After some pain in the ass technical (but important and useful though) first two blogs on Accessible skincare science, we're continuing a bit more creatively!
I was super excited last month to participate in Formula Botanica's formulation challenge. The challenge was to create a whipped foot scrub and include ingredients that are in season in our local area.
This was the first challenge that I didn't miss since I started my studies, so you can get the idea of how excited I was (actually it felt a bit like winning the lottery).
And guess what?!? I WON!!! (not the lottery though)
The challenge was a lot tougher than I thought. Picking an ingredient that is in season (with all the gorgeous fruits, nuts, herbs, and flowers around me) was like owning only one pair of shoes - for a lady.
But I made it. I made this worth calling a challenge. With all the knowledge and experiences that I gained during my studies, this was a lovely reminder of how going from KISS ("keep it super simple") to advanced formulations may sometimes be easier than going from advanced to KISS. This was super fun, valuable, and challenging back to basics work.
My 3 main goals before I started to write my formulation were:
max. 10 ingredients
1 seasonal star ingredient
easy wash-off (I really, really don't like greasy products on my body, especially not on my feet or hands).
The final scrub was exactly as I wanted.
Fluffy, heavenly smelling, washed off nicely, leaving the feet smooth and nourished.
Now enough with the babble, let's get to the formulation procedure, shall we? Here is my Candy Grapes Whipped Foot Scrub inspired by sour candy frozen grapes.
Firstly, I melted my mango butter and glyceryl stearate along with my grapeseed oil until completely dissolved over a bain-marie. I added glyceryl stearate since it is known for reducing the greasiness of high-oil products. I then placed the blend in the fridge to cool below 40°C.
Meanwhile, the blend was cooling down, I had the time to prepare my phase B ingredients. I powdered my grape leaves (using my coffee grinder) and added ground grape seeds, white sugar, and SCI (Sodium cocoyl isethionate). SCI, also known as "baby foam" is a sodium salt ester of coconut fatty acid. It is an extremely gentle anionic surfactant that offers very efficient cleansing and low odor with a skin-friendly pH.
SCI makes the scrub wash off easily (5% still leaves a nice nourished skin feel, but I would go up to 10% if I wanted a matt wash-off).
IMPORTANT: Please don't forget to wear a dust mask while working with SCI! Inhaling powdered SCI is extremely unpleasant and could be dangerous (apparently, protective masks are not hard to find these days #w*f).
Once the oil phase had cooled down in the fridge, I added my phase C ingredients (preservative, antioxidant, and essential oil) and stirred well then put back in the fridge until it started to solidify.
I then whipped the mixture at high speed with an electric whisk until it changed the color to a lighter shade and gained volume. Afterward, I added phase B ingredients and placed it back in the fridge for a few minutes.
Lastly, I gave it a final whip until light and fluffy.
Don't worry if the scrub is going to look pretty pale at this stage, the green color will become more obvious when the scrub stabilizes to room temperature.
CANDY GRAPES WHIPPED FOOT SCRUB
Equipment:
glass bowl
glass beaker
electric whisk
spatula
spoon
disinfectant
empty container
scale
dust mask
Formula:
A
32% mango butter*
32% grapeseed oil
2% glyceryl stearate
B
20% white sugar
5% SCI - Sodium cocoyl isethionate (powdered)
5% grape seeds (ground)
2% grape leaves (powdered)
C
1% Preservative Eco
0.7% lime essential oil
0.3% rosemary co2 extract
*I used refined mango butter in this formulation since this is a wash-off product. This way, the wonderful lime aroma is even more exquisite.
Method:
Melt phase A in a water bath. Place the blend in the fridge to cool. Mix phase B. Add the phase C ingredients to the cooled phase A. Put back to the fridge until it starts to solidify. Whip on high speed with an electric whisk, then add phase B and place back in the fridge for a few minutes. Whip again until light and fluffy. Store and label.
Ideas:
Don't get stuck on grapes! (although I love it) Feel free to change the theme of this formulation to cranberries, watermelon, walnuts, coffee, lavender, or anything you think may work great as a foot scrub. Have fun and be creative!
I would be thrilled to see you make this. Make sure to tag @labnotes_eu on IG and use #madewithlabnotes.
P.s.
Someone might be interested in sour candy frozen grapes formula (no % this time): squeeze some lime juice over the grapes. Roll each grape in sugar, until completely coated and store in the freezer.
Please post any questions, below this blog post, I will be happy to help you out. Sign up to leave a comment (it's fast and easy, just choose your google account or sign up with email or Facebook ;)).
If you want to learn more cool tricks and tips on making skincare follow @labnotes_eu
