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!
Warming Spiced Sugar Scrub
The discovery of true gingerbread for me was really very exciting, and also rather late in life, all things considered. Given that I’d been eating gingerbread around Christmas for most of my life, it wasn’t until I was nearly 20 that I discovered good, dark, spicy ginger bread. That’s what this sugar scrub is inspired by.
I no longer recommend making this as it no longer lives up to my formulation standards. This scrub is much better!
I’ve chosen brown sugar as the base of this scrub. Not only is it fitting to the holiday spice theme, but it’s also inexpensive and easy to get. The added benefit of being water soluble for easy bath tub clean up makes it an extra awesome choice.
Now, I know molasses would be the more authentic choice to thin out the sugar, but for the love of your tub, I’ve gone with runny honey instead. If you really love your molasses and don’t mind cleaning your tub out, feel free to use it instead.
The spices are a bit of a no-brainer; cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. All three are warming, stimulating spices, which is what gives this scrub it’s warming kick—perfect for a chilly winter night. I’ve also added a touch of vanilla essential oil to round out the mix.
A bit of Turkey Red Oil and some avocado oil adds an extra moisturizing kick. The Turkey Red Oil self-emulsifies in water and helps the olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada) do the same. If you don’t have any you can just use more olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada), but watch out for oil slicks in the tub.
I no longer recommend making this as it no longer lives up to my formulation standards. This scrub is much better!
Warming Spiced Sugar Scrub
½ cup brown sugar
1 tbsp runny honey
2 tbsp Turkey Red Oil
4 tbsp olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada) or avocado oil
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
½ tsp vanilla flecks or 2 “blobs“ benzoin essential oilCombine everything in a bowl, stirring and smooshing to blend everything together. Transfer to a 120mL/4oz lidded container.
To use, massage a small amount of the mixture into your skin before rinsing off.
As long as you don’t get any water in this it should last at least a year, so take care not to add any water! If you store the entire scrub in your shower and use it from the master container it will sprout mould. I recommend scooping out the amount you think you’ll use in one go into a plastic container, and taking that into your shower/bath. Use it all, and discard any portioned-out leftovers. If you are gifting this scrub, ensure your recipients know this!
Alternatively, you can add 0.25%–1% Phenonip to preserve the entire batch. You must use an oil-soluble preservative, hence the recommendation of Phenonip instead of Liquid Germall Plus.
This scrub sounds so perfect for the holidays! How do you recommend storing this scrub? For instance, does it need to be refrigerated or can it be stored at room temperature? Thanks!
Hi Breanna! Because this scrub doesn’t contain any water you can store it at room temperature 🙂
What is Turkey red oil?
Turkey red oil is castor oil that’s been treated with sulphuric acid. As a result, it self-emulsifies in water, making it ideal for formulations like this one where you don’t want to end up with an oil slick in your bah tub. It’s perfectly safe and very useful! Safire Blue sells it.
Is there an alternative?
Polysorbate 80 or Olivm300 would both be good choices 🙂
Lovely! Do you happen to have a recipe for the “true” gingerbread of which you speak so fondly as well?
This one is downright divine! Mmmmmmmm 🙂
Thanks! I love 101cookbooks. This gingerbread recipe has been added to my list for this weekend, as well as my list of recipes to make when we harvest our fall honey. Yum!
Mmmmm… perhaps it’ll be a weekend project for me as well 🙂 It’s been too long and it is getting chilly here…
Love your blog. It’s an inspiration to really seek out the most natural way to provide skin care without the chemicals.
Thanks, Christine! 🙂
If you don’t have any of the Turkey Red Oil can you mix in some emulsifying wax to take care of the tub hazard?
Hi Mary Terese! So no, e-wax would not be a good choice here. Not only would it adversely effect the texture of the scrub (you’d pretty much end up with a puck), but e-wax needs a specific oil to wax ratio that you wouldn’t be able to achieve. Polysorbate 20 (solubilizer) would be a better option 🙂
Yum, this sounds so good!
Thanks, Sheila! Enjoy 🙂
Just made this, so yummy. The texture is definitely different then if without honey, but I absolutely love the smell. Makes me want to bake cookies, so lovely. Next time I want to try coconut oil as olive oil covers vanilla scent completely in my opinion.
And might try molasses for my hand scrub ( kitchen sink is easier to clean than bathtub 😉
Thank you Marie for another great recipe.
P. S. And it’s really warming
Fantastic! You really are a DIY fiend 😉 I’m glad you’re loving it 🙂
Can this be used on your face?
Hi Kate! I really wouldn’t recommend it unless your face is roughly the texture of a leather bag 😉 It’s very scrubby! I’d recommend trying a face-specific recipe, like my hot & cold scrub or a simple clay face mask 🙂
I just made this last night and used it this morning; it’s great! This year’s Christmas presents are all made (peppermint schnappes, bath bombs, lotion bars), but this recipe is already on the list for next year.
One question: Your description mentions avocado oil, but the ingredients list doesn’t. I’d love to work it in– what ratio should I use?
Thanks!
Madeline
Hi Madeline! Good catch! It looks like I got a bit confused half way through writing this up 🙂 As long as you are using 4 tbsp of liquid oil you can use pretty much whatever you’d like, including avocado oil 🙂
Holy smokes this sounds amazing, I cant wait to make it!!!!!
Thanks! Enjoy 🙂
Can you sub out the clove, ginger and cinnamon powder for essential oils instead? If so, how many drops would do the job? Thanks so much
You definitely could! I’d probably start with two drops each cinnamon and clove, and a drop of the others… though if you don’t love the smell of nutmeg you may want to just drop it as the EO will deliver far more of a nutmeg punch than the ground spice will!
Hi Marie!
this looks amazing…I have to try it! I’m branching out in my DIY-ing; making soap is my thing, but scrubs look wonderful so I’m giving it a go! So, I don’t have Turkey Red oil, but you mentioned polysorbate 80. Would I substitute using the same amount? ( 2 tbsp ?) Thanks! 🙂
Yup, that should do the trick! For an even better scrub, check out some of my more recent formulations like this one 🙂 Happy making!
Thanks so much! I am learning a lot from you….your recipes are great and the perfect size for trying out something new. I especially love your encyclopedia section, and find myself checking in there before I do anything new or different. I’ve found it to be the most comprehensive source of info, and all in one place! Thanks for making DIY-ing with you so much fun! One quick question…have you ever bought KOH from the hardware store? I’m currently checking out the cheapest place to get it (I live in N.S.), and try to avoid shipping costs when I can. But I’m wondering if KOH from the hardware store would be pure enough for soaping with. Any experience with this? Thanks Marie! Have an awesome week!