Homemade Hand Scrub

Intro: Homemade Hand Scrub

Winter is here and if the cold, dry air has turned your hands into sandpaper like it has mine, you`ll appreciate this hand scrub that leaves your hands soft, smooth and smelling delicious! Turn your old jars into thoughtful, homemade gifts (& keep one for yourself!)

I suggest using small jars, since all the ingredients are edible (and therefore spoilable) and should be used within a month. 

Ingredients:
Small sized mason or other jars you want to use
Sugar
Olive oil (or any other oil you may have in your pantry)
Lemon juice & zest
Few drops of vanilla

*The amount of ingredients that you need depends on the amount of scrub that you want to make. I used about 4 cups of sugar for 4 small jars.

What to do:
-Pour the sugar into the jar(s) that you'll use (plus 2-3 tablespoons for each jar extra to accommodate for shrinkage of volume) and then dump the sugar into a mixing bowl
-Slowly add small amounts of olive oil to the sugar until the sugar holds shape and is no longer crumbly
-Add enough lemon juice and zest to the sugar that you can smell lemon more than the olive oil (I juiced 1 lemon and zested all of it's rind)
-Adding a few drops of vanilla extract is optional, but I found that it masked the smell of olive oil and made it smell even yummier
-Scoop the mixture back into the jar(s) 
-Add a label and a bit of ribbon to pretty it up!

Comments

[Adrianna CheyenneA]

Do you have to refridgerate it?

[steveastrouk]

mine separates a lot and its more like a liquid than a solid is this meant to happen?

[MidnightSon]

Needs more sugar (or less oil). You need to get that type of consistency :

https://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Your-Own-Lemon-Sugar-Hand-Scrub/

[Fiery She-Beast]

I tried making this, but the oil seperated with the sugar and it wasn't usable unless I stirred it up every time I used it... is oil the only thing you can add to get the nice skin affect? Or can I add something else?

[MidnightSon]

Maybe shea butter or something? To avoid oil separating, add more sugar, or less oil. You can also take the surplus out, it won't affect the nice skin effect since there'll be way enough left to make it work.

[nessaelyse]

I make and sell this type of product all of the time. For the people who dislike the smell of olive oil other oils such as grapeseed oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, Sweet almond oil, macadamia oil, and jojoba oil would all work as well. It is important to remember that even though mineral oil is in a lot of products we buy from stores it is not a 'good' product it is a petroleum byproduct (a byproduct of making fuel, like gas that you put in your car) and should be left out of anything you put on or in your body whenever possible. To the people who have had their scrub separate, you have added to much oil, you can fix this by pouring off some of the oil that is sitting on top or add a little more sugar.

[mlaszlo]

Hi There-

since you make and sell this product I have a question: I made a product similar to this and the oil didn't seperate as much as the essential oil maybe? Is that a product of too much essential oil? And, I'm guessing whipping the scrub isn't a good idea as it will settle into less product in the jars? I'm new to this and trying to get it right. When I started doing this im May, I didn't have any of these problems. HELP???

[summer3489]

hi do we have to keep it cold or anything

[IceKitty]

How long would this last before it expires?

[abridges5]

what else could I use instead of lemon I have a citrus allergy? ?

[IceKitty]

Try using green tea or lavender

[kirinwantsaskateboard]

Wow! It's great! I just finished making this for my mother for Mother's Day ( which is tomorrow!!) I tested a bit of it on my own hands before I put it in the jar... It made my hands SO soft and smooth!!!! Loved it!! I must make this again!

Kirin

[bloosh1]

essential oils are great, but citrus oils are phototoxic, meaning they can discolor skin or burn sensitive skin if you go out in the sunlight (or use a tanning booth). You need to wait at least 12 hours before going out in the sun after applying citrus oils (or bergamot) on your skin. I would choose something other than fresh lemons too if going out in the sun. DO NOT use mineral oils. First of all they block the essential oils from being absorbed by the skin. Second, It's a petroleum by-product. yuck.

[Sara_Tw_Sykes]

Oh this is so cute....buh im gnah make it minty...by using mint oil (scented)
And make the lemon 1 too
Amazing i lov it..gnah make it 4 all mah mates :)
Sara xx

[TinaH27]

I just made this for a birthday gift. I used olive and grapeseed oil (used oil to cut some of the cost) and a couple of vitamin E capsules. It turned out amazing! I can't wait to give it as a gift! It cost me about $15 and took about 10 minutes. Thank you much!!!

[Mauigerbil]

This looks awesome! Could I try this with a diffrent flavor?

[tropicturtle]

What do you mean when you say 'the sugar holds shape and is no longer crumble'? does that mean the sugar is dissolved, or you can still see chunks of sugar?
By the way, I used one cup of sugar... how much olive oil should I use?

[Mermaids_R_Real]

I made it for myself and my sister. She cried just because she had a smaller jar and not that much. To bad, to sad, lil' sis!

[lakenbrooks]

A very inexpensive and fantasic body scrub! I made this in a matter of seconds, and it works wonderfully-my hands are soft and smell great! I did make a few alterations to mine because I didn't have lemons on hand, so I used orange juice and zest plus a little honey.

[lakenbrooks]

or instead of "zest" I guess I should say peel..I didn't zest it totally but left it in little pieces. =)