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Revive your dirty gardener’s hands with a bright lemon hand scrub! This homemade hand scrub is a gentle exfoliant for removing dirt, callouses, and dead skin. Give your hands the care they deserve with just 3 ingredients!
It’s warming up, and that means one thing: it’s time to get outside!
I love spending nice spring days in the garden, planting veggies and tending to my flower plants.
After all of that yard work, my hands definitely show it. They are dry, flaky, and usually stained with dirt that just won’t wash off.
That’s where this DIY hand scrub comes in. With fresh lemon zest and lots of exfoliating power, it gets my hands looking good as new!
If you’re a gardener, you will certainly need a big batch of scrub this season, and if you know a gardener, this is the perfect gift for them!
Why You’ll Love It
- This hand scrub uses only natural ingredients, and you probably already have them in your kitchen! With just coconut oil, sugar, and lemon zest, you’ll have a better-than-storebought hand scrub.
- Making your own DIY skincare products saves lots of money compared to purchasing commercial products.
- You can reduce waste and live a more eco-friendly life by making your own hand scrub. This recipe uses natural, biodegradable ingredients and can be made in the same reusable jar many times over!
- Homemade hand scrub makes a lovely and thoughtful gift for the gardeners in your life. As a gardener myself, trust me — they’ll love it.
Ingredients
- Coconut oil: You’ll need regular cold-pressed coconut oil. You can also use shea butter combined with fractionated coconut oil (use 2 parts shea butter and 1 part fractionated coconut oil to achieve the right consistency).
- Sugar: Regular white sugar acts as a gentle exfoliant to remove dirt and dead skin.
- Lemon zest: Fresh lemon zest gives this hand scrub a bright scent and helps cut through grease and dirt.
Substitutions and Variations
- Instead of fresh lemon zest, you can use 5-10 drops of lemon essential oil. This will make the scrub shelf-stable!
- Give this scrub a boost of cleansing power by adding a tablespoon of soap. I like to use a natural hand soap, such as my homemade liquid hand soap or plain castile soap.
- You can add a bit of honey to this hand scrub. This has a variety of benefits for the skin, including moisturizing, wound healing, and fading scars. It also smells amazing!
- A few drops of tea tree oil are also an excellent addition to this hand scrub. Tea tree oil has tremendous benefits in skincare, such as supporting wound healing, killing bacteria, and offering antiseptic properties.
How to Make Homemade Hand Scrub
Step 1. Start by adding the coconut oil and sugar to a mixing bowl or container.
Step 2. Next, stir the mixture using a fork until it’s well combined.
Step 3. Add the lemon zest and mix everything together.
Step 4. Store in an airtight container in the fridge and use on dry or dirty hands.
How to Use Hand Scrub
Use this hand scrub whenever your hands need a refresh! It works well at removing dirt, callouses, and dry skin.
Begin by wetting your hands with warm water. Scoop a spoonful of the scrub into the palm of your hand and scrub away by rubbing your hands together.
Be sure to get the palms and backs of your hands, paying special attention to your nails and nail beds.
Rinse under warm water, dry well, and apply a soothing homemade hand cream.
Helpful Tips
- You can use this scrub as needed, but be careful not to overdo it. Exfoliating too often can be hard on your skin, so reduce the frequency if your hands start to feel tender.
- This hand scrub makes a beautiful and useful gift for any gardener in your life. Put it in a cute jar and attach a label and a ribbon — it’s that easy!
- You can download a free printable label in my online resource library. It’s helpful for gifting, but I also like to have my own products labeled so they don’t get mixed up.
- This hand scrub isn’t just for gardeners; it’s great for mechanics, landscapers, or anyone who gets their hands dirty!
Storage
Store your hand scrub in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. Be sure to keep the lid on tightly and avoid getting water in the scrub.
It needs to be in the fridge because of the fresh lemon zest, but you can substitute lemon essential oil to make it stable at room temperature.
Recipe FAQs
A hand scrub is an exfoliating scrub that’s made with your hands in mind. It has an abrasive ingredient, usually sugar or salt, that helps slough dead skin, revealing the fresh, new skin underneath. Hand scrubs are particularly useful because hands can often take a beating, leaving them calloused, flaky, and dirty.
White sugar is ideal for most skin, but you can substitute it with something more gentle or more abrasive. Brown sugar or coffee grounds make a gentle exfoliating hand scrub, similar to my homemade coffee scrub. Salt will be more abrasive, which is why I use it in homemade foot scrub. Salt may be a good option for especially calloused hands.
More Homemade Scrubs
- Green Tea Matcha Scrub
- Peppermint Mocha Face Scrub
- Whipped Lavender Sugar Scrub
- Coconut Oil Lip Scrub
- DIY Scalp Scrub Recipe
If you tried this homemade hand scrub or any other tutorial on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Homemade Hand Scrub
Equipment
- 1 8-ounce jar
- Zester
Ingredients
- 2.25 oz coconut oil
- ½ cup pure granulated sugar
- Zest, from 1 lemon
Instructions
- Start by adding the coconut oil to a mixing bowl or container.
- Next, stir in the sugar using a fork until it’s well combined with the coconut oil.
- Add the lemon zest and mix everything together.
- When you’re ready to use, scoop out a little with a spoon, apply to your hands, and scrub away.
- To keep it fresh, store your scrub in the fridge.
Notes
- To use: Wet hands with warm water, then scoop a spoonful into the palm of your hands. Scrub away, paying attention to your palms, backs of your hands, and nail beds. Rinse with warm water, dry, and apply a soothing moisturizer.
- You can use this scrub as needed, but be careful not to overdo it. Exfoliating too often can be hard on your skin, so reduce the frequency if your hands start to feel tender.
- This hand scrub makes a beautiful and useful gift for any gardeners in your life. Put it in a cute jar and attach a label and a ribbon; it’s that easy!
- You can download a free printable label in my online resource library. It’s helpful for gifting, but I also like to have my own products labeled so they aren’t mixed up.
