This post is part of the Humblebee & Me Archives
I’ve learned a ton since launching Humblebee & Me in 2011, so some older posts no longer live up to my formulation standards. This is one of those posts.
Rather than delete these posts I’ve moved them to the Humblebee & Me Archives so you can see the steps of my making journey—and hopefully avoid some of my missteps!
Honey Ginger Sugar Scrub
This sweet little sugar scrub comes together in just a few pre-bath minutes and leaves your skin soft and smooth.
The scrub gets its exfoliating punch from a blend of white and brown sugars, which have the added benefit of being water soluble (so they’re easily washed down the drain) and inexpensive.
I’ve added some raw honey to the sugar mix for honey’s wonderful humectant and healing properties. It helps soften the skin, and once the scrubbing is done it makes for a lovely bath when rinsed off.
A bit of ground ginger and ginger essential oil add a warming kick to the scrub, and some olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada) adds an extra moisturizing kick. If you have Turkey Red Oil on hand you can swap out half of the olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada) for it to help the oil self-emulsify into your bath water, reducing the risk of oil slicks. That said, I’d be careful getting out of the tub either way and give it a post-soak wipe down 🙂
So, what are you waiting for? Go pamper yourself!
Honey Ginger Sugar Scrub
3 tbsp white sugar
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp runny honey
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada)
10 drops ginger essential oil (choose CO2 extracted for a true ginger scent)Stir the sugar and ground ginger together in a small bowl, and mash in the honey. Blend in the oils.
To use, massage the mixture into the skin in the bath, and rinse off. Be careful of oil slicks!
Hi Marie,
We were in upper Wisconsin (Door County) last fall and bought some wonderful $$$ scrub from a local beekeeper which they called “organic body polish”. One of the jars we bought has as its ingredients: Crystallized Salt, Sunflower Oil, Safflower Oil, Lecithin, Vit. E., Lemon Oil, and ginger oil. Odd that there was no honey in the scrub, which we didn’t realize until we got home and read the ingredients.
So I wanted to reproduce it, only better! But, once again…you did it for me.
Thank you again Marie, for all the work you do for those of us out here trying to make more natural and organic body-care solutions for our family and friends.
Thanks, Jess! Enjoy 🙂 (And those silly beekeepers, I’m amazed they don’t add honey to everything—I sure would if I had bees!)
Hi there. Since this doesn’t have a preservative how long does it last?
Can I add a preservative to make it last longer?
Julielle
This sounds lovely! By the way, your handwriting is so pretty 🙂
Thanks, Mylan!
Hi Marie, i have used a water based eyeliner for years that i love. The company i bought from no longer makes it. Do you have a recipe for one?
Hi Brenda! This is the best I have right now 🙂
Mmmm ,just the name of it makes me want to try it instantly!
😀
I’ve heard brown sugar is excellent for exfoliation! And with 3 table spoons, it has quite a bit!
Thanks for sharing Marie!
Enjoy 🙂
I loved this scrub, and it’s great how the ingredients are so simple. Thank you for sharing it! I really enjoy your site and all the wonderful recipes!
Thanks, Gabrielle! Happy DIYing 🙂
Can you also use this scrub on your face? Or is there a better scrub for that?
Thanks for all of your great recipes !
Hi Shari! I wouldn’t, it’s much too harsh for the sensitive skin of the face 🙂 This is a good alternative.
How long will a scrub with raw honey last?
Can this be used as a lip scrub ?
I’d recommend something like this instead 🙂
I know this is an older recipe, but I needed something with honey in it, and this is what I ended up making! wowza. The ginger is super duper fantastic. I love this. Thank you.
Awesome! Ginger is fantastic, eh? So warm and lovely—swoon! Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
Hello Marie! Can I use sea salt instead of sugar?
Yup! Happy making!
Hi! I know this post is old but I made this today and absolutely love it! I noticed this recipe does not have any preservatives like some of the other scrub recipes you have shared. However, I found in the FAQ that food (sugar and honey) have short shelf life and requires preservatives. Is there any way I can make a scrub without any preservatives? Perhaps just sugar, oil, vitamin E oil and essential oil? I would love to hear your thoughts!
Hey Mickey!
Alas, no. Vitamin E is NOT a preservative no matter what any blogger out there tells you otherwise. It assists oils from becoming rancid quickly. I don’t even add Vitamin E in any of my products as I find it to be just a waste of money these days when I’m on a budget. The biggest reason we add a preservative to a scrub is because it is in the shower and water WILL get in. Preservatives are wonderful! Check out this link that Marie has.
Practice skin safety!
Barb
Hi Marie! I wanted to tell you about my failed recipe experience, and ask if you might have some insight into what I did wrong. Firstly, I wish I had used one of your recipes for my first E.S.scrub recipe. But I was lacking one of the ingredients, so I found an alternate recipe online. Well, at least I read as much as I could about the ingredients, from your wonderful Encyclopedia section. So I proceeded to make a “gingerbread” themed E.S.S. It called for Emulsifying wax….the stuff I used did say Emulsifying wax 60/ Polawax. It also called for stearic acid. So I melted it all together in the first, heated phase. Unfortunately, I threw the recipe away after what happened later, which I will get to in a minute. So I don’t recall which oils I used, but I know there was coconut and shea, with a bit of sweet almond. I measured precisely, BUT, I deviated from the recipe somewhat by adding about a TBSP of honey, and some brown sugar mixed with the white sugar. After all, the recipe said…your choice of sugar. To make a long story short, after the heated phase was cooled and whipped, and the sugar etc added, the brown sugar almost immediately turned into a solid mass, and a white liquid separated out. Is this what is referred to as “soaping”? Could it be the addition of the honey that threw off the recipe? I salvaged the recipe, or so I thought, by scooping out the brown sugar, replacing it with white and whipping it again. It looked and felt wonderful, and so I proceeded to take a bath with it that very night. This was my next mistake. Now, I should mention that the recipe called for ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. It felt great in the tub, as long as I stayed in the water. But as soon as I got out, I was burning all over! I looked like I’d been badly sunburned, but only it patchy spots where the scrub had been massaged in. I used the precise measurements for the spices, but evidently it was too much for my skin. The recipe made about 1 cup of scrub. The spices were, I THINK, 1/4 tsp of each one. Does this seem like a reasonable amount to you? I’m a soapmaker, and have just started dabbling in sugar scrubs. While it is great fun, I think I’ll try to stay away from pinterest for now, and stick with your recipes instead, as I should have done in the first place. Live and learn! So, I guess my questions are….did the honey cause the recipe to fail, or was it my wax….did I buy the wrong kind? Thanks for any insight you may have. And thanks so much for providing us with reliable, safe recipes. If only I had used one of those instead! LOL!
so happy i found your website
soon many things to learn
will start with this recipe it looks easy
do i need a preservative ??
i noticed you did not use one
Hi Marie! Just made and used this now as the first recipe and it felt so nice! (Also, by accident, I got to say it’s tasty too.) A bit sticky on dry skin (probs due to the honey) but the abrasion was spot on and once I got it moving around the stickiness sort of eased. It also washed off quite easily. With the amounts in this recipe, I still have another 2 or 3 goes left so that’s now stored in the fridge.
Super cool! Now off to the other recipes from your site that I’ve got on my list!