Body scrubs are a great way to exfoliate dead skin cells, promote skin hydration, boost circulation and blood flow, drain lymph nodes, and deeply cleanse and nourish the skin.
With DIY Body Scrubs being so easy and in-expensive to make there really is no reason why we're not all getting our scrub on more often!
Essential oils posses incredible benefits to our overall health and wellbeing so adding these magical compounds to our scrubs is a match made in heaven. By choosing essential oils to match our needs we can make scrubs to help minimise inflammation in our body, provide an overall feeling of relaxation, tone and tighten our skin and even help clear blemishes and fade scars.
There are a few different ingredients that you can add to your scrubs to act as your abrasive...ie. the stuff that does the scrubbing! Like sugar scrubs, coffee scrubs, salt scrubs even oatmeal scrubs make an appearance. These ingredients all have different benefits and are gentle enough to use on your face and body.
The first time you use your home made body scrub, you will be hooked! It really is such a wonderful feeling, jumping out of the shower after a gorgeous body scrub. Creating your very own body scrubs as a DIY Christmas gift and gifting this feeling to a loved one is priceless.
First things first, choose your abrasive.
Sugar
Sugar molecules are round, making them a gentle exfoliant on the skin. Sugar is rich in glycolic acid and is able to break down the layers of dead skin to promote cell turnover. It is a natural humectant, which means it draws moisture from the outside environment into the skin which makes it deeply moisturising. Sugar scrubs are great for dry and ageing skin.
Salt
Salt has detoxifying properties. Salt is more abrasive than sugar, making it excellent for removing dead hard skin. The trace minerals in salt are natural purifiers that draw out pore clogging toxins and relieve congestion. Salt is great to replace trace minerals lost in the skin and body. There are so many different types of salt to choose from: Himalayan salt and sea salts are the best. If using on the face, ensure you use a finely ground salt.
Coffee
The caffeine in coffee is stimulating and improves blood circulation. Coffee has antioxidant properties that are absorbed into the body when used as a scrub. Coffee scrubs are effective to treat cellulite and ageing skin.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is a good choice for sensitive, oily or sun damaged skin as it is very gentle. Oatmeal can soak up excess natural oils and clear up blemishes. It has antioxidant and anti inflammatory properties. The natural saponins in oatmeal have a cleansing activity, making it an effective cleanser for the skin.
Create your own scrub recipes with this base recipe.
Basic scrub recipe
Ingredients 1/2 cup of abrasive of choice - salt, sugar, coffee, oatmeal
60 mls carrier oil - Jojoba oil or coconut oil are the best
18 drops essential oil of choice (this will give you a 1% dilution)
Begin by mixing the essential oils with your carrier oil. This will ensure your essential oils are well diluted and that you are creating a product that is safe.
Add the oil mixture to your abrasive and mix well.
Store in a glass jar, add a label and a ribbon, and you have the perfect Home made Christmas present.
To use, moisten skin, gently use scrub, then wash off body.
Some of our favourite essential oil combos for a body scrub:
Lemon & Lime
Ylang Ylang & Cedarwood
Sweet Orange & Cedarwood
Lavender & Frankincense
Peppermint makes the best foot scrub!
Bergamot & Copaiba
Kunzea & Copaiba make the best anti-inflammatory scrub!
