The Secret to the Best, Non-Soupy DIY Sugar Scrub

Sugar scrub — important for pre and post sugar waxing (DIY sugaring recipe here), a loofa-free (plastic loofahs can be icky and also not our favorite for the environment) method of exfoliating and smoothing skin, an exfoliator and moisturizer in one (hallelujah), and an overall lovely way of adding some "treat yourself" to an everyday activity.

If you wanna buy it

However, buying a sugar scrub does not come cheap. Herbivore Botanical's Coco Rose comes in at $40 for 8oz, OSEA's Salt of the Earth at $48 for 12oz, and Nopalera's Cactus Flower Exfoliant at $32 for 6oz. These prices aren't unreasonable (I'll get deeper into why personal care products cost what they do another time) because they're using expensive oils, extracts, and essential oils, and scrubs are super heavy, which mean's they're ridiculously expensive to ship.

If you like buying these, great! Have at it. But, I'm here to tell you that you can absolutely make a delightfully sweet-scrubby-something all by yourself.

Simple sugar scrubs are super easy to make:

Mix one part oil(s) of your choice to three parts sugar, mix it up, and voilà. Seriously. That's it. (Sure, you can mix and match oils and add essential oils, etc., but it doesn't have to be complicated if you don't want it to be.)

However, should you choose this easy-peasy route, you'll find that letting your scrub sit will result in the oil and sugar separating, leaving soupy, pooled oil on top. This isn't a deal-breaker, but it's not ideal. Who wants sloshing oil in the shower? (Oil in the shower is a slipping hazard! Be careful! As is glass in the shower — glass containers in the shower not recommended. Maybe have a sit, too?)

But, what if I told you that you could make a sugar scrub at home that is fluffy, doesn't separate, works like a dream, and is, generally speaking, a little slice of heaven?

You'd be excited, right? Let's do it.

The Best DIY Sugar Scrub You'll Ever Make

True to NTB form, this recipe is customizable, save one essential component: Coconut Oil.

Two asides about coconut oil before we get into it:

• Coconut oil ranks pretty high on the comedogenicity scale, so I don't recommend it for things you're putting on your face.

  • Plus, don't use sugar scrub on your face. It's too rough for your delicate skin.

• I've only made this in the Seattle area where my coconut oil stays solid at room temperature. When I lived in LA, our coconut oil was liquid. So. If you live somewhere hot, please comment and let me know how this goes for you and if it continues to be magic.

Back to it.

Why is this recipe any different from any other you've read or tried?

Because it uses the solid-at-room-temp coconut oil to be a sort of makeshift emulsifier, or binding agent. Still, coconut oil is only part of the magic. You need at least one, second, oil that is liquid at room temperature. If you use 100% coconut oil and live somewhere chilly, your scrub will be super hard every time you go to use it, and that's just a bummer.

Science is neat, and if you melt the coconut oil and add the liquid oil to the melted coconut oil, the coconut oil will remain pliable when it cools. The result is a magic sugar scrub with a texture akin to kinetic sand. The key to this recipe is getting the oils ratio just right so that the scrub texture remains soft without getting soupy.

Speaking of ratios, I say that this is a recipe, but your needs will be different depending on the kind of oil and sugar you use, and your own personal preference. It's all in there. Let's move on.

The recipe (makes about 2 8oz. jars)

1 cup organic turbinado sugar + 1/2 cup more to your liking

6 tbsp organic virgin coconut oil

2 tbsp oil of your choice (I used organic sunflower oil)

Optional:A few drops of your essential oils or extracts of choice. Please be mindful that essential oils are medicine and should be used sparingly. If you're pregnant, nursing, using this on children, or have special health concerns, please do your research before using essential oils.

With that said, for this batch, I used Palmarosa, Peru Balsam, and a hint of Palo Santo, all from Mountain Rose Herbs.

1. Melt the coconut oil, low and slow, in a separate bowl. It's important that the coconut oil be fully melted but not warm. We want to keep our sugar crystals intact!

2. Measure out your sugar into a large bowl. Add melted coconut oil and sunflower oil, and mix thoroughly with a silicone spatula. Add sugar as needed until the texture looks like kinetic sand (doesn't seep excess oil, and springs back when you run your spatula through it). Mix in essential oils at the very end, if using, and store in closed jars in a cool, dry, place.

Notes:

• If you're using refined white sugar, you'll need more sugar-to-oil because of the size discrepancy of the granules.

• I recommend weighing ingredients for accuracy and writing down what you did for easy replicating.

• This product does not have any preservatives in it. Please keep it water free because bacteria and water are super good friends. I recommend grabbing a scoop of it before stepping into the shower/bath, and keeping it away from the spray of the shower until you need it so the jar never comes in with you.