I fell in love with sugar scrubs a few years back when I was an avid LUSH shopper. The one that I would normally buy cost me about $6 and was 3.5oz big. If I stretched it out I could get 3 uses out of it… not a whole lot, considering the price.

Eventually, I stopped buying the sugar scrub and just used my loofah extra hard on any rough spots. It wasn’t quite the same thing but I got tired of spending so much on body scrubs.

Unfortunately, this summer is a scorcher! It has been super hot and the temperature doesn’t seem to be dropping anytime soon. Which means, my “chicken skin” is getting extremely irritated and itchy.

“Chicken skin” as it is commonly known is actually a medical condition called keratosis pilaris and affects about half of the population. Keratosis pilaris is a common skin condition in which a protein in the skin called keratin forms hard plugs within hair follicles.

I’ve had this for as long as I can remember and it covers most of my arms, the bottom of my face, and my upper chest/neck area. For most people it is worse in the winter when skin is most dry but for me… it is worse in the summer. I’ve really never been self conscious about it but when it irritates me and I see it getting worse it does kind of tick me off.

Back in high school when I was more self conscious about it I visited a dermatoligst and he prescribed some very expensive lotion that I was supposed to apply 2x daily. Well, I didn’t. It smelled terrible and I hate applying lotion. I still hate applying lotion so when my arms started breaking out again this summer I went on the hunt for a cheap exfoliant to help calm my rough, itchy skin.

I came across a DIY sugar scrub that seemed easy enough so I gave it a shot. I decided before I gave you all the recipe I should try it out for at least one month. Well, here I am 5 weeks after making it and I can say that it was a complete success!

Some people have complained of their homemade bath products getting moldy, but as long as you keep water out of it and keep it in an airtight container you shouldn’t have that problem. The smell was the same from day 1 to day 31 and it worked the same from the first scoop to the last. The best part about it is how cheap it is to make! The recipe makes a few cups and costs under $1. It’s also super easy. So here we go!

 

VANILLA BROWN SUGAR SCRUB

 

What you’ll need:

2 cups of brown sugar

1 cup of granulated sugar (I used an all natural one for a little extra coarseness)

1 cup of sunflower oil (you can use olive oil it just has a stronger scent)

1 tbs of pure vanilla extract

1 large bowl

1 air tight container

Ribbons, decals, small spoon (optional, for decorating)

 

Start with 2 cups of brown sugar

Add 1 cup of granulated sugar

Add 1 cup of oil

Add your vanilla…

Then you dig right in and get to smooshing!

Make sure you get it all combined.

I split mine into two pint sized mason jars… pardon my terrible script, I have childish penmenship or so I am CONSTANTLY told.

**I also used mine as a lip scrub while in the shower and it worked amazingly! I plan on making a Lush dupe lip scrub in the near future though, so I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes! Don’t forget this works great on rough spots and feet!