Sugar may not be good for your insides, but a sugar scrub can be very good for your skin. Those expensive scrubs in department stores and spas… they cost pennies to make! Sugar scrubs are a simple beauty recipe with countless variations, and they can be incredibly moisturizing and exfoliating to the skin.
I use scrubs on my face, body, and (especially) feet to slough off dead skin and moisturize. The result? Silky skin with minimal effort!
If you are new to making your own beauty products (or even if you are a veteran natural beauty alchemist) I highly encourage you to try out these homemade sugar scrub recipes.
Why Use Sugar Scrub?
Taking time out from mom-life to take care of ourselves isn’t always easy, but let’s face it… skin needs TLC to stay healthy. Switching to more natural cosmetics and beauty products may mean leaving some of your favorite products behind.
Not to worry! In my experience a natural skin care regime can work even better (and certainly is better for you). In many ways natural beauty products have simplified my routine since I can mix up what I need with simple ingredients I already have on hand.
Here’s the highlights of my skin care routine these days:
- Dry brush before showering (here’s how to do it)
- Exfoliate and moisturize with a scrub in the shower
- Apply a natural lotion post-shower
- Oil cleanse my face, adding a facial sugar scrub once or twice a week for exfoliation
- Finish with a quality nourishing face serum (this one is my absolute favorite)
I make up for the money I invest in a few high-quality store-bought beauty products by making the rest myself at home. Sugar scrub is so easy and fun to make, it’s one item I’ll never buy.
These also make a great DIY gift idea! Just put them in a cute mason jar and apply a decorative label or tag. Now you have a pampering and practical gift for an expecting/new mom, or for Christmas gifts or Mother’s Day gifts!
Men get dry skin, too. Make a manly scented version by trying some of the suggested essential oil combinations in this post.
DIY Sugar Scrub Recipe
Yield
Equipment
Materials
- 1 cup granulated sugar (white or brown)
- ½ cup olive oil (or coconut oil)
- essential oils (optional)
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients and stir to combine.
- Store in an airtight container, such as a wide-mouth mason jar.
Notes
In the shower, scrub your skin with 1 tablespoon of the mixture and rinse well. It will leave your skin feeling like silk. Goodbye dry skin!
Sound simple? It is!
Sugar Scrub Variations
Ready to mix it up? Change your sugar scrub to suit the season. All of these variations use simple ingredients found at most grocery stores.
- Pumpkin Pie Scrub: 1 cup of brown sugar, ½ cup coconut oil, ½ tsp vitamin E oil, and ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice (or just ½ tsp cinnamon)
- Vanilla Brown Sugar Scrub: 1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup almond oil, ½ tsp vitamin E oil and 1 tsp real vanilla extract
- Lemon Sugar Scrub: Great hand scrub for after washing dishes! 1 cup white sugar, ½ cup olive oil, ½ tsp vitamin E oil, 15-20 drops (or more) of lemon or orange essential oil
- Gentle Lavender Sugar Scrub for Face: 1 cup white sugar, ½ cup almond oil, ½ tsp vitamin E oil, ½ tsp real vanilla extract, and 15 drops lavender essential oil. Or make this gentler oatmeal version.
- Vanilla Latte Sugar Scrub: Need I say more? Seriously… make sure you have coffee on hand to make a vanilla latte because it will have you craving the real thing. Find the recipe here.
- Sugar Cookie Lip Scrub: Better than lip balm, in my opinion, since it exfoliates and moisturizes in one step. Here’s the recipe.
- Mint Chocolate Lip Scrub: I also recently came up with this flavor that will leave you with deliciously smooth lips. Get the recipe here.
- Homemade Foot Scrub with Magnesium: Perfect for pedicure season, this foot scrub is therapeutic as well with the addition of magnesium.
- Cumin Sugar Scrub for Face or Body: Not all sugar scrubs have to smell like dessert. This more exotic scrub is packed with antioxidants for glowing skin.
- Himalayan Salt Scrub: Salt is typically coarser than sugar and slower to dissolve, which makes this salt-based scrub recipe great for heavy-duty exfoliation. (If you have sensitive skin, stick to sugar scrubs.)
- Sugar Scrub Cubes: Make this cute and compact version of a scrub in single-use cubes. No mess and you can even make them colored with purifying French rose clay. Here’s how to make them.
- Chai Sugar Scrub: All the scents of your favorite chai latte in a luxurious moisturizing scrub! Here’s the recipe.
- Gingerbread Body Scrub: My favorite recipe to give at Christmas. Get the recipe here.
How to Store
These last on the counter for up to 2 months (or more). Take care that extra water doesn’t get into the scrub when you use it as it won’t last as long or work as well.
One warning: these smell good enough to eat! Actually, they are good enough to eat, but don’t… sugar is bad for your intestines!
