I've been wanting to make a scalp scrub for so long, and finally I'm doing it! I bought a couple to try out before I made some, because I've actually never used a scalp scrub before and I was shocked to realize that they were foaming instead of conditioning. It was also pretty difficult to get the exfoliants to feel like they are exfoliating my scalp. I also looked on Google and checked out a bunch of different scalp scrubs and what their ingredients looked like. I noticed a lot used a combination of salt and then another fine exfoliant that doesn't dissolve in water. I also found that a lot of scrubs used the combination of a powdered surfactant with a liquid surfactant, so that's what inspired me to use SCI and cocamidopropyl betaine in experiment 1 and 2. I also found a couple of scalp scrubs that used glyceryl stearate and a combination of some other emulsifier so that is what inspired me to use the lotionpro 165 because it's a combination of glyceryl stearate & PEG 100 stearate.
Also like I said I found it hard to get the scalp scrub through my hair. So I also wanted to do an experiment of a hair conditioner based scalp scrub. That way my hair was being conditioned and I can easily get to my scalp to scrub it. So let's get into the 3 different experiments. The first one is going to contain more sci and less cocamidopropyl betaine so it should come out thicker and it will feel more pasty. Experiment 2 will probably be thinner because it has more cocamidopropyl betaine than SCI and when you combine SCI with cocamidopropyl betaine but use more cocamidopropyl betaine it turns into a clear solution. I actually have a video talking about this and showing examples.
The 3rd experiment is a conditioner based scalp scrub so it should be easier to get your hands through. My guess is my favorite will be the 3rd experiment. So lets see how I made them and I'll explain my thoughts at the end.
Formula
Experiment 1
phase A
15% SCI (sodium cocoyl isethionate) I recommend the powder version
5% cocamidopropyl betaine
Phase B
5% glycerin
.5% xanthan gum soft
28% distilled water
phase C
3% lotion pro 165
2% oil (I used jojoba oil)
phase D
40% salt
1% peppermint essential oil
0.5% liquid germall plus
Directions;
combine all ingredients in phase A together and mix. It will be a really thick paste.
Set aside phase A, and combine all ingredients in phase B in a separate beaker, starting with the glycerin and then the xanthan gum, mix, and then add in the distilled water last and mix again until thickened and gelled.
In another beaker, combine both ingredients in phase C.
Cover all three beakers with foil and place in a water bath. (how to make a water bath - fill a pan with about an inch of water and place over medium heat on your stove top. Let all phases heat until everything in phase C is melted and everything in phase A is combined and the SCI looks fully dissolved.
Pour phase A into phase B and mix. If there are still chunks of SCI place back over heat and mix periodically until all the SCI has dissolved.
Once all of the SCI is dissolved you can pour phase A/B into C and hand mix.
Let cool to 100°F or under and add in phase D and mix after adding each ingredient.
Let sit overnight before using
Exfoliants I used in a 100 gram batch; 20 grams dead sea salt, 6 grams course celtic sea salt, 10 grams fine pink himalayan sea salt, 4 grams walnut shell powder
Experiment 2
phase A
15% cocamidopropyl betaine
5% SCI (sodium cocoyl isethionate)
phase B
5% glycerin
.5% xanthan gum soft
28% distilled water
Phase C
3% lotion pro 165
2% oil (I used)
phase D
40% salt
1% peppermint essential oil
0.5% liquid germall plus
Directions;
combine all ingredients in phase A together and mix. It will be a really thick paste.
Set aside phase A, and combine all ingredients in phase B in a separate beaker, starting with the glycerin and then the xanthan gum, mix, and then add in the distilled water last and mix again until thickened and gelled.
In another beaker, combine both ingredients in phase C.
Cover all three beakers with foil and place in a water bath. (how to make a water bath - fill a pan with about an inch of water and place over medium heat on your stove top.) Let all phases heat until everything in phase C is melted and everything in phase A is combined and the SCI looks fully dissolved.
Pour phase A into phase B and mix. unlike experiment 1 the SCI should dissolve much easier.
Let cool to 100°F or under and add in phase D and mix after adding each ingredient.
Let sit overnight before using
Exfoliants I used in a 100 gram batch; 20 grams dead sea salt, 6 grams course celtic sea salt, 10 grams fine pink himalayan sea salt, 4 grams walnut shell powder
Experiment 3
phase A
5% glycerin
32.5% distilled water
phase B
5% BTMS 50
4% oil (I used jojoba oil)
2% butter (I used shea butter)
phase C
50% salt
1% peppermint essential oil
0.5% liquid germall plus
Directions;
Combine all ingredients in phase A together.
Combine all ingredients in phase B.
Cover both phases with foil and place in a water bath (how to make a water bath - fill a pan with about an inch of water and place over medium heat on your stove top.)
Once phase B is melted and phase A is around the same temperature you can remove from heat and pour phase A into phase B and mix with an immersion blender
Once cooled to 100°F or lower you can add in phase C and mix in between adding each ingredient.
