Teach Soap

I have scoured the internet and tried a few recipes with no luck. I'm looking for a sugar cube scrub recipe that makes scrubs that will readily crush in your hand. So far all my sugar cubes have turned out very hard. Can anyone help me?

Welcome!
Sounds like bubble bars with sugar. That's what I would search for.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Thanks, Irena. I looked but bubble bars and I noticed they were mainly used for tub baths. I need something for the shower, that's more for exfoliating and not necessarily for lathering.

Bubble bars are the only ones you can crush in your hand. You could make a lotion bar and incorporate any scrubbies into that. Or make sugar scrub cubes with MP base and sugar.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

The soap queen has a video for sugar scrub cubes. I haven't made them yet (tomorrow!!) but I've heard them described as crushable. Maybe try more oil and sugar mixture and less MP soap?

What recipes have you tried? Have you checked out the sugar scrub recipes at the SoapQueen's blog? She has several tutorials:




I've tried these and they always come out perfect, eventhough I still love to buy Naiad Soap Arts' (guest blogger for the tutorials) sugar cubes and scrubs. Like it's explained under the comments section(s) of these tutorials though, the type of M&P base, oils and fragrance oils used can affect how these come out together with getting the right temperature and consistency for the soap before adding/mixing in your sugar. If your cubes are coming out too hard, you might need to adjust the oils, M&P base and/or sugar amounts until you get the consistency you want. What might be perfect for me might be too hard or crumbly for you. One quick way to test if you like the consistency of your final product is to scoop out a small portion with a spoon or popsicle/wooden stick (not a toothpick - the sample will be too small) and stick it in the freezer to harden/set up then check if you like the result. HTH!

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Armi

Thank you all for your input. I've narrowed it down to four different recipes that I'm going to try. Two are from the Soap Queen and the other two are from Wholesale Supplies Plus. I previously tried the one that uses the foaming bath whip. I loved everything about the final product except for the fact that the sugar all settled to the bottom. I'm going to try it again using a suspension M&P soap base and pouring it at a lower temperature. I'll report back after I've finished all my trials!

For a good sugar scrub cube, it should feel slightly smooshy in the mold when set up and you will leave an indentation in the soap if you press hard enough. Again, if you don't like Erin's (Naiad Soap Arts) recipe from the Soap Queen's blog then you can adjust the recipe to suit your needs. Using an accurate scale and keeping good records of what recipe, ingredients and temp you use when adding stuff in will help in the long run so you can duplicate a recipe that you like. Also avoid overheating your M&P base or adding the sugar too soon to the soap mixture (you should be able to comfortably touch the sides of your container) as this could result in a harder and/or waxy bar. I don't think using a suspension M&P base is really necessary since your sugar is typically 2x the volume of your base and you mix it in thoroughly. I would save the suspension base for a recipe that really needs it like if you wanted to add in oatmeal to make an oatmeal honey soap and you want your oatmeal suspended throughout the soap. I've never added foaming bath whip to a sugar cube scrub, unless you made a foaming sugar scrub which is typically scoopable but wouldn't result in something you can form into cubes(?). Are you trying to use the foaming bath whip with M&P base to make like a whipped frosting type soap then you want to add sugar to the mix?

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Armi

Hi Armi,

Thanks for your comment. Here is the recipe that incorporates foaming bath whip that I like with the exception of the sugar settling on the bottom. After reading more comments on the recipe, it appears that pouring at a lower temperature will fix the problem. From experience, this particular recipe does take quite a long time to harden (mine took overnight) but when it does, the finished product is firm enough to hold its shape --most likely due to the M&P soap --while the addition of foaming bath whip makes it soft enough to crush and adds some nice lather.

There is also another Wholesale Supplies Plus recipe (Salt Scrub Scoops - Watermelon) that is similar except it calls for salt instead of sugar, and the individual scrubs are formed with an ice cream scoop. It looks so pretty! I'm dying to try this but will substitute white sugar for the salt.

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boogieluv

I like the second recipe! Let us know how things turn out and share pictures if you can.

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Armi