If your skin is feeling flaky and dry, exfoliation is key. Exfoliation gets rid of the rough texture and helps your moisturizer absorb. This Kauai Red Sea Salt Scrub is made with salt from the Pacific Ocean. The salt is covered in red alae clay from Kauai to give it a gorgeous burnt orange color. The fine texture of the salt makes it perfect for scrubbing off dead skin from the legs and body.
Jojoba oil and fractionated coconut oil are added for skin-loving properties. To help prevent a greasy feeling on the skin, I added potassium cocoate. Potassium cocoate is a natural liquid surfactant made from coconut oil. It acts like liquid soap and gives the scrub light cleansing properties. The scrub will not bubble or foam on the skin, but the potassium cocoate makes the skin feel clean rather than oily. It also prevents the red alae clay from sticking to the skin. To see what this scrub looks like on the skin and how it washes off, scroll to the bottom of the post.
This scrub is part of the #SoaptheRainbow series and contest. All week long, share your photos of red projects on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook with the tag #SoaptheRainbow for a chance to win a $10 Bramble Berry gift certificate.
What You’ll Need:
Three Short 8 oz. Plastic Bail Jars
30 oz. Kauai Red Sea Salt – Fine
2 oz. Potassium Cocoate
3.5 oz. Fractionated Coconut Oil
1 oz. Jojoba Oil
0.4 oz. Pikake Flower Fragrance Oil
0.3 oz. Passionfruit Papaya Fragrance Oil
10 mL Optiphen
Droppers
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ONE: In a small container, add the fractionated coconut oil, potassium cocoate and jojoba oil. Stir together.
TWO: Add the Pikake Flower Fragrance Oil and Passionfruit Papaya Fragrance Oil. Add the Optiphen and stir together all the ingredients.
NOTE ABOUT PRESERVATIVES: Although this scrub doesn’t contain water, it will likely get water splashed in it during use. The extra water may cause bacteria and mold to grow. We added a preservative to be extra careful, but it is optional. You can read more in the Talk It Out Tuesday: Preservatives post.
THREE: Pour the Kauai Red Sea Salt into a large bowl. Add the liquid ingredients and stir to fully mix.
FOUR: Spoon the scrub into jars until full. Once you’re ready to use, apply the scrub to wet skin and gently scrub. Wash off. Enjoy!
As you can see in the photos below, the red alae clay does transfer to the skin when applied. Thanks to the potassium cocoate, it washes off cleanly from the skin. But, the red clay may stick to your sink or tub. I like to have a wet rag to wipe off any transfer. It comes off easily that way, but don’t use a white wash rag for this.
Kauai Red Sea Salt Scrub DIY
Ingredients
- Three Short 8 oz. Plastic Bail Jars
- 30 oz. Kauai Red Sea Salt - Fine
- 2 oz. Potassium Cocoate
- 3.5 oz. Fractionated Coconut Oil
- 1 oz. Jojoba Oil
- 0.4 oz. Pikake Flower Fragrance Oil
- 0.3 oz. Passionfruit Papaya Fragrance Oil
- 10 mL Optiphen
- Droppers
Instructions
- In a small container, add the fractionated coconut oil, potassium cocoate and jojoba oil. Stir together.
- Add the Pikake Flower Fragrance Oil and Passionfruit Papaya Fragrance Oil. Add the Optiphen and stir together all the ingredients.
- Pour the Kauai Red Sea Salt into a large bowl. Add the liquid ingredients and stir to fully mix.
- Spoon the scrub into jars until full. Once you’re ready to use, apply the scrub to wet skin and gently scrub. Wash off. Enjoy!
could you bag this instead of the jar?
Yes, this scrub can be bagged as well. Just make sure it’s airtight to protect it from moisture in the air.
