Spring is in full swing, but I’m already day dreaming about Summer.
Especially about all the summer fruit you get to eat. A slice of watermelon as a quick snack, slices of kiwi and strawberries on top of your nice cream bowl … no season tastes as good as Summer.
I’ve been wanting to make new diy sugar scrub body cubes to get my rough, dried up skin ready for bikini weather. As I was thinking about what colors and fragrances I was going to use, the idea of an assortment of summer fruit popped up into my mind.
The idea is similar to my Key Lime Pie Scrub Bars recipe. Only in this case I’m staying away from desserts and focusing on fresh summer fruits. Even if these scrub bars are loaded with sugar 😉
The bold and vibrant colors and the fresh and zesty scents instantly bring Summer into your bath room!
Can you guess all the summer fruits in this picture? I picked some of my favorite summer fruits and tried to turn them into sugar scrub cubes. In spirit that is, no fresh fruit was used to make these little scrub bars!
To make your own DIY sugar scrub cubes at home it only takes a few simple ingredients you probably already own.
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Ingredients to Make Sugar Scrub Cubes
Most natural DIY sugar scrub cubes are comprised of 3 main ingredients: a skin exfoliator, a cleansing agent and a moisturizing ingredient.
Exfoliator: Sugar
These cubes aren’t just meant to look pretty on the side of your bath tub. There most important goal is to exfoliate your skin.
When you run the cube over your skin, you can feel it buff away dead skin cells. This exfoliating action leaves your skin looking fresh and feeling silky smooth.
As the exfoliating ingredient in this recipe I chose regular white granulated sugar.
Other options that are natural body exfoliators include:
- fine sea salt
- ground coffee beans
- rice flour
- raw cane sugar
- brown sugar
You can swap sugar for one of these alternatives, but keep in mind that this will change the texture, look and feel of your final product. You might prefer to mix different exfoliating ingredients together until you get the amount of exfoliation you like.
Brown sugar for example is slightly less grainy than cane sugar or white granulated sugar for example.
One of my personal favorite favorite body scrub exfoliators is coffee grounds. Not only does it make your scrub cubes smell delicious (that is, if you like the scent of coffee), the grains also feel softer on your skin. Ground coffee can also stain your shower or tub.
Sea salt is a popular choice in homemade body scrubs, but it can feel scratchy. And don’t forget, salt can sting on open wounds, even on small scratches and cuts.
And finally, don’t underestimate the power of rice flour. When you buff those flour grains onto your skin it feels a lot more grainy than you might think. Because their particle size is smaller, rice flour makes a great micro exfoliator, but at the same it might work a little too well at buffing away those skin cells. Usually rice flour is used in combination with finely ground (colloidal) oatmeal or almond flour to balance out the grittiness.
All of these ingredients make great body exfoliators, but can be too much for sensitive areas like your face. Only use these ingredients in a face scrub in small percentages and properly diluted.
Cleanser: Pure Glycerin Soap
Now that we know how we’re going to exfoliate our skin, it’s time to turn them into cubes.
The best way to do this is by mixing the sugar with soap. You can do that by chopping up a bar of soap, melting the pieces and turning the mixture into soap again.
You can use a melt and pour soap base. Or you can use any regular soap bar. Since we’re making natural beauty products here, it’s best to choose a pure, natural soap.
I picked pure glycerin soap. This soap has a slightly ‘sticky’ texture, but its a gently choice for sensitive skin types.
Make sure the soap you choose is uncolored (clear or white in color) and unscented, if you want to add your own personal touch to the sugar scrub bars.
The lather of the soap will help the sugar grains glide over your skin. And because it’s a cleanser, it will also make it easier to rinse off any leftover sugar scrub on your skin.
Moisturizer: Cocoa Butter
Next up, moisture.
I’m not talking about the water kind. I’m talking about the “my skin feels as soft as a new born puppy” kind of moisture.
To do that I chose cocoa butter as my third and final ingredient.
Cocoa butter is a much loved ingredient in homemade beauty products, like lip balms, body butter and massage bars.
The moisturizing cocoa butter will balance out the exfoliating from the sugar grains and the cleansing from the soap.
Alternatively you could swap the cocoa butter for Shea butter or coconut oil, but do keep in mind that by changing an ingredient you’ll also change the consistency of the final product.
There you have it. The 3 simple ingredients you need to make your own DIY sugar scrub bars. I bet you already have these ingredients in your kitchen/pantry/bath room at home. And if not, they’re just a click away.
You can stop right here. Or continue and turn a bland (yet perfectly effective) body scrub into a treat for your senses.
How To Color and Scent your Sugar Scrub Cubes
The 3 ingredients listed above work fine on their own, but who wants to look at bland sugar scrub cubes in their bath room?