Let sit overnight before using
Exfoliants I used in a 100 gram batch; 20 grams dead sea salt, 6 grams course celtic sea salt, 10 grams fine pink himalayan sea salt, 4 grams walnut shell powder
pH adjusting; experiment 1 had a pH level of - 4.10
experiment 2 had a pH level of - 4.23
experiment 3 had a pH level of - 4.78
Benefits/Purpose of each ingredient
Glycerin - humectant that hydrates hair and is used to mix with the xanthan gum to hydrate it. If you add xanthan gum directly into water it will clump. so mixing it was glycerin first helps prevent that.
xanthan gum soft - thickens/gels water
SCI (sodium cocoyl isethionate) - powdered anionic surfactant. it's very mild and gentle on skin with a skin friendly pH level. I love using this because I often won't have to worry about adjusting the pH of products made with it.
cocoamidopropyl betaine - liquid amphoteric surfactant used to help dissolves SCI. When a formula with SCI & cocoamidopropyl betaine has more cocoamidopropyl betaine then it will look clear and will have a natural slightly thickened viscosity. If the formula contains more SCI it will be white creamy and like a whipped soap type of vibe.
lotion pro 165 - emulsifier that doesn't thickener (blends oil and water together)
jojoba oil - emollient to moisturize the hair.
peppermint essential oil - adds a refreshing scalp feel
liquid germall plus - preservative
BTMS 50 - cationic surfactant that conditions the hair. products with this ingredients makes it easy to run your hands through your hair. This ingredient is commonly used as the main ingredient in hair conditioners. can't be mixed with anionic ingredients. So you can't use it with xanthan gum or SCI.
shea butter - emollient to moisturize the hair.
Substitutions;
substituting ingredients will change the final feel, viscosity, and overall effect of final product. percentages and formulating procedure may need to change with substitutions. these substitution suggestions are just suggestions and have not been tested to work.
SCI (sodium cocoyl isethionate) - you can try a different powder anionic surfactant like Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (using a different powdered surfactant will change the pH. I picked SCI due to it's low pH. All the other surfactants I just mentioned have a higher pH. So I highly recommend SCI for best results.
cocoamidopropyl betaine - any other liquid amphoteric surfactant. E.g. lauramidopropyl betaine, disodium cocoamphodiacetate, or other surfactant of choice.
lotionpro 165 - you can try a different emulsifier, but it will change the viscosity. So you can try emulsifying wax, ritamulse SCG etc. Or you could try polysorbate 80. lotionpro 165 is a combination of glyceryl Stearate (and) PEG 100 Stearate. so if you have those you can try combining them to use.
jojoba oil - any carrier oil of choice.
peppermint essential oil - any essential oil or fragrance oil of choice.
liquid germall plus - any water soluble preservative; e.g., Euxyl PE 9010, optiphen plus, geogard ECT, Euxyl K 903, Tristate Eco, etc.
BTMS 50 - cationic surfactant that conditions the hair. products with this ingredients makes it easy to run your hands through your hair. This ingredient is commonly used as the main ingredient in hair conditioners. can't be mixed with anionic ingredients. So you can't use it with xanthan gum or SCI.
shea butter - emollient to moisturize the hair.
Thoughts; So first off I wanted to let you guys know what I thought about the combination of the exfoliants I used. If I made it again I would take out the Celtic salt completely because it was just way to course and most of them just ended up falling. I really really like the combination of the dead sea salt and the pink Himalayan salt. As for the walnut shell powder it was really hard to wash out of my hair. I'm thinking maybe the addition of polysorbate 80 might help with assisting in rinse off, but it's not like I'm trying to rinse off oil, I already have SCI and cocamidopropyl betaine to help "rinse off" so I'm not sure if polysorbate 80 will solve the problem. I think just making it with the dead sea salt & the pink Himalayan salt will help solve the problem. I'm also thinking that maybe using bamboo stem powder as an exfoliant instead of the Walnut shell powder might work better. Maybe, possibly it won't grip to my hair as easily, but I'm not sure I won't know until I try it out. But, I think if you use a combination of dead sea salt and pink Himalayan salt you'll get some good results.
I did find the first experiment to be the hardest to get through my hair. It was also the thickest, so I think that might be why it was harder to get through my hair. I also noticed the second experiment lathered and foamed more than the first experiment and overall was just easier to get through my hair. So I do like experiment 2 more than experiment 1. As for experiment 3, this one was easiest to get through my hair, but I did miss the lathering. The lathering does make it easier to spread the product on to the hair. Basically I have to use less product when the product lathers and foams. With experiment 3, I had to use more product because it didn't feel like it was covering all of my head. But I do feel like I was able to access my scalp easier.
So in conclusion, I like experiment 2, I think, the most. I've only used them all once and I used them back to back. So I am going to use these individually throughout the month so I can get a better idea on how each perform. Experiment 2 was also the most similar to the scalp scrubs I purchased. Basically if I can find a way to combine experiment 2 with experiment 3, I think I'll have a perfect scalp scrub. I just need to figure out how to make a foaming scrub be super conditioning, which I have some ideas, I just need to purchase the ingredients.
What are your thoughts, comment below. 🥰
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