What else can I use other than Potassium cocoate? that is natural? and is fractionated the same as Unrefined Coconut oil? Cheers Elena
Potassium cocoate is similar to liquid soap, so you can use a liquid soap like Natural Castile Soap: https://www.brambleberry.com/Natural-Castile-Liquid-Soap-Base-P4609.aspx
Find more liquid soap bases here: https://www.brambleberry.com/Liquid-Bases-C15.aspx
Also, fractionated coconut oil is a liquid oil derived from coconut oil. So, it isn’t the same as refined or unrefined coconut oil, it is a liquid version. Learn more here: https://www.brambleberry.com/CaprylicCapric-Triglycerides-Fractionated-Coconut-Oil-P4957.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi Kelsey. In terms of an organic Surfactant? Are you also aware of any essential oils on the market that have a island smell to them? and are natural. Cheers. I only want to use ingredients fromt Scratch, not pre made ones. Cheers xx
We don’t carry an organic surfactant, but you can find liquid bases made with just oil, water, and lye here: https://www.brambleberry.com/Liquid-Bases-C15.aspx
As far as an island essential oil, citrus works well. Orange or grapefruit would smell really nice. 🙂
10X Orange Essential Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Orange-10X-Essential-Oil-P4441.aspx
Grapefruit Essential Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Grapefruit-Essential-Oil-P3825.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Thank you Very Much. xx
Can potassium cocoate be used in a whipped sugar scrub recipe instead of the foaming bath butter if I am whipping shea butter into it?
I think that will work fine. I would recommend cutting the shea butter into small pieces and whipping it up. Then, add the potassium cocoate in small amounts (an ounce or so) to start. Once you have the texture you’re looking for, you can add your exfoliant.
Would this salt be good to use as a bath soaking salt? Or do you think it would stain a tub?
Hi Jamie! The Kauai Red Sea Salty is coated in clay, so it may transfer to the tub. You may want to keep a rag handy to wipe off any transfer. You can also use an uncolored salt like Epsom or Dead Sea salt. 🙂
Learn more about the salts we carry here: https://soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/sunday-night-spotlight-salts/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hello,
I love Bramble and I have ordered the Kauai Red Sea Salt. Can I use this salt in cold process soap? Do you have a recipe? I know that Salt is a lather killer so if I were to make a soap should it contain high amounts of Coconut Oil?
You sure can! We’ve found it works well and doesn’t result in a lot of bleeding in the soap. 🙂
Salt can weigh down the lather, so you’ll want to use around 50% coconut oil. Then, so the soap isn’t too harsh, you’ll want to to increase your superfat level. Learn more in the Lavender and Rose Pink Salt Bar tutorial: https://soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/lavender-and-rose-pink-salt-bars-diy/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Would this be a good scrub for the face? And can I use dead sea fine salt instead?
You can definitely use fine Dead Sea salt if you like! Finer grained exfoliants are better for the face because they’re more gentle. That being said, everyone’s skin is different. I would recommend testing some on your cheek. If you notice it’s a bit too harsh, you may try sugar instead. It’s a bit more gentle than salt. 🙂
Read more about exfoliants here: https://soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/all-about-exfoliants/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Fine Grained Dead Sea Salt: https://www.brambleberry.com/Fine-Grained-Dead-Sea-Salt-P4085.aspx
I’ve read a few recipes and have been dying to know, is there anything you can substitute for the Potassium Cocoate, like Castile soap?
Thank you and I love everything you guys do! I just discovered BB so I am a new but avid shopper at BB. These recipes are great and so helpful.
Hi Michelle!
Thank you so much for your orders Michelle, it means a lot to us! Castile soap makes a great substitute. It has a similar cleansing feeling like the potassium cocoate. You can also use another soap base, like High Sudsing Liquid Soap. 🙂
Liquid soap bases: https://www.brambleberry.com/Liquid-Bases-C15.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I just received this kit and I have a question. How do you measure the fragrance oils? Do you use the droppers and if so what are the measurements in ml?
Thanks
Thank you so much for your order Heather! For this recipe, we used a scale to measure out .7 ounces. If you like you can use mL measurements! You would need about 20 mL of fragrance for this recipe – 11 mL of Pikake Flower Fragrance Oil and 9 mL of Passionfruit Papaya Fragrance Oil. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
can you recommend a similar salt to use that is not this one and would any of the other ingredients change if used a diff salt?
You can use any salt you like for this scrub! The larger the salt grains, the more scrubby it will be. So, if you prefer gentle exfoliation, you can use a fine-grained salt like Epsom. For more scrubbiness, you can use a larger-grained salt like coarse sea salt. Everything else in the recipe can stay the same! If you like your scrub more wet or more dry, you can adjust the liquid amount. 🙂
Read more about salts here: https://soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/sunday-night-spotlight-salts/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Whoa! That salt is beautiful! I might need to get some. 🙂 Thanks for this recipe. <3
Thanks Amanda! I think you’ll really like this salt, it has a beautiful color. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry