These scrubs are rather strong, and I don´t recommend them on the face unless you have strong and non-sensitive skin. Don´t use scrubs on legs that have a tendency towards breaking capillaries. If you´re looking for gentle scrubs, try those meant for the face (I´ll be posting recipes in a couple of days).
A note on ingredients:
- Olive oil: Makes the scrub moisturising and removes oil-soluble impurities. Do use extra virgin (cold pressed) oil. You can substitute olive oil with any other oil you like (almond ? wheatgerm ? grapeseed ?). Please don´t use mineral oil.
- Salt, coffee & sugar : again, going for natural ingredients is worth it.
- Shower gel: for slip. Use one without SLS.
Optional magical ingredients:
- Essential oils: they don´t just smell pretty, so make sure you read up about their effect before you add the. Remember that a couple of drops is plenty !
- Vitamin E: for extra moisturising and to help the skin heal and regenerate
- Feel free to play around and customise !
SEA SALT SCRUB
This scrub is of the stronger kind, especially recommended for dealing with ingrown hair on the legs.You need:
- Sea salt (it has many more minerals than your typical table salt). Make sure it has no additives (like the kind to keep it non-sticky).
- Your fav shower gel (get one without SLS)
BROWN SUGAR SCRUB
It´s a gentler alternative for those who find sea salt to harsh (or pinchy !)You need
- Brown sugar
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Lemon juice (optional)
COFFEE SCRUB
The caffeine probably does not get anywhere under the skin, but the coffee grounds make the skin amazingly satiny smooth. It also gives a pretty tint to the skin, and according to some rave reviews it helps with cellulite and stretch marks in early stages (when red) If you´re a coffee addict, you´ll love how the aroma hangs around for hours, unless you prefer to use soap or gel after the scrub.The scrub from used grounds is gentler than that from unused (new) grounds.
You need
- Used coffee grounds (do try natural coffee, as coffee tends to have very high levels of pesticides). And no, instant coffee won´t work here !
- Sea Salt (not necessary, but usually works great)
- Cinnamon (unless you are allergic to it).
- Olive (or other) oil --- optional. Makes the scrub gentler and more moisturising.
I´ve shared my recipes, now it´s time for you to share yours ! What do you scrub with ?