Polish and exfoliate your skin with homemade exfoliating body scrub recipes for cleansing, moon glow, Aegean breeze, or a sugar-and-spice herbal body scrub.
Have you decided to just face the fact that your skin is a disaster? Has what tan you managed to get this summer gone and have the winds of fall turned your legs into tree bark? Do not lose hope. Try assembling a few ingredients from your cupboard to make polishing, exfoliating, moisturizing body scrubs. Then you can pamper your skin and get ready to face the holidays refreshed and gleaming.
Salt and sugar scrubs use commonly available ingredients and the recipes lend themselves to improvisation. Try using food- grade oils such as almond (also known as sweet almond), hazelnut, sesame, jojoba, or a blend of castor and apricot. Look around for other interesting oils from on-line suppliers. Feel free to substitute other essential oils or essential oil blends that you have on hand. Make sure not to use more than twelve drops of essential oil per ounce of vegetable oil and no more than five essential oils in your blend.
After you make the scrub, store the unused portion in a glass jar in the refrigerator. There are no preservatives in these scrubs, so keep them dry and keep your fingers out of the containers. When I’m cold, I like to warm the scrub for 20 or 30 seconds in the microwave. But it is also quite refreshing to pull your scrub from the refrigerator and use it chilled if you’re hot and grubby. Don’t scrub more often than once a week–that’s just too much of a good thing. Too much exfoliation (mildly abrasive removal of the layer of dead skin cells) may cause irritation and stinging. It may also stimulate oil-secreting cells that make your skin more oily. Sometimes I only have time to scrub my feet or hands, and that’s fine. Pampering is always good for your body and your soul.
Moon Glow Salt Scrub Recipe
Makes 5 oz.
The essential oils and herbs in this scrub were chosen to help ease the symptoms of PMS. The scrub leaves your skin “very soft and well moisturized,” according to our testers.
- 1/4 cup table salt
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt (available in the salt section of the grocery store)
- 1/4 cup sweet almond oil
- 10 drops rose geranium essential oil
- 6 drops clary sage essential oil
- 6 drops bergamot essential oil (bergapten-free)
- 1 teaspoon dried lemon balm leaf, crushed
- 1 teaspoon dried rose petals, crushed
Carefully measure all of the ingredients into a clean glass bowl. Mix together well. Spoon into a clean glass jar and allow to age for 2 days.
Cleansing Scrub Recipe
Makes 8 oz.
This is a nice exfoliating scrub with herbs and essential oils to increase circulation and fight cellulite. The yogurt makes this scrub extra emollient.
- 1/2 cup table salt
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
- 1/3 cup sweet almond oil
- 2 tablespoons plain active yogurt (available at health-food stores)
- 14 drops grapefruit essential oil
- 6 drops cedarwood essential oil
- 4 drops fennel essential oil
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon dried powdered eucalyptus leaves (process in blender until powdered, then measure)
Carefully measure all of the ingredients into a clean glass bowl. Mix together well. Spoon into a clean glass jar and allow to age for 2 days. Store in the refrigerator. Scrubs will keep for at least a month in a cool, dark location and indefinitely in the refrigerator. The only thing that will make them spoil quickly is if they get water or any bacteria from your hands in them. With a clean spoon, scoop out a couple of tablespoons of scrub and put in a plastic container. (You don’t want glass or pottery to break in the bathroom.)
Create an “I am pampered” environment in the bathroom with candles and music or just a big, fluffy towel. You can scrub before you shower or after. Scoop a bit out with a spoon onto your fingertips and make gentle circles on your skin. Work toward the heart to encourage circulation. Don’t rub too hard–your skin is delicate. Just remember that the floor of your shower may be oily and slippery, so be careful. I like to put an old towel over the non-skid bath mat, scrub myself, then shower off. The towel can then be thrown into the washer.
Aegean Breeze Scrub Recipe
Makes 8 oz.
Like the herbal breeze over the Mediterranean hills, these herbs and essential oils are said to increase a sense of balance and boost energy. This scrub is wonderful for those crazy times when you feel like there needs to be three of you to get everything done.
- 1/2 cup table salt
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 cup sweet almond oil
- 3 tablespoons unscented liquid soap
- 20 drops lavender essential oil
- 8 drops rosemary essential oil
- 8 drops peppermint essential oil
- 1 teaspoon dried crushed lavender flowers
- 1 teaspoon dried crushed peppermint leaf
Carefully measure all of the ingredients into a clean glass bowl. Mix together well. Spoon into a clean glass jar and allow to age for 2 days. Store in the refrigerator. Follow the use directions at left.
Sugar & Spice Scrub Recipe
Makes 7 oz.
Our testers found this one to be “just right” and the “best one yet!” Use this scrub if you tend to knick your legs during shaving–it’s non-stinging. The essential oil blend in this scrub is made up of oils reputed to be aphrodisiacs.
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sweet almond oil
- 1 tablespoon finely ground oatmeal (process in blender until fine, then measure)
- 6 drops ginger essential oil
- 6 drops cardamom essential oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon calendula petals
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Carefully measure all of the ingredients into a clean glass bowl. Mix together well. Spoon into a clean glass jar and allow to age for 2 days.
