Iron Chemist results: Floraesters IPJ

As I've mentioned repeatedly (and probably annoyingly) this week, work has been incredibly busy and I've had little time to play in the workshop. As a result, I failed in making the two Iron Chemist products this week. I did make one, but I didn't make a second - but I plan to do that during my holiday time this week (I do have loads of ideas for coloured lip balms and an eye cream!)

The one product I did make is an oil based manicure scrub as you can see to the left. I really like the manicure scrub I made with lanolin, but I thought the inclusion of some drier oils and esters might make it less greasy and more suitable for day time use (I use the linked one at night before bed, so I really don't care how greasy it feels!). So let's take a look at the recipe...

OIL BASED MANICURE SCRUB WITH FLORAESTERS IPJ
10% Floraesters IPJ
10% kukui nut oil
10% cetearyl ethylhexanoate
5% lecithin
5% lanolin
1% fragrance or essential oil (I used green tea fragrance oil - very fresh!)
39% sugar
10% jojoba beads

I heated up the lanolin to melt it and heated up the Floraester IPJ to remove the cloudiness - it's very cold in my workshop - then added all the oils. I mixed them, then added the fragrance oil (you might need more than 1% as some types of lanolin can be quite strong smelling). I added the jojoba beads first and mixed, then the sugar.

I really like the feeling of this scrub - it leaves behind a light film of oil that's not too greasy. One problem though, I couldn't get those little beads off and I actually had to wash my hands to remove them! Having said that, the oils stayed on after washing, so I'd say that was a success! (This is why I encourage you to try things and make mistakes - I learned this is a pretty tenacious oil combination!)

Since you're very unlikely to have Floraesters IPJ at home - I only have them as a sample - you can substitute a light, dry feeling oil - for instance, increase the kukui oil or use a little hazelnut, macadamia nut, or camellia seed oil - or add another ester. You could increase the cetearyl ethylhexanoate to 20% as well or something like C12-15 alkyl benzoate or ethylhexyl palmitate. If you don't mind a little more greasiness, you could substitute 8% jojoba oil and 2% Isopropyl myristate or IPP in place of the Floraesters IPJ.

I definitely recommend leaving out the jojoba beads and use all sugar. You can also use salt, and I have done in the past. I used sugar this time as I have a bunch of little cuts on my hands from paper and crafting and sewing, and salt can sting. But use either as you wish.

So sorry for the let down in not making the second product, but tune in tomorrow to see what our new Iron Chemist ingredient might be and tune in through the week to see how I'm enjoying my week off work!