7 Festive Christmas Sugar Scrub Recipes + Instructions

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Christmas sugar scrubs are super easy to make. They incorporate some of the more distinctive scents of the season. And they provide some terrific skincare benefits. Those are just the top three of many reasons why I love these homemade Christmas sugar scrub recipes.

If you love the idea of making your own Christmas gifts, you’re in for a real treat. These all-natural, Christmas-scented sugar scrubs make great Holiday gifts for everyone on your gift list. They’re quick, easy, and inexpensive to make and require only a few ingredients.

You can make an assortment of festive and fun sugar scrubs using different Holiday scents in just one afternoon. Add a gift tag and decorative raffia and that’s half your gift list taken care of.

What To Expect In This Roundup Of Christmas Sugar Scrub Recipes

First off you’ll find the basic ingredients and instructions for these Christmas sugar scrub recipes. These are essentially the same for all sugar scrubs.

After the general ingredients and instructions, you’ll find the individual recipes for 7 different aromas to scent your homemade sugar scrubs using various combinations of Christmas essential oils and blends.

Most of the recipes below require only 4 ingredients and cost less than $4 each. Each recipe is sufficient to make one 8oz jar.

This is followed by tips for storing and using your homemade sugar scrubs. You’ll also find lots of great ideas for customizing the recipes with whatever scents you have on hand and finally more ideas for adding some festive flair when gift-wrapping your Holiday-scented sugar scrubs.

Last but not least, you’ll find a few sugar scrub FAQs that I’ve put together based on questions I often get asked by readers.

The holiday sugar scrubs exfoliate and moisturize at the same time, giving your skin that holiday glow. And, you can customize them to your heart’s content– I’m offering lots of ideas for that below!

Supplies For Making Your Own Christmas-Scented Sugar Scrubs

Glass Mixing Bowl – Always use only glass mixing bowls and containers when working with essential oils. Essential oils are highly concentrated and volatile. They react with plastic and metal, which contaminates them and damages their properties. This will also affect the quality of the finished product.

Silicone Spatula – I use a silicone spatula to mix the ingredients as it avoids any contact with metal. However, if you’re making a large quantity and don’t care for the extra effort, you can use a hand or electric whisk to mix all the ingredients. Using a hand whisk is better than an electric whisk.

9 oz Dark-Colored Glass Jars with Watertight Lids– One 9 oz. glass jar is enough for one recipe. If you’re making a batch to give away as gifts, you’ll save money by buying a set of 8, 10, or 12 instead of buying individual jars. Look for dark-colored glass jars to preserve the quality of your homemade sugar scrubs. Do not use plastic or metal containers.

Basic Ingredients for Homemade Holiday Sugar Scrub Recipes

1 Cup (7 oz) Fine-Grained White or Brown sugar: Sugar is the main exfoliating agent in a sugar scrub. Look for fine-grained sugar or castor sugar as the finer grains are gentler on your skin and won’t damage delicate skin cells.

1/2 Cup (3.5 oz) Organic Carrier Oil: Adding carrier oil helps to bind the sugar grains while also ensuring that the scrub doesn’t dry out or harden. When making homemade Christmas sugar scrubs, I prefer using this cold-pressed coconut oil that’s solid at room temperature. That keeps the scrub moist but not too watery. But that’s not a hard and fast rule. You can use any carrier oil you have on hand including fractionated coconut oil, jojoba, sweet almond, or grapeseed oil.

Assorted Essential Oils and Spices: Essential oils each homemade sugar scrub its distinctive scent. Each of the scrub recipes below uses a different combination of essential oils to give it that distinctive Holiday scent. In addition to the aroma, essential oils also provide an array of skincare benefits.

Vitamin E Oil: Adding vitamin E oil is optional but it will take your sugar scrubs to the next level. A potent antioxidant, nourishing and moisturizing agent, vitamin E helps fight free radicals, keeping your skin soft, supple, and wrinkle-free.

Natural Colorants: Colorants are an optional addition but they are a fun way to make your homemade sugar scrubs pop with interesting colors. Of course, you only want to use nontoxic colorants. Mica powders are the best option. They are readily available for sugar scrubs in a variety of fun colors and are quite inexpensive too.

The ingredients above yield approximately 9.5oz or 275 gms. To make larger quantities to give as gifts, just double or triple the ingredients.

What’s really great about these Christmas sugar scrub recipes is that you don’t have to be too fussed over using exact quantities. A little less or a little more won’t really affect the scent or quality of the finished product. Don’t stray too far from the quantities though as that may not give you the desired results.

Instructions For How To Make Christmas Sugar Scrubs

Three to four steps are all it takes to make these easy, beginner-friendly sugar scrubs.

