Sunday, August 10, 2014

DIY Simple & Customizable Body Sugar Scrub


Sugar scrubs are one of my favourite DIYs because they are just so simple and quick to make, cost next to nothing (depending on your ingredients), and you can customize every single step to your personal preferences! They are great for a day of pampering and make great gifts for friends and family!

Here's what you'll need: 

Sugar Scrub Ingredients
  • 1 part oil (Coconut and olive oil are my favourites, but you can use any you have handy)
  • 2 part table sugar (White or brown sugar work well, but even table/sea salt is an alternative if you are running low on sugar!)
  • Add ONE/TWO (optional) add-in: 
    • 5-15 drops of an essential oil (such as lemon , mint, lavender). The amount will depend on how much you are making: adjust accordingly!
    • 1 tablespoon (raw) honey (it's antibacterial, antiviral, anti-fungal and hyper-moisturizing properties are perfect for scrubs and masks!)
    • 1/2 tablespoon vitamin e oil or a few capsules
    • 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
    • 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
    • 1 teaspoon of citrus zest (lemon, limes, and grapefruits anyone?)

Personally, my favourite combinations are:
  • Coconut oil, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon
  • Olive oil, white sugar, lemon and orange zest, and lemon extract
  • Coconut oil, white sugar, lavender oil (the perfect before bed sugar scrub as the scent of lavender is calming and relaxing- it will put you right to sleep!)
Step by Step Instructions:

1) Combine the 2 parts sugar with 1 part oil in a bowl; Stir. 
To make enough for one full body use I mix 1/2 a cup of sugar with 1/4 cup of oil. 
(If you're making a gift, a small mason jar would probably fit double that.)

2) Add in additional ingredients, if any; Stir.

3) Take scrub to bath tub. Moisten legs. Take a small handful of scrub and rub it on your body either with your bare hands (my preference) or with bath gloves. 

*Although it's tempting to scrub really hard to get off the dead skin, please be gentle with yourself! The sugar or salt will do its thing with light to medium pressure, the last thing you want is a raw, red body! 

4) When you are finished, rinse off with water.

 Presto! Your skin is baby soft.

Other things to note:

-Although some blogs around the internet suggest using a similar recipe for your face as well, I personally find table sugar and salt granules to be too harsh to put on my face. Instead I recommend using brown sugar which is softer, or using a fine-grained sugar (which you can make by putting regular white sugar into a food processor). 
-I personally only like to make enough sugar scrub for a few uses as I don't like it to sit around, but they are generally good for a month or so.
-Don't put them in the fridge as the oils will harden. Keep the bottles sealed tightly.

I would love to hear your feedback on this DIY sugar scrub, especially how you customized it to suit your own needs! 



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