Get glowing skin this winter with a special exfoliating sugar scrub!
This DIY peppermint mocha sugar scrub makes a unique gift for any beauty or skin care lover! Plus, it smells like one of your favorite Christmas drinks using essential oils rather than coffee grounds.
It’s a perfect beauty ritual for those who want to try a coffee scrub but don’t drink coffee. But don’t worry, you have the option to dress this sugar scrub recipe up or down however you like.
If I plan on giving this DIY body scrub away as a gift, then I’ll put all the bells and whistles on it. Otherwise, it makes a great festive touch to my shower routine!
But how do you make peppermint mocha sugar scrub without coffee?
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Which Oil is Best for Sugar Scrubs?
The best oils for sugar scrubs are a mixture of carrier oils that nourish your skin, and a few essential oils to provide a desired boost.
Say, for example, you make a sugar scrub with sweet almond oil as your carrier oil, then you add a few drops of lavender essential oil for relaxation and to calm inflammation within the skin.
You may be thinking that you need to head out to the store and buy a bunch of essential oils. But that’s not the case for this peppermint mocha sugar scrub! Instead of an intense combination of essential oils that costs way too much money, you can buy one oil and call it good!
My favorite place to buy essential oils, REVIVE Essential Oils, has everything covered. I love their holiday blends that come out at the start of fall every year, and peppermint latte has to be one of my favorites.
Peppermint latte is a combination of peppermint (duh), vanilla, and coffee essential oils. It’s very uplifting, but in a very sweet and exciting way. It’s the perfect addition to holiday body scrub!
My first impression of this oil was that it smelled just like a peppermint patty! I didn’t pick up on the coffee scent too much, but it’s certainly there.
You can buy peppermint latte along with a lot more holiday essential oil blends at REVIVE’s website. Use the code ESSENTIAL10 and you can get 10% off your first order! Or 15% off orders of $100 or more 🙂
If you’re not too big on coffee, this oil blend is perfect for you! And if you really want to ramp up the coffee smell in this peppermint mocha sugar scrub, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.
Also, you’re missing out if you love essential oils but haven’t heard of REVIVE! They are some of the cheapest oils I’ve found on the market, but they don’t skimp on quality whatsoever. You can check out my full review of REVIVE to learn more.
What Does Peppermint Sugar Scrub Do?
You may have noticed that peppermint is one of the most popular sugar scrubs for Christmas time. Or any time, for that matter.
It goes without saying that peppermint invokes a kind of Christmas nostalgia. Especially when there are candy canes involved.
Peppermint actually has great skin care benefits too! It’s a very invigorating and cooling essential oil, so it can help calm angry, inflamed skin. I love to dilute it a bit and put it on any sunburns as a quick remedy.
Peppermint essential oil also helps to penetrate deep into the skin by calming tired or sore muscles. I love to add a few drops to an Epsom salt bath after a long day!
Combine that with the exfoliating benefits of the sugar, and you’ll be a brand-new person every time you shower!
Christmas is a great time of year to reflect and refresh yourself for the coming new year, and this peppermint latte essential oil blend helps me get in the right headspace.
Can You Use Olive Oil in a Sugar Scrub?
Of course you can! Olive oil would go great in my simple sugar scrub for your body recipe that you can customize yourself. If you have a super strict budget, then olive oil and even avocado oil make great carrier oils for your sugar scrub.
My one word of caution is that I wouldn’t recommend it in this peppermint mocha sugar scrub recipe. Olive oil has a very distinct smell, and you don’t want any extra smells to interfere with the peppermint mocha.
When you make a skin care item with the main focus being the scent, you don’t want any ingredients that have their own unique scent in there too.
I think you could get away with using avocado oil instead of olive oil, because it doesn’t have a super distinct scent. And you can find it in the baking aisle of your grocery store!
Despite this, I still highly recommend Sweet Almond oil or jojoba oil. The first DIY sugar scrub I ever made used to involve coconut oil, but I knew I couldn’t use it in this one because it would mask the peppermint mocha scent.
Coconut oil can also be very heavy, too. It never seems to fully absorb into my skin, which is super annoying.
Sweet almond oil is very lightweight, absorbs fast, and skin loves it! I find that I don’t feel as greasy when I use this DIY sugar scrub.
Plus, the fatty acids in the oil help with skin elasticity, making your skin age slower. The same goes for jojoba oil. I absolutely love to put it in my hair for a quick hair mask! And the best part is that neither of them have a distinct scent.
Can I Put Vanilla Extract in My Sugar Scrub?
You totally can, although it’s not necessary for this particular sugar scrub recipe. You’ve already got vanilla essential oil in your handy peppermint latte blend!
Vanilla extract would go great in any sweet-smelling sugar scrub, and this peppermint mocha sugar scrub is more on the bitter/invigorating side. But vanilla extract makes a very fun addition to just about any sugar scrub for sure!
What does a coffee sugar scrub do for your face?
Coffee scrub would be great for your face! The granules are fine enough that it won’t rub that delicate skin raw.
And the caffeine will help keep those fine lines and wrinkles away, which is an added bonus. Not to mention it will temporarily make you look younger.
Coffee is a diuretic, which means it tends to hold water. The caffeine absorbed into your skin will double the water content under your skin, which will slightly puff you up (not in a bad way) and get rid of any lines or wrinkles in the process.
