This week I’m gonna let you in on one of my little secrets: I suffer from a minor malady I call “Princess Syndrome”. I need quiet and darkness to sleep, I can’t be too hot or too cold or I can’t sleep, and I hate bad hair days (don’t we all?). To me, even though it’s categorized as a non-necessity, I feel like pedicures are required, even through the winter months. I love a good massage and one of the best gifts ever is a day away at a spa. Yep, I’m a spa girl!
But while I’d like to live the life of leisure that goes with a spa life, I really don’t have the time. Oh yeah, and it’s really expensive to live that way! So I go to the spa when I get a special gift, but otherwise, it’s DIY. And that brings me to the post today – making sugar scrubs. I always moisturize after bathing, but my favorite time is after I’m clean and lotioned and feeling comfy in my jammies. I don’t like the cold-after-the-bath feeling, so I hurry through the lotion part as fast as I can. Sugar scrubs are the best of both worlds, because you can use them in the shower or bath while you’re warm, and then when you get out, pat dry, and get in your cozy clothes! Besides, if you shave, the sugar scrubs don’t sting like the salt ones…
I got into sugar scrubs last winter when I got one by Deep Steep from a Marshall’s near my house. I rarely buy regular retail for anything, but sometimes there are great discounted cosmetics at stores like that. The one I got was some kind of seasonal winter fragrance that was soft and yummy without being overwhelming (I’m very picky about fragrance too). Deep Steep makes organic products and this scrub was wonderful. But when it was gone, I couldn’t find any more, and for $12 a jar or so retail, I had to make my own. I mean, I have sugar and butters and oils, right? So here’s what I did in 20 minutes on my morning off this week. It’s actually a lot easier than you might think…
First, gently melt your butters in a glass bowl over a small pot of water. You can microwave them, but I want to keep them raw, which means not overheating them, and that’s hard to do right in a microwave. I used half east African shea butter (softer than west), and coconut oil this time. You can mix olive oil, sweet almond oil, cocoa butter (if you want to smell like chocolate) or any blend of oils and butters that you like.
Put your sugar to fill your container 3/4th full. Your oil will settle into the sugar, but you need a little space at the top so you can stir. I used empty containers I’d been saving…
Once the butter is melted, take it off the heat and let it cool a little. Then pour it into the sugar and let the air bubble up.
When the oil has settled, you can add what you like to make it smell good! I picked rosemary, lavender, and thyme from my backyard herb garden. Lavender is so calming and healing, and rosemary is one of my favorites! It’s also an excellent natural preservative…
I chopped it up finely and added it to the scrub. Then I added rosemary and lavender essential oils and mixed it all together.
The second jar I wanted to be a sweet-spicy comforting scent, so I added cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and vanilla and a few drops of Thieves oil to the sugar-oil and mixed it all up. I wish you could smell it – I wanted to eat a spoonful!
Then I let the jars cool in the frig for a few hours and they were ready to go! Aren’t they pretty?
How do you pamper yourself at home? Any ways you get your little luxuries and save money too? Please share in the comments below!