Something a little different today. A DIY body scrub with uplifting properties to bring a bright note to the weekend.
The base recipe for this aromatic shower scrub is only 3 ingredients! (oil, sugar & essential oil) — you’ll also need a container of sorts to store it in (or a pretty jar if you’re planning on gifting it), and that’s it.
If you want to get fancy, you can add additional aromatics as I’ve done here with the citrus peel but the idea is that you can make this relaxing spa treat at home without much fuss (also a great small hands project!)
THE BASIC RECIPE
here are the basic ingredients you’ll need to make this body scrub:
- 3/4 cup (150 g) of coarse sugar
- 3 Tbsp of oil
- a few drops (to smell preference) of your favorite essential oil fragrance/s
THE SUGAR
I like using turbinado sugar (also known as ‘sugar in the raw’) for its coarse texture — it makes an ideal exfoliant without being too harsh and leaves skin feeling silky smooth. It also holds up well with the oil. If you prefer something softer, you can opt for regular sugar (cane/white table sugar) or brown sugar (which is even more gentle / softer than cane sugar). If you end up using cane or brown sugar, you might want to use slightly less oil (you can experiment with that).
THE OIL
my favorite oil for this body scrub is fractionated coconut oil — this is a specific type of coconut oil that remains liquid at room temperature (the coconut oil that is used in cooking hardens at room temperature like all saturated fats) — fractionated just means ‘liquid’ in this case, which is how you want the oil to behave in the scrub. You will get all the emollient properties of coconut oil in liquid form and it will leave your skin feeling incredibly soft and hydrated. It’s quite wonderful.
shop — you can find fractionated coconut oil at ‘health’ food stores including Whole Foods (I think Walmart carries it too!) and online.
sweet almond oil — if you can’t get your hands on fractionated coconut oil, my second choice would be sweet almond oil. Beyond that, you can experiment with any number of other oils including olive oil. Here are some other ideas: grapeseed oil; walnut oil; hempseed oil; avocado oil; jojoba oil.
THE ESSENTIAL OILS
concentrated aroma: essential oils are concentrated plant extracts that retain their essence and are an excellent way to capture the signature fragrance of botanicals; these aromas can support our psychological and physiological wellbeing when harmonized with our particular response system.