What About the Extra Ingredients? Coffee Scrub Benefits
Raw, organic sugar is one of the best exfoliating agents in the natural beauty community. There are plenty others, of course, but the sweet smell complements just about everything. The same goes for brown sugar!
The tiny granules in sugar are perfect for exfoliating the skin because they can buff away the dead skin cells without hurting the new skin it’s trying to reveal.
And if you buy organic raw sugar, then you’ll absorb all of the trace minerals as well. Just about everyone’s body is short on trace minerals in some capacity!
Now, if you’re on Pinterest at all (I mean, who isn’t?), you might have come across some beautiful-looking sugar scrubs. I want this peppermint mocha sugar scrub to be gift-worthy, so I crushed up some candy canes to add as a fun garnish. It also smells amazing!
Another completely optional addition is coffee grounds. If you’re looking at this recipe simply to get some more coffee in your life, then I highly recommend adding coffee grounds to this DIY sugar scrub.
Coffee grounds are amazing at diminishing cellulite, and fight aging! You could even use this sugar scrub recipe as an exfoliating coffee bar if you press the sugar mixture into a silicone mold.
You could find fun little Christmas designs, like this one here, and press your coffee and sugar mixture into the molds and take them out as individual exfoliation bars. How cute would that be?!
I actually opted out of using coffee grounds, simply because I don’t drink coffee. My body is also very sensitive to caffeine, so I stay away from it. My batch came out great without the grounds, so I wouldn’t worry if you can’t get a hold of any!
How Do You Make Peppermint Coffee Scrub?
How to make sugar scrub is super easy yet looks like you put a ton of work into it! For this decadent peppermint mocha sugar scrub, you will need:
- 1 cup raw white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 10-15 drops of Peppermint Latte essential oil blend from REVIVE Essential Oils
- 1/2 cup sweet almond oil
- Airtight mason jar
- *optional* 1 full-sized candy cane or 2 mini’s, crushed
- *optional* 2-3 tablespoons coffee grounds
- Combine your white and brown sugars, coffee grounds, and crushed candy cane if using in a medium-sized bowl, stirring evenly.
- Add the Sweet Almond oil and Peppermint Mocha essential oil blend and mix until the sugar scrub starts to form clumps. Transfer to a glass container and store for up to four months.
- Add a fun label and give as a gift for the holidays!
Note: The ingredient measurements almost completely fill up one regular-sized mason jar. If you’re looking to fill a different-sized container, measure your ingredients in ratios.
Your white sugar should make up 1/2 of your container, the brown sugar should be 1/4, and the sweet almond oil should be 1/4.
As long as you follow those ratios, your DIY sugar scrub will turn out great.
Peppermint Mocha Sugar Scrub
This peppermint mocha sugar scrub is super easy to make and makes the perfect holiday gift! It leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth.
Materials
Instructions
- Combine your white and brown sugars, coffee grounds, and crushed candy cane if using in a medium-sized bowl, stirring evenly.
- Add the Sweet Almond oil and Peppermint Mocha essential oil blend and mix until the sugar scrub starts to form clumps. Transfer to a glass container and store for up to four months.
- Add a fun label and give as a gift for the holidays!
Notes
The ingredient measurements almost completely fill up one regular-sized mason jar. If you're looking to fill a different-sized container, measure your ingredients in ratios. Your white sugar should make up 1/2 of your container, the brown sugar should be 1/4, and the sweet almond oil should be 1/4. As long as you follow those ratios, your DIY sugar scrub will turn out great.
How to Use Your DIY Peppermint Mocha Sugar Scrub
To use, simply take about a quarter’s worth of sugar scrub when you’re in the shower, and massage into your skin in circular motions. Don’t massage too hard!
You want your skin to be exfoliated, not raw. Keep massaging into your skin until the sugar dissolves and you’re left with the oils.
If you’re feeling extra fancy (or stressed out), I love to put sugar scrub on my shoulders and give myself a good shoulder massage! The oils feel amazing, and the peppermint from this particular blend really help to invigorate my senses.
You can give yourself a quick massage anywhere you need with this invigorating sugar scrub!
On a regular day, I prefer to use mine in the shower on my legs, and sometimes my arms. If there are any leftover sugars, feel free to simply rinse them off. I prefer to shave right after, and that’s it! You’ll have smooth skin that you won’t even need to moisturize afterwards!
Pro Tip: If you do use this as a shaving cream, make sure that you clean out your razor blade when you’re done. Otherwise, it will be full of dead skin, sugar, and oil. Not a good thing to leave in your razor. Wondering what razor I use that fits my natural lifestyle? Check out my first “natural razor” experience!
You can also keep your jar near your bathroom sink and do an occasional hand treatment. Just wash your hands like normal but rub a small amount all over your hands before washing away the sugar with soap.
Or you can skip the soap altogether! Your hands will smell like a peppermint patty all day long!
Final Thoughts on This Peppermint Mocha Body Scrub
This makes a great gift for the natural beauty lover! I gave this to some of my family members last year, and they all loved it. A few of them even asked for the recipe.
If you’re giving this as a gift that you know will be a hit, I highly recommend attaching the recipe to the jar so people can make it on their own! It can be a sticker on the lid, or I would use a tag that they can easily detach so it won’t get wet in the shower.
If you don’t know what to get for a coffee lover, peppermint lover, or beauty lover, this definitely makes you think outside the box. Or it makes a great self-care gift for you!
I’m curious to see what you think of this recipe if you decide to make it! Leave a comment below and tell me how it went!