Sugar scrubs.
We’ve all seen them, many of you probably already use them, but for some reason it took me until just a few months ago to finally hop on this wagon. I’d always seen them at salons and boutiques and actually secretly admired them with all their enticing scents and varieties, but I never felt the need to take one home.
That all changed last fall, though. An aesthetician recommended I pick one up to help keep my bikini area smooth and free of ingrowns after waxing, so I figured why not.
I fell instantly in love.
The first one I tried had a citrus scent, and it was heavenly. Not too scratchy or sticky like I always imagined sugar scrubs would be, but surprisingly gentle and quite easily applied. You just rub it on your skin with your finger tips so the sugar melts a little and works its exfoliating magic.
Wow. Here’s what I’d been missing all these years!
However… That little 4 oz. jar of sweet smoothness cost $10. It did last roughly 5 months, but to replace that jar a couple times a year at $10 a pop seemed kind of excessive for something made out of sugar. (this coming from the girl who will happily spend many times that amount every 3ish months to get her hair cut and colored, though. don’t judge, people – there are GRAYS in there and they need to disappear!)
I knew there had to be a way to refill my scrub at a lower cost, but you know how anti-DIY and un-crafty I am. The thought of actually making my own concoction made me a little nauseous.
Then I found what has to be the world’s simplest recipe, so I thought ok, even I can try this one. I saw the original recipe here, then tweaked it to my liking as follows:
1. Since my jar was 4 oz., I poured only 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup white sugar in a bowl and stirred them together.
2. Next, I drizzled in some regular old olive oil until the sugar mixture was pretty well soaked. This step is completely arbitrary – simply pour in as much oil as you’d like. If you want your scrub a little drier, don’t use as much oil; if you want it a little more saturated, use more oil.
3. If you want a touch of scent, add a splash of vanilla extract or other essential oil of your choice. I put a little vanilla in mine, but it didn’t do a whole lot to change the scent. It still smelled like cookies. Next time I may try an essential oil for a new flavor.
4. Stir everything together, and you have yourself your very own homemade sugar scrub. Easy peasy!
So, to recap:
- brown sugar
- white sugar
- olive oil
- {optional} vanilla extract or other essential oil for scent
Combine all ingredients to the saturation level of your liking, then scrub away!
All in, this scrub probably cost me $0.50 per 4 oz. instead of the $10 I originally paid at the salon. It took me less than 5 minutes to make and works just as well as its more expensive counterpart.
I must admit, even this non-DIYer was impressed by how well worth it and totally not scary this project was. I don’t think I’ll ever pay for a store-bought sugar scrub again.