Bath & Beauty Recipes

DIY Orange Sugar Scrub

March 29, 2022

Formulated with fragrant orange zest and moisturizing coconut oil, this DIY orange sugar scrub exfoliates gently and leaves your skin glowing and refreshed. The homemade body scrub is rich in antioxidants that can nourish and protect your skin while boosting radiance and smoothness!

Sugar Scrub with Orange Essential Oil

Who is ready for spring?! I know I am. With spring advancing, I’m all about getting my skin ready for warm weather and lighter clothes. And an integral part of every good skincare regimen is a good body scrub.

After sharing a yummy strawberry mango body scrub and elegant rose sugar scrub, I have another fun recipe for you: homemade orange sugar scrub. This DIY sugar scrub exfoliates gently and has a wonderfully refreshing citrus scent. I’m so excited for you to try it!

Keep reading to discover how to make this easy sugar body scrub with orange essential oil to exfoliate and nourish skin. It’s such a fun way to get glowing skin as part of your natural beauty and skin care routine as you prep for the new season.

Benefits of Orange Sugar Scrub

Let’s talk about what makes my orange sugar scrub such a great asset for skin care! Orange essential oil offers a plethora of skincare benefits, and I want to highlight a few of those benefits.

Gentle exfoliation: This homemade orange sugar scrub can improve the texture and feel of your skin and promote radiance and smoothness. Orange essential oil also delivers anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits. Antioxidants fight skin-damaging free radicals and play an important part in skin health and aging.
Citrusy scent: You’ll love the fresh and invigorating smell of this skincare recipe. Orange essential oil is known for its uplifting and cheerful properties. Lathering the scrub all over your body will put you in a good mood.
Quick + easy: With just 4 ingredients and 5 minutes of prep time, I bet you already have everything you need for this DIY body scrub at home.
Versatile: You can customize the scrub to your liking and switch things up by trying another citrus scent.

Ingredients

The materials list of this orange scrub recipe is short and sweet. The ingredients blend together to create a wonderfully refreshing and moisturizing body exfoliator. Here’s what you’ll need:

Sugar: I prepared this body scrub with granulated sugar, but any kind of sugar will work here. Brown sugar would be great for a holiday-themed scrub.
Coconut oil is a fantastic moisturizer and will keep your skin supple. It also provides structure to our orange body scrub. You can use either refined or unrefined coconut oil for this natural skin care recipe.
Orange zest: The peel of citrus fruits naturally contains essential oils. By freshly grating oranges, you can reap the benefits associated with the orange oil.
Orange essential oil (optional): A few drops of sweet orange essential oil can be used to intensify the scent. If you have hypersensitive skin, omit the essential oil. See below for a few essential oil blend ideas.

Supplies

I recommend you have the following equipment at hand to create this skin care DIY:

Measuring cups and spoons to measure ingredients
Large glass mixing bowl for combing the essential oil body scrub
Silicone spatula for mixing the orange sugar scrub ingredients
Citrus zester or Microplane to grate the orange zest
Paring knife (optional) to cut the orange
Spherical silicone mold (optional) to shape the scrub into a ball and make a solid sugar scrub

Orange Essential Oil Blends

My orange body scrub smells delicious with only orange zest and oil. However, that doesn’t mean you have to stop there. Orange blends beautifully with so many other essential oils! Following are a few ideas for you to try to make this sugar body scrub recipe uniquely yours:

Citrus Burst: 7 drops sweet orange + 4 drops steam-distilled lime + 3 drops steam-distilled lemon
Orange Creamsicle: 11 drops vanilla oleoresin + 7 drops sweet orange
Minty Orange: 10 drops sweet orange + 6 drops peppermint
Orange Grove: 8 drops cedarwood + 6 drops sweet orange + 2 drops blue tansy
Orange Spice: 10 drops sweet orange + 5 drops cassia + 1 drop cinnamon leaf (skip for sensitive skin)

How to Make Orange Sugar Scrub

It only takes a few minutes to whip up this easy sugar scrub recipe. It’s so simple that anyone can do it. Let’s go over the steps involved!

1. Use a measuring cup to measure out the sugar. Then pour into a small mixing bowl.

2. Zest the orange using a citrus zester or microplane. Add the orange zest to the sugar. Then stir to coat the orange peels with the granulated sugar. This aids in infusing the oils from the peel into the sugar immediately.

3. Now mix in the softened coconut oil and the essential oil, if using, into the sugar mixture. Stir until the oils are completely incorporated into the sugar.

Tip: When prepping to make this body scrub, you can warm the coconut oil for 10 seconds at a time to soften in a microwave. Heat just until it has softened and is the consistency of room temperature butter. You do not want it to be fully melted.

4. Once combined, this sugar body scrub is ready to use right away! Alternately, you may also store it in airtight container until you’re ready to use it.

Create an Orange Shaped Sugar Scrub

Rather than filling the orange sugar scrub in a jar and calling it a day, I wanted to try something creative. So, I came up with the idea to mold my scrub into the form of an orange, thereby creating a super simple sugar scrub bar.

Additionally, in order to further mimic the look of a real fruit, I hollowed out an orange. Then used the peel to hold the solid scrub. If you’d like to do the same, keep in mind that the orange peel is meant for presentation only and will last for 2 to 3 days at best.

