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This simple sugar body scrub recipe is one of my favorite things to make. I always have a jar of it in my shower and use it almost daily.
The recipe is so simple and only takes a couple minutes to whip up. You can easily double, triple, etc., this recipe, but I like to make small batches so is stays fresh. I noticed one time that I made too big of a batch and didn’t use it all up in time and the jar in the shower started to get some mold in it.* So, I stick with small batches that only take me a couple weeks to use.
Also, you can make the same scrub using salt instead of sugar, but it’s important to understand that for some people, salt scrubs can be very drying to the skin. If you’re like me and suffer from dry skin, then it’s better to skip the salt and use sugar instead.
Simple Sugar Body Scrub Recipe with Coconut Oil
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- 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup sweet almond oil
- 5-10 drops of essential oil of your choice, optional
- Mix the sugar and oils together and transfer to a container with a tight sealing lid. Use in the shower to exfoliate dry, itchy skin. I use mine almost daily and have never had any problems. The oil seals in the moisture on your skin and makes it feel silky smooth.
- (Make sure you wipe down the shower floor with some soap and water after you use it — oily floors and showers don’t mix well!)
- *The reason this can sometimes get mold in it is because every time you stick your hand in the jar to get some out, you leave bacteria behind. Showers are dirty places, even when they’re clean, so there is lots of bacteria floating around. It’s not cause to worry – just a sign that you should make smaller batches so that you use it up before the bacteria count has a chance to multiply.
Make sure you check out my newest Coconut Oil Sugar Scrub post for some new recipe ideas!
Check Out Some of My Other Skin Care Videos
Since I am a fanatic about keeping my skin and body care non-toxic, I get a lot of questions about what my routine is and what products I use. I created this video to discuss all of that and more. The video below that features a lot of the hair care products that I use, including henna and my favorite clean shampoo.
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Nice! I will mix up a batch. The mold is usually caused by bacteria introduced when you put your hand in the jar. If you can use a squeeze container, you will reduce the likelihood of mold.
Yeah – The shower is not necessarily the cleanest place in the world, despite what we like to think! I knew the mold came from the bacteria on my hands. Not sure if a squeeze container would work. The sugar stays really course in mine … I’ll have to give it a try. Let me know how you like it!
Making Sugar scrubs are one of my favorite frugal indulgences. My current favorite has brown sugar and vanilla. It smells like Kahlua!
Yum! They are so simple to make and you can control the ingredients, which is nice! The amount of chemicals in our body products is crazy, so I am trying to move away from that and make my own stuff! I also love the brown sugar and vanilla combo. As a matter of fact, I love anything vanilla! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
When I use salt for scrub I never get any mold. Is sugar more prone to mold? I love shower scrub so much. I use it all the time and am always looking for new combinations!
Hi Claire – thanks for stopping by! It’s not the sugar that is prone to mold, it’s the amount of bacteria that gets into the container when you use it. Showers are notoriously dirty, even when they’re clean, so each time you stick your hand in there to scoop some out, it leaves some bacteria behind. The reason this batch molded is because I made WAY too much of it at one time and had too big of a jar in the shower. I now make small batches that I am able to use up in a week or two without any problems at all. Hope that helps 🙂
I use RealSalt, rather than sugar, and I’ve never had it develop mold.
Yes, the salt would definitely help preserve the product longer. However, salt scrubs can be very drying to some people’s skin, so people who suffer from dry skin might not want to use salt. Sugar scrubs don’t dry the skin out as much as salt scrubs do. As a matter of fact, I’ll go update that post with that in there, so people can understand the difference. Thanks for stopping by!
my coconut oil is a solid. do you just heat to get it to mix with this stuff? does it re-solidify?? thanks!
Hi April – The melting point for CO is around 76 degrees. So, during the summer, it will probably turn to liquid, depending on the temperature of your house. To liquefy it, you can just let it sit in a bowl of warm/hot water for a few minutes.
ahhhhh! thanks so much!
Put honey in the scrub with salt AND sugar. Honey is a natural antibacterial and anti fungal agent so it prohibits the growth of mold, and it’s great for the skin!
Could one use Sugar in the Raw instead of the turinado sugar? Or is it the same thing?
Hi Lisa – Yep! It’s the same thing! 🙂
Hi there!
I see a lot of post everywhere on wonderful scrubs made from Coconut Oil but none say where to buy it from…where can I purchase this oil?
Thanks!
Chloe
Hi Chloe – Thank you for stopping by! I personally buy my coconut oil from Tropical Traditions. I have tried many, many brands and I feel that theirs is the highest quality. They have a couple different kinds. Here are links to their Gold Label Virgin and their Expeller-Pressed:
https://www.deliciousobsessions.com/GoldLabelCoconutOil
https://www.deliciousobsessions.com/OrganicEPCoconutOil
Hope that helps! 🙂
I make this as well, however I also grind up oatmeal (NOT THE INSTANT) into a flour consistency, mix that in as well as some sea salt. I keep my container out of the shower. and before a shower I get a smaller container and pour what I need into it that way no mold gets in there. you can add which I also do is castile peppermint soap. along with a few drops of peppermint E.O. great stuff.
Thanks for sharing the tips! Those are some great ideas! 🙂
I do salt too. I have a constant yeast body battle going on and covering my self with sugar seems like a bad idea. You can get around the drying issue by adding vitamin e oil. It will also help preserve the scrub. As Far as I have learned the only reason I personally wouldn’t recommend salt to everyone is that the granules are sharper than sugar which is a rounded granule. So for some people its just WAY too abrasive. For me though I love it. I feel so clean after all the scratchy scrubbing. Hubby just tried my coffee salt scrub last night and he did mention the slight sting. He said it wasent too much but that can be an issue for some people too. I think ill add a bit of epson salt next time for the slight magniseam boost. Or just do your tutorial for the oil to add. Thanks so much for all the lovely recipes!
Great tips Miranda! Some people love the salt scrubs. They tend to irritate my skin so I stick with the sugar, but I say do what works for you! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes! Thank you for taking the time to stop by and comment! 🙂
Hi, i’ve been using coffee grounds with sugar, cinnamon and coconut oil. I love it as it makes my skin baby soft! However recently I broke out in rashes on two occasion after using different batch of the scrub. The rashes appear all over on my arms and legs, usually not itchy unless i start scratching it. i thought i might be allergic to the ingredients. but now that you mention the bacteria growth, do you think the bacteria would have caused these rashes?
Hi Sue! So sorry about the rashes! It’s hard to know the cause of those. It may take a little experimenting. You could try making enough for just one use, right before you shower and see if you still break out. If you do, it sounds like it would be a reaction to the ingredients since there should be no bacteria growth in a brand new fresh batch. Hope that helps a little! And, I hope you figure out the source of the rash! No fun! 🙁