How to Make Sugar Scrubs (Plus Moisturizing Body Scrub Recipes)

Homemade Body Scrub for Glowing Skin

Sugar scrubs are one of the easiest DIY bath and body products to make. You really only need two ingredients to make an easy sugar scrub recipe: sugar and oil. However, you can add other ingredients for a sugar scrub recipe for body care.

Sugar scrubs are a simple way to get glowing skin. They work right away to slough off dead skin cells for brighter skin right away. You can also use salt, or a combination of both sugar and salt, to make body scrub for glowing skin. Keep reading for the benefits of using a homemade sugar scrub for body care, ways to customize your homemade  body scrub for glowing skin and a recipe for a mango strawberry sugar scrub recipe.

What Are the Benefits of Sugar Scrubs for Skin?

Homemade body scrubs offer a number of natural benefits for skin care. The benefits of sugar scrubs include the following:

• A homemade sugar scrub for the body sloughs off the dead skin cells on the surface of your skin. This helps you get better looking skin right away and keeps your skin looking and feeling good.
• Exfoliating also helps your moisturizers and lotions penetrate deeper into your skin for more benefits.
• Exfoliating with a sugar scrub for body care cleans out your pores. This makes them appear smaller, and it helps remove dirt and toxins for better looking skin.
• If you’re prone to body acne, using a DIY sugar scrub can remove dirt and debris that can clog pores and lead to blemishes.
• The oil in this moisturizing sugar scrub helps moisturize and nourish your skin.

Is Sugar Scrub Bad for Your Skin?

When used correctly, a homemade body scrub for glowing skin is not harmful for your skin. However, there are people with sensitive skin who might experience irritation. You should use this easy sugar scrub recipe once or twice a week. Using it more often can cause irritation. This is a sugar scrub recipe for your body, and it can irritate your delicate facial skin.

Which Sugar is Best for Body Scrubs?

There are a few different types of sugar that you can use for a homemade sugar scrub for body care. The best one to use depends on your skin’s needs. If you have dry or flaky skin, then use a coarse sugar. This can be turbinado sugar or a large particle cane sugar.

Use a finer grain of sugar like a small particle cane sugar or white sugar for radiant skin. The smaller grain is more for polishing for a homemade body scrub for glowing skin.

Brown sugar is the gentlest type of sugar for an easy sugar scrub recipe. If you have sensitive skin, use all brown sugar or half white sugar and half brown sugar.

Are Sugar or Salt Scrubs Better?

Whether you use salt or sugar for your body scrub is personal preference. Salt scrubs tend to be harsher, so they are good for very dry or flaky skin. You can use sea salt or Epsom salt. On the other hand, sugar is better for a homemade body scrub for glowing skin because it polishes your skin.

You can use half sugar and half salt if all salt is too harsh. As a bonus, salt scrubs made with 50 percent salt are naturally preserved.

What Other Ingredients Can I Use in Body Scrubs with Sugar to Exfoliate Skin?

You don’t have to stick to sugar when making an  exfoliating body polish for skin. You can replace the sugar with other exfoliating ingredients, or use other ingredients in place of some of the sugar in your sugar scrub recipe. Here are some natural exfoliating ingredients you can use in place of some of the sugar in your homemade body scrub recipes:

• Ground oatmeal gently exfoliates and is a good option for sensitive skin
• Coffee grounds are wonderful for exfoliating the skin naturally. They can be used to make a  coffee sugar scrub recipe or a  solid coffee sugar scrub.
• Ground  flax seeds are natural and inexpensive ways to exfoliate your skin.
• Poppy seeds won’t scratch the skin.
• Walnut hull powder is hard and doesn’t break down in a homemade sugar scrub. I used this in my  blue green algae body scrub recipe with coconut oil and in my  foot scrub recipe.
• Fine ground pumice is great for polishing your skin. I used it in this  foot scrub recipe with coconut oil.
• Jojoba beads are a gentle exfoliant that won’t irritate your skin.

How Do I Make Moisturizing Sugar Scrubs?