This article was medically reviewed by Madiha Saeed, MD, a board certified family physician. As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you talk with your doctor.
Ever made your own sugar scrub or facial products? What is your favorite combination? Let me know below!
Almond oil and coconut are great! As the author of many DIY skin care books, I enjoy using almond oil a lot in my own recipes. Rosehip seed oil is a great alternative and it has an added benefit of healing scarring faster. Thanks for sharing your recipes. 🙂
I am anxious to try some of these….they will hopefully make good gifts!
Hi, how long can you store the scrubs before they go bad?
Hi,
I would think that if you are very careful to NOT use wet hands to scoop the scrub out and NEVER let even a drop of water get in it ,it should stay “good” and bacteria free for weeks…BUT what are the chances of that ?? Please always be careful with any water getting in the container and make small bathes.
Just curious, but why is it bad to let water get into the sugar scrub? I usually scoop mine out with wet fingers in the shower. Didn’t realize that was bad to do?
I do not put my sugar scrub in a tub. I put it in a bullet shaped bottle with a screw top. I shake it up really well, uncap and pour some in my hand. Everything is always mixed well (not all oil not just sugar) and no water ever gets dropped into the container! No spoons necessary and it does not get oily or sticky on the outside of the bottle.
I made this. Love it! Can’t wait to jump into the shower every day. Thank you! 🙂
Has anyone tried adding castile soap to improve its cleansing properties? I’m definitely going to try it, but wanted to know what you guys thought about proportions? Love the pumpkin pie variation, perfect for fall 🙂
You might want to try it first, I am finding that my face actually gets surprisingly clean with oil-cleansing, I’d expect sugar-scrub to be very similar. Good luck! 🙂
I was just wondering for the facial scrub could I use brown sugar instead of white and could I use peppermint instead of lavender oil?
Brown sugar works fine, I mix brown and white sugar, Try adding a tablespoon or so of cocoa powder also. Smells wonderful, made some for my daughter-in-law and son. They love it.
I just mixed up a double batch with lavender and vanilla. I LOVE it so much. Thanks for sharing this!
I love making sugar scrubs, especially considering how expensive they are to buy. I personally use a recipe of sugar, oil (vitamin e or olive) and 5 drops each of juniper berry and orange essential oils; it smells amazing! I’m glad I found your site, now I have more recipes to try 🙂
silly question 😉
how much is 1 cup? ;-D
is it 250ml or 200ml?
I would like to do a bit less then it’s in most of recipes.
Thank you!
1 cup equals 8 ounces, which equals 236.588 ml.
Thank you 😉
I love sugar scrubs! Sugar may not be good for you on the inside, but on the outside…makes your skin glow!
Do you use this as cleanser and moisturizer, or do you still moisturize afterwards? So far, I only used it on my hands, but they feel nice and moist without adding anything else to it. Just curious what the recommendation would be. Thanks!
I make a scrub with coconut oil, white sugar, and lime zest. It’s definitely a favourite!
Interesting! How much lime zest would you use for a cup of sugar and 1/2 cup oil? Thx
I made this yesterday, using brown sugar, olive oil, sunflower oil, Carmel extract and Castile liquid soap. It smells so yummy. Hands and face are soft as a baby….
Can you use pure lemon extract?
I am allergic to perfumes and essential oils
I’m hopeful the extracts will work
The one I made is white. I love it! Is there a chemical free/organic way to dye it pink? Preferably a method that would not require refrigeration. I want to make it as a party favor for a baby shower. Thanks!
You can use hibiscus powder. It’s not exactly baby shower pink, but it’s chemical free!
I read you can use the juice from a bag of frozen raspberries.
You can also use rose kaolin clay powder to tint it pink naturally. I haven’t used it in a scrub yet, but it works great in cp soap making!
I would never add a tint to something likely to stick to the tub or sink, I think it would be a like a white elephant gift. (I wouldn’t want ANOTHER job of cleaning the ring of stain off after my pampering moment.) Also, I’m concerned about the solid coconut oil clogging the drain over time as it would coat as it cools going down and solidifies every time …and using a degreaser after an organic product seems…. silly. A degreaser is inhaled at higher toxic levels than things you put on your skin, too. I just don’t get why you wouldn’t buy all these wonderfully scented scrubs at Bath and body works if the environment isn’t a concern and save some money, coconut oil and essential oils are EXPENSIVE! Am I missing something?
My guess would be that making these products with organic oils versus buying sugar scrubs from a chain is better (much!) due to ALL the chemicals that are in the store bought scrubs?? Good point on the coconut oil possibly plugging up the drains?? I would also like to add that using a “therapeutic grade” essential oil would help. I only use Young Living EOs for anything I make!
