Tag: sugar scrub

Exfoliating Sugar Cubes + A Super Simple Homemade Recipe

In my ongoing quest to take my shower to spa heights, I’ve stumbled upon the greatest invention since sliced bread. Wait for it. Exfoliating sugar cubes! Gahhhh!!! These mini cubes are the perfect, no mess, single use size for gentle exfoliation in the shower. The square shape makes them easy to maneuver and the best part is that you don’t have to risk your life slipping on oil, because these little babies are not nearly as gooey as your favorite sugar scrub. Harper and Ari really got it right with this one!

I love the variety of ‘flavors’ Harper and Ari offer, but you can easily come up with your own favorite recipe at home. I got my go to recipe from Hello Glow. The sugar cubes are really easy to make. All you need are three ingredients: a melt and pour soap base + coconut oil + sugar. Then you just combine all your ingredients, spoon it into an ice cube mold, allow them to cool, and then transfer to an airtight container. The magic is in your choice of additive and the possibilities are endless. Mix in coffee grounds for an invigorating spa shower, or lavender or dried chamomile for a calming spa shower. So many choices!

Homemade Exfoliating Sugar Cubes

ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 ounces melt and pour soap (find it here)
  • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
  • mini silicone ice cube molds (find it here)

Directions

  • place coconut oil and melt-and-pour soap in separate bowls
  • microwave on high in 20 second intervals, stirring in between, until thoroughly melted
  • pour sugar into another bowl and add in the melted oil and soap base
  • add optional ‘flavors’ and stir
  • quickly transfer the mixture to your mold and allow the cubes to set
  • store the firm cubes in an airtight container
  • to use, simply take one of your cubes into the shower and apply to wet skin

Optional Flavors

  • 1/4 cup coffee grounds (my personal favorite!)
  • 1-2 tbsp dried rose petals
  • seeds from 1-2 vanilla beans or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup brown sugar (in lieu of white sugar) and 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Homemade Coconut Lime Sugar Scrub

The older I get, the more I realize how dependent my mood is on the changing seasons. Winter always leaves me feeling bummed out and run down. The smell of firewood, peppermint, cinnamon, and cloves always makes me feel strangely nostalgic and sleepy all at once. I’m not complaining exactly. I kinda like the fact that my spirit goes into hibernation mode during the Winter months. It tends to make Spring and Summer that much more energizing. The smell of roses, citrus, mown grass, and the salty breeze from the Atlantic, always perk me up and make me want to live!

Over the weekend I made this amazing coconut lime sugar scrub just in time for Spring and Cinco de Mayo! This stuff is the real deal. The fresh scent of lime is totally energizing and the coconut oil leaves your skin feeling super smooth. I use some variation of this sugar scrub every summer at least twice a week. This recipe makes a lot, so if you don’t need as much you can tweak the proportions to suit your needs. Happy Spring, you guys!

Homemade Coconut Lime Sugar Scrub

Ingredients

  • 1 c. coconut oil
  • 1.5 c. sugar
  • zest from one lime
  • lime essential oil

Directions

  • Combine coconut oil, sugar and lime zest. Mix until combined.
  • Add 7 drops of lime oil and stir. If the smell isn’t strong enough, add more oil, 2 drops at a time.
  • Store in an airtight glass jar (the jars pictured here are from Target).

Image and Recipe: Homemade Mood

Homemade Cucumber and Mint Body Scrub---Spa Days at Home

Homemade Cucumber and Mint Body Scrub—Spa Days at Home

Happy, Happy, Happy Monday, you guys!!! I’m floating on a cloud after the Super Bowl and the Patriots’ amaaaaazing performance. Side Bar: I’m a Giants fan by birth, but a total Patriots fan since high school. Anyway, I’m obvs in a celebratory mood and I don’t know about you, but I like to pamper myself when I’m this happy…also when I’m feeling down…or like pretty much all the time. So yeah. I had to come up with another yummy spa day DIY for you guys.

I’m missing warm weather like crazy, so the other day I made myself a carafe of cucumber water, because it always reminds me of summer in the city. The first time I had cucumber water was back in the day when I used to spend a small fortune going to spas around the city. While you’re in the waiting area, they serve you drinks like mimosas or cucumber water. Fancy fancy. I usually passed on the mimosas and soon discovered that there is no beverage in the world as refreshing as cucumber water, and when you add a sprig or two of mint…Madonn! Anyway, you know how I like to smear food on my skin, right? Well, I was sipping on this cucumber mint water while the Patriots were launching the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, and I had the overwhelming urge to make the mother of all sugar scrubs. Thug life. You guys, cucumbers are the real deal. This Cucumber Mint Sugar Scrub is everything!

