How to Make Mint Chocolate Sugar Scrub

I was hungry the day I decided to whip up a few batches of homemade sugar scrub. And apparently I was craving chocolate, because a sugary cocoa/peppermint combination sounded just perfect to me.

A few months ago, I started experimenting with easy sugar scrub recipes. Even though you can use regular granulated white sugar or brown sugar, I think I like using turbinado sugar the best because it has a larger sugar crystal size. The larger crystals feel “scrubbier” on my skin, and I like that for a good exfoliation. But it’s totally up to you which kind of sugar to use. They all work.

Did you know cocoa powder is packed with antioxidants that are good for your skin? Yes, it’s true. I read it on the internet! Don’t worry, I found several reliable sources to back it up. Cocoa powder is a wonderful ingredient to add to homemade beauty products like scrubs and face masks. It naturally helps repair and protect your skin.

The other ingredients in this sugar scrub recipe and the reasons they are there:

Peppermint essential oil is a mood-boosting scent that can even cure headaches. If I feel a headache coming on, I inhale a whiff of my Peppermint EO and it usually works to fight it off. Try it next time you have a headache and see if it works for you. As for peppermint’s skin benefits, it can help balance pH levels, relieve itchy skin and inflammation.

Vegetable glycerine and Vitamin E oil are handy to have around when you make your own beauty products. I added a little bit of both to this scrub. Glycerine helps soften and moisturize your skin. Vitamin E oil protects and heals skin.

I decided to try something a little different and grated a plain bar of Ivory soap to make this a cleansing sugar scrub. You could leave out the grated soap if you want and make a regular sugar scrub. All you would need to do is combine the ingredients listed below (minus the soap) and mix them well. You would not need to use the microwave at all. The microwave step is to heat up the grated soap so it will melt and mix with the coconut oil.

How to make Mint Chocolate Sugar Scrub:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup turbinado sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup Ivory soap (original plain variety,  grated)
• 1/2 tsp Vitamin E Oil
• 1 T Vegetable Glycerine (food grade)
• 15-20 drops Peppermint Essential Oil

Directions:

1. Put the grated soap and coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 15 seconds, stir and repeat this process until the soap and oil turn into liquid. This process usually less than 1-2 minutes. The soap may “puff up” when heated. Don’t panic. Simply stir it and it will go back down.

2. Add the sugar, cocoa, Peppermint Essential Oil, Vitamin E oil and Vegetable Glycerine to the oil mixture. Mix well until everything is evenly combined.

Store sugar scrub in an airtight container. *Note: Since this sugar scrub does not contain any preservatives, it should be used within 6-8 weeks.

This blog post is shared at Thrifty Thursday’s linky party.