Looking for some last minute Christmas presents? Not feeling brave enough to join the crowds and hit the shops? Or maybe your wallet is crying out ‘no more!’ Look no further than a super easy DIY body scrub! It’s bodylicious…. If you like scrubs from Lush, you’ll love these and they are a smidgen of the price!
This body scrub is fun and super simple to make! Once you’ve made your own, you’ll wonder why you ever bought one. Whether this is a Christmas treat for you, or a gift for a friend or family member, this little beauty will buff your body, exfoliating away all the baddies. I also use it as a lip scrub, no more scaly lips! What’s left is soft, smooth, plump and ultra moisturised skin (or soft kissable lips!). I keep a jar of this good stuff in the shower. I just scoop out a small handful and massage it into my boobs, over my bum and/or any part of my body that needs some TLC…. Lovely! The only downside is that it smells so good I either: a) Want to eat it, or, b) Get overwhelmed by an intense craving for caramel slice…. Which reminds me, one girlfriend I gave this to actually tasted the scrub and declared it delicious.
One of the reasons I love making my own scrub is that you can play around with the ingredients to create something unique, tailored to the person you are giving it to. I have a small collection of essential oils and I just love experimenting. Below is my favourite scrub and at the bottom of the post are ideas for alternative scrubs. Enjoy!
PS The labels I used were free downloads by Lia Griffith – you can download them here. She’s very talented and is very generous at sharing her work.
Ingredients (makes approx 1 cup of scrub)
- 1/2 cup cane sugar*
- 1/4 c coconut oil (you can use olive oil too)
- 2 tlb fresh ground coffee beans (I’ve used both fresh grounds and used grounds, it doesn’t seem to matter!)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 8 drops vanilla fragrance (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
- 2 tsp sweet almond oil (not pictured)
* I usually use cane/demerara sugar as I prefer the texture of this:, It’s not as coarse as raw sugar, nor as fine as white sugar – I find it gives the perfect scrub. However, this is very much a personal preference – you can absolutely use raw sugar, brown sugar or even a coarse salt (though this won’t taste as nice…)
Method
This couldn’t be easier! Simply place all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well then add the oils last. Spoon the mixture into an appropriate sized clean jar. Decorate the jar as you like (a nice simple ribbon tied around the lid looks gorgeous). That’s it…!
Tip: Play around with the quantities, if it seems a little dry, add more oil. If it seems to wet… Add more sugar or ground coffee. For a serious coffee lover, use less sugar and more coffee. Alternatively, for chocolate lovers, make a mocha scrub by using half coffee and half cocoa powder!
Variations
As a general rule of thumb the mix is one part oil/liquid to two parts sugar. The oil used can be olive, coconut oil, or even baby oil (I don’t use this as I try to avoid mineral oil wherever possible, but if you do use baby oil, go for the unscented kind). Tip: When I’m playing around and making up new scrubs, I usually put in half the amount of oil to start, mix it up, then add more oil if it’s too dry (it’s not an exact science!). As I mentioned above, for the sugar, I prefer cane/demerama but you can use normal white sugar or brown sugar. If you enjoying experimenting, cut back on the oil content and try adding honey (any kind!). Honey is a great addition as it is anti-bacterial and helps the skin retain moisture.
- Sugar Honey Scrub: 2 c cane (demerara) sugar, 3 tlb olive oil, 2 tlb honey, 5-10 drops orange essential oil
- Lavender Scrub: 2 c cane (demerara) sugar, 1 c coconut oil, 2 tlb dried lavender, 5-10 drops lavender essential oil
- Brown Sugar and Cinnamon: 2 tlb coconut oil, 1/2 c white sugar, 1 c brown sugar, 1/2 tlb cocoa powder, 1/2 tlb ground cinnamon
- Peppermint Candy Cane Scrub: I’ve been eyeing up the recipe in this blog post, so pretty and festive!
- Lemon Body Scrub: 2 c cane (demerara) sugar, 1 c coconut oil, juice from half a lemon, zest from one lemon, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or 5-10 drops vanilla fragrance oil) OR, if you want it really lemony, omit the vanilla and just add the lemon essential oil.
Lastly, I get my essential oils from a health shop, but I did spot that iHerb has these at amazing prices! I buy lots of stuff from iHerb, I can’t recommend them highly enough (for big orders we’ve done the most we’ve paid is US$8 shipping and delivery time is less than a week!). While you are there, check out their makeup and tea range…
