Winter is upon us- and even here in Florida the dry weather quickly begins to wreak havoc on the skin. Within a few weeks my arms and legs is dry and in serious need of moisture- and while I always take time to put extra moisturizer on my face- sadly the rest of my body often goes unattended.
I have an easy and quick remedy that you can make from ingredients that are already in your pantry. I started using salt and sugar scrubs on my son to help with the eczema on his calves. I found that exfoliating the dead skin helped his skin absorb more moisture and kept his eczema under control without anti-inflammatory creams. I compare this effect to trying to fertilize a lawn that is covered with dry leaves. The nutrients just can’t get through until all of those dead leaves are out of the way…
An added benefit is that salt and sugar scrubs are generally made with rich oils and butters that trap vital moisture and hold it close to the skin- and it isn’t necessary to follow up with a moisturizer. So you have the cleansing and exfoliating step and moisturizer step in one!
I always make my sugar scrubs with some carrier oil, but I also add just a little bit of a rich butter to give the scrub a whipped “fluffy” texture rather than a crumbly one. You can use any butter that you have on hand… as long as it is soft at room temperature. Hard butters like pure Cocoa Butter are just too hard to mix. My favorite is mango butter, but shea butter works great, as well.
Here is the basic recipe:
Fill the container you plan to use to the rim with either epsom salts or raw turbinado or demerara sugar. When you add your oils this will shrink and it will fit into the jar. I recommend glass because plastic can react with essential oils.
Pour this into a bowl that is large enough to easily mix in.
Add ½ Tablespoon of vegetable butter for every 8 oz(by volume) of salt or sugar.
Add 3 Tablespoons of carrier oil such as fractionated coconut, sweet almond, or apricot kernel. Raw virgin coconut and olive oil are also great to use. Once these two tablespoons are mixed thoroughly with the other ingredients you can add more oil a tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency
Add 25-30 drops of essential oils. You can start with a single
essential oil, such as lavender, or add you favorite blend. One of my favorites is 8 drops of peppermint and 20 drops of lavender. Use caution with citrus oils because they can increase the skin’s sensitivity to the sun, never add more than a couple of drops.
Mix this thoroughly with either a spoon or if you would like a fluffier scrub you can use a hand-held mixer.
This simple recipe makes enough scrub to last you a few weeks, and as long as there is no water in the jar the shelf life should easily be 4 months.
I use this in my bath once or twice a week. I usually scrub as I am getting in and then soak in the healing oils and butters. Scrubs also work just fine in the shower. In either case it isn’t necessary to wash with soap afterwards unless you feel like you need to!
Here’s to relaxation and healthy skin!
