Sugar Scrubs and Whipped Body Butter

Fall and Winter are my two favorite seasons, yet I always seem to turn into a scaly itchy mess due to dry skin.  Between the cold, our forced hot air heat, holiday dish washing and my lack of swimming my skin seems to revolt by the time Christmas rolls around.

--Ok so I added the lack of swimming, that really wouldn't help all that much with my dry skin.  Any dermatologist worth their weight will tell you the very first thing you need to do to ensure you help your skin retain moisture is to drink the proper amount of water/fluids each day!--

Either way I seem to crack out the lotion ingredients every winter to make some skin nourishing body butter, lotion bars or sugar scrubs.  I should point out that I am an avid user of Cocoa Butter lotions.  I am partial to Palmers but will try any of them.  Even THOSE don't seem to help me in the winter months.  

The only problem with making your own lotions etc is that you need to purchase the ingredients.  You can make some lotions with Crisco and olive oil, but I am more of a shea butter and coconut oil girl.  The following recipes will be made with those types of ingredients.  (If you want to make something but don't feel like buying those ingredients please keep in mind that you can substitute a solid for a solid and a liquid for a liquid - Crisco for coconut oil and olive oil for jojoba oil etc.  I would not suggest using dairy butter in place of she butter, but I suppose it might be possible.) 

Sugar Scrub

This is a basic recipe.  You can so all sorts of fun things with it, see the examples under the recipe.  A sugar scrub should always be two parts sugar to one part oil, I also add in aloe with Vitamin E to all my sugar scrubs but it isn't necessary.  Here is my basic recipe:

• 1 c Sugar (can be brown or white, I use natural in the raw sugar)
• 1/2 c Coconut Oil 
• 1 Squirt Aloe with Vitamin E
• Essential Oil/fragrance of your choice

1. Melt the coconut oil
2. Mix together the sugar, oil, aloe and essential oils.
3. Place in an air tight container
4. Use on hands, face and body to rid yourself of dead skin and moisturize.

It looks like applesauce to me!
I know it isn't super pretty,
but it works phenomenally well!

Some fun concoctions of the basic sugar scrub are:

• Pumpkin Pie Scrub - instead of essential oils add in 1 t of Pumpkin Pie Spice.  Mix as normal.
• Vanilla Bean - Add in 1t of Vanilla extract in place of the essential oil.  Mix as normal.
• Citrus Mixer - combine lemon and orange essential oils. This one is very fragrant and a PERFECT scrub for the summer months. 

Try them out, this one is easy to make at home.  You can use olive oil or crisco in place of the coconut oil.  Your hands will thank you!

Boddy Butter

Shea butter, cocoa butter and coconut
oil

Boddy butter is a wonderful wonderful creation.  It has the ability to turn a scaly mess of an Amy into a normal human again! (OK so maybe "normal" is pushing it, but it removes the scales!) I am not so sure what you can use as an every day in house substitution for shea or cocoa butter, but I will research that and get back to you.  For those of you that WILL purchase shea and cocoa like butters here is the basic recipe that I use:

• 1 c Shea Butter
• 1/2 c Coconut Oil
• 1/2 c Jojoba Oil
• 1 T Cocoa Butter



Out in the cold to solidify

• Essential Oils/Fragrance of your choice

1. Melt the shea butter, cocoa butter and coconut oil until liquid.  Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes.
2. Slowly stir in the jojoba oil and fragrance.  
3. Set the mixture aside until it starts to re-solidify.  You want it to be semi soft, but no longer liquid.  
4. Once the mixture reaches the appropriate solidification, transfer it to a mixer and whip it as you would if you were making butter.  This should only take a few minutes.
5. Transfer the whipped butter into air tight containers and use as needed/wanted.

What a beautiful whipped body butter!
(chocolate scented!)

How simple is that?!  It is oil intensive so I find that it is best to put it on after a shower and let it soak in as you brush your teeth and whatnot before you get dressed.  It isn't too bad though and it really hydrates your skin!  

Some of my lotion etc supplies - there is sugar, beeswax,
coconut oil, and shea butter in this tote.
In others there is citric acid, stearic acid, baking soda,
aloe, cocoa butter, jojoba oil, essential oils,
and various molds and pots!
It is a very addicting hobby! 

**If those wondering I buy my lotion etc products from Brambleberry and Camden Grey.  I know there are cheaper sources out there, but I have always received top notch products and service from these two and therefore they have earned my loyalty.