Simple Body Scrubs: Brown and white sugar, and salt (Skin care/essential and carrier oil information)

One natural cosmetic that I love making is the basic body scrub. It is typically made with brown sugar, white sugar, or salt in a base of carrier (vegetable or nut) oil, and it is usually scented with essential oils. When I go into health food and beauty stores I often see them selling for a huge amount of money--anywhere from $15 to $30 for an 8 to 23 oz jar. The prices always make me balk (and go on a rant with whoever I'm shopping with ;) ) because they are not only really easy to make, but the ingredients aren't that expensive. For the price of ONE of the jars you see at the store, you could buy a few boxes of sugar or salt, a decent sized bottle of oil, and an essential oil, and make at least FIVE to TEN similar sized containers of scrub, plus still have plenty of essential oil left over to use in other products**.

Ingredient list:

A nice glass jar
A spoon or chopstick for mixing
Your choice of brown sugar, white sugar, or salt (or a combination)
A good carrier oil
Your favorite essential oils
Vitamin E

Directions:

Pour or lightly spoon the sugar or salt into the jar (leave an inch or two for the oil). Pour in the oil, just covering the sugar or salt. Mix. Add the vitamin E. Mix again. Add 3-6 drops of essential oil per ounce (about 2 Tablespoons) of scrub. Mix thoroughly to incorporate the essential oils evenly.

It's that simple.

I didn't give exact measurements for the sugar/salt to oil ratio, since the amounts you can use are really subjective. I've seen recipes where the amount of sugar/salt to oil is 1:1, other recipes where the ratio is 2 parts sugar/salt to 1 part oil, and even one recipe where the ratio was 5:1. Some people like using less oil, and some people prefer more.  It also depends on which carrier oil you choose (they vary in weight and texture). Try experimenting to find the ratio that works right for you!

Here are some more tips and notes for each ingredient and step.

Jar: Make sure it is glass, preferably colored. Essential oils degrade more quickly when exposed to sunlight and they eventually eat through most types of plastic. If you choose to reuse an old jar, make sure it is very, very clean and sanitized (to prevent mold and bacteria growth).  If you choose to use plastic, use PET #1 plastic since it is thought that PET plastic doesn't react to essential oils.

Mixing: I usually mix right in the jar, but some people may prefer to use a bowl, and then transfer it to a jar. Which is very useful if you are making a big batch for gifts, and want to scent each one with a different essential oil.

Brown sugar, white sugar, or salt: Salt usually makes a slightly more grittier product than the sugars, and it may be a bit drying for those with dry skin. Since it is so gritty, I would not recommend using a salt scrub for the face. The sugar scrubs are excellent choices for the facial skin, unless your skin is very oily, extremely sensitive, or if you have acne or broken capillaries.

Carrier oils: Many people can use a wide range of oils on their body skin. But if you are making a scrub for your face or if your (body) skin is extremely sensitive, you may want to use carrier oils for a specific skin type.

Dry: Olive (some people with normal skin love this too), avocado (very thick and rich; you may want to combine this with a lighter oil), rosehip seed (a bit expensive, combine with other oils if desired).

Normal: almond (also a good light-medium oil for dry skin), apricot (same as almond), macadamia nut (also great for mature, dry skin)

Oily: grapeseed (well absorbed into the skin, be sure to get cold pressed), hazelnut (astringent, make sure it is cold pressed), and jojoba (similar to sebum; many people with dry and normal skin love this too; this liquid wax is a bit pricy)

Essential oil safety: Though many essential oils are relatively safe (when used properly), take some caution when using them. Always dilute them before use, NEVER apply them neat (undiluted) to the skin. I recommend adding only up to 3-6 drops per ounce, a 0.5% to 1% concentration. If you feel truly feel that the smell isn't strong enough, you could use up to 12 drops of essential oils per ounce (a 2% concentration) but I wouldn't use more. If you are pregnant or making scrubs for a child, don't use more than 6 drops of essential oils per ounce (better to use 1-3 drops).  There are a lot of essential oils that should not be used on young kids and pregnant women. If you have medical health issues, consult a doctor familiar with aromatic medicine, or a well qualified, professional aromatherapist before using specific oils; some essential oils may interact with medications or are not suitable for certain health issues. For more about essential oil safety and essential oil profiles check Aromaweb. Many essential oils are also antibacterial.

Vitamin E: This ingredients is optional, but it helps prevent rancidity (it is an antioxidant). Vitamin E can be found in the beauty aisle of most supermarkets.  The concentration of vitamin E varies by brand, so for some brands you may only need to use a small drop for a large batch, while others you may need to use 1/4 teaspoon or more.  Check with the company you bought it from for the recommended minimum and maximum concentrations.

Extras: you can add dried, coarsely ground herbs for extra decoration and grit (especially nice for the salt scrub) or add honey or aloe for extra cleansing and emollience.  If you add aloe or honey, shelf life is reduced, so use it up quickly.

Note: If you find that your skin is too oily after you use these scrubs, I suggest either reducing the amount of oil you use, using honey or aloe instead of the carrier oil, or cleansing your body with soap after using the scrub.

This post has been edited:  I first edited this post many years ago to add the ratios.  And I just edited it on August 4, 2014 to add a little more information (for vitamin E etc), take out some information (since I haven't used grapefruit seed extract--an antioxidant--for years), and just a slight, general edit.  The post is basically the same, as when first written; just slightly tweaked.

**Note: when I first wrote this post many years ago, I wasn't a skin care business owner, so I didn't understand everything that went into product pricing.  So depending on the essential oils and other ingredients used, $15-30 for a large sized salt or sugar might be a good price or it could very well be overpriced.  But it is true that making your own sugar and salt scrubs are super easy, high quality (because you control the ingredients), and costs much less than buying them!