Step 1 – Add the dry ingredients into a large glass bowl. This includes the white and brown sugars, herbs, and mica powder as listed in the recipe. Stir to combine all ingredients and distribute them evenly.

Step 2 – Add all the liquid ingredients – carrier oil, essential oil, and vitamin E – into the small glass mixing bowl. Mix all ingredients slowly using your silicone spatula or hand whisk.

Step 3 – Pour the oils over the dry ingredients and mix well to combine.

That’s it!

Transfer your homemade Christmas sugar scrub to a glass jar with an air-tight lid.

Store the jar in a cool, dry place. It will last for a few months. You can also keep it in the fridge for longer storage.

Alright, here are the 7 Christmas sugar scrub recipes as promised!

1. Christmas Cookie Sugar Scrub Recipe

First on this list is a classic Christmas Cookie sugar scrub recipe. It smells Christmassy and feels just as satisfying.

1 cup fine-grained brown sugar
1/3 cup Organic Cold-Pressed Coconut Oil
10 – 15 drops Vanilla Oleoresin
1 teaspoon Organic Cinnamon Powder
1/2 teaspoon Vitamin E Oil (optional)

The Vanilla Oleoresin gives this recipe that classic Christmas cookie smell. Cinnamon powder adds to the traditional aroma while also giving the scrub that distinctive brown cookie coloration.

You can use either white or brown sugar for this recipe. I use brown sugar to give the scrub that brown baked color.

Another option is to add 4 drops cinnamon essential oil and add a pinch of brown or yellow mica powder to give it that cookie color.

2. Candy Cane Sugar Scrub Recipe

Candy cane is another classic Christmas aroma and is easy to recreate using a combination of essential oils. This sugar scrub recipe is always a huge hit during the Holidays.

1 cup White Castor Sugar
1/3 cup Organic Cold Pressed Coconut Oil
20 – 25 drops Peppermint Essential Oil
15-20 drops Vanilla Oleoresin
1/2 teaspoon Vitamin E Oil (optional)
1/8 teaspoon red mica powder

The combination of peppermint essential oil and vanilla oleoresin give the basic sugar scrub recipe that classic candy cane aroma.

I use white sugar for this Christmas sugar scrub recipe as I can then add some red color to it so the scrub looks like candy cane too. There are three ways to do this:

The first way is to tint it red using red mica powder and add in lots of white jojoba beads to give the scrub that red and white candy cane color. Jojoba beads are tiny spherical beads made up of jojoba oil. These beads are gentle and moisturize your skin as they exfoliate.

If you can find red jojoba beads, leave the sugar scrub white and sprinkle red jojoba beads for that classic red and white candy cane look.

The third way is to color half the quantity with red mica powder and leave the other half uncolored. Layer the red and white scrub alternately in the glass jar. Close the lid and add white and red festive decorations or look for candy cane gift tags.

You’ll also love this Peppermint Candy Cane Diffuser Blend Recipe

3. Gingerbread Sugar Scrub Recipe

1 cup fine-grained brown sugar
1/3 cup Organic Cold Pressed Coconut Oil
20-25 drops Copaiba Oleoresin
10 drops of Ginger Essential Oil
7 drops Clove Bud Essential Oil
2 tablespoons Gingerbread Spice or Ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Vitamin E Oil (optional)

Back to brown sugar for this recipe as you want it to have that golden-brown gingerbread color.

With the assortment of strongly aromatic essential oils and spices that go into this recipe, be prepared for your home to be filled with the smell of Holiday baking.

If the idea of filling your home with the smell of baking sounds tempting, you’ll love these Gingerbread Cookies Diffuser Blends made with essential oils.

4. Christmas Tree Body Scrub

1 cup fine-grained white sugar
1/3 cup Organic Cold Pressed Coconut Oil
15-20 drops Fir Needle essential oil
10-12 drops Cedarwood essential oil
8 drops Copaiba Oleoresin
1/2 teaspoon Vitamin E Oil (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dark green mica powder

These Christmas tree diffuser blend recipes are hugely popular at this time of the year. I’ve adapted one of those recipes and tweaked it a bit so it is suitable to apply on the skin.

The Christmas tree sugar scrub has that same fresh forest aroma with a few additional ingredients that make it great for the skin.

Fir needle and cedarwood essential oils give this recipe its fresh woodsy aromas. Both oils also offer skincare benefits. This is a great skin scrub recipe for those on your gift list who prefer outdoorsy winter aromas rather than indoor festive aromas.
The dark green mica gives the scrub its Christmas-tree look. A tree-shaped gift tag will add that little extra touch.

