Body Scrubs

Don't use these scrubs on your face. They are too rough for the more delicate facial skin. A little bit of sugar or brown sugar mixed with oil or water to form a soft scrub can be used on the face. Use more oil or water than sugar in the mix. Avoid using this facial scrub around the sensitive eye areas. Many facials also have the effect of exfoliating. See Home Facial for more information.

Quick Epsom Salt Exfoliation Scrub

Amazingly, this is an extremely inexpensive exfoliation treatment used by many spas. They may add essential oils for scent or other effects, but the treatment is quite basic. Simply take handfuls of Epsom Salt and rub over the body while in the shower or bath (the skin should be wet). The exfoliating properties on Epsom Salt are top-notch. To create a more relaxing effect, mix 2 cups Epsom Salt with 6 drops organic lavender essential oils then massage over body as directed above.

How to Make Salt and Sugar Scrubs
from http://spas.about.com/

Head to a posh spa and you can treat yourself (for a mere $100-$300) to an all-over body scrub. Why buy when you can make a homemade body scrub out of basic ingredients yourself? All you need is salt or sugar, body oil and a nice, warm bath.

A salt glow or salt scrub is the most popular body treatment at the spa. The primary purpose of a salt glow is to exfoliate your skin. A salt glow also hydrates your skin because the salt is combined with oil and usually some aromatic like lemon, lavender, or even figs. The salt glow is followed by a shower (no soap) and an application of body lotion, and leaves your skin feeling very soft and fragrant.

• For this body scrub, use whatever salt you have in the house: Sea, epsom or basic table salt. You can replace the salt with sugar if you prefer. Turbinado sugar (packaged as "Sugar in the Raw" in stores) is one option. Sugar can be gentler on the skin than salt. If you have super sensitive skin, go with dark brown sugar.
• Choose an oil. You can use baby oil or any of the following: organic extra virgin coconut oil (my absolute favorite, which you can buy at a health food store), almond oil, safflower, vegetable. Skip the olive oil, it has a strong smell.
  Also see Cosmetic Oils for other options
• You want 1 part salt to 1 part oil. Place anywhere from a few tablespoons to a cup of salt in a container. Place equal amount oil. Mix with a spoon. Don't freak out if the salt settles to the bottom. It's virtually impossible to keep it mixed.
• If you want your salt scrub to smell divine, put 5 drops of an essential oil into your mixture. Mix with spoon.
• Now onto the bath itself. I find scrubs work best on dry skin. Step into a bath tub and put on loofah mitts. I like the mitts that you get in health food stores. They really scrub your skin good. If you don't have a bath mitt, don't worry, you can use your hands.
• Take a spoonful of the mixture into your loofah and then rub the mixture all over your body in a circular motion. Rub harder on tougher areas such as the bottom of your feet, elbows and knees. Avoid your neck and face. If you feel the salt is too harsh on your skin, rinse off the loofah and then spoon only the oil onto the loofah.
• Once entire body is scrubbed well, rinse thoroughly with water only. You don't want to wash the oil off.
• Pat skin dry. You should be good and cleansed. The salt (or sugar) should have exfoliated your skin nicely with the help of the loofah and the oil should leave skin soft and moisturized. You shouldn't even need to follow the bath with a moisturizer.
• The only bad part about this scrub is the oil can build up on the bathtub bottom. Make sure to clean it up so the next person who gets in doesn't slip.

Other Recipes

Simple Sugar Scrub Formula

Adapted from The Seasonal Detox Diet, by Carrie L'Esperance (Inner Traditions, 2002). This super-simple formula has been softening and nourishing skin for centuries. It only calls for two ingredients, and the results will gently exfoliate dead skin cells, improve skin clarity and softness, and stimulate your glandular system.

• 1/2 cup sugar
• Enough cold-pressed oil (olive, wheat germ, peanut, corn, or sunflower) to dampen the mixture

Gently massage this exfoliating scrub all over your body and face before you shower with a light soaping and rinse. Repeat once or twice a month.

