Last year I discovered the joys of sugar scrubs. They are a great exfoliant, leaving your skin soft, moisturized and bright. They make a great shaving “cream” or overall body scrub. Talk about dessert for the skin! Hand me a spoon! They are almost too easy to make, and they make fantastic gifts. My favorite to date is Chai Spice. It is as simple as opening a Chai Spice tea bag, mixing it with the sugar, adding 10 drops of cinnamon essential oil to a base oil, and stirring!
Basic recipe:
2 parts sugar, 1 part oil.
Choose your sugars.
- Regular white sugar gives a soft, gentle exfoliation. (My favorite texture, although I don’t bake with it since it is likely GMO)
- Brown sugar gives a deeper exfoliation.
- White cane sugar gives a firmer, deeper exfoliation.
- True demerara sugar (as opposed to demerara style) provides the deepest, firmest exfoliation.
Choose your oils.
Most liquid cooking oils will work fine. I have used olive oil, sweet almond oil and grape seed oil. Smell it first. Make sure it isn’t rancid.
Choose your additives… or not.
- Ground candy canes (run it through the blender to get small bits)
- Ground coffee beans
- Ground cinnamon
- Almond or Vanilla Extract
- Essential oils
- Loose leaf teas (think, Chai Spice with cinnamon!)
Mix your ingredients.
In a bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine liquid ingredients. Add wet to dry and stir well. Spoon into jars and decorate jars to your liking! Enjoy!
Mountain Rose Herbs has exceptional quality, certified organic herbs, spices,oils, essential oils and more. They maintain a strict emphasis on sustainable agriculture. I highly recommend them for outstanding quality and service.
