I blogged a recipe for homemade sugar scrub a little while ago, but I had to risk sounding like a broken record and come back with an update. I've been tweaking my concoctions and this is hands down the best I've made. Just popped out of the shower and feel 100% invigorated and fresh - you have to try this.
Homemade sugar scrubs are just a mixture of sugar, a carrier oil, and an essential oil for scent. The purpose is of course to exfoliate your skin and buff away dead cells, but the oil also acts as a moisturiser.
I've been experimenting with a few different carrier oils. Previously I've tried coconut oil and sesame oil. Coconut oil is okay; it's obviously known for its hydrating properties, but personally I find the scent overpowering. The same goes for sesame oil. I had read about its amazing moisturising power so decided to give it a try, but it left me smelling a bit like a stir fry? That brings me to my third experiment: olive oil.
Recently I saw a TV interview with a hand model. When asked for tips for keeping her hands in good condition, she said that her secret was good old, humble olive oil. Well, if you're going to take advice from anyone!
For body purposes, you want to use a light/mild olive oil. The brand that I have in my cupboard is Moro Light Taste Olive Oil. This is perfect because the smell is so mild, it enables the scent of your essential oil to take the limelight.
As for the pure essential oil, I've used bergamot and lavender in the past, but obviously used lemongrass for this pot and it's my favourite, hands down. Lemongrass is refreshing, uplifting, calming, relaxing, all at the same time. I love it!
How To
Find yourself a plastic tub that is safe to keep in the shower. Fill it with sugar (to measure) then tip the sugar in a larger bowl. Add about the same quantity of light olive oil (so, 1 cup of each, for example) and mix it in. You want the consistency to be moist and only slightly liquidy so just play around til you get the consistency right. Next, add your essential oil bit by bit until you get a desired strength. I added about 1.5 teaspoons lemongrass to my batch (which was a bit more than a cup of sugar).
Enjoy enjoy enjoy. x
No comments: