Exfoliate and moisturize dry skin with these homemade body scrub recipes. This DIY body scrub is great to use at home and makes a nice gift.
I give a Basic Homemade Body Scrub recipe and a few creative ideas for making several types of DIY body scrub.
Why Make a DIY Body Scrub?
The DIY monster in me came alive again last week so I developed a recipe for making my own pumpkin spice sugar scrub.
Cost
To illustrate, I remember purchasing a similar body scrub for my sister a few years ago that was priced between $15-$20! And that is a lot of money for something you can make at home for far less.
In contrast, my mom was the lucky recipient of the fabulous pumpkin spice homemade body scrub that cost less than $1 to make. And she loved the smell along with the way it made her skin feel.
Safety
Commercial body scrubs used to use microbeads until Congress banned them in theMicrobead-Free Waters Act of 2015.
Microbeads are tiny pieces of plastic found in many health and beauty products, including soap and body scrubs.Congress passed this law to address concerns about microbeads in the water supply.[1]
Microbeads are just one example of unnecessary ingredients in commercial body scrubs. And because making our own is so simple and inexpensive, it just makes sense.
Homemade Body Scrub to Moisturize and Exfoliate Dry Skin
With cold weather approaching this moisturizing and exfoliating scrub will make a killer gift this winter. It’s a big help with dry skin! It was so simple that I began to experiment using different sugars, Epsom salt, a variety of carrier oils, and essential oils.
I recommend applying your DIY body scrub after taking a shower. This is when your skin is best able to realize the benefits of the scrub.
Feel free to get creative and fancy when making these scrubs; here is the basic recipe I used to make a few batches.
DIY Body Scrub Recipe
This is my base body scrub recipe; additions are below.
- 2 cups Epsom salts or sugar – use organic cane sugar, brown sugar, or regular granulated (where to buy Epsom salt)
- 1 cup carrier oil – grapeseed oil, olive oil, sweet almond oil, sesame oil, avocado oil, and safflower oil are all good (where to buy high-quality carrier oils)
- 8-10 drops of your favoriteessential oil (where to buy 100% pure essential oils)
Add Epsom salts or sugar to a bowl and slowly begin stirring in the oil until the mixture is smooth, but not goopy. (You may not need the full cup of oil.) Add essential oil and any other fun additions and mix well. Spoon into a decorative container or glassjar with a tight-fitting lid.
Note: You can also use sea salt but I prefer Epsom salt because it contains magnesium. You can also use jojoba oil or even coconut oil. The coconut oil or almond oil may feel greasy, so jojoba may be a better choice.
I used this basic homemade body scrub recipe to make to following awesome scrubs:
Warm Vanilla Sugar Body Scrub for Sensitive Skin
Use vanilla essential oil -OR- 2 Tbsp. vanilla extract.
Lemon Salt Body Scrub
Use lemon essential oil and add 1 Tablespoon of lemon zest.
Grapefruit Mint Salt Scrub
Use grapefruit essential oiland 1 Tbsp of grapefruit zest.
I can’t wait to make several more batches and experiment with some more scents including peppermint, lemon-eucalyptus, and sweet orange-lavender.
How To Use Your DIY Body Scrub
- It’s always best to use a scrub after a shower because your skin is soft and best able to absorb the ingredients of the scrub. If you’re just applying it to your hands then run them under warm water for 5 minutes.
- Gently rub on the scrub in circular motions.
- Rinse thoroughly to remove scrub and dead skin cells.
- Lastly, you will want to apply lotion immediately after drying your skin.
Tips and Ideas for A Great Scrub
The yummy concoctions you can create are limitless. Note: Olive oil is not the best carrier oil for some homemade body scrub formulas because it has a strong fragrance. If you think olive oil will be overpowering in a delicately scented body scrub, choose one of the other carrier oils.
I also love being able to use different sugars or Epsom salts – mainly because I had a huge bag of Epsom salts under the bathroom sink that was not getting used. (My organic cane sugar is not cheap!) Choose sugar for fine-grain homemade body scrub, and Epsom salts for a larger grain scrub.
Feel free to include other beneficial ingredients like citrus, vitamin E oil, or coffee grounds! Much of the fun and benefit of DIY projects is that you can customize them to your likes and needs.
Makes a Great Gift
The oil will separate in some of these scrubs, so it’s a good idea to attach a small spoon if giving it away as a gift.
My mom received one of these as a “just because” gift. I was also able to give two body scrubs as birthday gifts this week, and another as a housewarming gift! I think these luxurious body scrubs will make the PERFECT holiday gift for friends and family. They are so simple to throw together. And they make a beautiful addition to a gift basket and are great as a stand-alone gift.
Give hand scrubs to keep by the kitchen sink or a pampering homemade body scrub to use in the bathtub. Mix up a few of these this holiday season to give away as last-minute I-didn’t-know-you-were-getting-me-something gifts. You will look ultra-prepared, crafty, AND thoughtful!
Have you ever made a homemade body scrub? How did you like it?
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Sources
The Microbead-Free Waters Act: FAQs. November 2017. U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