Homemade Cucumber and Mint Body Scrub---Spa Days at Home

Homemade Cucumber and Mint Body Scrub

Ingredients

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup olive oil (you can use liquid coconut oil, jojoba oil, or any other light oil of your choice)
  • 1/2 of a fresh cucumber
  • 1 fresh mint leaf
  • 8-10 drops peppermint essential oil
  • 4 drops Vitamin E oil

Homemade Cucumber and Mint Body Scrub---Spa Days at Home

Homemade Cucumber and Mint Body Scrub---Spa Days at Home

Homemade Cucumber and Mint Body Scrub---Spa Days at Home

Directions

  • In a blender, puree the cucumber and mint and set aside
  • In a glass bowl, combine the sugar and oil, mixing well
  • add the cucumber puree to your sugar/oil mixture
  • next, add the drops of peppermint essential oil and Vitamin E oil
  • transfer to an airtight glass bottle
  • store it in your fridge for up to a week
  • To use, apply generously and massage your damp skin in circular motions

***you can use a regular mouth mason jar instead of the blender carafe when you puree the cucumber. Your call. The mason jar is just more compact and easier to clean.

Source: Fresh Cucumber and Mint Body Scrub Plus Benefits of Cucumber for the Skin

Summer Grapefruit Sugar Scrub

Summer Grapefruit Sugar Scrub—Spa Days at Home

The right sugar scrub can mend fences, y’all. No joke. My loving father stepped on my foot the other day. He was losing his balance and to keep himself from falling, he came down hard on my big toe. I will neither confirm nor deny whether I cried a little bit (my dad felt awful). I will admit, however, that my first reaction wasn’t to worry about broken bones or any of that. Nope. I was way more concerned about my fresh pedicure… because, priorities. I was also pretty upset with my dad because pain tends to make me totally irrational.

Fortunately, I didn’t have a broken toe and my pedicure was completely spared. Still, I felt like I earned a little pampering for handling that pain like a decorated soldier and for recognizing that even the best dads can make pretty bad mistakes. Since I’d just paid for the whole mani/pedi thing a few days before my Olympic injury, I decided to treat myself to a relaxing foot soak at home.I whipped up a nice sugar scrub inspired by Salt & Ritual’s amazing summer body scrub. With a fresh citrus scent and a smooth coconut oil finish, this is my absolute favorite scrub for the summer months! This scrub also features beet root powder. It’s totally optional, but beet root powder is a natural food coloring, and I just love the color that it gives this scrub. Added bonus: if you have any left over, you can totally add beet root powder to your morning smoothie or your lunchtime salad. It’s really quite the little superfood. You can read more about it here.

So without further ado, here’s the awesome sugar scrub I used. Seriously, folks, this scrub repaired my temporarily strained relationship with my father. It’s just that good.

Summer Grapefruit Sugar Scrub

Summer Grapefruit Sugar Scrub

Ingredients

  • beet root powder (optional) — find it here
  • sugar
  • coconut oil
  • grapefruit essential oil

Directions

  • Using a 4oz  mason jar, pour in the sugar a little more than halfway up
  • Mix in a tsp of beet root powder
  • Add in a tbsp of coconut oil and stir
  • Soak your feet for about 5 minutes prior to using the scrub
  • when you’re ready, massage the scrub into your skin before returning your feet to your foot bath
  • relax and enjoy!

***your feet may be a bit oily after using this scrub, so be careful not to slip on tile or un-carpeted floors! Bailey cares!

Image Credit: Salt & Ritual

Holiday Themed Sugar Scrubs: Spa Days at Home

Sugar Scrub

There are so many wonderful fragrances that remind me of the holiday season.  Peppermint, vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon, and chocolate all get me in the holiday mood. So for this Spa Days at Home post, I thought I’d share some DIY Sugar Scrub recipes inspired by my favorite holiday!

Sugar scrubs are so easy to make and to customize. With one cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of oil, and a few drops of your favorite essential oils you’ll be well on your way to a relaxing spa day at home. They also make a perfect and thoughtful gift for the holidays.

I found this neat infographic on U-createcrafts.com that perfectly illustrates this very basic sugar scrub recipe.

DIY Sugar Scrubs

This sugar+oil formula is the foundation of every single sugar scrub you’ll ever make. Super simple! The real fun is in what you choose to add to it. Here are my top 3 holiday-themed sugar scrub recipes:

1 Peppermint Sugar Scrub

http://thefrugalgirls.com/2014/02/peppermint-sugar-scrub.html
Image Copyright: thefrugalgirls.com

Super Simple Recipe: Sugar+Oil+10 drops Peppermint Essential Oil

2 Cinnamon Vanilla Sugar Scrub

Image Copyright: theidearoom.net
Image Copyright: theidearoom.net

Super Simple Recipe: Sugar+Oil+3 drops Cinnamon Essential Oil+7 drops of Vanilla Essential Oil

3 Chocolate Mint Sugar Scrub

Image Copyright: sugarandcloth.com
Image Copyright: sugarandcloth.com

Super Simple Recipe: Sugar+Oil+2tbs Unsweetened Cocoa+10 drops Peppermint Essential Oil

These sugar scrubs smell divine and will leave your skin feeling super smooth. These are my top 3, but please feel free to share your favorites with me!