If your skin feels dry, rough, or just a little dull, a good body polish can make a noticeable difference. This DIY sugar body polish combines exfoliating sugar with nourishing oils to leave your skin feeling smooth, soft, and conditioned.
But this isn’t just a basic sugar-and-oil scrub.
This recipe also contains cranberry seeds for additional texture and exfoliation and Olivem 1000, an emulsifier that helps the oils interact with water when you rinse the body polish away. That gives it a richer, creamier feel than a simple oil-based sugar scrub.
The finished polish is thick and scoopable, making it easy to use in the shower when your skin needs a little extra attention.
And because you’re making it yourself, you can choose the fragrance, adjust the exfoliation, and learn exactly what each ingredient is doing in the formula.
Important: This is a body exfoliant, not a facial scrub. Use gentle pressure and don’t exfoliate irritated, broken, sunburned, or freshly shaved skin.
Prefer to watch this project instead of reading it?
Some links on this website are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you click and make a purchase. This comes at no additional cost to you.
DIY Sugar Body Polish at a Glance
- Makes: 200 grams
- Type: Anhydrous body polish
- Main exfoliant: Granulated sugar
- Additional exfoliant: Cranberry seeds
- Texture: Rich and scoopable
- Best for: Body exfoliation
- Fragrance: Black Cherry Merlot
- Preservative: Germall Plus
- Suggested starting frequency: Once a week
What Makes This Sugar Body Polish Different?
A basic sugar scrub can be as simple as sugar mixed with a carrier oil.
There’s nothing wrong with that, but this recipe takes the idea a little further.
The sugar provides the main physical exfoliation, while cranberry seeds add another layer of texture. Sweet almond oil and jojoba oil give the polish its rich, conditioning feel.
Then there’s Olivem 1000.
Even though this recipe doesn’t contain water, Olivem 1000 helps the oil phase interact with water when you use the product on wet skin. Instead of behaving exactly like a straight oil-and-sugar scrub, the polish develops a creamier feel as you rinse.
That’s what makes this recipe interesting from both a skincare and formulation perspective.
You’re not just mixing sugar and oil. You’re putting several ingredients together to create a specific texture and skin feel.
DIY Sugar Body Polish Recipe
Here is the complete formula before we get into what each ingredient does and why the formula is put together this way.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Percentage | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Sweet Almond Oil | 13% | 26 g |
| Jojoba Oil | 7% | 14 g |
| Olivem 1000 | 3% | 6 g |
| Tocopherol (Vitamin E) | 0.7% | 1.4 g |
| Black Cherry Merlot Fragrance Oil | 1.7% | 3.4 g |
| Germall Plus | 0.6% | 1.2 g |
| Granulated Sugar | 67% | 134 g |
| Cranberry Seeds | 3% | 6 g |
| Total | 100% | 200 g |
I recommend weighing your ingredients with a digital scale rather than measuring them by volume.
Working in percentages and grams makes the recipe much easier to reproduce and allows you to scale the formula to a different batch size. If you want more information check out my Percentages vs Grams post.
How to Make DIY Sugar Body Polish
This body polish is a straightforward project, but there are a few things worth paying attention to while you make it.
1. Prepare Your Equipment
Gather:
- Digital scale
- Heat-safe container
- Mixing utensils
- Double boiler or water bath
- Clean, dry container for the finished polish
Make sure everything that will come into contact with the product is clean and completely dry.
Although this is an anhydrous formula, the finished product will be used around water, so sanitation and keeping unnecessary moisture out of the product are important.
2. Melt the Oils and Olivem 1000
Add the sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, and Olivem 1000 to a heat-safe container.
Gently heat the mixture using a double boiler or water bath until the Olivem 1000 has completely melted.
Stir the mixture so the emulsifier is evenly incorporated into the oils.
Once everything is melted and combined, remove it from the heat.
3. Let the Mixture Cool
Allow the oil mixture to cool before adding the ingredients intended for the cool-down phase.
This is an important part of the process because not every ingredient should be exposed to the same amount of heat.
Follow the processing instructions supplied by the manufacturer of your specific ingredients.
4. Add Vitamin E, Fragrance, and Germall Plus
Once the mixture has cooled sufficiently according to the instructions for your ingredients, add the tocopherol, fragrance oil, and Germall Plus.
Mix thoroughly.
It’s important not to confuse vitamin E with your preservative.
Vitamin E is an antioxidant. Germall Plus is the preservative.
They perform different jobs in the formula.
5. Add the Sugar and Cranberry Seeds
Now add the granulated sugar and cranberry seeds.
Mix thoroughly until the exfoliants are evenly distributed throughout the oil mixture.
As you mix, the product should develop into a thick, scoopable body polish.
6. Package Your Body Polish
Transfer the finished body polish into a clean, dry container.
Seal the container and label it with the product name and the date it was made.
Because this product will be used around water, try to keep water out of the jar during both storage and use.
What Is a Sugar Body Polish?
A sugar body polish is a type of body scrub that uses sugar to physically exfoliate the skin.