You can make a homemade sugar scrub for your body more moisturizing by choosing moisturizing ingredients to add to your sugar scrub recipe. For moisturizing sugar scrubs I like to include one or more of the following ingredients:

• Shea butter isn’t greasy, so it won’t leave your skin feeling oily. However, it’s moisturizing with fatty acids and vitamins for a moisturizing sugar scrub.
• Coconut oil soaks into the skin to deliver vitamins and fatty acids into your skin. It also firms your DIY sugar scrub for a thicker scrub.
• Camellia seed oil is a good source of antioxidants and Vitamins A and B. It’s said to promote skin elasticity to reduce the signs of aging.
• Fractionated coconut oil is a light oil, so it won’t leave your skin feeling oily. It soaks in quickly and nourishes your skin with vitamins and fatty acids.
• Baobab oil is said to help reduce dull skin, so it’s a good oil to use in a homemade body scrub for glowing skin. It’s high in vitamins B and C.

You can also use other  butters and  carrier oils to formulate your own moisturizing sugar scrubs. Explore more ingredients choices at  Mountain Rose Herbs.

Moisturizing Sugar Scrub Recipes

I’ve included a simple beginner sugar scrub recipe for making a mango strawberry sugar scrub below. It’s made with almond oil for an easy moisturizing body scrub. However, can also try these recipes for moisturizing sugar scrubs:

• Natural Sugar Scrub with Murumuru Butter: This DIY sugar scrub is formulated with murumuru butter to moisturize dry, maturing and eczema prone skin and can be scented with any essential oil blend of your choice.
• Moisturizing Sugar Scrub Recipe: This jackfruit and kiwi scented sugar scrub recipe is formulated for exceptionally dry skin. Made using luxurious and richly hydrating  moringa oil and skin soothing  oat butter, this moisturizing sugar scrub can help to calm and soothe dry, itchy skin and inflammation.
• Moisturizing Rose Sugar Scrub Recipe: Moisturize, hydrate and exfoliate skin with this DIY rose sugar scrub recipe. Perfect for both dry skin relief as well as homemade gifts, this amazing sugar scrub is naturally scented with rose absolute.
• Summer Blueberry Sugar Scrub: This homemade blueberry sugar scrub recipe with tea seed oil is perfect for summer skin care! Not only does this homemade body scrub gently exfoliate and moisturize skin, it also smells amazing!
• Pumpkin Sugar Scrub Recipe: Formulated with glycerin and stearic acid, this pumpkin scented body scrub also contains pumpkin seed oil, shea butter and cocoa butter for an intensely moisturizing body scrub for severely dry skin.
• Lemon Poppy Seed Body Scrub: This creamy scrub is naturally scented with lemon and peppermint essential oils. Shea butter and apricot kernel oil moisturize and hydrate skin, while sugar and poppy seeds work to slough off dead skin cells to promote cellular turnover.
• Skin Softening Hand Scrub: This rose skin softening hand scrub recipe is made with granulated sugar, Castile soap and lanolin to exfoliate, moisturize and hydrate dry hands and skin.

Do Sugar Scrubs Get Rid of Acne?

Using a homemade sugar scrub recipe for your body can reduce acne and blemishes. Scrubs clear dirt and debris from your pores before they can lead to acne. In time, this can reduce new acne blemishes from forming.

Do You Use Sugar Scrub on Wet or Dry Skin?

You should wet your skin before using a sugar scrub recipe for your body. The water softens your skin and preps it for exfoliating. For best results, use a scrub after you’ve been in the water for at least five minutes. Warm water also helps open your pores so the scrub can really clean out your pores.

How Long Will Homemade Sugar Scrubs Last?

A homemade sugar scrub for body care will last about 6 months. However, you should be careful not to introduce any water into a DIY sugar scrub because the water can cause bacteria and other microbes to grow.

Do Sugar Scrubs Need a Preservative?

An easy sugar scrub recipe recipe does not technically need a preservative since there are no water based ingredients. However, since you use the scrub on wet skin in the shower or bath, there is a risk that you can introduce water and bacteria or other germs from your hands. Therefore, I recommend using a preservative in a homemade sugar scrub recipe if you store it for later.

The following preservatives are recommended for primarily oil based sugar scrub recipes:

• Optiphen is an excellent preservative for oil based recipes like this DIY sugar scrub. Use 1 percent of the total weight of the sugar scrub recipe.
• Phenonip is a liquid preservative for oil based products like this homemade sugar scrub for glowing skin. Use it at 0.5 to 1 percent of the total weight of the scrub.

