All About Exfoliants
Exfoliation is key to maintaining smooth skin. It removes oil and dead skin, which allows moisturizer to absorb more easily.
The exfoliant you choose depends on your recipe. Fine exfoliants work well for the face and large exfoliants work well for the body, especially dry areas like elbows and feet. It’s also based on personal preference – the best way to find out what you like is to experiment.
Start with 1 teaspoon of exfoliant per pound of product. For cold process, add medium and large exfoliants at thin trace and whisk to incorporate. Mix 1 teaspoon of fine exfoliants with 1 tablespoon of a lightweight oil or distilled water first to prevent clumps. For melt and pour, add medium and large exfoliants and stir until the soap is around 125-135F. It needs to be thick enough to suspend the particles. For fine exfoliants, mix 1 teaspoon with 1 tablespoon of 99% isopropyl alcohol.
Fine exfoliants – best for the face, need to be dispersed
Colloidal
Oatmeal
Colloidal oatmeal is one of the most gentle
exfoliants. It can be used in face masks, soap, and more. We love adding it to bath
bombs and cold process soap because of its silky texture and soothing
properties.
Bamboo Powder
This natural powder comes from bamboo stems. It starts as a thick liquid,
then crystallizes at room temperature. Add it to handmade soap and cosmetics for
gentle exfoliation.
Pumice
Powder
Pumice powder is a fantastic gentle
exfoliant created from milled volcanic glass. Its fine texture works well in cold
process and melt & pour
soap.
Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking
Soda)
Baking soda is an amazing
multi-purpose product. It’s used in bath bombs, bath salts, and
natural cleaning products. It’s great for scrubs as
well!
Medium exfoliants – suitable for both the face and body
Walnut
Shells
Along with exfoliation, walnut shells add a
natural brown color to handmade soap and cosmetics. We used them as the
soil in the Carrot Cold Process Soap.
Salts and
Sugar
There are a variety of salts and sugars that
can be used for scrubs, bath bombs, and more. Depending on the size, they can offer
gentle or more powerful exfoliation. Salt can also be used in cold process soap
– it creates really creamy
lather.
Jojoba
Beads
This biodegradable exfoliant is made
from jojoba oil. The beads come in various sizes and colors, so
there’s an option for every recipe.
Shredded
Loofah
This exfoliant comes from whole loofah
sponges. They’re ground to a fine texture, making it easy to
disperse throughout soap or
scrubs.
Icelandic Black
Sand
This product comes from a volcanic beach on the
South Coast of Iceland. It has mild exfoliation and a beautiful natural color, as
seen in the Coastal Rain Cold Process Project.
Large exfoliants – best for the body
Coffee Grounds
Don’t throw away used coffee grounds –
they’re perfect for handmade beauty products! Used grounds are
best for cold process to prevent bleeding, but we recommend dry grounds for
scrubs.
Loofah
Sponge
Loofah sponge is a unique natural exfoliant.
They come in long tubes that can be cut down and added to cold process and melt and
pour soap. Their texture is great for rough areas like the feet or
elbows.
Pumice
Sand
This powerful exfoliant will leave your skin
feeling clean. It has larger grains and a more intense exfoliation
than pumice
powder.
Strawberry
Seeds, Cranberry Seeds, Blackberry Seeds, and Broccoli
Seeds
These are great for adding intense exfoliation
and a pop of color.
Poppy
Seeds
This product adds such a pretty pop of color to
bath and
beauty
products. We love it as a design element as much as we love the powerful
exfoliation.
Find exfoliating projects here!
