Sugar scrub recipes can do wonders for your skin. Here's how to make a sugar scrub that will benefit your skin the most
Most of us have been taught to avoid sugar like the plague if we’re looking to stay healthy over the long term. So it might come as a surprise that white sugar can actually do the body good.
It’s certainly true that consuming a high-sugar diet can be damaging to our health. But these harmful effects only occur when you eat sugar. When you rub sugar over your skin, a large body of research suggests it can offer a number of skin-friendly benefits.
This helps explain why sugar scrubs are all the rage these days. We all crave healthy, vibrant skin, but many of us would prefer to avoid chemical peels and other harsh treatments in the quest for a dewier complexion. And that’s exactly where sugar scrubs come in.
Research suggests sugar scrubs benefit the skin in a number of ways. Here’s how sugar can actually be good for you—plus how to make the best DIY sugar scrub recipe ever.
How Using A Sugar Scrub Benefits Your Skin
Exactly how do sugar scrubs benefit the skin? Here are four reasons more and more people are turning to these scrubs to enhance their complexion:
1. They help exfoliate the skin
Because sugar is made of tiny, slightly abrasive particles, it’s a powerful skin exfoliator. It gently sloughs off dead skin cells, dirt, and excess oils to smooth the skin and reveal a more radiant appearance—without damaging the skin.
2. They help hydrate the skin
Sugar is a natural humectant, which is a fancy way of saying it draws moisture from the air and then “shares” that moisture with whatever it’s touching. When you apply sugar to your skin, that moisture goes into your skin and helps keep your skin hydrated. And as we all know, proper hydration makes for soft and lustrous skin.
3. They help boost circulation
Sugar scrubs are rubbed onto the skin, and this rubbing motion helps boost circulation. Increasing blood flow to the skin helps maintain skin health and protect against a dull appearance.
4. They have anti-aging effects
Sugar naturally contains glycolic acid, which is an alpha-hydroxy acid that exfoliates the skin and encourages cell turnover. That’s a more complicated way of saying the acid encourages dead skin cells to fall off and new skin cells to form, thereby helping the skin take on a fresher and tighter appearance. Glycolic acid also has emollient properties, meaning it helps soften the skin.
How to Use a Sugar Scrub
Looking to enjoy the sweet benefits of a sugar scrub? Before you start slathering sugar on your body, learn how to use a sugar scrub for maximum benefit by keeping the following pointers in mind:
- Opt for high-quality ingredients. Whether you purchase a scrub or make your own DIY sugar scrub, it’s important to choose organic and natural ingredients. Because your skin will absorb whatever’s in the scrub, it’s best to avoid products with potentially harmful chemicals.
- Apply the scrub in the bath or shower. Wetting your skin with warm water before using the scrub softens the skin and makes it more receptive to the scrub’s ingredients.
- Massage the scrub onto the skin. After wetting your skin, scoop up a bit of the scrub with your fingers and gently massage it onto your skin using a circular motion. Don’t scrub aggressively, as this can irritate the skin. Avoid scrubbing skin that is already irritated or damaged.
- Rinse thoroughly after scrubbing. This helps remove dead skin cells and other impurities released during exfoliation. Use a soft towel to gently pat yourself dry after rinsing.
- Use a moisturizer after rinsing. This helps soothe the skin after it’s been exfoliated. Applying a moisturizer or body oil while the skin is still slightly damp also helps “lock in” hydration for a silky-smooth feeling.
- If you’re going outside after using the scrub, apply sunscreen first. This is important for protecting the newly exfoliated skin.
- Repeat this process approximately once or twice a week. Different people have different tolerances for exfoliation due to variations in skin type and sensitivity—so there’s no perfect formula for how often you should use an exfoliating scrub. But most experts agree it’s better to under-do it than over-do it. For that reason, it’s probably best to limit your exfoliating sessions to once or twice a week.
Now that you know how to use a sugar scrub, it’s time to whip up a DIY sugar scrub or purchase a scrub from a brand you trust.
The Simplest Way to Make a DIY Sugar Scrub
Ready to give sugar scrubs a try? It’s surprisingly simple to test out different sugar scrub recipes at home. Here’s the basic formula for a DIY sugar scrub:
1. Gather your ingredients
You simply need sugar (of course!) and a base oil such as coconut oil, almond oil, jojoba oil, or safflower oil. Each of these oils absorbs effectively into the skin and won’t leave you feeling greasy after you’ve scrubbed. Try to choose organic sugars and oils to avoid introducing potentially harmful chemicals into your skin.
