DIY: Simple Citrus Sugar Scrub

Sugar scrubs are one of my favorite things to make at home! They’re simple, quick, and you can save quite a bit of money if you make your own vs. buying them year-round. This week I created a recipe for a citrus sugar scrub that has a gentle blend of essential oils including tangerine, frankincense, and bergamot. Even my mom loves it! And she’s a hard one to please (typically opts for no scent whatsoever). Read on to learn how to make this fun recipe and treat your skin this summer.

Why Sugar Scrubs / How Often?

The blend of sugar crystals and jojoba oil exfoliates and softens your skin at the same time. This is not for your face! It is for use on body only and works great to smooth out areas of your skin that might typically get dry and rough (backs of arms, thighs, feet etc). Use once or twice per week (if you use a body scrub daily it can have the adverse effect of making your skin leathery).

What You’ll Need:

Jojoba oil (organic if possible)
Organic cane sugar
Essential oils (I recommend Eden Botanicals)
Measuring cups / spoons
8oz container with lid (I used this one)
Washi tape for decoration (optional)

Step 1
Start with a clean, dry container for your mixture. Measure out 3/4 cup of the organic cane sugar into an 8oz jar (small canning jars can also work). I always make notes as I go ; )

Step 2
Fill a 1/4 cup container with the jojoba oil, filling to just below the rim so you have room for the essential oils. Drop them into the jojoba before pouring into the sugar. For this recipe I used the following number of drops: 30 tangerine, 10 bergamot, 10 frankincense. Of course feel free to experiment and find a blend that is perfect just for you. Just remember, you can always add more, but you can’t subtract, so start with a few and add slowly. Tangerine is a fairly mild and safe essential oil so a blend of this size can take 30 drops, but if you’re working with a stronger EO take care. If you’re interested in Essential Oil safety, please see here and here.

Step 3
Pour the jojoba / essential oil mixture into the jar of sugar. Stir until well combined. At this point you can also add a few more drops of essential oils if you feel it is not strong enough for you, or add another tablespoon of jojoba if you want to saturate the sugar even more, but I felt this was a good combination. The oil will settle to the bottom when it sits on your bathroom shelf so you’ll need to stir it a bit when scooping it out for use.

Tangerine/Mandarin (Citrus reticulata): calming, (also combines with lavender), slightly warming citrus aroma.
Bergamot (Citrus aurantium): Uplifting, bright, refreshing.
Frankincense (Boswellia frereana or B. carteri): soothes inflamed skin conditions, antimicrobial, cell regenerative, quiets the mind.

Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis): softening, soothing, antibacterial, vitamins E and B, high in wax esters, or sterols, which resemble a similar chemical structure to the sterol content in our own skin. *You can also use an infused oil as the base instead of plain jojoba (i.e. a vanilla bean infused jobjoa, or an herbal-infused oil such as jojoba infused with calendula). Infusions can take 6 weeks – 3 months to make but are well worth it!

If you want you can also distribute this recipe between two 4oz containers. These are perfect sample sizes to give as gifts. After you cap them you can simply seal the lids with a strip of colorful or metallic washi tape!

There are so many combinations you can make when it comes to sugar scrubs, but I hope you enjoy this simple one. It is light, fresh, uplifting and yet also balancing and grounding at the same time. If you’re interested in learning more about essential oils and their aromatherapeutic applications I’d highly recommend The New York Institute of Aromatic Studies. That is where I became certified in the Art of Botanical Perfume, took their Free Online Introduction to Aromatherapy Course, and recently enrolled in their Botanical Body Care Products Certification Course. Have fun!

xo – Naomi