I stopped buying body scrub the day I read the back of the jar and could not identify half of it, and I have made my own ever since, usually once a week. The whole thing is three parts: sugar to exfoliate, an oil to moisturize, and something that smells good. That is genuinely it. These 25 homemade sugar scrub recipes run from a five minute coconut oil and peppermint jar to poured cubes and pressed bars with melt and pour soap base in them, and there are lip, face and hand versions as well as body. Most cost under three dollars to make and most are done in ten minutes. A word of honesty before you scroll: scrubs are not for every skin, daily use will dry you out, and if your skin is sensitive it is worth asking a doctor first. Perfect for a gift basket, a stocking, a bridesmaid box or just your own shower shelf!
1. DIY Mint Sugar Scrub
Three ingredients and a microwave. Coconut oil goes in a bowl for 15 to 25 seconds until it softens, then sugar, peppermint extract and one drop of green food coloring get stirred in. The maker likes hers on the coarse side rather than oily, which is the right instinct, because a wet scrub slides around instead of exfoliating. If yours comes out dry, add more coconut oil a spoonful at a time. Start here if you have never made a sugar scrub and want to see how forgiving the ratio really is.
Get the full tutorial at Love Grows Wild.
2. Orange Mint Sugar Scrub
Half a cup of sugar to half a cup of oil, which is a softer, more lotion-like ratio than most of the scrubs on this list. Fractionated coconut oil is the pick because it stays liquid, though almond or olive work too. A quarter teaspoon of vitamin E goes in as a natural preservative, then 20 drops of orange essential oil and 10 of peppermint. The maker uses hers on her face at night, which is why the texture is gentler. Store it in something airtight.
Get the full tutorial at A Blissful Nest.
3. Pink Lemonade Sugar Scrub
One cup of sugar, half a cup of coconut oil melted for about 30 seconds, half a teaspoon of lemon essential oil, and a single drop of red food coloring that turns the whole jar pink. The tip worth stealing from this one has nothing to do with the recipe: use a sugar scrub on your legs before you shave and you get a closer shave and smoother skin. Just remember that freshly exfoliated skin burns easier, so sunscreen after.
Get the full tutorial at Sparkles of Sunshine.
4. DIY Coffee Body Scrub
This one is mine. I used to buy body scrub from the store until I looked at what was in it, and this is what I make instead: fine sugar, coffee grounds, coconut oil, a pour of castile soap and vanilla extract, mixed right in the jar. I reused an old jam jar rather than buying anything, which is half the appeal. Stir it from the bottom so the oil is evenly distributed, and add more sugar if you want it coarse enough for elbows and heels. No vanilla in the house? Coffee extract instead.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
5. Vanilla Pumpkin Spice Sugar Scrub
An eight ounce jar takes one cup of granulated sugar, a quarter cup of coconut oil, two teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice and two teaspoons of vanilla extract. Five minutes, start to lid. The maker says the ingredients all keep well enough that the scrub will last up to a year, though she would use it inside two or three months for the best quality. Brown sugar works if that is what you have open. This is the one to batch in September for teacher gifts.
Get the full tutorial at Happiness is Homemade.
6. Homemade Sugar Scrub
The clearest beginner version on this list, with a video: one cup of granulated sugar, four tablespoons of coconut oil microwaved for about 25 seconds, 10 to 20 drops of essential oil and five drops of food coloring. The lemon lavender variation is 10 drops of each, and it is the one to make first. If the mix comes out wet, add small amounts of sugar until the texture is right rather than starting over. Five minutes and a small glass jar with a tight lid.
Get the full tutorial at One Little Project.
7. DIY Blueberry Scrub
Also mine, and the prettiest jar I have made. Half a cup of fine sugar, about a quarter teaspoon of violet or blue mica powder for color, a quarter cup of coconut oil, 10 drops of blueberry oil and a tablespoon of castile soap. I used a carrier oil rather than an essential oil here, which matters: essential oils are concentrated and need diluting, carrier oils go straight on skin. Swap the blueberry for any scent you like. Epsom salt instead of sugar gives you a coarser, grainier scrub.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
8. Pina Colada Sugar Scrub
One cup of white sugar, half a cup of organic coconut oil and pineapple fragrance oil, with yellow food coloring optional. Color the sugar first if you want it yellow, and use almost nothing: three drops to a cup, because the oil will deepen the shade once it goes in. If your coconut oil has gone solid, which it does below 76 degrees, warm it briefly so it stirs in. Add more sugar or more oil to move the texture drier or looser. It smells like a vacation.
