, juniper, tonka and vanilla as a base – and spicy orange for the heart of the scent. I also want to create an herbal mixture that will play up the crisp, fresh scent of juniper with a blend of rosemary and lavender. Both will be great fragrances for the Fall season.

I am also going to use some of the left over dried herbs to make small sachet. I use small muslin bags with a drawstring and fill with the ground dried herbs. The sachet can be put into drawers and closets and even better, the sachet can be hung from the faucet as the water runs into the tub. This creates a wonderfully scented bath.

Leave me a comment and let me know what scents the cooler weather is bringing to your mind today…

Bakugan Cake

Eli really wanted a Bakugan Cake for his birthday, but I couldn't find one anywhere. As everyone knows, I am not known for my culinary skills - but I thought Eli would really get a kick out of having getting his own Bakugan Cake.

Lisa had given me the recipe her easy ice cream cake. She served it when we had last visited and I thought it the easiest, best tasting ice cream cake ever! So with a few modifications - viola - a Custom Bakugan Cake:

The recipe is simple:

INGREDIENTS:

16 Ice Cream Sandwiches
1 16 ounce can/container whipped topping (you can experiment with using flavored whipped cream as well - depending on your tastes)
Caramel or Chocolate sauce
Any crushed candy bars or ice cream topping of your choice. Get creative: use peanuts or fruit like strawberries or blueberries or bananas. As an example, I used crushed peanut butter cups and caramel sauce for Eli’s 6 birthday cake.

Place 8 of the ice cream sandwiches side by side in a 9 x 13 glass pan and arrange them until the entire bottom is covered. You may need to break one in half if necessary.
Spread a thick layer of the whipped topping over the sandwiches. Freeze until harden.
Drizzle any caramel or chocolate sauce; (be as generous as you want) sprinkle with crushed candy bars (or topping of your choice). Create another layer with remaining ice cream sandwiches. Top with other half of whipped topping and freeze until hardened (3 hour minimum, but overnight is best).
Add a thin, fresh layer of whipped topping for the look and decorate with any left over toppings.

For the Bakugan balls I used Lindt truffles - I only thought this up the night before so I had to settle for the dark chocolate, but the white chocolate would make great Bakugan as well. I then used gel icing to make the patterns. For the cards, I used Hersey bars and then decorated with colored frosting and a laminated (okay, taped over) printout of the Bakugan logo.

I froze the balls and the cards so that the icing wouldn't get runny.

Not only did Eli love the cake - he loved eating the cards and bakugan!

Simple Chocolate Body Scrub

This is a really simple recipe for a moisturizing body scrub. It uses brown sugar and oatmeal flour for a really gentle exfoliating experience. Cocoa powder and powdered milk (you can also use flavored creamer - french vanilla or hazelnut would add a faint, but yummy scent!) adds a subtle frangrance - if you want something a little more lasting, adding vanilla, orange or chocolate fragrance or essential oils will do the trick.

In this first video, Eli shows how simple it is to mix up the ingredients. Notice how he adds the dry ingridents first, then moves to the oils. His basic oil is a blend of olive (for its moisturizing properties) and canola (which is lighter and blends well with the heaviness of the olive oil). The scent of Eli's scrub here is AMAZING! It smells just like those chocolate oranges you whack to open at Christmas - yummy.





The ingredient list is simple and if you are lucky, most will be in your pantry right now. Eli also shows you how to pack the scrub for use in the shower. Remember, the scrub is made with food ingredients and should be used within a month or two from making it up.



In this video post, Eli shows how easy it is to make oatmeal flour. Oatmeal flour is a great addition to scrubs and it also can be used directly into a bath for a soothing soak. Oatmeal flour also makes a wonderful facial mask - simply mix some up with yogurt or sour cream (both contain latic acid, an AHA) and spread on your face and leave for about 10 minutes.



Simple Chocoate Body Scrub Recipe:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup oatmeal flour
• 3 tbs cocoa powder
• 3 tbs milk powder
• about 3/4 cup oil mixture (use more if needed)
• a few drops chocolate and orange essential oils