Got Dry Skin? This Lush Scrubee Recipe Is Just What You Need! (2024)

LUSH, often considered the gold standard in bath products, may have been the first to start selling shower scrub bars, but that doesn't mean you can't do one better. This dupe Scrubee recipe is chock full of nourishing butters, essential oils, and sugar to moisturize and exfoliate at the same time.

I love products that do double duty, which is why a scrub bar turns a run-of-the-mill sugar scrub into something special. Zero in on flakes, condition rough patches, and replenish moisture—all without the hassle or the mess? Yes, please.

Seriously, just take one in the shower and emerge with silky soft skin! But whereas Lush bars sell for 8 bucks a pop, I made six for just $20 in supplies and an hour of elbow grease.

Scrubee Dupe Ingredients

They might look complicated, but this Lush Scrubee recipe is actually pretty easy to whip up. All you need is an old bowl and a few super soothing ingredients like shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, and brown sugar.

Coconut oil — It improves the skin barrier, kills bacteria, reduces inflammation, improves wound healing and slows the effects of aging.

Shea and cocoa butter — These butter bring a ton of soothing and antioxidant benefits [source].

Brown sugar — It gently sloughs away dry skin without causing further irritation, which then allows the oils to sink into the skin even further.

How To Make Lush Scrubees

To make these bars, you'll have to make the sugar stripes separately and then come back later to fill in with the remaining butter mixture.

Step 1 | Melt Oil + Butters for Sugar Layer

Combine the oil and butters in a small bowl and microwave in short bursts until melted.

Step 2 | Add Brown Sugar

Add the brown sugar and stir to combine. The mixture should be a loose sand texture and not overly soupy. Add more sugar if needed.

Step 2 | Solidify and Slice

Spoon brown sugar mixture into a silicone mold and let it cool until solid. Pop 'em out and slice them into little strips (¼ to ½-inch wide). Put them back in the mold with plenty of space between each slice—I used 2 slices per Scrubee—and return to the freezer.

Step 3 | Make Shea Butter Mixture

Combine the remaining oils and butters in a bowl and microwave in short bursts until just barely melted. Add the honey and bergamot oil and stir to combine. (If the honey sinks to the bottom, keep stirring until the mixture begins to cool and come together.)

Take the mold with the brown sugar slices and pour in the liquid shea butter mixture. Cover and surround all of the sugar segments.

Use your fingers to adjust the stripes should they start to shift. Let cool until solid and remove from the mold.

After cooling in the refrigerator for an hour or two, my bars were completely solid and ready for the shower.

Substitutions

You don't have to follow this recipe to a T, here are some ways to mix it up:

Carrier oils — If you have any of the following oils, feel free to add them to your bars or experiment until you find a recipe that works best for you:

• Olive oil is anti-inflammatory and promotes healing.
• Sunflower oil can help repair the skin barrier.
• Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant.

Just note that adding liquid oils to your scrub bars will make them a little softer. Stick to just 1–2 tablespoons, and it shouldn't affect the consistency too much.

Sugars — You can use caster sugar or regular ol' white sugar. Or feel free to use any exfoliating ingredient like coffee grounds, ground rice, cornmeal, or almond meal.

Essential oils — Try lavender, chamomile, frankincense, or rose geranium for soothing inflammation.

Variations

Make bars harder: Add beeswax like in this citrus-rose sugar scrub bar recipe to reduce melting in the shower.

Add soap: Try these exfoliating scrub bars made with melt & pour soap for a sudsing scrub.

Make a lotion bar: Prefer to keep your scrub and lotion separate? No problem, leave out the sugar and just make lotion bars.

Equipment

A simple oval mold works well for creating a bee-like shape. You can also repurpose a container that you already have, like a muffin tin.

Using Homemade Scrubee Bars

Don't let it linger in hot water: Your Scrubees will last longer if you don't let them linger under running water. The butters soften quickly in the heat so apply the scrub to wet skin and then put the bar aside and use your hands to rub the exfoliating and moisturizing ingredients into your skin.

Apply all over, even your face: If you use a gentle exfoliator like caster sugar or brown sugar you can use these scrubs all over, even on sensitive areas like the face. Just go easy with the pressure and don't get too aggressive when scrubbing.

Don't wash off the oils: When you're done, quickly rinse off the sugar scrub and pat your skin dry. The oils will sink into your skin, so you don't have to apply extra lotion afterward. Just rub any excess butter into the skin and let it absorb completely before getting dressed.

Dry Scrubee between uses: If you put your bar away so it can dry out between showers, you should be able to get 9 or 10 uses out of each one. After about 6 or so uses, you might have a hard time keeping the layers of your bar together.

At that point, I just use my hands to compress it into a ball shape. It won't be as pretty but it should hold together well enough for you to get several more uses out of it.

Oils can make things slippery: I learned this the hard way—the oils may coat the floor of the shower, making it very slick (another reason not to let your scrub bars sit in hot running water). Not letting them melt in the shower will help cut down on the slip factor. But even so, be careful!

Storage

These bars should last forever if stored properly. I keep mine in the refrigerator and pull them out one by one when I'm ready to use one. I have kept the spares in the fridge for up to a year without any issues,

Remember: Don't let them sit in standing water in the shower. And don't hold them under hot running water for too long or they'll fall apart.

FAQ

More Lush Recipes

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

This post was medically reviewed by Dr. Rina Mary Allawh, M.D., a dermatologist who performs adult and pediatric medical dermatology, skin cancer treatment and cosmetic dermatology. Learn more about Hello Glow's medical reviewers here. As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you talk with your doctor.

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