I love body scrub. I love it so much that I feel like a different person after using it. What I don’t love is how expensive the natural ones are. Sure I could pick one up at a drugstore for under $10, but those are typically filled with chemicals, artificial fragrances and other junk I shouldn’t be slathering all over my skin. But then I realized it’s stupid simple to make your own body scrubs — and you probably have most of the ingredients already!
After I got a $3 jar (wide enough to get your hand in) at Ross, I decided which base to use. Sea salt scrubs feel too abrasive on my skin and rice is too fine, but I did have brown sugar on hand. (Birchbox has a handy guide to the best natural scrubs for your skin type.)
I started with this recipe as a guide, but made a substitution for the rose petals. It sounded lovely to use soft, fragrant petals, but I didn’t want to buy a bouquet or risk the bad juju if I poached a flower from a neighbor’s garden. Instead I used about 5 tablespoons of orange blossom syrup that we had gotten from the Middle Eastern market ($2.50). I think any essential oil would work in the rose petals’ place. As the recipe suggests, you can top it off with jojoba or almond oil; jojoba was more expensive, so I got this $5 bottle of almond oil.
The scrub smells divine — mostly of coconut — and feels gentle enough not to break the skin but rough enough to get results. The best part is that the coconut oil leaves a nice, moisturized finish so you can skip the extra step of applying body lotion post-shower. (I know some products can leave a too-oily film, but this recipe wasn’t like that.) I cannot reiterate how much I loved making this scrub. It was cheap and whipped up in a matter of minutes. I’m pretty sure I’ll never go back to buying store-bought. Check it out:
i want to eat this stuff..brown sugar and coconut oil, what is not to love about this? I hardly use body scrub but this is totally doable at home.
I’m a huge proponent of body scrub! After sunscreen and moisturizing, I think it’s the best thing we can do for our skin. And yes, this one is so simple to make! Makes me scared of all the add-on chemicals the store brand bottles have…
i love this! i’ve had a hard time getting a good consistency with my homemade body scrubs, they always end up too liquid-y. definitely going to try out this recipe!
This one turns out pretty solid! It’s next to an open window in my bathroom (where it’s obviously drafty), so the consistency is firm, like packed wet sand. Perfect for scooping out!
hello just wondering how many parts of each did you use? normally i see recipies with like 1 cup of sugar to 1/3 or 1/2 cup of a carrier oil. i see here that you are using two carrier oils so is it equal parts or equivalent to 1/3 or 1/2 cup
Hi Andrea, I suggest equal parts of both carrier oils, but as you can see, this is a pretty rough, as-you-please recipe. I would try mixing little by little and trying the texture on your skin to see if you like the feel. Thanks!
Hello, so I tried making something similar to this and my body scrub gets really hard fast. Do I need more oil in mine? I used 1 cup of sugar to 1/4 cup of cocoanut oil. Help =)
Melissa
Yes, I would add more oil. This recipe isn’t very strict, so feel free to add and subtract until the consistency feels right to you. Thanks!