5. Pomander Sugar Scrub Recipe

1 cup fine-grained brown sugar
1/3 cup Organic Cold Pressed Coconut Oil
20-25 drops Sweet Orange Essential Oil
10 drops Clove Essential Oil
1 teaspoon Orange Peel finely grated (fresh or dried)
Few whole Clove Buds
1/2 teaspoon Vitamin E Oil (optional)

With its combination of sweet orange and clove essential oil, this sugar scrub recipe smells just like a Holiday pomander.

Sweet orange gives this scrub its refreshing, uplifting aroma while clove essential oil gives it lovely, enriching warmth. This is a great scrub both, for the senses and for the skin.

The citrus zest and whole clove add a touch of festive flair to the scrub. If the scrub looks too white, add a dash of orange-yellow mica color to give it an orangey tint.

Replace the clove essential oil with coarsely ground clove buds if you have sensitive skin.

Adding 2 -3 drops of cardamom essential oil will give this recipe a little more complexity. Cardamom is neither overly citrusy nor too spicy. It acts as a nice counterbalance to sweet orange and clove.

6. Peppermint Mocha Sugar Scrub recipe

1 cup fine-grained brown sugar
1/3 cup Organic Cold Pressed Coconut Oil
16 drops Peppermint Essential Oil
1 tablespoon Ground Coffee
1 tablespoon Cocoa Powder
8 drops Vanilla Oleoresin
1/2 teaspoon Vitamin E Oil (optional)

Just add peppermint essential oil, ground coffee, and cocoa powder to your basic ingredients and that’s it – you have a sugar scrub that smells like a peppermint mocha.

Vanilla is optional but it can make a world of a difference. Vanilla gives the scrub a rich, luxurious aroma. If you have it at home, add a few drops and see the difference it makes!

The brown sugar together with the coffee and cocoa powder give the peppermint mocha sugar scrub a yummy rich brown color. You don’t need to add any more color but if you feel like you do, a dash of brown mica can help.

7. Winter Snow-Whipped Sugar Scrub Recipe

Ideas For Accessorizing Your Homemade Holiday Sugar Scrubs for Gifting

Christmas-scented sugar scrubs make fantastic gifts for everyone on your gift list. You can make small batches of each recipe so you have a variety for gifting.

If that’s too ambitious and you’re really short on time, choose any one of the sugar scrub recipes and make a large batch. Then all you need to do is add different labels and decorative accessories so each one looks slightly different.

Tie a piece of Christmas-themed curling ribbon or colorful raffia around each jar.

Adding tags that match the contents inside is another way to add a personalized touch to each jar. For example, get Christmas-tree-shaped tags for the Christmas tree sugar scrub. Use red and white tags for the peppermint candy cane sugar scrub.

If you have time, write or print out instructions on how to use the sugar scrub and add that to the jar.

Even if you don’t do anything else, just stick a colorful label on each jar with the name of the recipe and its contents. This is particularly important in case anyone is allergic to any of the ingredients.

How to use Your Homemade Sugar Scrubs

There are a couple of things you must keep in mind when using your homemade Christmas-scented sugar scrubs.

Wet skin thoroughly with warm water before applying the scrub. Dry skin is more likely to get damaged when exfoliating. The water helps the scrub to glide over the skin preventing any damage.

Avoid using on inflamed, irritated, or cut skin.

Scoop a little bit of the sugar scrub using a dry wooden spoon. Never use your fingers as it will contaminate the remaining contents. Also, make sure no water gets into the jar as that will promote mold and bacteria.

Rub the scrub gently over the skin. Wash off with warm water. Avoid very hot water as it tends to dry the skin.

Blot skin with a dry towel. Don’t rub too vigorously. Be gentle.

Slather on moisturizing body lotion or body butter on damp skin.

Holiday Sugar Scrub Recipes FAQs

Do I need to add any preservatives to these Christmas sugar scrub recipes?

No, you don’t. Since these recipes only use oils, these sugar scrubs don’t need preservatives. Do take care not to let any water enter the jar as this can promote the growth of mold or bacteria.

How long with the sugar scrubs last without preservatives?

They will last at least 4-5 months if stored in a cool dry place. Moisture will spoil it very quickly. If you want to keep it for longer, store the jar in the refrigerator.

Can I use these sugar scrubs on my face?

These sugar scrubs are not suitable for the face. The sugar granules can damage the delicate facial skin. You can use the scrubs for any other part of the body including shoulders, hands, legs, and feet.

How often should I use sugar scrubs?

Two to three times a week will keep your skin looking and feeling soft and smooth. If you have sensitive or dry skin, best to limit use to once a week. Avoid over-exfoliating as it can irritate the skin.