DIY Sugar Scrub ~ Fun, Easy, Gift Idea

I just looked at the calendar and am no longer in denial I am in PANIC MODE!!!  It is almost Thanksgiving and have I NOTHING done for Christmas! Now don't let me fool you, for the first 20-some years of my life I was the person shopping on Christmas Eve and wrapping presents (poorly I might add) well into the wee hours.  But having both munchkins around the holidays forced me to change me evil ways and be more proactive.  So for the last few years I have been done shopping right after Thanksgiving... shocking I know!  This year however I have fallen off the "organization wagon" and have landed with a deafening thud!  Not one to wallow in self-pity... at least not for too long, I am trying to dig my way out of this pit.  To keep with this creative push I'm trying to stick to.. I really want to "make" a good portion of the things I give this year and when I cam across some DIY Sugar Scrub recipes I thought they might be fun to try.  I used to use one from Bath and Body Works years ago and instantly wanted to see if I could recreate it or at least something neat the girls in my life might like.  After checking out about a dozen sights and recipes and then giving it a whirl myself I came to a few conclusions.  First, why the heck didn't I try this years ago :) Next, all the measuring in these recipes is a big old waste of time!  And finally, who cares if I now have to sell a kidney to pay my hot water bill I have the silkiest skin around :)  So enough rambling.. this is how they turned out!

Cute huh? This is how I did it.

First you need some kind of container with an air-tight lid. I found these glass glass jars at the dollar store, but you could use mason jars or even plastic container as long as the top screws on tight.

The base is sugar and oil... from there the options are nearly endless :) For this one I used a half and half mixture of brown and white sugar.  But you could just use white sugar (which I did for a lemon scrub you'll see later).

 If you use the combo I would suggest mixing it in a bowl instead of your container just to make sure it combines.  As for the amount that just depends on the size of your jar... start with at least your container full of sugar because the oil compacts everything and will give you plenty of room later. You could mix it all in a bowl and transfer it when you are done, but I wanted to see just how much would fit. 

I then used a canning funnel and filled up my jar with the sugar mixture.  After making one I realized that it was hard to get the oil all the way to the bottom so hopefully you can see here, I put a little oil in the bottom first and that helped get it all combined a little easier.

Now it's time to add your oil.  You can use olive oil, but one recipe suggested sunflower oil because it had less of a scent so I gave it a try and it worked great.  It was right next to all the other oils at the store and was inexpensive.

I also tried Coconut Oil!  If you've never tried it this stuff is kind of amazing, you can cook with it, use it as a natural moisturizer among other things and it smells YUMMY!

The only issue is that it is solid.

So you have to heat it up.  Then just add it to the sugar.

How much is totally up to you.  I made some really wet with oil sitting on top... and some with much less. You at least want it to be similar to wet sand, that way it will exfoliate and moisture all at once.

My "little elf" was a big help with the mixing.

Even if he has no idea what "exfoliate" means :)

OK so this is what it looks like and you could end here... but why miss all the fun?

I decided honey and vitamin E were good for the skin so why not :) And I love vanilla, lemon and pomegranate so I decided to try those.. not all together of course!  I used about a teaspoon of vitamin E, a big squirt of Mr. Honey Bear, and a splash of the scent. Technical huh?  Just add some give it a sniff and play with it until you are happy :) 

 See told ya.. recipe-schmecipe :)

Then just a few drops of red food coloring for the pomegranate and yellow for the lemon to make the color really bright and festive!

See the lemon hand scrub I added more oil for a runnier consistency... it's totally up to you! They all work and smell AMAZING!

Finally I just printed off some labels that I made with the ingredients, directions and a message.

Tied it off with a ribbon.

And added either a coffee measuring spoon or scoop. These are a great gift to give anyone you think deserves a little pampering.  They smell amazing and in one use transformed my tired skin to smooth and soft even in the middle of a cold snap... you can't beat that!  This was fun, easy and didn't break the bank... hope my girls like it :)

Happy Scrubbing, Lindsey