This Nourishing Homemade Sugar Scrub is the perfect addition to your natural beauty routine. So easy to make, extra nourishing for your skin, you’ll love it and you’ll love the savings over store-bought scrubs.

Today I’m sharing one of my favorite DIY personal care products of all time–a Homemade Sugar Scrub. Unlike most store-bought scrubs, it has no chemical additives and it of course will save you lots of money over store-bought scrubs.

In order to keep as many toxins out of our homes and off of our bodies, I try to make as many homemade personal care items as possible.

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My First Sugar Scrub

If you’re anything like me, dry hands and feet (and dry skin in general) is a problem for you.

I’d never tried a scrub until I was at an antique car show where a woman was selling beauty products and offering free scrub demonstrations.

Hesitatingly, I tried the scrub, feeling skeptical (I’m pretty skeptical about a lot of things….see my post on Are Essential Oils a Scam? ~ A Skeptic Looks at Thieves Oil for an example).

I wondered what the big deal was.

Well, I tried it and really loved how my hands felt and looked after rubbing that scrub all over my hands and rinsing it off. Smooth and revitalized and younger-looking.

However, I didn’t like the price or the ingredients.

I looked online to verify what the “incriminating ingredients” were, and though the exact product I tried isn’t there any longer, get a look at the list on one of their comparable products:

Ingredients in Store Bought Sugar Scrub

butylene glycol
sodium methyl cocoyl taurate
polyacrylamide
C13-14 Isoparaffin
Laureth-7
Fragrance (who knows what’s really in that, but it almost always means artificial fragrance :-?)
DMDM Hydantoin
Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate

Sheesh.

And the price was $16.00 (marked down from $18.00) for only 6 oz.

Ingredients In Other Less-Toxic Scrubs

To be fair, there are other less toxic scrubs on the market, but I couldn’t find ingredients for many of them online.

Here are the ingredients for one that doesn’t have quite as scary of a list:

Glycerin
Sugar
Silica
Fragrance – I’ve written about “fragrance” in personal care products here – too many concerns to use on my body.
Polysorbate 20
Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Wax
Sea Salt
Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil
Yellow 6 (CI 15985)
Yellow 5 (CI 19140) – these are both artificial colors that have been linked to different concerns

There had to be a cheaper and less toxic way to get the job done!

Fast forward several years.

One day, a sweet friend from church blessed me with a handmade sugar scrub and I loved it–and realized that I just had to learn how to make these myself.

How Much Can You Save Making DIY Sugar Scrubs?

Here’s an outline of the money savings, based on prices at the time this post was originally published:

Granulated sugar is $2.68 for 5 lb at Aldi (that’s $.54/lb)

Grapeseed oil is $6.75/ltr at the buying club I run out of my home.

My Cost:

Sugar: $.27

Grapeseed Oil: $1.59

Essential Oils: approximately $.14, depending on the oil chosen

(I didn’t include the container because you can reuse it unless it’s for a gift.)

Compared to the retail price of the “packaged version” at $18 for 6 oz., you can make a homemade sugar scrub for only $2.00!

No questionable ingredients. No wasteful packaging.

AND much cheaper than having a scrub done in a spa.

What Oil Is Best to Use in a Sugar Scrub?

Really you can use any oil you like, but I personally like using cold pressed, organic oils for their nourishing properties. Olive oil is especially moisturizing and can possibly help to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and stretch marks. Friends of mine have touted their family’s use of olive oil for ages for this reason.

This Cold Pressed Organic Olive Oil is a good option for this purpose.

homemade sugar scrub in mason jar in gray blue tray.

What Essential Oils Are Best for a Sugar Scrub?

You can really use any essential oil or blend that you like. You can even do fun combinations like those in this list of Christmas Essential Oil Blends for creative gifting options.

Sugar scrub with a popsicle stick in a small glass jar placed on top of a white cloth

Homemade Sugar Scrub

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Makes: cups

Ingredients

1 cup sugar or other granulated sweetener
1 cup cold-pressed olive oil (organic grapeseed or avocado oil are other good mild oil options)
2-4 drops lavender essential oil (or other essential oil as desired. Go here to read about the company that I recommend.)

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
Stir to combine.
Store in a glass container (essential oils will damage the plastic and metals change the properties of the oils).

Notes

1. You can, of course, use other granulated sweeteners. I just chose white sugar since I am not eating it and it’s the least expensive.

2. Any oil will work, but some oils have a stronger smell. Choosing a good quality oil is important since some of it will remain on your skin.

3. For essentials oils, there are so many wonderful scents and healing properties to choose from! Lavender, citrus (grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange), lemongrass, peppermint, ginger….. I would for sure choose a high quality essential oil, though it will cost more, since you are leaving this on your skin as well. Please check out my series on Which Essential Oils Company is Best?

To Use

1. Take a small amount of the scrub with a small spoon.

2. Rub all over your hands and fingertips (or feet, or wherever you’d like extra softness) for about 1 minute.

3. Let sit on your hands for 3-4 minutes (enjoy this time to rest in your day :-)!)

4. Rinse off and pat dry with a towel.

Tried this recipe?Mention @wholenewmom or tag #wholenewmom!

More Frugal DIY Body Care Recipes

If you’re interested in more DIY personal care options, these might be of interest.

This homemade sugar scrub makes a fabulous gift!

I’ve even included it in my Easy Mother’s Day Gifts roundup along with other great ideas for Mom.

Don’t Feel Like DIYing?

I’m all for saving money, but I’m also fine splurging sometimes, and this scrub is simply the best I’ve found so far.

It’s Beautycounter’s Lemongrass Body Polish.

One of my fellow BC consultants says it’s the best one out there (and she’s a self described scrub junkie)–she thinks due to the perfect ratio of scrub to oil. And I agree.