Here’s how you do it:

1. To make the little orange sugar scrub ball, first make a ball from the scrub with your hands. You’ll want to smooth out the exterior as much as possible. Alternately, you may also transfer the mixture into a silicone mold to help with the process. When doing so, gently press the sugar scrub into the mold to give it a nice, smooth top when removed. Then, place the ball(s) in the freezer for approximately 20 minutes.

2. While scrub is in the freezer, and the coconut oil solidifies, take this time to prep the mandarin.

3. To prepare the mandarin orange for presentation, carefully use a sharp knife to cut the top of the orange with a X. Then gently pull back the peel. Wiggle out the orange segments while making your best attempt to keep the bottom of the orange peel intact. (You can eat the orange!)

4. By the 20-minute mark, the orange scrub in the freezer should be solid. It can be then be set into the orange for presentation. (Personally, I love this DIY idea for an at home spa day!)

How to Use Orange Body Scrub

Whenever I share homemade body scrub recipes, I receive questions on how to use sugar scrubs. It’s pretty simple, and with these tips, you’ll enjoy silky-smooth skin in no time! Here’s how:

Use the scrub in the shower or during a bath.
First, wet your skin with warm water to soften it.
Then rub the scrub gently over your skin, using light pressure and circular motions.
Exfoliate your upper body, arms, legs, and feet.
Be careful as the coconut oil can make the floor of your shower or bathtub slippery.

Tips for Using Body Scrubs

Following are some easy tips for using this product as part of your natural skin care routine:

Use sugar scrub only on wet skin. Water acts as a lubricant and helps the scrub glide over your skin. Using the scrub on dry skin is too abrasive.
Don’t exfoliate irritated skin or wounds. Wait until irritated or injured skin is better before using the scrub.
This orange sugar scrub is strictly a body product and is not suitable for the face. To exfoliate the face, try my orange & coconut face scrub or baking powder face scrub. You may also like this sensitive skin face scrub with goat milk and colloidal oatmeal.
Moisturize afterward. For an extra moisture boost, apply this orange peppermint body butter or my dandelion body lotion bars. Or try this vegan solid lotion bar recipe.

Storage & shelf life

Keep this orange body scrub recipe in an airtight container or glass jar and store it in a dry, dark place. I recommend that you use the product within 9 months to 1 year.

Yield: 1 solid sugar scrub bar

Orange Sugar Scrub Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes

Additional Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Materials

½ cup white sugar
Zest from one small orange or mandarin orange
3 tablespoons of soft coconut oil
4 drops of sweet orange or essential oil of choice (optional)

Tools

measuring cups and spoons
large mixing bowl
silicone spatula
citrus zester
paring knife (optional)
ball silicone mold (optional)

Instructions

Make sugar scrub

Measure your sugar and pour into a small bowl.
Zest your mandarin into the sugar and stir to coat the orange peels in sugar. This will help infuse the oils from the peel into the sugar right away.
Mix in the soft coconut oil and optional essential oil and stir until the oil is completely incorporated into the sugar.
The scrub is ready to use right away at this stage.

Create solid scrub bar (optional)

To make the little orange sugar scrub ball, make a ball with your hands, smoothing as best as possible or transfer the mixture into a silicone mold, being sure to press it into the mold to have a nice and smooth top when removed.
Place the ball(s) in the freezer for about 20 minutes.
While scrub is in the freezer, and the coconut oil is hardening to a solid, you can prep the mandarin.
Carefully use a sharp knife to cut the top of the orange with a X, see image. Then gently pull back the peel and wiggle out the orange segments-trying to keep the bottom of the orange peel intact.
By the 20-minute mark, the orange scrub in the freezer should be solid and can be set into the orange for presentation.

Notes

Tip: When getting ready to mix this up, if the coconut oil is completely solid, warm for 10 seconds at a time until it is soft like room temperature butter, ideally not melted.

FAQ

Does the orange zest go bad?

No, there’s no need for concern because the sugar dries out and preserves the zest. As long as you don’t get any water in your homemade sugar scrub, it should keep well for a long time.

Is orange essential oil phototoxic?

No, sweet orange essential oil is one of the few citrus oils that are not phototoxic and is safe for sun exposure. Of course, that isn’t to say that you shouldn’t protect your skin from the sun and wear sunscreen.

Phototoxicity refers to oils that can irritate and chemically burn the skin if applied to the skin and exposed to the sun.

Can I prepare this DIY sugar scrub with other citrus fruit?

Absolutely! If you wanted to experiment, swap out orange zest for lemon zest, lime zest, or grapefruit zest. Just be sure to scent the scrub with steam-distilled lemon, lime, or grapefruit as their cold-pressed counterparts are phototoxic.

Can I substitute with shea butter?

Yes, it’s possible to substitute coconut oil with shea butter. As with coconut oil, you’ll need 3 tablespoons of shea butter. Since shea butter is firmer than coconut oil, the texture of the scrub will be a bit different.

More Body Scrub Recipes

Looking for more sugar scrub ideas? If you like this recipe, you might also like some of my other tutorials!

You can also explore more of my homemade sugar scrub recipes here. Or follow Soap Deli News on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram for more natural beauty recipes. You can also subscribe to my newsletter.