Get the full tutorial at Happiness is Homemade.
9. Peach Bellini Sugar Scrub
A cup of granulated sugar and half a cup of coconut oil, scented with four drops of juicy peach flavoring and three of crisp champagne, plus one optional drop of orange food color. It makes about a cup and a half, which fills two small jars nicely, and the maker says it doubles and quadruples without trouble. Mix it properly and it should not be runny. The flavorings are cake decorating flavorings rather than essential oils, so check your skin tolerates them first.
Get the full tutorial at The Afropolitan Mom.
10. Coffee Sugar Scrub Cubes
Not a jar, a mold. Half a cup of grated goats milk soap base gets melted in a double boiler, then almond oil and 20 drops of orange essential oil go in, and the whole thing hits a bowl of one cup of sugar mixed with one to two tablespoons of coffee grounds. Work fast, because it starts hardening the moment soap meets sugar. Three to four hours in the mold before you turn them out. The soap is what holds the sugar together, so each cube lathers and scrubs at once.
Get the full tutorial at A Pumpkin and a Princess.
11. DIY Lip Scrub
Most lip scrubs are the same two things: sugar to exfoliate and oil to moisturize. This one is lemon honey drop, it took three minutes, and it cost nothing because everything was already in the pantry, which is a fair argument against the ten dollar jars online. Flavor it however you like, since the extracts are in the baking aisle. Bubblegum, peppermint and chocolate all work. Put it in a tiny jar with a ribbon and you have a gift for the price of a spoonful of sugar.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
12. Shaved Coconut Sugar Scrub
Four tablespoons of coconut oil is the starting point, plus jojoba oil, sugar and shaved coconut. The reason this one is worth reading is the honest note about temperature: coconut oil is thin on a warm day and solid on a cold one, so the same recipe behaves differently in July and January. Too dry, microwave the bowl for five seconds. Too runny, add sugar and another pinch of coconut. Jojoba seals the moisture in, which is why your skin still feels soft after you rinse.
Get the full tutorial at Smart Schoolhouse.
13. Coconut Lime Sugar Scrub
A quarter cup of coconut oil microwaved for about 45 seconds, half a cup of granulated sugar, five drops of lime essential oil and lime zest if you want the color. It makes about six ounces. The tip here is the one I wish more scrub recipes included: use lime essential oil, not lime juice. Skin sits around pH 4 to 6 and lime juice is roughly 2.3, acidic enough to irritate. The maker keeps hers in the shower and uses it two or three times a week.
Get the full tutorial at Happy Money Saver.
14. Lavender Vanilla Sugar Scrub
One cup of granulated sugar, half a cup of oil (almond, olive or coconut), half a teaspoon of vitamin E oil, half a teaspoon of real vanilla and 15 drops of lavender essential oil, all stirred in one bowl. Use more lavender if you want it stronger, up to about 25 drops. Because there is no chemical preservative in it, use the jar within a month or two rather than letting it sit. Free printable tags come with the tutorial. Lavender at night is the whole point of this one.
Get the full tutorial at Suburban Simplicity.
15. DIY Strawberry Sugar Scrub
Freeze dried strawberries, not fresh, and that distinction is the whole recipe. A cup of them goes in a zip top bag and gets crushed fine with a rolling pin, then stirred into a cup of sugar with three quarters of a cup of room temperature coconut oil and a tablespoon of vanilla. Fresh fruit would bring water in and start spoiling; freeze dried brings color and scent and nothing else. Scoop it into a mason jar and scatter a few whole berries on top for the photograph.
Get the full tutorial at Mommy Musings.
16. DIY Peppermint Sugar Scrub Bars
Bars rather than a jar, which travel far better in a gift box. Half a cup of melt and pour soap base melts in a double boiler, then a quarter cup of coconut oil and three or four drops of peppermint essential oil go in. Split the mixture into two bowls, tint one with red mica, and add half a cup of sugar to each. You want a slushy consistency. Press it into a silicone mold, and if it thickens too fast, warm it in 10 second bursts.
Get the full tutorial at Happy Mothering.
