Teach Soap

Hey everyone. I'm about to make my first salts and sugar scrubs. I will make little batches for me, so I wont need a preservative for those...However, I would like to sale larger amounts. I know for these to hold up I will need a preservative. Does anyone have one of preference? Also, how much do I need to add. I've never worked with preservatives before...Also, I've read you can use different oils. I have jojoba, grape seed, and coconut. Id prefer to use grapeseed because the cost is way less for me. Will this make a good product?

Also, I just tryed making candles. The throw on the one I made wasnt perfect. Ive read I may need a polysorbate 20 to bind the oil to the wax? Is this true or is that just in shower gels, lotions, ect. So I need to do use this scrubs too?

Thanks so much for the help everyone xoxoxo

I've never heard of anyone using polysorbate in a candle. I wouldn't do that. Polysorbate 20 is for binding oils to water products.

Grapeseed oil is okay if you're going to use it right away, but otherwise it has a very short shelf life.
Jojoba oil is great in scrubs. Coconut oil's okay. Olive oil's pretty nice.

For preservatives you can use Optiphen Plus or Germaben II, plus there are some others out there that you can use.

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For more info on preservatives read here> viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5032
You also need an accurate scale. If you don't use enough, mold, germs and bacteria can grow. If you use too much of a preservative, it can be irritating. Some preservatives are also temp sensitive, so a thermometer is very helpful.

As far as candles, I would not add a polysorbate to it. It is not meant for candles but B&B products. Each wax that you use will have its own quirks. Some waxes, like soy, have a harder time with a cold or hot throw. If you are just starting out, get yourself and candle kit.

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

Thanks so much ladies. Im almost wondering if I should skip the preservatives in the salt/sugar scrubs and just make a batch for when i do booths. i can do it by weight in a small container and let them know the shelf life is shorter and to keep in the fridge to prolong it... or maybe just skip the scrub alltogether and do bath salts...idk.

another question i have.

i bought a flavor oil for chapstick. but, i have a pineapple frag oil and wanted to use that. is it safe? i saw a video on you tube and it looked like the girl used a reg fo..

is it ok to sweeten with splenda, or does it have to be stevia?

oh and thanks soapbuddy <3 i went and got a beginners candle kit!

Good for you on the candle kit! That will give you a better idea on wick sizes and how color or fragrance affect the final candle.

I would not make a scrub without a preservative. You and I might know not to introduce any water into the product, but I can guarantee you that you customer won't remember it. As soon as ANY moisture gets into it; whether from the dampness in the bathroom, the moisture from your fingers or water drops from the shower, that scrub will start growing nasties within 24 hours.

Regular fragrance oil is NOT safe for the lip area. Some vendors sell fragrance oils that are lip safe, but that's not the norm. Always, always use a lip safe flavor oil. You can use splenda or stevia, just make sure that there is no water in it (if you are buying the liquid version).

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

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JKM Creative Enterprises

Optiphen is best for microbial growth. It must be added below 140°F. General usage rate is 0.5 - 1.5%.

Optiphen+ works best in formulas below 6.0 pH, but works ok above 6 pH. There are no temp restrictions. General usage rate is 0.5 - 1.5%, same as regular Optiphen.

Add up all your ingredients by weight. Then calculate the % from that of how much of the preservative you will use. Since I'm pretty sure that water will get introduced into a scrub, I would go with 1% of preservative. I would go with Optiphen Plus, due to added Sorbic Acid.

INCI for Optiphen is: INCI: Phenoxyethanol and Caprylyl Glycol
INCI for Optiphen+ is: Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol and Sorbic Acid.

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

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JKM Creative Enterprises

I wanted to add that during my research about whether or not a preservative needs to be added, I came across this forum that had this tid-bid of info, that kinda made me feel uneasy...

(I don't want to quote poster nor site.. so I just copied/pasted)

You do NOT need to put a preservative into your sugar scrub. Any moisture in your scrub will become saturated with dissolved sugar. This creates a hypertonic solution, which sucks all the moisture out of any and all bacteria/fungi/horrible little nasties through osmosis. Chemistry major, FTW.

You DO need to store them in airtight containers, because otherwise any oil you put in there will oxidize and start smelling nasty. However, I have sugar scrubs that are about a year old that I put into airtight containers, and they're still good.

Sometimes during research, people who are still learning will read something like this. It confuses some, and could potentially be dangerous. If not for you SB with your wealth of knowledge in this area, and this forum, I might have been one that would have believed this.

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JKM Creative Enterprises

I've seen that in a few places too, JKM. I've seen it on websites selling sugar scrubs, on forums, on info websites, etc. It looks like somebody wrote something up, put it out on the web and everyone's run with it. Kind of like Grapefruit Seed Extract, Vitamin E, Rosemary EO, Salt, Lemon, Citric Acid and a long list of others that people claim as Natural Preservatives. The problem is, is that so many people get Bacterial Preservative and Antioxidant mixed up. Then other people making products see this and are misinformed.

I've even seen some sites that say you don't need a preservative because sugar is a natural preservative and that's why it's used in making home canning. They also went on to talk about how honey is a natural preservative because it's full of natural sugars and that bacteria can't live in honey or sugar. (I'm assuming they've never heard that some honey can contain spores of Clostridium botulinum)

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The whole discussion about honey and bacteria really confuses me, because I was told by my baby's doctor not to feed him honey until he was at least 2 years old because his stomach can't handle the bacteria that is found in the honey... hmm...
Plus, on the whole preservative thing, I think it's better to be safe than sorry, so into the mix goes the preservative!

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Tamra
New to soaping, long time crafter and artisan, avid learner of new things!

I agree. My philosphy has always been "Better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it" (my pack-rat mentality... lol)
But it applies to things made as well. I would rather have a preservative in it whether it really needs it or not, then to make something that needed it and I didn't add it.
I have found that this forum has been the best in educating us up and coming newbies, and that SB has been invaluable on this score. Science was never a strong point for me, so to have someone who is good and trained there to help us is always a win win prospect, don't you think?

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JKM Creative Enterprises

I have decided that it would be better to preserve anything that someone would dip their fingers into because fingernails have ALOT of bacteria living under them. I make anhydrous products that may never see water, but they will see dirty fingernails and I think it's better to keep someone safe and educate them on the benefits of preservatives than hop on the granola band wagon.

On another note, can someone recommend a lip safe preservative system? I am toying with the idea of making lip balm in cute slidey tins but would want to be able to preserve them properly.

thanks all!
Erin