Vanilla Hazelnut Body Scrub!!

I figured since winter is just ahead of us, it was time that we did something to ward off that scaly winter skin!  I am obsessed with a good body scrub, but I hate having to pay a ridiculous amount for one!  The inspiration for this one came from my fantastic cup of Java this morning!  You can make a great body scrub out of the things you have in your very own kitchen.  If you want to get a little more creative, head to your local health food store and check out their assortment of oils!  There are also wonderful places online that you can purchase supplies from. 

If you do decide to make your own scrub I'd love to hear about what you used and how it turned out! Happy mixing!   I decided that I would give you the recipe I used because it turned out fantastic! 

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup White Sugar

1/3 Cup Dead Sea Salt

1/8 Cup Coffee

1/3 Cup Apricot Kernel Oil

1/3 Cup Golden Jojoba Oil

1/4 Cup Apricot Extract

1/8 Cup Avocado Butter, Melted

1 Tbsp. Cocoa Butter, Melted

1 Tbsp. Organic Tamanu Oil

1 Tbsp. Hydrovance

1/2 Tsp. Germall

15 ml Vanilla Hazelnut Fragrance Oil

35 ml Tahitian Vanilla Fragrance Oil

You can use any other fragrance oils you think you'd like in here.  Essential oils would be great too, because they have natural health benefits, and I'm a firm believer in using natural things on your skin!  Do some research and customize this to you own skincare needs!

First you mix all of your dry ingredients together.  Make sure you mix them well.  Next, add all of your oils into the dry mixture.  Mix so that your oils are evenly dispersed through the dry mixture.  If you find your scrub is a little oily you can always add some more dry ingredients to your scrub.  I add more white sugar because I find it gives a better exfoliation than the rest of the sugars or salts!  After that is all mixed together, I used a dropper to add my fragrance.  You can add as much or as little as you want depending on how strong you want your scrub to smell.  I like a medium balance, and that's what the amounts I added will give you. 

This recipe yields about 12 oz.  I filled 3- 4 oz jars with this deliciousness!  (It makes great gifts for friends and family as well)

If you don't have the above ingredients, just use olive oil, or grape seed oil.  Any kind of oil works (okay, well maybe not motor oil... but you should probably know that) Scrubs are fantastic, because made at home they are affordable! 



Hand before Scrub....



I wanted to show you some before and after pictures of my hands.  I started out with nothing on my hands.  They are a little dry, but my skin isn't terrible (mostly because I exfoliate on a regular basis).  All I know is it could be a heck of a lot better than it is! 



Hand during scrubbing process....



Hand after scrubbing....



When you put the scrub on you'll notice the grainy texture, just make sure you don't scrub too hard!  I tend to grind it into my skin, because I like that deep cleansing feeling.  The only problem with this is I tend to make my skin turn a little bit red!  If you have sensitive skin, this could be a problem!  Make sure that before you use it you test it on a small patch of your skin so that you don't have a reaction!  This can be used a couple times a week to keep your skin in tip top shape!  I use it every couple of days seeing as how I have dry skin! 

*Note... this will make a mess in the bottom of your shower!  Don't worry, it washes right up and I didn't find it to be too slippery on the floor!*

I also wanted to mention, that if you are making this for yourself, make it in smaller amounts, as you do not want to create bacteria in your scrub (this happens when it sits too long without being used)!  If you do make a large batch, give some of it away to your friends and family!  I added some preservative to mine because I made a larger batch and I won't be able to use it all up right away.  I also plan on giving one of these lovely scrubs away in my Give-Away, so it has to have some lasting power to get to one of you fabulous ladies/gents.