Some people use grapefruit seed extract or vitamin E for a preservative. However, these are not broad spectrum preservatives. These products are actually antioxidants that can lengthen the shelf life of the oils included in your recipes. However, they will not prevent the growth of mold or bacteria.

When you learn how to make homemade sugar scrub, you don’t want to have to throw it away due to mold! Therefore, you should only use a recommended preservative. You can learn more about the different types of preservatives you can use in your natural skin care formulations  here.

Formulating Emulsified Sugar Scrubs

Easy sugar scrub recipes work great. However, they also consist of basically oil and sugar. These types of homemade body scrubs can be extra slippery. They also can be harder to rinse off. If you prefer a moisturizing sugar scrub that rinses off more easily and is less of a slip hazard, then I recommend using an emulsifier to make your homemade body scrubs for glowing skin. 

These are some of the ingredients you can use to formulate an emulsified sugar scrub:

• BTMS 25% emulsifier gives products a powdery feed. It is naturally derived from colza oil and is very gentle.
• Emulsifying wax is commonly used in a homemade sugar scrubs. It is inexpensive and easy to use.

To make an emulsified sugar scrub recipe, simply melt the emulsifier with your butters or your coconut oil. If you are using liquid oils, then heat the oil and the emulsifier in a double boiler until the emulsifier is melted. Then make your homemade sugar scrub as directed.

If you’d like to try a recipe for making body scrubs with emulsifiers, then try one of these emulsified sugar scrub recipes:

• Anti-Aging Emulsified Sugar Scrub: This anti-aging natural emulsified sugar scrub recipe contains ingredients mature and aging skin loves without feeling heavy or greasy. It naturally exfoliates with granulated white sugar and then rinses cleanly away so it’s great even for oily or acne prone skin can benefit.
• Whipped Body Butter Soufflé: This emulsified body scrub is whipped to perfection. Formulated with emulsifying wax and xanthan gum powder, this recipe also contains hydrating body butters for natural skin care.
• Moldable Rainbow Sugar Scrub: Learn how to make a glittering unicorn inspired, moldable rainbow sugar scrub with this creative recipe that you can mold and shape!
• Whipped Sugar Scrub Recipe: If you have dull or dry skin, this homemade whipped sugar scrub recipe will rejuvenate and exfoliate skin. Made with natural skin care ingredients, this emulsified sugar scrub naturally exfoliates and hydrates for soft, beautiful skin.

Mango Strawberry Sugar Scrub Ingredients

Now that you have a better understanding of how to make sugar scrubs, let’s try an easy recipe for a mango strawberry sugar scrub. Here are the ingredients you will need to make my mango and strawberry scented body scrub recipe:

• 1/2 cup White granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup Sweet almond oil
• 1/4 teaspoon Peach mica powder
• 15 drops Strawberry fragrance oil
• 15 drops Mango fragrance oil

Materials and Supplies For Making Sugar Scrub Recipes

To make this homemade body scrub for glowing skin, you will need the following materials and supplies:

• Large glass bowl
• Utensils for mixing
• Measuring spoons and measuring cups
• Airtight container

How to Make An Easy Sugar Scrub

Once you’ve gathered your supplies and cleaned your work area, here is how to make an easy sugar scrub to exfoliate and moisturize skin:

1. Sterilize the container for this easy sugar scrub recipe. You can do this by wiping it down with rubbing alcohol or running it through the dishwasher. Set aside.
2. Now use measuring cups to measure out the white sugar. Add to a large glass bowl.
3. Then use a measuring spoon to measure out the mica colorant. Mix the mica into the sugar using a fork or a whisk, until the color is evenly distributed throughout the sugar. (Alternately, you can also wait until you’ve mixed the sugar and oil together before adding the mica powder as a colorant.)
4. Measure out the sweet almond oil into a measuring cup. Then and the drops of the fragrance oil to the oil and stir to incorporate the scent.
5. Now mix the scented sweet almond oil with the dry sugar mixture. Mix well to ensure all ingredients are evenly combined.
6. Finally, spoon the easy sugar scrub mixture into a 4-6 oz. airtight container, then screw on the lid. Your homemade body scrub is now ready to use when you are!

