When my sister was a rep for a beauty company (that shall remain nameless), I used to let her sell me an obscene amount of products. Now that I don’t have anyone to pass that commission to… I’ve been looking at other avenues including supermarket products, and in a few cases, DIY solutions. So I made up my own exfoliator – a sugar scrub – and I LOVE it!
A while back, Tip Junkie had a round up of several great sugar scrub recipes, and so after checking out a bunch of those… and then a bunch more… I found that a lot of people altered their recipes ever-so-slightly, so as to remain original. That makes sense – it’s nice to put your own spin on it, of course. I didn’t make them all. In fact, I didn’t make any of them. I looked at the base recipe, and discovered that all sugar scrubs are basically:
Yep. That’s it. And that is easy. I have that in my kitchen all the time!
I made it up with coconut oil, and I absolutely LOVED it for exfoliating my feet. You could also use olive oil, though that would make it much more yellow. If you’re going to use coconut oil like I did, you will want to melt it first. At 77 degrees, coconut oil is liquid. But below that, it solidifies.
Looks pretty gross, right? LOL. 30-45 second in the microwave on low power should do the trick, or heat it in a saucepan for a few minutes. You don’t want it boiling or anything – just warm enough to melt.
Since I was replacing my previous foot scrub (which was a peppermint scent) I added some peppermint essential oils to my next batch – about a dozen drops per each cup of sugar I used. You can find essential oils at craft stores where they sell their soap supplies. I picked some up when I started making homemade bath salts – and a little goes a long way. But investing in a $7 bottle (less, if you bring a coupon) was STILL less than I was spending on one tube of foot scrub before, though!
If you don’t want to spend the money on essential oils, some other ideas to try are: a bit of vanilla extract, orange or lemon zest, cinnamon, finely ground coffee – whatever you like the scent of! Especially if you want to use the scrub on your face or body – peppermint opens your pores (that’s why it feels cold when you use it) and that can be a bit harsh on more delicate facial skin.
Homemade sugar scrubs and bath salts make for great, inexpensive gifts, too – especially as a set. I found these great jars that fit a little over a cup at Hobby Lobby. I love the stainless steel lids.
But they needed something more – you could add a label you print off from your printer, or tie on a cute tag – the packaging gives it a great touch, and it should be your own spin on it! I went for the simple loo, and used my Silhouette machine to cut vinyl labels. :)
(If you’d like to get the bath salt recipe – visit my post here. It’s just as easy and economical.)
Now – after all this discussion about pampering products, I think it’s high time I wrap this post up and draw myself a nice hot bath. ;)
can someone please tell me how long sugar scrubs last for? I am making them for a baby shower in June and its April. I’ve stored them in mason jars. Can someone please be kind enough to respond back? I’m going nuts and can’t get a direct answer from anyone. Thanks
I’ve never had a batch go bad, though they have never lasted more than 3 or 4 months. So unless someone HAS had a batch go bad on them, it’s going to be tough to give a specific answer to this one. But, here’s my logic. Oil doesn’t go bad for a very long time. Sugar doesn’t go bad for a very long time. Essential oils, if you’re using them, don’t go bad for a very long time. So as long as the jars you are using are very, very clean without any potential contaminates, the ingredients themselves should last as long as you would be comfortable leaving them in your cupboards. Maybe just check if there are expiration dates on any ingredients you use – but combining them won’t make them go bad any sooner. For sure, 2 months is safe.
I’ve been making this scrub for many years. My first scrub was when my kids were small and I had so much baby oil that I wasn’t using. I mixed the baby oil, sugar and vanilla extract. Mmmm! So good. I can’t understand how anyone can claim to own this recipe. It’s been around for generations. I will continue to make, gift and also sell my little jars of joy, guilt free. Thanks for your little variation on an oldie but a goodie.
I’ve been making and gifting these for years. Years ago when my children were younger, I use to make the sugar scrub with baby oil and vanilla extract and of course sugar. Talk about using what you have on hand. I can’t figure out how anyone could actually take credit for the basic recipe. I will continue to share this scrub that I’ve enjoyed for years and won’t feel any guilt. Thanks for your ever so slight variation.
Coconut oil is my new favorite beauty product. I’ve been using it as face wash for the past 6 months and my skin has never looked better. I do still have to exfoliate once a week though and had been using baking soda for that but I love the idea of just adding some sugar to my coconut oil :)
hey should i store the containers in fridge?
What is your sugar to oil ratio?
2 parts sugar : 1 part oil.
I loved this! Most scrubs contain ingredients that I don’t really have, but this is simple and i added vanilla to give it a lovely scent. Thank you.
This looks nice & simple. I love the concept for our blog. I recently tried my hand at my own sugar scrub. It’s definitely an hour or less recipe. Hope you check it out: http://www.creativesimplelife.com/brown-sugar-vanilla-body-scrub/
Thanks for this recipe! My daughter and I used it to make Christmas gifts. We went to goodwill and bought old jars then sprayed them with glue and covered them with glitter! It was perfect for all the girls in the family and super cheap! We also used lavender oil, it was $5.99 at GNC and they had a bogo 50% off so we bought Eucalyptus for the men.
Loving those jars!! Such a great gift idea – thanks for always coming up with great ideas so I can look good at gift-giving time! :)
This looks awesome! Pinning :) Thank you so much for sharing your creativity at Mom On Timeout. Hope to see you back tonight!
How much vitamin E oil if you want to preserve it? After adding that, how long will it last? Thanks so much~
I love sugar scrubs! I made a lemon one a while ago and it is fabulous. Those little jars are super cute too. Thanks for linking this up to The Fun In Functional!
thank you so much!
If you are planning to store it a while, I would recommend adding some vitamin e oil to it. That is a natural preservative.
Pretty!
hey, One question, the sugar scrub can be stored for long time?
I will make tha last one, since I don't think that I would be able to get a vinyl cutter o label soon.
Thanks you very much for the help!
I remember my mom making her own scrub out of oil and sugar all the time, but I can never remember the ratio of oil and sugar. So now I shall definitely be making my own – especially with the essential oils. I love the cute little jars too.. Thank you so much for sharing Adrianne xx Nat
SWEET!! So on my Christmas gift to make list.
Thanks for sharing :-)
Cheers, Gee
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Awesome thanks! I am gonna have to make some!
awesome! thanks for the recipe
Looks great! I'll have to try soon; perfect for Christmas gifts!
Love sugar scrubs! They are so easy to make.. I wont buy them anymore. Your packaging is too cute Adrianne! And I love how you said you let your sister sell you beauty products. HAHA! :)
I made some to give to my MIL and SIL last year for mother's day. They all loved it.:) I really like the little bottles though! Would be great for Christmas!
I've just recently fallen in love with sugar scrubs and was determined that I could probably make my own. This post saved me having to research it myself. Thanks! Love those cute jars. Now I have another excuse to “have” to go to Hobby Lobby.
I have a vinyl cutter so I made my own. You could order a small vinyl label, or print a label from your computer if you don't have one, though!
I love this….I was wondering if I could order the same vinyl labels that you made for your sugar scrub?
Hi! thanks you for the recipe, I already made some, but I added mint and chocolate essential oils. It's very good, and leave the skin really soft.
I have a question, how did you add the label to the glass?
Thanks!