Foaming soap and cosmetics base, Crystal OPC, SLS-free

Processing Guide

Equipment Required

• Crystal OPC
• Cake mixer (e.g. KitchenAid)
• K-beater head and whisk head attachment
• Electric hand beater
• Additives, if required
• Spatula

Preparation

Note: If you are using a cake mixer or industrial mixer, make sure you use enough base for it to be thoroughly whipped. During testing, a standard cake mixer with a 3.5 L bowl was used with approximately 800 g to 1 kg of Crystal OPC.

If too little base is used, it may stick to the sides of the bowl and will not mix or whip properly.

Once removed from the tray, cut the base from top to bottom and then into approximately 4–5 cm chunks. Alternatively, scoop the base into small pieces and place them into your mixing vessel.

Breaking the base into smaller pieces before mixing is important. Large pieces may result in poor whipping and could potentially damage your equipment.

Mixing

Start the mixer at a low speed and gradually increase it to the highest setting as the base begins to loosen.

Avoid mixing continuously at a low speed, as this can result in a poorly whipped product.

After approximately 3–4 minutes of whipping, reduce the mixer speed and gently add your chosen additives. Adding them at a lower speed helps prevent ingredients from overflowing from the mixing vessel.

During mixing, scrape the base from the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is evenly and thoroughly whipped.

Recommendations

Whipping: The recommended total whipping time is approximately 10–15 minutes.

For a smoother result, use the K-beater attachment for approximately 5–6 minutes and then switch to the whisk attachment for a further 10 minutes.

Crystal OPC can vary slightly, so whipping times may need to be adjusted depending on the texture and result you want to achieve.

Texture: To make the base softer or thinner, you can add up to 8% water of the total volume until the desired texture is achieved.

Additives, Colour, Fragrance and Essential Oils: It is recommended to add approximately 2–3% fragrance and/or essential oils of the total volume.

Adding Exfoliants: To create an exfoliating product, ingredients such as sugar, salt, poppy seeds or other commonly used cosmetic exfoliants can be added.

A ratio of approximately 50% Crystal OPC and 50% exfoliant produces a strong exfoliating scrub.

Using more than 50% exfoliant can make the product difficult to mix and could potentially damage mixing equipment.

It is recommended to first create small test batches using different exfoliant ratios until the desired texture is achieved before producing a larger batch.

What to Avoid: Adding glycerine is not recommended. It can make the base sticky, make mixing difficult and could potentially damage equipment.

Important: Adding ingredients such as sugar, fragrance, colour, water or other additives changes the original formulation. The finished formulation will therefore need to be challenge tested to confirm that its preservation system remains effective.

Exceeding the recommended 2–3% additive level may cause the base to become sticky, sloppy or firmer depending on the oils, butters or other ingredients being used.

Creating the Finished Product

Once the base has been fully whipped and all additives are evenly incorporated, transfer the product into your chosen packaging using a spatula or piping bag.

For best piping results, it is recommended to place parchment paper inside the piping bag and use a wide piping nozzle.

Finished Product

Crystal OPC can be used to create whipped, decorative products with a light and creamy appearance, including whipped bath butter and exfoliating scrub formulations.

This process is recommended by Stephenson for using Crystal OPC Foaming Bath Butter base to achieve the best possible results. Creativity and experimentation are encouraged; however, results may vary when the product is used outside these guidelines.