Personal Care Kitchen: How to Make Homemade Body Scrubs

March is Bathroom Month at our sister sites, and while cooking and bathrooms don't instinctively mix (although, oh, how we loved Kramer's shower drain garbage disposal on "Seinfeld"), there are some common kitchen ingredients you can use to whip up all-natural bath products.

First up: We're test-driving a trio of homemade body scrubs.

Most do-it-yourself recipes call for oil combined with either salt or sugar, resulting in a scrub that sloughs off dead skin cells but still moisturizes. We decided to try olive oil combined with each of these three: brown sugar, granulated sugar, and kosher salt.

As far as measurements, a little trial and error produced the following:

• For brown sugar, use equal parts oil and sugar. We used 2 tablespoons of each for our sample.
• For granulated sugar, which is finer and tends to dissolve a bit in the oil, use twice as much sugar as oil. We used 2 tablespoons of oil and 4 tablespoons of sugar.
• For kosher or sea salt, use two parts oil to three parts salt. We used 2 tablespoons of oil and 3 tablespoons of salt. You can adjust it, depending on how coarse your salt is.

We'd also recommend a few drops of essential oil, like lavender or grapefruit, which you can find in health food stores. That way, you'll smell more like a spa and less like a muffin.

As for the results... We preferred the granulated sugar mixture. It felt like smooth sand and provided good exfoliation without being too harsh. The brown sugar was clumpy. And brown (lemony yellow seemed more aesthetically pleasing). The salt was too abrasive for our skin, although it would be great for calloused heels. Just scrub sitting down, as your feet get pretty slippery from the oil.

Speaking of oil, check out this post on how much to spend on your olive oil. An inexpensive brand with a less pronounced flavor is certainly sufficient for this recipe.

And stay tuned for more kitchen ingredients in the bathroom!

(Image credit: Elizabeth Passarella for The Kitchn. From left: granulated sugar, brown sugar, kosher salt.)

Comments (17)

whenever i'm tossing potatos or veggies with oil and salt, i scrub my hands with the mixture before washing up. it's actually makes a difference, yes.

whenever my aunt made ceasar salad, she'd use the egg yolk but then slather the egg white on her face as a face mask - yes, but WHILE making the salad?? strange family, all mine. :)

just don't put mango peel on your face, It is a relative of poison ivy.

i make a scrub using leftover coffee grounds and salt. the smell is awesome!

I use glycerin instead of oil, as lots of oil going down the drain is not so good. Added bonus: the bottom of your tub doesn't get slippery. You can still add a few drops of essential oil without it bothering the drains.

Here's a blog that has more do it yourself recipes http://sugarliciousscrubs.blogspot.com/ if your interested. I usually avoid salt scrubs. If you have any small cuts or scrapes it will sting like crazy for quite some time. Sugar doesn't sting.

Be careful what essential oils you use as some are extreme irritants to the skin, like peppermint, clove, and cinnamon.

I use jojoba or grapeseed oil in my brown sugar scrubs. Jojoba is my favorite. All winter I had the softest skin and I didn't need any other moisturizers.

I use sweet almond oil and raw sugar for my scrub, but often I just use the sweet almond oil alone.

Aspirin. Uncoated, regular ol' aspirin. I smoosh it with a little water to make a paste and then add oil and scent. It doesn't dissolve like sugar or scratch like salt. It exfoliates beautifully. After all, it is pure salicylic acid.

on that note kdkaboom, after eating kiwi fruit my mother in law will smear the left over all over her face...during lunch no less. :)

I actually combine brown sugar, white sugar and sea salt with grapeseed oil and Palmer's
Cocoa Butter Formula, Moisturizing Body Oil with Vitamin E. I usually add a little lemon zest and a few drops of essential oil. Smells lovely, exfoliates well and far less expensive than Fresh's signature product "Brown Sugar Scrub."

Ground almonds and flax seeds mixed with a hint of pumice powder. Reconstitute with a few drops of water and scrub away. Leaves a nice layer of almond/flax oil on the skin.

I'm so glad you all have such fun families. After buying bath and body works sugar scrub I now have some recipes to fill the empty container. I also add avocado to some of the recipes.

I made a scrub with granulated sugar, olive oil, and a toss of sea salt with ginger. I can see myself becoming obsessed with creating new scrubs. :):) My legs thank you all!

Wouldn't the coffee grounds cause your skin to turn brown? I mean, you make homemade brown paint from it...

Kimber- the coffee grounds don't dye your skin! And the caffeine in the beans *supposedly* helps reduce the appearance of cellulite. I generally compost what I don't use (I only use the grounds to exfoliate occasionally) because they have the nasty tendency to clog a drain!

@kdkaboom: One of my aunt used to do the same. When cutting fruits for juice or just, she applies the left over peels with tidbits of fruit pulp on her face after she was done! :)