As you get more comfortable making scrubs, you may want to experiment with incorporating additional ingredients such as essential oils, fresh fruit, dried herbs, and so on.
2. Mix your ingredients together
Once you’ve collected your ingredients, it’s time to mix them into a scrub. Different people prefer different ratios of sugar to oil, so you’ll probably want to experiment with these ratios to learn what you like best.
Using ½ cup sugar and ½ cup oil is a good place to start. From there, you can experiment with using more or less oil. If you’re using essential oils, start by adding just a few drops to the mixture; then experiment with using more or less depending on your preferences.
3. Store your scrub properly
The goal is to prevent water or humidity from infiltrating the scrub so it lasts as long as possible. To that end, store the scrub in an airtight container and don’t leave it in the shower when it’s not in use.
Our Favorite Sugar Scrub Ingredients
It's easy to make a basic sugar scrub at home, but there are some ingredients that will take it to a whole new level.
We may be a little biased, but we think our plant-based Raspberry Lemon Sugar Scrub is one of the best sugar scrubs on the planet. That’s because it contains a host of food-grade ingredients that are proven to rejuvenate dull, dry skin and help create a healthier, smoother, and more vibrant complexion.
Here are 8 stellar ingredients included in our botanical exfoliating scrub:
White Sugar
As noted above, sugar is a gentle exfoliator and a natural humectant, which means it helps remove off dead skin and moisturize fresher skin for a balanced, dewy complexion. It also contains skin-softening and pore-tightening glycolic acid.
Organic Coconut Oil
Is there anything coconut oil can’t do? This popular oil penetrates the skin to deliver benefits beyond the surface. Those benefits include strengthening the skin, reducing fine lines, fighting infections, moisturizing, and removing impurities.
Kaolin Clay
This mineral clay may help draw toxins from the skin and reduces inflammation, thereby softening the skin and improving its appearance. It also increases circulation, which further contributes to a more vibrant complexion.
Almond Oil
Sweet Almond Oil helps reduce inflammation, smooths the skin, and alleviates dry skin, eczema, psoriasis, and other dry or itchy skin conditions. The result is a healthier skin tone and complexion. Almond oil also helps other ingredients in this scrub absorb deeper into the skin, which enhances their own skin-boosting effects.
Witch Hazel
While it might have a spooky-sounding name, witch hazel is packed with skin-friendly benefits. It’s an antioxidant-rich extract that helps protect against free radicals, thereby slowing down signs of aging. It’s also been shown to moisturize the skin, minimize the appearance of pores, reduce inflammation, and assist in the healing of minor skin irritations.
Jojoba Oil
Another popular oil in the cosmetics world, jojoba oil is packed with vitamins E and B Complex along with anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. This explains why jojoba oil may help heal skin damage and irritations such as small wounds, psoriasis, and acne. It also stimulates collagen production, thereby smoothing fine lines and wrinkles.
Lemon Essential Oil
This essential oil doesn’t just offer a fresh, lemony scent—it’s also one of the most powerful antimicrobial oils in existence. It’s useful in healing skin irritations or infections, and it also helps fight off free radicals and slow down signs of aging. And because it penetrates deep into the skin, it helps improve the complexion from the inside out.
Rosemary Extract
Here’s another great-smelling ingredient that’s also loaded with beneficial properties. Rosemary is both antiseptic and antimicrobial, which means it may play a role in healing skin conditions such as acne, dermatitis, eczema, and oily skin. It also aids circulation and boasts powerful antioxidant properties that help reduce skin damage from free radicals and prevents wrinkles.
Putting It All Together
Sugar scrubs provide a number of benefits in the form of gentle exfoliation, deep hydration, improved circulation, and anti-aging effects.
You now know how to make a basic sugar scrub, and ingredients to add for an extra powerful boost. But if you want to the maximum amount of benefits you can get from a sugar scrub it will be simpler (and cheaper) to try ours than make a DIY sugar scrub at home.
Our Raspberry Lemon Sugar Scrub is jam-packed with good-for-you ingredients in the form of coconut oil, almond oil, jojoba oil, kaolin clay, witch hazel, lemon essential oil, and rosemary extract. Together, these ingredients help heal the skin from the inside out and promote the smooth, radiant complexion we all crave.
Plus, it is a food-grade sugar scrub so you know you will only be using the highest quality ingredients. It even comes our 60 day "Love It or Your Money Back Guarantee"!
See what it can do for you risk free:
Whether you make your own or try ours, you are sure to be impressed with how much a sugar scrub can do for your skin. In one use you'll feel how soft your skin can really be. And the longer you use it, the more improvements you'll see!
Just do your best not to eat any, they are packed with calories!