Foaming bath butter is a whipped body scrub you make from a cosmetic base instead of mixing one from scratch. You whip the base in a stand mixer until it holds stiff peaks like meringue, fold in a soap-safe fragrance oil and an exfoliant, then pipe it into jars. Lone Star carries the Stephenson Foaming Bath Butter base base in a 25 lb case, along with the soap-safe fragrance oils that make it safe to scent. The result is a light, fluffy scrub that foams as you rub it in, which makes it a good gift or a first product line.
What You'll Need
The recipe is short. The two items to choose with care are the base and a soap-safe fragrance oil, since this is a product you rub on and rinse off.
What You'll Need
Check items off as you gather them
Supplies
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Stephenson Foaming Bath Butter Base the cosmetic base that whips into a fluffy scrub; our Stephenson Foaming Bath Butter base comes in a 25 lb case
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A Soap-Safe Fragrance Oil any of our soap-safe fragrance oils; the video uses Dragon Fruit Fragrance Oil
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A Sugar Exfoliant plain granulated sugar is the standard; poppy seeds, fine salt, or coffee grounds also work
Tools & Equipment
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Digital Scale weigh the base, fragrance, exfoliant, and any water so the ratios land right; our digital scale reads finely enough
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Mixer a stand mixer is strongly recommended, since the base needs 10 to 15 minutes of whipping; a hand mixer works but is much harder
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Stirring Utensil a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl and whisk as you go
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Knife and Cutting Board to cut the base into cubes
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Piping Bag with an extra-large tip if you have one, since the scrub is thick; a spatula also fills jars
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Clean Jars 4 oz jars work well for gifting; fill and cap them clean
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Gloves and a Hair Tie latex or nitrile gloves and tied-back hair keep the batch sanitary
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Distilled Water optional, in small amounts, to loosen the scrub if it gets too thick
Skip ahead to the step-by-step guide
How to Make Foaming Bath Butter
This is the whipped-base method from the video. Weigh as you go so the fragrance and exfoliant land at the right ratios, and plan to scrape the bowl and whisk often, because the base is sticky and climbs the sides as it whips.
How to Make Foaming Bath Butter
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1
Prep and portion the base
Glove up and tie back your hair. Cut a working amount of base from the block and set it on a clean surface. A 2 pound batch fills about fifteen 4 oz jars, so portion to the number of jars you want. Scrape any base off your work surface into the mixer bowl so none goes to waste.
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2
Cube the base
Cut the base into roughly 1.5 to 2 inch cubes. Add all of it to the stand mixer bowl.
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3
Whip to stiff peaks
Start the mixer on low for a moment, then raise the speed quickly. Leaving it on low too long lets the base stick to the bowl and clog the whisk. Whip about 5 to 6 minutes, scraping the bowl and whisk several times, until it builds a whipped, meringue-like texture with stiff peaks.
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4
Add the fragrance
About a third of the way to the final texture, around 5 to 6 minutes in, weigh in a soap-safe fragrance oil. You can add up to 3% of the base weight in total additives, which is about 0.5 ounce per pound of the base. Pour it in slowly on a low setting, then return to high and whip about 5 more minutes.
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5
Work in the exfoliant
At stiff meringue peaks, slowly add the pre-measured sugar on high. The scrub thickens as the sugar goes in. If it gets too sticky, add distilled water in small increments with the mixer at medium speed; a little goes a long way and you cannot take it back, so add it gradually. Scrape and whip a couple more minutes until it is light, fluffy, and falls off the whisk.
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6
Pipe into jars
Lay a sheet of cling wrap flat, spoon the scrub in a line down the middle, and roll it into a log. Twist one end, drop the log into the piping bag, and snip the tip. Pipe the scrub into clean jars, fill them well, and cap them.
Make It Your Own
Once you can whip the base to stiff peaks, you can adapt the recipe to suit your preferences. The base stays the same; the exfoliant, the scent, and the water are where you adjust.
Ways to Vary the Recipe
Swap the Exfoliant
Sugar is the standard and dissolves clean in water. Poppy seeds, fine salt, and coffee grounds also work. Coffee and other strong exfoliants can shift the fragrance, while sugar does not.
Dial the Ratio
You can add up to 1 part exfoliant to 1 part base by weight. Many makers prefer about 3/4 part to 1 part, since a full 1:1 ratio gets very thick and harder to pipe.
Choose the Scent
Any soap-safe oil works. The video uses Dragon Fruit Fragrance Oil from the Summer Vibes collection; browse the rest of our soap-safe fragrance oils to match a season or a gift theme.
Loosen with Water
If the scrub turns too thick or sticky after the exfoliant, work in distilled water at up to 8% of the base weight. Add it in small increments with the mixer running, because once it is added, it cannot be removed.
Where to Take It Next
The whipped-base method carries into the rest of our body-care projects. Our Cosmetic Base Recipes collects more ready-base recipes like this one, and How to Make Scented Bath Salts pairs a soak with the scrub for a gift set. Browse the full Learning Center for more no-cook body and soap projects.