My solution for risking clogging your drains with the coconut oil is that using the scrub is always the first thing I do when I get in the shower. By the time I’ve washed my hair and the rest of me, I feel like the hot shower has run long enough to wash it away. I have not had a problem with it making the tub slippery or with it clogging the drains, but I don’t use a lot.
I clean my tub/shower with white vinegar, baking soda, and washing powder (Ten Mule) after my pamper sessions. I have used coconut oil in all my body pampering regiments for five decades and never had any issues with drain plugging except when a tree root got in there.
I mix brown sugar with raw honey. It leaves me face clean and super soft, plus the honey kills the bacteria that causes acne. I use it once a week, sometimes 2-3 times a week if I am having major breakouts. Honey can clear acne and it is a lot less smelly and cheaper than store bought products!!
What proportions do you use? Would love to have the recipe for my son and myself!
How often would you recommend using this? I currently don’t have a skin care system since I’ve been having some trouble finding good skin care products to use. I want to go au naturale so I’m thinking about making a combination of the oil cleansing method and this sugar scrub. Do you think this would be a good way to go for daily cleansing?
I”d probably do the oil cleansing daily and use this a couple times a week in place of the oil cleansing..
Here’s a daily skin toner I’ve been using (& gifting) for at least 25 years; it’s very easy & inexpensive to make, & sooo good for skin, & can be modified if necessary, according to one’s own skin needs:
A 16-oz bottle of witch hazel (Dickinson’s is very good, but expensive in some stores; generic works well too)
2 tsp (10 mls) almond Castile soap (Dr. Bronner’s is best)
12-16 drops pure Spearmint essential oil
Mix all together in the witch hazel bottle & let sit for a couple days, so the spearmint oil can fully emulsify. Use with cotton facial pads morning & night. This is a very gentle way to exfoliate on a daily basis. Remember to cleanse your décolletage as well; it’s really an extension of your face & neck! This is also very handy for quick clean-ups for underarm odor. I use it nightly on my husband’s scalp & forehead (I’d use it on his entire face but he has a full beard) — a little TLC & attention never hurts in a marriage!
The toner gets cloudy in cool temps; just shake it up first. It clears up in warm temps & doesn’t need shaking. I’ve used lavender oil also but didn’t like it as well, & it was ever so slightly irritating, even though I use it nightly on my soles to help me sleep better. Spearmint is fabulous for stimulating skin. This is my skin-care foundation; the best formula I’ve ever used for clear skin.
I just made this, using a mix of olive, coconut & avocado oil. This is the first time I’ve made any home-made beauty products. I’m so sold! I scrubbed my feet & they feel amazing, as well as my hands! I love it!
How often do you use this? every day? Once a week? and when? after the shower? before?
I use a mixture of just coconut oil and brown sugar for my face on a daily basis.
You use it daily? No damage to your facial from the brown sugar? Please advise. Thank you.
Exfoliating your face everyday is so bad for you. You can end up with broken capillaries etc. Try once a week or once a fortnight….
It depends on what you’re exfoliating with. When ‘scrubs’ first came on the scene, they were made with crushed/broken almond shells & such. Those tear & injure your skin & the abrasions just LOVE bacteria. Things that dissolve – like sugar or salt – don’t cause that kind of damage because the ‘sharp’ edges soften almost immediately. If you have dry skin, though, salt is a bad choice.
this olive oil/sugar scrub made me itch like never before!!! i used to itch after a shower but when i used the scrub it made it a billion times worse. why? 🙁
Candida maybe?
Did you put essential oils in your scrub? I bet that’s what made you itch. I use essential oils all the time but if I put them into a product I’m applying to myself I get super itchy and it kinda burns. I put extracts in my scrub. The stuff in the baking isle. I have only used pure extract but I suppose imitation would work as well. I make a sugar, honey and almond extract scrub that’s smells amazing! Also, people with sensitive skin should stay away from the salt scrubs. The sugar is gentle and wont leave you looking and feeling like you were scrubbed with a Brillo pad.
I am allergic to perfumes and essential oils
I’m hopeful the extracts will work
If you are allergic to essential oils, be very careful with the extracts too. My daughter is highly sensitive to both, so I’ve done a lot of reading about essential oils and sensitivity, and you may find that it is better to just leave your scrub unscented. A little disappointing but better than rash/sensitivity. Good luck!
🙂
Hello! It may have to do with the quality of the essential oil. I am a Massage Therapist and have been using essential oils on my clients (for 12 years now) with no allergy reactions at all. I only use Young Living, so pure you can even ingest them. Let me know if you want to try them!!! Just discovered this page…and loving it!
Whats the recipe for yours
I always used to itch after taking a shower. I found out about 12 years ago that I suffer from low sodium (hyponatremia) after I ended up in Intensive care because my sodium dropped to 115; normal is around 130. Now when I itch after a shower, I eat a little bit of table salt. Check with your doctor first, to see if low sodium might be the problem.