How to Use Body Scrubs

To use this homemade sugar scrub for your body, scoop about 2 tablespoons of the scrub into your hands. Then gently rub it on wet skin in circular motions. Scrub for a few minutes and then rinse well. Towel dry your skin.

If you did not use a preservative, then I recommend using a spoon or a scoop to get the scrub out of the container. This prevents water or germs from entering the scrub and contaminating it.

Storage

If you did not use a preservative, then this homemade sugar scrub will last from 3 to 6 months. If it smells or looks off, toss it and do not use it. However, if you added a preservative, it will last as long as your preservative is good for.

Can I Make Substitutions to Sugar Scrub Recipes?

Yes, it’s easy to make substitutions to homemade sugar scrubs. The easiest way to customize your homemade body scrubs is to swap out the ingredients for those you prefer. For example, you can use any carrier oil in place of the sweet almond oil in my mango strawberry sugar scrub recipe. The same goes for butters. You can substitute a semi-solid butter, such as shea butter, with another semi-solid butter such as mango butter. 

In addition you can also change up the fragrance oil or essential oils in your body scrub recipes. For more information on customizing your sugar, be sure to check out my post on  how to make homemade scrubs for natural skin care.

How to Make Sugar Scrubs to Sell

If you’d like to make sugar scrubs to sell then you need to take steps to ensure the integrity of your product. This includes following food manufacturing practices, labeling your products correctly, testing your finished products, and following your local state and federal guidelines for sale of your products. 

Here are the basic steps to making sugar scrubs to sell:

• Test recipes using different ingredients. Keep careful records for your ingredients and suppliers. I recommend weighing your products instead of using volume measurements like cups. Make sure that you use the appropriate preservative type and amount.
• Use your scrub recipes yourself and give to friends and family to test for 3 to 6 months. Ask for reviews from friends and family.
• When you’ve decided on your final recipe, create a large batch and place in containers for sale following good manufacturing practices. When you create your labels, be sure to include all necessary information, including ingredients in descending order. Check local, state and federal laws to ensure that your products are in compliance.

I also recommend the books  Good Manufacturing Practices for Soap and Cosmetic Handcrafters by Marie Gale as well as  Soap and Cosmetic Labeling: How to Follow the Rules and Regs Explained in Plain English. These books provide detailed information on guidelines for producing products as well as information on labeling your skin care products correctly.

More Exfoliating Sugar Scrub Recipes for Glowing Skin

If you like my easy recipe for making a mango strawberry sugar scrub recipe, then be sure to try these other homemade body scrub recipes for glowing skin:

• Exfoliating Sugar Scrub Bars: This beginner sugar scrub recipe is similar to a traditional sugar scrub, but in solid form. Like regular sugar scrubs, this DIY body scrub exfoliates and moisturizes skin but without feeling greasy or oily.
• Rose Sugar Scrub Recipe: This rose body scrub is made without coconut oil, and is naturally scented with essential oils to create a homemade body scrub for glowing skin.
• Cucumber Mint Sugar Scrub: My cucumber mint sugar scrub recipe is made with ingredients skin loves like cucumber seed oil and aloe. An emulsified sugar scrub, this DIY body scrub boasts a refreshing cucumber mint fragrance.
• Raspberry Lemonade Sugar Scrub Recipe: What’s better on a hot summer day than a glass of lemonade? Why this yummy homemade raspberry lemonade sugar scrub recipe of course! It’s so easy to make and and contains nature’s natural moisturizer, coconut oil.
• Foaming Peppermint Sugar Scrub: This peppermint scented body scrub is formulated with a combination of sugar and liquid Castile soap for a foaming sugar scrub that cleanses, exfoliates and moisturizes skin in one easy step. 
• Sal Butter Sugar Scrub Recipe: This natural body scrub recipe boasts moisturizing sal butter as a key ingredient. Colored with a pinch of turmeric, this DIY sugar scrub is the perfect way to get glowing skin.

If you enjoyed my post on how to make sugar scrubs for glowing skin, then be sure to follow Soap Deli News for more  DIY beauty ideas! You’ll find Soap Deli News on  Facebook,  Twitter,  Pinterest, and  Instagram. Or  subscribe to the newsletter.