Something for You Softies

Considering that I live in a VERY humid part of Texas, I have some amazingly dry skin, especially during the winter. Unfortunately the barometer count does not have a direct correlation to any one person's dry skin. :) It also doesn't help that because we have a wood burning stove, there is absolutely 0% moisture in our house from the month of November to around the middle of March. So I love anything that can help me get rid of gross, dry, skin and leave my hands soft and awesome! :) I was on PINTEREST (yes, I know, apparently I'm a junky haha) and stumbled on a pretty awesome vanilla scrub :). So let's get down to the nitty gritty (haha, yes pun intended) and check out that recipe for soft hands, and feet too if you have a mind to do that. :)


We didn't use specific measurements, but this is how we did it:

Homemade Sugar Scrub
Equal parts brown sugar and white sugar (ends up being about 1/4 cup each for a 6 oz. jar)
Fill to the top with olive oil (cover the sugars and then maybe an extra 1/2 inch)
Add about 1-2 Tbs of vanilla extract for some yummy flavor.

You could also add essential oils, but that is a little pricier.

So I did NOT use a 6 oz jar, but rather converted an old candle jar into a fairly awesome scrub container. :) Here are my adjusted measurements.
1)Still equal parts brown and white sugar: 3/4 cup of each for me
2)For the olive oil, I followed her directions, but I would recommend mixing it in a bowl then pouring it into the jar, and adding the 1/4 to 1/2 inch oil to the top. Depends on how gritty you want it.
3)You can use any extract. I threw in some cinnamon extract with my vanilla. You might really enjoy peppermint or mint flavor. It all depends. :)

My rating: 5 stars
After learning a few things in the making of this fun, easy scrub, here are my suggestions.
1) Do NOT, I repeat do NOT, forget to wash your hands after using this scrub. I have no idea if it's common practice to wash your hands after using a scrub, but unless you want oil residue all over EVERYTHING you touch after, you WANT to wash your hands after scrub use. :)
2) I'm not too crazy about the vanilla smell, so by all means, use something different! Cinnamon is my favorite flavor so it was easy to pick that over vanilla, but like the lady says, other oils are rather pricey. My advice is whip up a small jar with something you have at the house to see if you like it, and if you do, take a trip to the spice aisle, find your flavor, and whip up a big jar of this stuff!! :)
3) Last but not least, make sure you have a jar handy! I'm one of those people who gets it into her head to do something, and can't let it rest until it's done. Unfortunately, the night I picked to make this scrub I was very hard pressed to find one jar in my whole house! Therefore, I sacrificed a very unfortunate smelling berry flavored candle to the trash so I could have a jar! And that, my friends, took me almost 15 minutes to get the wax out of the candle jar, wash the jar, and ready for use.

After a few days, the cinnamon smell really settled into the scrub, and it smells heavenly. My hands are super soft, and the oil adds some much needed moisture. So far it's safe to use about once a day (two might be overkill, just sayin'), and the result is first-rate!


Here's the link:
http://www.homemadeginger.com/2011/05/homemade-sugar-scrub.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+HomemadeGinger+%2528homemade+ginger%2529

Happy Scrubbing!
Samantha