Experiments in the workshop: Using behenyl alcohol in sugar scrubs!

I am a big fan of the emulsified scrub, so it made sense to try this new fatty alcohol in one! I love my black cocoa sugar scrub, and thought adding behenyl alcohol would only make it that more awesome. (As a note, this recipe can be done with regular cocoa butter, but I was out of the regular stuff and I found a container of black cocoa butter I bought earlier this year, so it just made sense!)

EMULSIFIED SUGAR SCRUB WITH BLACK COCOA BUTTER
10% emulsifying wax (e-wax, Polawax, or BTMS)
10% behenyl alcohol
20% black cocoa butter
56% oil
1% Vitamin E
2% fragrance or essential oil*
1% Phenonip

If you want to use this for a body scrub, start with 100 grams of sugar per 100 grams of sugar scrub. You can increase it as high as 200 grams for 100 grams of sugar scrub - it depends upon your taste (I like it really scrubby, so I go for 170 to 200 grams per 100 grams of sugar scrub.) If you are using another exfoliant, you'll really have to play with it to see what you like.

Weigh all ingredients except the fragrance or essential oil in a heat proof container and put into a double boiler. Heat and hold for 20 minutes at 70C. Remove from the double boiler and put into your fridge or freezer until it reaches 45C. Add the fragrance oil, then return it to the fridge or freezer to cool further.

When the mixture starts to harden slightly on the sides of the container and gets a thick film on the top, remove it from the fridge or freezer and start whipping it with a hand mixer with whisk attachments or your Kitchenaid with whisk attachments. Whisk until it looks like chocolate pudding - this might take a little while - then add the sugar and whisk until well incorporated. Pour into jars and let sit until hardened.

I would normally use soy bean oil here, but I was out, so I switched it for a mix of half sesame, half olive oil. I use regular, every day sugar at a 170 grams per 100 grams of sugar scrub. As usual, I scented it with Clementine Cupcake from Brambleberry!

Wow! I love this! I think this is my new Saturday night thing! The normal scrub feels nice and glidy, but this had a silkiness that was really lovely. My skin felt really nice after I rinsed it off, and I could feel it all day long. I'm definitely keeping the behenyl alcohol in this recipe!

As a note about this recipe...Make sure you use a dark coloured towel when drying off after your bath or shower. You won't get every single bit of it off, and it will come off on your towel, leaving a tan coloured stain. It will come off in the dryer, but your family will make comments about it until you wash said towel, which can be a little annoying!

You can substitute behenyl alcohol for cetyl alcohol in any sugar scrub recipe that contains stearic acid or cetyl alcohol. You will get a different feeling to the product, and you might find a sugar scrub that used to contain stearic acid might be a little runnier with a fatty alcohol, but it's a great way to see if you like behenyl alcohol!

If you're a fan of the scrub bar, why not try behenyl alcohol in a scrub bar (like this one or this one)?

And if you're looking for black cocoa butter, check here at Creations from Eden (Edmonton, Alberta).