Salt scrubs are popular, effective, and very easy to make. A basic salt scrub is composed of two key ingredients: salt and oil. Additives like color, scent, and emulsifiers may be added to enhance the basic formula. To make a salt scrub, start out with one cup of salt. Add four ounces of oil and stir. Keep adding oil until the scrub reaches your desired consistency. I usually go for the consistency of a thick paste when I am making a salt scrub. If you are adding liquid additives, make sure to leave “room” for them while you are adding the initial oil to your scrub. For a water dispersible base, try adding Castile Soap at about 25% or Polysorbate 20 at about 50% to your carrier oil. Please note that this may change the texture of your carrier oil.
Some information about salt scrub ingredients:
Salts – A variety of salts are available for use in salt scrubs. Fine to medium grain sized salts are ideal.
Sea Salt, Fine & Medium – Sea Salt is rich in minerals, light white to light gray in color, and is one of the most economic choices for making salt scrubs. The fine grain size is slightly larger than conventional table salt and great for use in body polish-type scrubs. Our medium grain size is slightly larger, usually measuring between 4mm and 6mm.
Dead Sea Salt: Fine & Medium – Dead Sea Salt is known for it’s high mineral content and healing properties. What is less well known is the beauty of Dead Sea Salts. Our Dead Sea Salts are slightly off-white and usually slightly translucent. The powder has a very fine grain size, reflective of the name. Fine Dead Sea Salt is similar to the grain size of table salt. The medium salt is rather larger, usually measuring between 1mm and 4mm in grain size.
Icelandic Geo-Thermal Brine Salt – This salt is a stunning, bright opaque white. Its fine grain size makes it a wonderful salt for body polishes. It is rich in silica and essential trace elements but contains 60% less sodium than regular sea salt. It has a very fine grain size, making it ideal for body polish and buffer type scrubs. Please note: This product is no longer carried at From Nature With Love.
Carrier Oils – The carrier oil chosen for a scrub will influence the final product more than it may initially appear to. Light, penetrating oils such as Kukui Nut Oil, moisturize without leaving the skin too greasy. Some prefer a thicker oil or even a Vegetable Butter in their scrubs. Heavier oils such as Castor Oil can either be incorporated with a thinner oil or used alone. Most vegetable butters would need to be mixed with a lighter oil in order to achieve the correct consistency in a scrub. I’ve listed some suggestions for oils to use in salt scrubs below, but please don’t let this modest list limit your creativity! Our complete list of carrier oils may inspire you to create even more great combinations.
Light Oils
Organic Fractionated Coconut Oil
Apricot Kernel Oil
Hazelnut Oil
Macadamia Nut Oil
Rice Bran Oil
Medium Oils
Jojoba, Natural
Organic Jojoba, Clear
Avocado Oil
Olive Oil
Organic Flax Seed Oil
Thick Oils / Butters
Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
Organic Babassu Oil
Organic Shea Butter, Nilotica
Castor Oil
Monoi De Tahiti
Shea Butter
Coffee Bean Butter
Essential Oils or Fragrance Oils can be added to your scrub to increase it’s aesthetic or beneficial properties. Oil-Based Dyes or Micas can also be added to increase allure. Some other interesting additives would be Jojoba Wax Beads or Fruit Seeds. The possibilities are endless with a little creativity.
If you plan on selling your scrub or storing it for an extended period of time, you may want to add a preservative to your formula. You can find more information on preservatives here.
So now that you are armed with a laundry list of great scrub ingredients I challenge you to go forth and scrub! I would love to see some pictures of different scrubs that everyone comes up with. If you have a scrub you’d like to share please email me.
Although the scrubs seem to have the same ingredients as bath salts they are not quite the same. The grain of the salt used in the scrubs must not be too large and obviously it shouldn’t be dry for it to be a scrub.
You are very correct. Bath Salts and Salt Scrubs have totally different proportions of ingredients. In a salt scrub, the oil coats the salt completely, creating a slurry-like consistency.
Emmy, do you have any photos of salt scrubs that you’ve made?
You can check out photos of my Salt Scrubs on the Blog’s recipe page here:
https://naturalbeautyworkshop.com/my_weblog/NaturalSkincarerecipes.html
Or, you can see some on my Flickr page here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emmyfnwl/sets/72157603910459387/
My family and I suffer from skin irritation when we use salt scrubs, would it be ok to substitute any of your recipes with sugar instead?
You can substitute sugar for salt in most scrub recipes. The only time there might be an issue is if the scrub contains liquid soap, or another water-based ingredient. Sugar can sometimes dissolve too quickly in those kinds of recipes. Otherwise, I would definitely encourage you to experiment swapping sugar for salt in almost any recipe. Some great options for skin care are Turbinado Sugar, Demerara Sugar, and Brown Sugar. White Sugar and Organic Sugar can also be used.
Hello! is it possible to add clays to your scrub?
Yes, you can definitely add Cosmetic Clays to your scrubs. Try adding a little at a time – around 1 – 3 teaspoons per cup of salt. You can add more as you go along. You may also need to add a little bit more Carrier Oil – depending on how much Clay is added. Have fun experimenting!