The sugar granules are massaged over wet skin, helping loosen and remove dry, flaky skin from the surface. The oils in the formula then help leave the skin feeling soft and conditioned.
Sugar is a physical exfoliant, meaning that the exfoliation comes from the physical action of the particles against the skin.
The texture of your exfoliant matters. A finer sugar generally creates a different, gentler-feeling scrub than a coarse sugar.
If you want to understand physical exfoliation in more detail, including different types of exfoliants and how to choose one, see my Exfoliating: Everything You Need to Know About Physical Exfoliating & Selecting the Best Exfoliator.
Sugar Scrub vs. Body Polish: What’s the Difference?
You’ll often see the terms sugar scrub and body polish used interchangeably, and there is a lot of overlap between the two.
A simple sugar scrub can be made by combining sugar with a carrier oil. A body polish generally has a more conditioning, luxurious feel and may contain additional ingredients designed to change the way the product feels during application and rinsing.
That’s where this recipe is different.
Instead of only combining sugar and oil, this formula includes Olivem 1000 to help the oil phase interact with water during use.
The result is a body polish that feels rich when you massage it onto wet skin but can develop a creamier feel when you rinse it away.
Why Is There an Emulsifier in This Sugar Body Polish?
This is one of the questions you may have when you first look at the formula.
There is no water listed in the recipe, so why does it contain an emulsifier?
Because Olivem 1000 isn’t being used to make a traditional lotion or cream here.
A traditional emulsion contains a water phase and an oil phase that are combined with the help of an emulsifier.
This recipe is different. It is an anhydrous formula, meaning no water is added during manufacturing.
Instead, the Olivem 1000 helps the oils interact with water when you use the body polish on wet skin.
When you rinse, the oil phase can disperse with the water rather than behaving exactly like a straight oil-and-sugar scrub.
That contributes to the creamy, more emulsified feel of this body polish.
If you’re new to cosmetic formulation and want to understand emulsifiers, percentages, preservatives, and how skincare formulas are built, my Skincare Formulation for Beginners guide is a good place to start.
What Does Each Ingredient Do?
Understanding why each ingredient is in a formula makes it much easier to understand the finished product.
It also helps you recognize which changes are simple adjustments and which changes actually require reformulating the recipe.
Granulated Sugar
Sugar is the primary exfoliant in this body polish.
The granules physically exfoliate the surface of the skin as you gently massage the product over wet skin.
The type and size of sugar crystals can change the way the finished product feels. A finer sugar will generally provide a different texture than a coarse sugar.
Cranberry Seeds
Cranberry seeds add additional texture and exfoliation.
They’re not essential to making a sugar body polish, so you can leave them out if you prefer a simpler, smoother texture.
If you want the exfoliation to feel gentler, removing the cranberry seeds is one of the easiest changes you can make.
Sweet Almond Oil
Sweet almond oil is an emollient that helps soften and condition the skin.
It contributes to the rich, nourishing feel of the body polish and makes up part of the oil phase.
Jojoba Oil
Jojoba oil is another emollient, but it has a somewhat lighter skin feel.
Using both sweet almond oil and jojoba oil gives the formula a combination of characteristics rather than relying on a single carrier oil.
Olivem 1000
Olivem 1000 is an emulsifier.
In this formula, it helps the oils interact with water during use. It isn’t creating a traditional water-and-oil lotion because the recipe contains no water phase.
Instead, it helps create the more emulsified, creamy experience you notice when rinsing the body polish away.
Tocopherol (Vitamin E)
Vitamin E is an antioxidant, not a preservative.
Its role in this formula is to help protect the oils from oxidation.
Over time, oxidation can cause oils to become rancid, so an antioxidant can be useful in an oil-containing formula.
Fragrance Oil
The fragrance oil gives the body polish its scent.
I used Black Cherry Merlot Fragrance Oil, but you can choose another fragrance if you prefer.
Always check the manufacturer’s recommended usage rate and make sure the fragrance is approved for use in a body product.
You can also leave the fragrance
Printable DIY Sugar Body Polilsh Recipe
DIY Sugar Body Polish Recipe
Ingredients
- 26 grams | 13% Sweet Almond Oil
- 14 grams | 7% Jojoba Oil
- 6 grams | 3% Olivem 1000
- 1.4 grams | .7% Tocopherol (Vitamin E)
- 3.4 grams | 1.7% Black Cherry Merlot Fragrance Oil
- 1.2 grams | 0.6% Germall Plus
- 134 grams | 67% Granulated Sugar
- 6 grams | 3% Cranberry Seeds
Instructions
Prepare Your Ingredients:
- Measure out the sugar, oils, and other ingredients.
Heat the Oils & Emulsifier:
- Using a double boiler, gently heat the sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, and Olivum 1000 until they are fully melted and combined.
Combine Ingredients:
- Slowly pour Germall Plus, fragrance oil, and tocopherol into the melted oils and mix well.
Add Final Touches:
- Incorporate the granulated sugar and cranberry seeds. Mix very well.
Store the Scrub:
- Transfer the mixture into clean, dry jars and seal them tightly.