Today I have a completely guilt-free sugar recipe! A beautifully scented and amazingly moisturising body scrub. Probably about $2 worth.
I love salt/sugar exfoliating and like having one at-hand in the shower for a tri-weekly exfoliation sesh. You can buy some beautiful scrubs from the shops, of course, but they will set you back anywhere between $20 and $40 a jar. Why would you? I finished my jar of store-bought scrub yesterday and decided to make my own. I made it entirely from things I already had lying around.
The scrub is made up of a few simple ingredients, which is fantastic, when you compare it to the 20+ ingredients in the commercial tubs! I used salt, sugar, essential oils and coconut oil. The scent evaporating in the shower steam is so very dreamy. This mix also makes for a lovely no-reason gift.
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With this scrub, I used a mixture of white sugar (regular sugar, not brown, not caster) and sea salt that I pummeled with a motor and pestle. The reason for the combination is because I only had a little of each left in the cupboard. I think I will stick with this combo in the future because it seems to work.
The Carrier Oil
I used coconut oil in my scrub, which you can get from the supermarket for about $5 a jar. Coconut oil is meant to be super moisturising. It does leave a slight 'oil slick' feel when you're putting it on (which I don't mind) but it easily melts into the skin when you towel off. You can use sweet almond oil instead but I think this is probably more expensive.
Essential Oils
You can use any combination of oil you like - just pick the scents you enjoy! I used a combination of lavender (calming) and bergamot (uplifting). Peppermint essential oil would be divinely refreshing in the shower, and sandalwood would be nice for the boys. Make sure that you use 100% pure essential oils, not those cheapo burner oils from Dollar King. Pure essential oils are a little pricey (~$20) but the bottle will last ages. Whatever essential oils you choose, just add a little bit at a time til you reach your desired strength.
My Mix
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup table salt (or crush sea salt with motor and pestle)
2/3 cup coconut organic coconut oil (health food section of supermarket)
1 teaspoon lavender oil
12 drops bergamot oil
Crushed lavender (This is optional. I actually sprinkled some dried thyme in mine as I did not have a lavender bush at hand. I probably won't add more 'bits' to future scrubs as they tend to stick and get lost places.)
Combine all of the ingredients and store in a plastic container in the shower/bath. The oil will naturally separate from the sugar/salt so just give it a little pinkie-stir before using. Enjoy!
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