Seriously I don't know why I didn't try this sooner though I was well aware of it. I was looking for a good lip scrub, as I often wear matte (read: drying) lipsticks to work. Flake city! So I looked up the various recipes here in MUA and elsewhere. I made enough for a lip, face and body scrub. It worked wonderfully, plus the Vaseline gave my skin a moisture-locking coat that wasn't too heavy or clogging.
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tbsp Vaseline
- 1/4 cup white sugar (use brown if you have sensitive skin)
- 2-3 drops olive oil
I mixed these in a bowl with a spoon. I'm seriously so happy I tried it. If you have any qualms, just browse any bath/cosmetics retailer website and take a look at the prices.
WORD OF CAUTION: make sure you scrub the bathtub right afterwards, because this leaves a dangerously slippery residue. Also, because this uses natural products without preservatives, I cannot vouch for the longevity of a bigger batch stored in a jar. Otherwise, enjoy, and try your own! My next batch will include lavender oil!

so i was about to get in the shower, but first i went on MUA (hahah, i know, but we all do it). i saw this and was surprised. plain old sugar? i read the reviews and thought i might as well try it.
i mixed sugar with honey and water (we didn't have EVOO) in a small bowl and brought it into the shower with a spoon because i knew this could get really messy.i used the scrub on my face, neck, chest, arms and legs.
all i can say is i feel amazing! my skin is SO soft and i don't have all these little red irritation bumps that scrubs usually give me (such as LUSH's sandstone soap, stay away from that). i was out in the sun a lot yesterday and my face got pretty red and flaky but now it is even & as i mentioned, feels incredible.
i am so excited to use this more often. continued >>

Once again, MUA has helped me find an incredible product! Who would have thought this would work wonders for my oily-breakout-prone, picky skin? I am currently on a regimen that includes Retin-A Micro in the PM and Benzoyl Peroxide in the AM. But, I badly needed a scrub to get rid of flakes and roughness. This is it. Seems to have helped my breakouts and improved the overall texture of my skin. Note that I am not sensitive, but with the other products I'm using I do need to be careful about being too harsh. Some scrubs are too rough, or contain cleansing agents or ingredients I shouldn't use... or they make me break out. With this. I simply add a palmful of sugar to my Cerave foaming wash in the PM and rub it around. Voila! Smooth, soft skin with no irritation. Perfect!

Oh my god SUGAR. Freaking sugar. I was looking for a facial scrub that didn't have grains thick enough to skin a lizard but wasn't fine to the point where I didn't feel them working. The best thing I'd found was a seaweed scrub at The Body Shop for 14 dollars, but I don't always like spending money on a slim bottle of that. I know some see scrubs as pointless but when it comes to my skin they are crucial. If I go less than 1x a week without exfoliating my complexion gets all sallow and uneven looking, so that's a big no mi gusta. I was (wait, am ALWAYS) broke and didn't feel like spending a bunch of money at the time so...well...I tried sugar. Yeah.


And it worked. Amazingly. I mixed 1.5 tablespoons of plain white sugar (a lot of people use brown but my skin had no issues with the grainier white sugar) with 3 tablespoons of honey and applied it to my dry, uncleansed face (I know everything's supposed to be done on a "clean face" but I've always done it this way with exfoliating because I cleanse my face when I'm done. Don't want any chances of a breakout because stuff was left behind or whatever). Gently massaged it into my skin for a good three minutes. Left it on for another twenty seven minutes. Scrubbed in a little bit more. Got in the shower and let the steam melt most it off before rinsing the remainder of it away. Cleansed with Purity. Done.


And my skin. MY SKIN YA'LL. It was glowing like nobody's business. My complexion was smoother, even, lighter (not in the "bleach" way but in the bright way), a few problem blackheads were gone, these two huge stress zits that came out of nowhere were popped, shrunken, nearly gone. I did this yesterday and they're completely gone today. And, ANDDDD...they didn't leave scars. My skin is the most scar prone skin ever. I won't even think about touching a pimple and it'll leave a scar when it goes. Nuh uh. Not with the sugar/honey scrub.


I could cry ya'll. A miracle scrub and it didn't cost anything. Shoot, I even cleaned the bathroom and took out the trash with it on so it made me productive as well! I really, REALLY recommend that people try this before going for expensive scrubs. Honey. And sugar. It works, and that's all you're using so you know you're not loading questionable chemicals onto your flesh 1-2x a week. And I know this is long but I haven't been excited for something like this since a Sephora opened ten minutes away from my house. A true "best value"...because it's free.