Homemade Sugar Scrub from The Vermont Soapworks

This formula comes courtesy of Larry Pleasant, CEO of The Vermont Soapworks. It has has a few more ingredients than the Simple Sugar Scrub Formula, but is still super simple and incredibly effective.

• 50 percent white cane sugar
• 50 percent vegetable glycerin to moisten the sugar (avocado, or other, oil can be substituted if you do not have vegetable glycerin)
• Small amounts of aloe vera gel, vitamin C crystals, or anything healing that dissolves in water
• 1 or 2 drops of essential oil if desired (Larry recommends combining orange and lavender)
• Enough ground hibiscus powder for pink color (if desired)

Combine the ingredients in a bowl. Scoop some of the scrub onto your hand and massage gently onto your skin for a minute (the scrub will actually tighten onto your skin like a masque). Leave on for 3 to 4 minutes before rinsing.

Spicy Brown Sugar Body Polish

Adapted from Organic Body Care Recipes by Stephanie Tourles (Storey Publishing, 2007).

This scrub is a true sensory delight for the spice lover. The stimulating aroma subtly lingers long after the sugar has been rinsed away, and is wonderful for men and women alike. Especially seasonal with harvest spices including cinnamon, this is a particularly inviting scrub, providing effective exfoliation and deeply moisturizing smoothness to skin.

Recommended for all skin types except those with acne (use with care on sensitive and environmentally damaged skin).

1 cup organic brown sugar
1 cup white granulated sugar
¾ cup almond, soybean, hazelnut, or macadamia nut base oil
2 teaspoons cinnamon, powdered
2 teaspoons ginger, powdered
2 teaspoons nutmeg, powdered
40 drops cardamom essential oil

In a medium-sized bowl, combine all ingredients except the essential oil. Using a whisk, blend ingredients thoroughly, making sure to break up any lumps of brown sugar or spice. Add the essential oil drop by drop, blending after each addition.

Spoon into a storage container with a tight-fitting lid.

Massage approximately ¼ to ½ cup of scrub onto pre-moistened skin using circular motions. Rinse.

Brown Sugar Scrub

There are many varieties to this basic recipe and you can play with it until you get the sugar scrub just right for your skin type.

• 1 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Sweetened Almond Oil
• 1 tsp Vitamin E (you can cut open a couple Vitamin E liquid gel caps)
• 1/2-1 tsp Vanilla Extract

To make the brown sugar scrub simply mix the Almond oil, vanilla extract and Vitamin E in a properly sized bowl, add the brown sugar and mix it all together. Separate the mixture into a couple of nice glass containers if you wish, otherwise a Tupperware will do.

Optional Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions

• The amount of almond oil you use will depend on your personal preference and skin type, experiment with more or less oil until you get your perfect mix.
• You can substitute the almond oil for pure sesame oil (not roasted), extra virgin olive oil, vegetable oil or any other oil you like that is suitable for the skin. I prefer almond oil due to the many benefits of almond oil on the skin.
• In place of the vanilla extract you can use your favorite essential oil or fragrance oil. Or if you are in a pinch you can leave it out altogether as it's mainly included for added aroma.
• The Vitamin E is also not a necessity but it adds some skin nourishment to the brown sugar scrub.
• You can add a little honey for extra moisturizing on dry skin.

Gentle Scrub for Fresher Skin Formula

Summer sun and seaside fun can be damaging to our skin, but even indoor skin can use a little help feeling and looking fresh. This easy-to-make formula will help to dissolve the “glue” that binds dead skin cells together, allowing them to fall away like autumn leaves, revealing the smooth, soft skin underneath. The secret is fresh alphahydroxy fruit acid – in this case from tomatoes – and sugar.

1/4 cup granulated sugar
Chopped fresh tomato
2 tablespoons yogurt or sour cream

1. Place the sugar in a small bowl. Add enough fresh chopped tomato to moisten, then add yogurt. Combine and apply to a clean, damp face, using fingertips to gently massage the formula into skin. [I would put this in the blender or food processor.]

2. Allow formula to remain on skin for 10 minutes, then rinse with warm water and pat dry.