DIY Body Scrub

I read this post by One Good Thing on how to make my own Body Scrub. I have never been one who does a lot of self pampering. I couldn't justify the money or the time. Well now I'm retired and this scrub was inexpensive to make. So there went my reasons.

I should use a body scrub, after all I am a beach girl. I love the sun, the sand, and the salt water but they can be rough on the skin.  I looked at the ingredients and I actually had everything I needed to make one of the scrubs right then. So I did.

So now I had my homemade scrub...now what? I had never used a body scrub before. Seemed to me it needed to be done in a shower as I was thinking it would get messy. But would I bathe with soap before or after? After didn't make sense as I would wash off all the moisturizing oils. So I showered with soap and rinsed off. Then I started with the scrub. I quickly discovered I needed to turn off the water first as it dissolved the scrub faster than I could exfoliate with it. Are you laughing at me yet?

I was surprised at how good it felt and immediately wished I had some essential oils to add for fragrance. Plus essential oils have their own healing qualities. I felt so soft and silky afterwards...I was in love!

Now I am on a mission to make several of these recipes and to use one of them at least once a week. I'm thinking of the one with coconut oil and lavender for evening use. And one with lemon for mornings or when going out. (Lavender calms and sooths while lemon invigorates).

Here is a very basic recipe.

1. Salt or sugar. It is my understanding that sugar gives a gentler scrub while salt creates a more invigorating scrub. beauty.about.com says,
   

   "Just make sure to choose a sugar or salt that has small granules that won't tear at skin. A basic table salt or sugar works wonderfully. If you have super sensitive skin, you might opt for a dark brown sugar."

2.   Oil...half as much as the salt or sugar.  Suggestions are olive oil, coconut oil (prefer organic extra virgin), almond oil, safflower, or even vegetable.  So if you use 1/2 cup sugar you would use 2 Tablespoons oil. I had baby oil on this list but my sister the Esthetician gave that a big thumbs down.

3.    A few drops of essential oils for healing qualities and fragrance. There are so many to choose from but lavender and lemon seem to be the most popular. You can also use vanilla.

Another variation is to cut the oil to 1 Tablespoon per 1/2 cup of salt or sugar and add 2 Tablespoons lemon juice for a Citrus Scrub. This one is def on my list.

This is how to actually use a body scrub at home. Again from beauty.about.com.

1. Now onto the bath itself. I find scrubs work best on dry skin. Step into a bath tub and put on loofah mitts. I like the exfoliating gloves that you get in health food stores. They really scrub your skin good. If you don't have a bath mitt, don't worry, you can use your hands.
2. Take a spoonful of the mixture into your palms or your gloves and then rub the mixture all over your body in a circular motion. For tougher areas such as the knees, soles and elbows, spend extra scrubbing time or cut a lemon in half and pour sea salt on the halves, scrubbing your soles, elbows and knees with the lemon. On places like the chest, neck, and stomach, where the skin is thinner, take it easy with the scrubbing and instead use cleanser on a washcloth to exfoliate. If you feel the salt is too harsh on your skin, rinse off the bath mitts and then spoon only the oil onto the mitts to continue.
3. Once entire body is scrubbed well, rinse thoroughly.
4. Pat skin dry. You should be good and cleansed. The salt (or sugar) should have exfoliated your skin nicely with the help of the loofah and the oil should leave skin soft and moisturized. You shouldn't even need to follow the bath with a moisturizer.
5. The only bad part about this scrub is the oil can build up on the bathtub bottom. Make sure to clean it up so the next person who gets in doesn't slip

Just found another GREAT variation over at Camp Wander.

 Rose Petal and Mint Body Scrub. Check it out!