17. Coconut Tangerine Sugar Scrub
A cup of coconut oil, one to two cups of granulated sugar and six to eight drops of tangerine essential oil, with grated tangerine peel and a drop of orange soap colorant both optional. It makes two cups. The sugar range is the useful part: start at one cup and keep going until the texture is what you want, because more sugar means a coarser scrub. The zest is for looks more than anything, and the printable chalkboard tags come with it.
Get the full tutorial at A Pumpkin and a Princess.
18. Rose Petal Spa Sugar Scrub
This started as a bouquet that was on its way to the compost bin. The petals get pulled off, dried flat on a wire rack for a couple of days, then pulsed in a food processor into tiny flakes and stirred into two cups of sugar with two thirds of a cup of coconut oil and six to eight drops of essential oil. It makes 16 to 18 ounces, which fits a pint mason jar. Lavender, lemon and vanilla all sit well next to rose.
Get the full tutorial at Happiness is Homemade.
19. Vanilla Brown Sugar Scrub
One cup of organic brown sugar measured slightly packed, half a cup of oil, half a teaspoon of vitamin E and a teaspoon of pure vanilla. It makes about eight ounces and takes under ten minutes. Less oil for a thick scrub, more for a thin one, and white sugar substitutes straight across if that is what is in the cupboard. Use non-fractionated coconut oil and microwave it soft; the vitamin E is doing double duty as a preservative and as the thing that leaves skin softer.
Get the full tutorial at Suburban Simplicity.
20. Gingerbread Sugar Scrub
The only scrub on this list built from your spice rack: half a cup of light brown sugar, half a cup of white, a teaspoon of ginger, half a teaspoon each of nutmeg and cinnamon, a quarter teaspoon of ground cloves and a third to a half cup of coconut oil depending on how loose you want it. Everything goes in a mixer bowl at once. Use it on wet skin, rub lightly, rinse warm. Cinnamon can tingle, so test a small patch before you commit a whole shower to it.
Get the full tutorial at Suburbia Unwrapped.
21. Orange Dreamsicle Sugar Scrub
A quarter cup of liquid coconut oil, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, 10 to 12 drops of a citrus essential oil blend and three quarters of a cup of white sugar, with a few drops of vitamin E optional. The maker teaches make and take classes with this one and says people are always surprised how cheap it is, which tracks. It works on hands, feet, elbows and lips, and she uses hers on her face once a week. Free printable labels come with the tutorial.
Get the full tutorial at Odds and Evans.
22. DIY Cherry Almond Sugar Scrub
One cup of granulated sugar, a third of a cup of almond oil, a teaspoon of cherry extract or half a teaspoon of cherry flavoring, and four drops of vitamin E oil. Olive oil substitutes if you have no almond. The cherry extract carries a faint red tint with it, so the scrub turns pink on its own without any food coloring, which is a nicer result than a dyed one. Sealed in an airtight container it keeps up to three months. Moisturize after you rinse.
Get the full tutorial at A Mom's Take.
23. Oatmeal Brown Sugar Scrub
Four ingredients, and the amounts are finally on the page: one cup of finely ground oatmeal, a third of a cup of coconut oil, a tablespoon of honey and a quarter cup of brown sugar. The oatmeal is what makes this one different from everything else here, because it is a soothing ingredient rather than an abrasive one, so the scrub is gentler than the sugar content suggests. Grind it properly in a food processor or you will get oat flakes stuck to you in the shower. Honey adds real stickiness, so stir it thoroughly. Good for anyone whose skin does not get along with a coarse scrub.
Get the full tutorial at Simply Stacie.
24. DIY Exfoliating Sugar Scrub Cubes
The most involved project on the page and the best gift. Half a pound of melt and pour glycerin soap gets chopped and melted, then a quarter cup of shea butter, half a cup of jojoba oil, a few drops of vitamin E, 30 drops of essential oil and two cups of organic cane sugar. Have your colorant and mold ready before the sugar goes in, because it sets fast once it does. The mold is three by three by one inch, and each slab cuts into nine one inch cubes.
Get the full tutorial at One Essential Community.
25. DIY Cucumber Mint Sugar Scrub
Half a cucumber and two loose tablespoons of fresh mint leaves go in a blender and get pureed, then stirred into three and a quarter cups of granulated sugar with five tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add more sugar if you want it firmer. The catch, and it is a real one: fresh produce means this lives in the refrigerator, not on a shelf, and it will not keep like the shelf-stable jars above. The trade is that it is cool on skin in a way none of the others are.
Get the full tutorial at Bella Limento.
