Do you know how easy it is to make your own sugar scrub? I didn’t! This coconut oil sugar scrub recipe can be made with as little as two ingredients.

To me, summer means three things: sun, heat, and barefeet. All three of which result in dry skin, especially here in the Desert Southwest of New Mexico.

Until recently I had been using a super-posh exfoliating scrub from Origins, which a friend gave me as a gift.  But when it ran out, I almost had heart failure when I saw how expensive it would be to buy for myself.

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Easiest Coconut Oil Sugar Scrub Recipe EVER

Lately I’ve been hearing so much about the benefits of coconut oil that I thought I’d try to make my own coconut oil sugar scrub instead. Turns out, the entire ingredient list is in the name: coconut oil and sugar. You can also add essential oil for a nice aromatherapy experience and extra health benefits.

After a few tries, I found that my favorite formula is:

• 4 parts sugar
• 1 part Coconut Oil
• 2-4 drops Peppermint Oil

  

Make your own Coconut Oil Sugar Scrub:

1. Measure out the sugar into a bowl. Plain white table sugar works great for this recipe, or you can use natural sugar for a more vigorous scrub. If you’re just making one batch for yourself, 4 heaping tablespoons will be enough for a miniature mason jar.

2. Add the coconut oil. (So if you’re making one little mason jar’s worth, you’d add a heaping tablespoon of oil.) If you’ve never used coconut oil before, you should know that it’s usually a solid at room temperature, so it doesn’t look like oil at all. Once it warms up just a bit, it turns into liquid.

This property is part of what makes coconut oil such a good ingredient for a body scrub. It liquefies on contact!

3. Mix both together. At first, it will seem like you have the wrong proportions as it takes a while for the oil to mix with the sugar. It will eventually turn into a grainy sludge that roughly holds its shape.

4. Add a couple of drops of essential oil or extract. (I used peppermint extract, since it was all I had on hand in my kitchen, and I love its bright smell.) Mix thoroughly.

That’s all it takes to make yourself an incredibly effective and healthy body scrub!

How to Use Homemade Sugar Scrub

This scrub is so easy to use, and is great for your skin. You just rub a dab onto your skin for a few seconds, rinse off with warm water, and gently pat dry.

The sugar exfoliates and then dissolves quickly in the water, and the coconut oil will stay behind to continue moisturizing, so there’s no need to add lotion.

Body scrubs are so great for exfoliation and moisturizing, but did you know you can also use this as a shave cream? I found this out the hard way when I ran out of shaving cream in the shower.

After you apply the scrub, rinse it gently off, and the coconut oil left behind will buffer your skin from the razor. It actually works better than any shave cream I’ve tried.

Bonus: this stuff is so healthy and natural, you could even eat it. I know – I gave it a little taste test, all in the name of research. Yummy.

Make your scrub into a sweet gift!

Now, if you’re as inspired as I was by this discovery, you might want to make up a whole batch and give them as gifts. You could add a bright citrus-y scent as a gift for your gardening friends in the spring, or pine and cinnamon scents for cute Christmas gifts.

All you need to do is package them in cute little mini-mason jars, and print a label for the top. I’ve included a free downloadable version of my label in my Free Printables Library, which you can print on any color paper to jazz it up a bit.

Free Printable Sugar Coconut Scrub Labels

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If you’re already a subscriber, click over to the Free Printables Library to find the download. You’ll need the password at the bottom of any of my emails.

(The labels are sized for the standard Mason Jelly Jar lids, which also fit the mini-jars.)

Put a cute little ribbon around the edge and you’ve got an adorable and useful hand-made gift. (I hope my kids’ teachers aren’t reading this right now!)

I haven’t gotten into essential oils yet, although this project has inspired me to try a few. What are your favorite combinations? Maybe I’ll make up a new batch with those!

Update: We’ve been playing around with a few essential oils recently. My daughter loves this Smiles for Miles formula, and I like Lavender and Tea Tree Oil. Give them a try, or any other essential oils. The possibilities are endless!