...And tasty.

The best facial scrub I've ever used. I use granulated white sugar every 3 days or so and it helps keep acne away and it helps my skin look more vibrant and not so dull. If I forget to use this scrub, I start to break out again. I use it in the shower mixed with a little water so it will spread easily, and then I cleanse afterwards. Love it.

I was desperate and in need of a scrub. It was late at night and I didnt feel like going out and buying one. My skin isn't normally dry but this winter really took a beating on my face. Lately, I've been noticing dry flakes on my forehead and cheeks and my skin feel rough. Now, I have very reactive skin and almost all scrubs mess up my face causing a breakout, rash and leaving me with raw skin. I took a chance on sugar. I made a paste of sugar, honey and a bit of cold water. I mixed the ingredients until they blended together. I applied the scrub to my face and scrubed for about 2 minutes. After, I rinsed with warm water. Just after the initial application of this sugar scrub, I noticed a big difference. My skin was very soft to the touch. My usual redness in my cheeks were almost gone. I didn't have raw irritated skin or any new breakouts or reactions. Most importantly, it took away about 95% of the dry flakes off my skin...just after only one application! I still have a few on my left cheek but most of them are gone. Hmmm, I think this cheap homeade scrub is a keeper. I plan to continue to use this scrub 2x a week and see how that goes. I will update if I notice any negative results. As for now, I highly recommend sugar as a scrub.

I've been looking for a scrub that is gentle enough to use almost daily for the flakiness caused by Retin-A. I have sensitive skin, acne-prone skin and have a hard time finding products that don't burn and give some kind of allergic reaction or cause breakouts.

Sugar has really worked out for me-it feels harsh and grainy at first, but my skin never gets any kind of burning or rashes, and so far (after two weeks of using every other day) no breakouts! It really takes care of the dry flakey skin leftover from Retin-A.

I found a recipe online that worked really well for my problem which is dryness-one part sugar, one part oil, one part vegetable glycerin. For oilier skin, I think mixing sugar with cleanser would be a good way to go, rather than mixing with oil or glycerin. If I don't have time to mix up a full batch of something, I just mix sugar with a few drops of oil on my fingers and put directly on my face. Follow up with a quick wash with a cream cleanser just to make sure all the sugar is off.

In case it helps, here's more details.
-I have been using regular brown sugar, but I'm sure that any sugar will be fine.
-I've mixed with jojoba oil, sunflower oil, or pure vegetable glycerin. I think any oil would do, but I have to be careful because of acne. Most people can probably use olive, coconut, or almond oils (whatever you have on hand!) but I know from experience those all break me out. If using straight up oil for the first time check the rating on acne detective or do a spot test.
-Also added Vitamin C crystals once or twice (Philosophy's Microfoliant uses Vitamin C crystals). I can't say if this has really changed anything, but the idea of extra antioxidants is nice.
-it can be a messy process, so if you end up with sugar all over the place, no worries, it happens. :D

I can't believe I never thought of using sugar for cosmetics before I read the reviews here.

I use a sprinkle in my face wash once a week for mild exfoliation, which I recommend if you have sensitive and/or acne prone skin, like me. Otherwise you could test out whatever number works for you. You can also wet your finger with vaseline or maybe bio-oil, then dip it into sugar and rub on your lips for some tasty buffing action.

Just make sure you have a small container to store some in, otherwise you risk making a complete mess with that floppy paper bag.

Honestly, try it out. Sh*t's amazing.

I too have used plain white granulated sugar, mixed with olive oil, and sometimes lemon juice for an amazing and cheap body scrub. Personally I would recommend only using this twice a week, otherwise you could over exfoliate and dry out your skin!


It works great at smoothing bumps and softening skin. I preferred using it on less delicate areas such as arms, hands, feet. Not very often on my stomach, chest or face.


I did try it once on my face scrubbing less vigorously and while it was refreshing it was a little too much. Though you can always use more or less sugar to create a more mild formula! I would purchase it again for cookies and my skin! :D

Plain sugar, a little olive oil and a squeeze of lemon/orange juice and I have amazingly smooth skin with very little effort- I do it once or twice weekly and it's better and cheaper than anything else I could use. Fantastic for chapped lips, too!