To make your DIY sugar scrub smell like summer fruit you can either add a few drops of fragrance oil or essential oil.
Fruit scented Fragrance Oils
You can find many kinds of fragrance oils these days. If you can think it, it probably exists. Cotton candy, ocean breeze, pumpkin pie …
And for every fruit kind you’ll probably find a fragrance oil to match it.
That’s why fragrance oils make an obvious choice for these summer fruit inspired scrub bars.
Fragrance oils are synthetic and artificially made. Always look for quality fragrance oils that are approved for cosmetic and soap use. A little goes a long way, so follow the instructions from the brand when it comes to drops, dilution rates and precautions.
One of the downsides of using a fragrance oil is that they can smell quite artificial. Instead of a fresh strawberry scent you might get a double strawberry frappuccino with extra whipped cream.
Fruit scented Essential Oils
A more natural route would be to use essential oils.
Of course your choice is limited here, as I’ve never since a strawberry flower essential oil for example.
Some fruit or fruit scented essential oils you can use include:
- lemon
- lime
- grapefruit
- sweet orange
- lemongrass
Other essential oils that go well in these sugar scrub bars include:
- fresh: peppermint/eucalyptus
- sweet: vanilla/benzoin
- floral: lavender/ylang ylang/geranium
You can add any essential oil you like really, I would just steer clear of tea tree, patchouli, bergamot etcetera. That would just be weird.
Soap coloring: mica
Now that your sugar scrub smells great, you’ll also want them to look good. That’s why we need to add color.
You can find water based (liquid) soap colorants and powder colorants. Since you only add a few drops of the liquid colorant to soap mixtures this is fine to use when making soaps and bath bombs. But since we’re adding other ingredients to this recipe, including food items like sugar, it’s best to stay as far away from water as possible.
That’s why in this case I recommend to use colored mica powders. These powders come in all kinds of colors and can be used for a variety of beauty craft projects.
How To Use Sugar Scrub Cubes
Once you’ve made your own DIY Sugar Scrub Cubes with the recipe below it’s time to put them to good use. I like to use them once a week in my shower.
- Take a cube with you in the shower or bath tub.
- Rinse your skin first with plenty of water.
- Gently run the cube over your skin, using circular motions to massage the skin. Start at your ankles and wrists and slowly work your way towards your chest. Run the cube underneath water if it feels too scrubby.
- Rinse the left over sugar scrub off your skin with plenty of water. Use body wash if you like to remove all residue.
- Throw away any left over sugar scrub that has gotten wet.
Be careful when you use butters and oils in your shower and bath tub, as they can make your floor slippery. Always clean up after you’re done!
Summer Fruit Sugar Scrub Recipe
Make your own sugar scrub with simple ingredients at home. Pick your favorite summer fruit and start experimenting!
Materials
- 1 cup | 6 oz | 170 g white granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons | 1 oz | 30 g cocoa butter
- 4 oz | 115 g pure glycerin soap
- 5 - 15 drops essential or fragrance oils (follow brand instructions)
- cosmetic mica powders in color of choice
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds - optional
Tools
Instructions
- Dice the soap into small chunks. Use the double boiler method to slowly melt the soap chunks. Or carefully melt the chunks in a heatproof bowl using 30 second intervals at a low setting in the microwave.
- Add cocoa butter to the melted soap and stir until the butter has dissolved into the soap. Reheat if necessary.
- Slowly add sugar to the melted mixture and stir to combine. If you're using only one scent, add a few drops to this batch (for amount, follow the instructions that come with the oil).
- Divide the mixture over several batches if using different colors. If you're using different scents add a drop or two to each batch. Remember, a little goes a long way. Stir each mixture to combine.
- Add 1/2 teaspoon mica in the color of your choice to each batch. Stir well until the color is evenly combined. Work quickly here, as the mixture will start to set!
- Distribute the mixtures over your molds. Layer different colors or go for one color. I added a teaspoon of dry poppy seeds to the green and red batch to make it look like kiwi, watermelon and strawberry seeds.
- Let the cubes sit in their molds for at least 2 hours or until set. Take the cubes out of their molds and store in an airtight container.
Notes
- Keep all water away from each sugar scrub cube until you're ready to use it. If kept with care the cubes can last up to 6 months.
- Take 1 cube with you in the shower or bath tub and use right away. If you find the cubes too big you can cut them or use smaller molds.
Do you want to keep the beauty crafting fun going? In my book DIY Beauty I share 100 recipes to make your own lip balms, bath bombs, eye creams and face masks with all natural ingredients.
You can find more information about my book here.
If you like these DIY Sugar Scrub Cubes inspired by Summer Fruit, make sure to put a pin on it!
Happy scrubbing!
Ina