DIY Spa-Style Sugar Scrub

It’s never too early to start thinking about your holiday gift list. This year, why not consider a handmade holiday? It’s not as hard as you think. For instance, a sugar scrub, quickly and easily made from all-natural ingredients right in your own kitchen, makes a thoughtful, inexpensive gift for teachers, friends, coworkers – anyone who would appreciate a pampering, spa-style treatment. If you can measure and stir, you can make this soothing, fragrant sugar scrub.

Step 1: What You’ll Need

To make three half-pint canning jars’ worth of scrub, you’ll need

• 2 cups of white sugar
• 1/3 cup almond oil
• essential oil in your favorite fragrance (I like peppermint especially for the holidays)
• food coloring (a few drops of red for peppermint, blue for lavender, yellow for lemon, etc. – use your imagination!)
• a mixing bowl and spoon
• half-pint canning jars

If you have enough jars, feel free to double or triple the “recipe.”

 

Step 2: Mix It Up

Place the sugar in a mixing bowl and slowly add the almond oil, starting with 1/4 cup, stirring until the mixture reaches a consistency you like. Add a few drops of the essential oil and a few drops of food coloring (start with a just a little first, as you don’t want it to be too dark) and blend.

 

Step 3: Package It

Pack the sugar scrub into jars, pressing down a bit with the back of a spoon. Apply ribbon and labels or whatever embellishment you’ve chosen to give your jars a festive, handmade touch.

Now you’re ready to give your handmade spa scrub!

 

Julianne Puckett is the creator of Yankee Kitchen Ninja, a blog about what she calls “stealthy homemaking” — healthy recipes that are quick and easy to prepare, DIY gardening tips and the occasional craft project. A designer, writer and former suburban-dwelling IT professional, she lives in rural Vermont, where she struggles to balance the siren call of her inner farmer with her love of cute shoes and cocktails.